Toyota Avalon Fuel and Fuel System Questions
i have a 98 avalon xl and we have changed the oil an filter every 3000 miles. we have been using regular unleaded gas. it now has about 50,000 plus miles on it. a while back the check engine light came on, so we went to the dealership. there we were told that because we used regular gas we needed to replace the egr valve and solenid for about $350.00. I don't understand why I need this when we were told that regular unleaded gas was fine. Has any body else had this problem. If you use premium gas over 50000 miles you will spend $300 or more just for the higher grade gas and I don't think they will guarantee you don't have to replace the egr valve. Despite the engine light the car runs fine. no hesitation or misfiring or anything. has anybody else had this problem and how did they handle it. It seems to me that this should be a factory thing and the consumer should not be caught on this.
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question: What brand of regular do you use? Some people feel that gas is gas, others say that some select major brands like Exxon, Mobil, Texaco are the best. I only use Exxon or Mobil and have never had a gas problem, probably have been lucky.
I'd read, in a buyer's guide, that premium gas is recommended for new Avalon's. Does this hold true for a 1999? And if so, would it be detrimental to fill up using regular?
Thanks,
Stephen
Has anyone had this problem???
All good gas has the cheapy fuel cleaners in them. Have had some success with a more expensive type (wynns- hot shot ), however it will take a lot more than 3 miles for any tank additive to do anything. Mimimun the whole tank. Since the injectors are failing in sucession it could mean crud in the gas, moreso the holding tanks at your favorite fill spot and not the gas brand. Remember these added injector cleaners are questionable and will take out some sludge/crud/varish deposits but not silt/rust particles resulting from a deteriating tank.
Unless they did an injector cleaning, either at the fuel rail or by removing them, you were not that specific.
Of coarse , you could have defective injectors, but i am not familiar with the history on toyotas injectors. Good luck
For the same reasons you described above, I too pick the Avalon. I had wished Honda had made a large full size car, without going into the Acura brand, but that was not the case. The large comfortable Avalon seats and ease of getting into them were one of the reasons I bought this auto. My only criticism of the seats would probably be that there still isn't quite enought seat travel in reverse. Seating in a Lexus LS430, I can move the seat back so far that I cannot touch the steering wheel or pedals, and I too am rather large at age 45. German cars too have better seat travel, but that is another story. Nevertheless, for us ole folks, the car is a pleasure to sit in and get in and out of. An important feature for those of us who utilize it heavily.
Has anyone in the forum changed the front gas filter at 30K themselves???? There is a quick connect on top. The manual states you have to take out the rear seat and disconnect the neg terminal after disconnecting the fuel pump. Can anyone comment on just relieving the pressure by just opening the fuel filler cap, waiting and then disconnecting without spilling too much, carefully and replacing the filter. It cannot be that hard. Many incompetent people do it??
A.Fisch
1) Disconnect the pump-neg terminal behind seat
2) Start and run the car until it stalls-any pressurized fuel in the system has been relieved. Now it is safer and cleaner!
3) Remove key from ignition.
Use caution when tightening these lines, not to twist them. Also, a thorough inspection of the fuel lines should be done to look for leaks. -nomad56-
Is the line to the filter from the tank rubber. Can you clamp it, and then change the filter without breaking my back and removing the seat and fuel pump connection.
Let me know.
A.Fisch
Thanks. I will look below the Master. I have been forewarned twice, to use utmost caution getting it off. I have already bought the crow's foot set of wrench's from Sears. I also have the OEM I bought over the net. It comes as an entire unit with a quick disconnect on the bottom.
Think I am going to try my luck at doing the PU C.A.B. next week, then getting it realigned. Do I have to get it realigned if I replace the rear C.A.B. I think I know the answer.
Thanks for the tech advice.
abfisch
If that what the Toyota dealership told you, then it should probably send a little light off in your head. If that a nice answer or the correct answer. I am not sure of the 98 Avalon; Nomad56 has the last body style but filter need to be changed every so often and the gas in no exception. The problem is that you need to be meticulous in changing it (see repair manual) with disconnecting the negative terminal and relieving pressure in the lines. Then, you need to use a "Crow's wrench" and use caution not to strip or bend the fitting.
Buy a Hanes manual for reference and either do it yourself, or take it to someone who wants to fix/repair cars instead of just selling them.
abfisch
Thanks,
donotsolicit
My 96 Avalon now gets a steady diet of regular and runs fine. I have noticed better mpg on trips when premium is used, but not much difference around town. The owners manual says regular, but for better performance use premium. I have not done an actual test over time to see if there is a significant difference in mpg between regular and premium for our mostly local driving.
I keep a fuel used log in my cars and recently did a test over time (more than 1500 miles of mixed driving) with my Acura. The car ran fine on regular, but got 8% better mpg on premium, more than the cost difference between regular and premium at the time of the test. In addition, using a stop watch revealed the car accelerated faster using premium (3 to 4 tenths of a second from 0-60), and felt more peppy at part throttle, but 'felt' the same when the pedal was floored.
The 8% difference is close to the almost 10% difference (prem better) I have seen on our Avalon between using regular and premium when on trips.
The dealer says that their research shows my car never would have had this flap (I forgot what they called it). Of course, I am not a happy camper to be told that, after buying the car new, with 3 miles on it, and driving it for 35,514 miles, that I am mistaken!
Yes, there was a flap, it is now gone, and I would like to know; where is it?, is it a problem if it has fallen into the neck of the tank(where else would it be?), if my 2003 Avalon would never have had this flap, then why do I have a gas tank/neck that was not made for this model/year, could the flap or the spring or the fasteners break down over the years/miles and cause me future problems?
Please give me ANY feedback. I have been known to keep a new car for 12-15 years and until I have 250,000 miles, so it is really important that this not even remotely be a potential future problem.
Thanks! (Also, the paint came off of the radio buttons, but the dealer is replacing the stereo--why do you think this would happen?)
What type of problems could this cause in the future, perhaps with ill-fitted gaskets or anything else. Is it better to leave the misc. parts in there or to dissemble all of this and risk future problems that could be caused by the dismantling of the fuel system?
Thanks!
My analysis: You will never not have something to worry about. Set the car on fire and buy a pair of roller skates.
With that in mind, you might want to use upgrade fuel above 87 octane (91 maybe) if you plan to pull a trailer, load the car to the max, climb in the mountains or just want a little more power from the car in normal driving. It makes a difference in most cases regardless of the model year.
You will not hurt the car or void the warranty by using regular. My '99 used mostly regular... it did fine. My '03 XL runs better on 89 octane and gets better mileage so I use 89 most of the time. Hope this helps. Others may join in but I think you will get the same basic answer.
Enjoy your Avalon....great cars.
I talked to my dealer about this also when I noticed premium fuel noted on the specs on the car. The 05 is 280 Horsepower w/ 91 Octane. The loss of Hp going to regular or mid-grade is 5 (per the dealer). They also suggested to use every 4th tank of Premium & the rest could be Regular & I'd be fine. I used Premium 93 Octane on the first fill up & will use 89 Octane on the next three.
I hope this helps.
How can my fuel range be 260 miles with 3/4 tank and then drop to 210 miles with a full tank?
The new 2005 will drop more power on 87 octane as it has more power built into the engine. And it gains more if you upgrade. Going to 91 or more does nothing for the '04 and older but has benefits for the '05. Your warranty is good, regardless.
But, why put cheap gas in a nice car...? Go 89 (or more) and enjoy it.
Next year to replace my timing belt, water pump, and 2 other belts. What is your take on replacing the timing belt tensioner as well. It is an $78 part, and not sure if it goes that often. Can you tell me if you know or if anyone knows if this is usually replaced with the timing belt service.
Thanks.
abfisch
This project is not easy or cheap, even DIY. How much does another $78 really mean these days?
If you change the timing belt at 60k or 90k miles and leave the tensioner in place, you are asking the tensioner to go 120k or even 180k miles before replacing it at the next belt change. Hmmmmmm ??
To cover themselves, Toyota dealers mention this part replacement when they perform this type service, but will generally do what the customer says, unless they see a failed tensioner. I have never had a belt replaced, but if you order racing timing belts (DIY) most of them come with a new tensioner too.
All things considered...money, possible roadside failures, time, etc.... spend the $78. The thing might last 150k miles. But why not enjoy driving with a lowered risk of problems.
Thanks. That is what I was going to do, but wanted a second unbiased opinion. For that amount of money, I am just going to get it all done. This is not going to be done by me. I just don't have the knowledge to do this without taking a week to figure it out via the service manual and I have other fish to fry. I will get the parts and sit on them until I hit 90K.
I did take a chance and had an Infinity Basslink put in to replace the subwoofer in the deck. The place did such an amateurish job, crapo job, I had to take the dash apart myself, fix the cable to the temp. controls re-run wires, etc. What a mess but finally got it back straight and uniform. Very painful. I would NOT do it again. The only thing that I can say this amplified subwoofer does better is when your source is a CD or tape, but radio just makes things more boomy and not tight like I like my bass to be when listening to "C" jazz. Not worth the aggrevation. Sound have at least done it myself. Oh well. No harm done now.
PU bushing groan after 10K miles. Need lubrication every once and awhile. Some may not want to bother relubing them. Just a CON I wanted to mention about PU bushing on the sway bars. They do provide my more neutral control in cornering even at low speeds (35-40mph).
Thanks man.
abfisch
I have an 05 limited, have just over 4k on it. It runs just fine on regular.
I tried one tank of hi-test. It gave me the next to lowest mpg I've had on the car.
I did 32 miles the one time I took it down that low.
The same dealer is also telling me the rear head gasket is leaking. The replaced the front head gasket a couple of years ago. Again, seems like head gaskets should last a lot longer than 78,000 miles unless the car is hot-rodded a lot, which it isn't. Any comments?
abfisch
That didn't solve it either. Yesterday the engine light came on and I took it to the dealer who told me that it was the code for the charcoal canister. I spoke to my mechanic who told me that mine was the first charcoal canister he ever changed (he had done it in hopes that it would solve the problem) and he would be amazed if the one he put in was bad. He had ordered it from the dealer. It is still under warranty and he has ordered another one. Any opinion as to whether we're on the right track? I think I'm noticing a pattern of smelling the gas odor when the tank is less than half full. My mechanic thinks this may in fact point to the canister.