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I've owned several kinds of Toyotas over the past 25 years and although the Venza is great in so many ways, I am disappointed, in general, in the quality of product Toyota is making these days. I was hoping this would be the last automobile I would have to buy for a long, long time, but now I'm not so sure.
I agree that the sun visor should extend back to cover the portion of the window where the driver sits to block out the sun. I had a 2002 Lexus ES300 that had the extending visors - they would extend back on the rod nearly 5" to provide excellent blockage of the sun. Have you noticed that the back side of the visor, when it is folded down against the windshield, has a very rough seam along the mid-portion where the rest of the seam is smooth and appears to be sewn not glued.
I've had my 2011 FWD V6 for nearly 6 weeks and upon close inspection there are several fit/finish issues that my 2007 Highlander Hybrid never had. Unfortunately, I have an eye for detail and most people wouldn't notice the things I do. Although the Venza is a very nice car with great features, it's not as good as the Highlander I traded in. I don't have buyers remorse as I got a very good deal on the Venza but since this is advertised as a 'premium' Toyota I expected better. At least everything works as it should and I've had no issues at all with the Venza, I only hope it will serve me as well as the Highlander did.
Not sure if there is an aftermarket sun visor extension rod available but maybe you could get a visor from a Lexus RX since it is very similar to the Venza in many ways.
Regards - M. J. McCloskey
Concerned about safety, took the vehicle to a dealer and had a technician take a highway ride with me. When we returned to dealership, service manager asked tech his impressions of the ride. He answered "horrible", said it was stiffer and bouncier than a Tundra or Tacoma. They put car on a lift and found no obvious technical issues. They called Toyota who said there are no known technical issues and claimed that a "stiff" ride is typical.
Although we liked the vehicle very much, we were unwilling to accept a truck like ride from a passenger car. My other vehicle is a 2006 Honda Pilot and the ride quality of the Pilot with 78,000 miles was significantly smoother than this brand new car.
We contacted the selling dealer and explained that this vehicle was not indicative of other Venza's and that we wanted to return the vehicle and void the sale. To their credit, they agreed to return the car for full credit. This was a remarkable act of customer service and we will certainly make every effort to buy another vehicle from this dealer.
To those looking to buy a Venza, make sure you take a highway test drive with the actual vehicle you intend to purchase. Buyer beware!
I have test driven several vehicles with 20" low profile tires, e.g. Ford Edge, Venza, etc. They all give a harsher ride than cars with higher profile tires.
I was not bothered by the venza (and I verified the tire pressure before the test drives), both in the street or on the highway. It certainly gives a less smooth ride than the 2011 HL v6 with fairly large tires, but with a more foregiving profile. Hope that helps. rr70
This is our second Venza within 4 months. After several trips to the dealer, they were unable to get the used V6 AWD Venza that we purchased to go down the road striaght. they determined that the car must have been wrecked and decided to give us our money back.
Buying a Venza has been one of the worse decisions of my life.. I stuck with a car that rides like crap..
If the RX wasn't so expensive to own I would get another one, but we are looking at retiring in a couple of years and just don't need that kind of expense.
Thanks for your idea for the visor.
Panoramic Sunroof, Pushbutton start package.
I am close to my second tank of gas at a somewhat disappointing 25mpg. Aside from hopes of better fuel mileage I like it!
Just give it some time. Some people get good mpg right away but my minivan took 10,000 miles to really hit its stride with good mpg.
The mileage you are getting is quite good and will certainly improve with more miles driven.
I have a 2011 FWD V6 and am getting an average of 24.5mpg (calculated manually) with a bit over 1600 miles since my purchase in mid-October. I realize the I4 will get overall better mpg than the V6 but the V6 is extremely quiet and even under brisk acceleration it's still barely detectable. Some owner reviews have commented on the I4 being a bit noisy under heavy acceleration but I guess it all depends on how sensitive you are to certain sounds.
Regards - M. J. McCloskey
Average mpg on the meter: 29.0
I am feeling better...........
I'm short so the height is important to me. Thanks
I'll be in the market next month to buy my mother a new vehicle and I'm thinking about the Venza. She thinks it looks sharp and she has never owned anything outside of a car. I was also looking at a Highlander or even going premium and getting her the RX350. The RX may be a lot more than she needs though.
Are there any immediate advantages with the Venza compared to the likes of the RX350 and Highlander? I would go for the V6 with every option so it would be quite comparable to the RX.
Overall, I think the Venza is an ideal choice for the mature soccer mom or soon to be empty-nester.
I know I probably sound like a commercial or a Lexus salesperson (which I am not), but if I could do it all over again, without a doubt I would keep my RX.
I'm leaning towards the RX but I really want mom to appreciate all the fun stuff it comes with. I think she would feel more at home in the Venza as the mouse like device in the RX may be a bit challenging. We live in Houston so AWD is not required.
We have now ruled out the Highlander as it would be too big for her and she does not require a 3rd row. She normally totes around the grandkids but no more than the 3 at a time.
Thanks
acceleration problems as you described. It happened to me first in May 2010, then in April 2012, and in January 2013.
Fortunatly I new what to do, I kwickly shifted the transmission into "neutral "each time, otherwise, in two occasions I would have hit the car in front of me.
The dealer did several tests each time on the car, but could not find anything wrong...
According to the Toyota service center, I am the only person reporting such a problem; strange !..