Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Toyota Avalon 2004 and earlier

1565759616270

Comments

  • jsnowjsnow Member Posts: 3
    It is an XL with 15" alum. wheels.

    I actually went on a long trip this weekend and what I found was the car is just plane terrible at tracking straight. Any crown in the road sends it off to the left or the right. To go straight requires the wheel to be constantly cocked to compensate. I initially thought it was a pull, but now I think it just tracks bad. Changing from the left to right lane is almost impossible to do smoothly since the wheel needs to go from being cocked one way to the other.

    I'm not certain whether this is an Avalon thing or a poor alignment thing.
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    This problem doesn't occur on our 2000 XLS with 16" Michelins. It's not an 'Avalon thing' in my experience.

    I drive our Avvy on trips from the Boston area to Delaware every 3 - 4 months - it's like on rails for 350 miles. It's so comfortable I usually only stop once or twice and get 29 - 30 mpg for 65 mph trips. Even in rain or slippery conditions, it always is easy to control and gives me a lot of confidence.

    You need to have your alignment and tires checked. I think that 15" are a bit small for a car this size.
  • speedway86speedway86 Member Posts: 7
    HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I have a 2002 XLS with over 71,000 miles on it. My lease ends Oct. '05. I would like to lease a 2005 in October but don't want to take a hit for the mileage.

    Has anybody had an experience where the dealer waived the excess mileage if you leased a new Toyota?
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Why don't you try asking this in one of our leasing discussions on our Smart Shopper board while you are waiting for an answer here?
  • rzepa1rzepa1 Member Posts: 55
    I have 2001 XL with the same wheels which used to have the same problem. My XL came with General Tires. Once I swapped the tires at ~20K to Mitchelins, the problem went away.
  • rzepa1rzepa1 Member Posts: 55
    Does anyone know if/where I can get sun visors for Avalon which are little bit wider. My wife is 5'4'' and having sit at the heighest settings,
    she still gets blinded by the sun with the visor down.
  • betrayedbetrayed Member Posts: 3
    We bought our Avalon 2000 just 18 months ago.Suddenly ,at 78,000 miles,we have had a horrendous repair incident [over$$ 2000 ]and want to know if anyone else has had the same.

    the thermostat stuck in the closed position,the engine overheated causing the frost plugs to pop.At the same time,the heater core started leaking.It leaked outside,which we could see, BUT what we couldn't see was that the floor of the car ,underneath the rugs,was filling up with coolant.The engine was steaming under the hood.We sure knew this was a problem,but it was far worse than we ever could have thought.

    In order to replace the $17 frost plugs,the engine had to be tilted and many things moved around. {WHY ON EARTH IS THE CAR MADE THIS WAY?]
    But that's not the worst!!!
    In order to replace the heater core,,the whole dashboard was taken out ,also the airbags.
    Again ,we ask, WHY IS THE CAR MADE THAT WAY?
    Two thousand dollars is a lot after having the car only 18 months.
    The interesting thing is that we spoke to many Toyota repair men,and some newspaper car journalists,and ALL said this NEVER happens with a Toyota car of this age.We already knew that,as we have been buying the brand since 1973,always keeping them for many years and passing them on to our sons with complete confidence.right now we have a 95 Camry which has had no trouble of consequence ,and a 1992 forerunner which our son still drives in the Michigan winter,and which still looks good.We have always looked after our cars and we know what to expect of Toyota. UNTIL NOW

    One repair man told us that the Avalon is the one toyota that does not have a pan under the heater core to guide any coolant leak outside the car.Is that true? If so,,We think it is a bad design flaw. Our car rugs have been sodden.We keep putting whole rolls of thick paper towel which sops up green coolant.Now we think it's almost dry,but we are now faced with maybe having to replace the rugs [expensive,no doubt]
    One of our main problems is that we don't know if we can trust this car any more.Or Toyota. After 30 years we feel BETRAYED
    Has anyone else experienced this?
  • badgerfanbadgerfan Member Posts: 1,565
    You should have gotten ample warning that the engine was beginning to overheat by the indications on the gauges and idiot lights, and you should have pulled over and shut the car off immediately. If you kept on driving, you are lucky you did not cook the engine completely.

    By the way, most thermostats these days are designed to usually fail open, but I suppose even then, every once in a while one could fail closed, and this is a much more serious failure mode.

    I don't own an Avalon, by the way, but I have experienced thermostat failures in both modes in my nearly 40 years of driving. If it fails closed, you need to take immediate action by pulling off and shutting down your engine.
  • betrayedbetrayed Member Posts: 3
    Badgerfan,we did this.We discovered the problem after being parked for an hour.There was no prior indication

    But what about the questions we asked?
  • badgerfanbadgerfan Member Posts: 1,565
    I cannot answer the questions you asked. It is very strange that you had no indication of trouble before you shut your car down and it sat for an hour. You obviously had a huge buildup of pressure which blew out your frost plugs and heater core, etc. This pressure would normally be relieved by the radiator cap unless you had a very rapid boilover and generation of steam in your system was so fast the radiator cap could not relieve it fast enough.

    Did you have a faulty radiator cap as well?

    All in all, a very strange situation, in my opinion.
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    I agree with badgerfan.

    So in order for this to happen:

    * the radiator cap had to fail to release fluid when its preset pressure level was reached
    * the temperature guage had to fail to indicate an over temperature problem
    * the temperature warning light had to fail
    * then the pressure got so high that the freeze plugs blew out
    * and the heater core gave out flooding your vehicle with green liquid that couldn't be seen?

    ...ummmm. Not so sure that I'm with you on all of this.
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    And:

    While all this was happening in a massive surge of steam and pressure... the radiator and heater hoses and clamps all held fast and did not leak or split. Perhaps it's a new type of clamp and synthetic fiber. Hmmmmm.......strange.
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    The Toyota fluid in our 2000XLS is red, not green.
  • jsnowjsnow Member Posts: 3
    I don't know where the temperature sensor is located, but on many cars, if there is air in the system, it may never read hot. Once A car sits, all its built up heat tends to raise the fluid temperature in the coolant still in the engine. In fact, they could have mis-diagnosed you're problem. It may not have been a failed closed thermostat. Aren't they closed when cool? Maybe it was a stuck radiator cap vent. That might have unstuck when they took it off....Not all is always as it seems.
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    The original cooling fluid in my '99 XL was green. At the first drain and refill interval, done by Toyota, it changed to red.
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    Ours has always been red.
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    From our experience, air in the fluid is often a blown headgasket. We had a 92 Mercury Sable wagon with the notoriously crappy Ford 3.8L V-6. It was replaced under warranty at 40K - the blow-by in the blown head gasket let coolant into the oil - which toasted the main bearings.

    The replacement engine only lasted abou 30K and it was dying when we got rid of the car.

    It had a blown head gasket too and "air"/engine gases got into the coolant fluid. The air bubble would circulate around driving the temperature guage crazy. Plus the fluid level in the overflow tank went up and down.

    I'd say that the probability of a car developing an engine overheating problem that would blow the freeze plugs without the radiator cap releasing it's pressure or the hoses/clamps is approximately zero. And all with no warning. Right.
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    Your first-hand experience says a lot about what can go wrong with an engine. But this is Toyota we are discussing and failures like this one are very rare. Like, they don't happen. Not without something out of the ordinary making it possible.

    Guess: The cooling system was not properly maintained and/or wrong coolant. Trash plugs up the heater core in places and the engine block passages in places. Shut off the hot engine and you get super-hot spots. If the thermostat is also partially blocked by trash, keeping the radiator cap from really doing its job, POW!

    Other ideas are welcome.....
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    I agree this kind of stuff doesn't happen to Toyotas.

    I think the poster would have learned that their '$2000' repair was because there was trash blocking the engine coolant passages, heater core and thermostat. A dealer or mechanic would be curious as to how the 'trash' got in there.

    After all someone would have had to have stuffed it down the radiator cap to get it in there.

    Was this a St. Paddy's day post ...
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    The "trash" is a reference to the scum, aluminum scale and other small particles than form and float around in a cooling system. Using the wrong type coolant, or just water, or never changing the coolant is a real problem for modern engines. This trash will eventually block the passages in the heater core and the engine block, and even in the radiator.

    It's just a guess... but for this event to happen, and for the radiator cap to be of no help, as you mentioned, something had to block the entire cooling system at multiple points and keep it blocked as the pressure built up.
  • hermangermanhermangerman Member Posts: 2
    2002 avalon with only 12K miles had a loud metallic "clatter" on the first start of the day. Dealer duplicated the problem; said one valve lifter was worn. Repair was done under warranty, but I'm concerned about a problem like this at such a low mileage. Car has had oil changes every 6 months at the dealer. Any comments?
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    Hi hermanagerman,

    I think if you checked the Avalon V6 out you'd find that it is a DOHC engine - like Ferrari, Jaguar and Lotus.

    DOHC engines don't have 'valve lifters' like push rod engines from Ford or Chevy, since the cam directly actuates the intake and exhaust valves.

    You must be thinking of some other kind of manufacturer besides Toyota.
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    The Avalon V-6 may have cam "followers" that act as a buffer between the cam lobe and the valve stem. It is not a "lifter" in the classic sense. If a "follower" fails to lubricate properly, it goes out in a hurry. Ask the shop guy if he meant "follower". If Toyota V-6's have them, they should last forever and the others should not cause any more problems.
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    Hi Fin,

    The poster that made the valve lifter post was 'hermanagerman' not moi.

    Hermanagerman just became active on the 3/18.

    Are false or fake posts on a board like this also called spam? I am not savvy in all of the post terminology?

    rgds
  • hermangermanhermangerman Member Posts: 2
    Here are the exact words written by the service advisor on the Invoice:
    "...found lifter bucket no good (the bucket is worn excessively where the valve hits the bucket)" Presumably he should have called this "follower" rather than lifter.
    In any case, it sounds too me like there is an oil circulation problem. Just replacing the part may not have been a sufficient fix. Comments?
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    We have a 2000 Avalon XLS which my better half drives to work in the Boston area. Interstate, local roads, potholes, etc.

    The Avvy has 52K and is ready for new shocks.

    What is best for a lady and her Avalon. Should we get OEM or Tokico's?

    How about costs?

    Thanks in advice

    Footie
  • nomad56nomad56 Member Posts: 134
    Footie-Avoid OEM. This was a weak link IMO. Aftermarket will be better. Tokico is probably the stiffest, since they only make HP series for the Avvy. You can look to KYB and Monroe, for something less harsh. Tire rating can also effect comfort. I have Tokico's with VR series tires. It is too harsh of a ride for some, but I love this level of feedback. -nomad56-
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    KYB is our choice. I have heard that they leak some?

    The ones for an Avalon are Gas shocks. What would there be to leak?
  • nomad56nomad56 Member Posts: 134
    The leak complaints i have heard are on the adjustables. GAS shocks/struts can leak. They are oil filled like any other shock/strut. The gas pressure helps control the "foaming" of this oil that can occur. -nomad56-
  • chrisjoneschrisjones Member Posts: 1
    I recently bought a 1998 Avalon XL. The driver and passenger floor mats are worn, and I want to replace them. Where can I get factory stock floor mats for this year?
  • footiefootie Member Posts: 636
    So, how does one 'know' that struts are actually bad and NEED to be replaced (as opposed to being upgraded).

    We have a 00 Avvy XLS with 53,000 on it and my wife is complaining about rougher ride and louder ker-thunks.

    Thanks
  • sanandtonsanandton Member Posts: 342
    My wifes 2000 Avalon has 70k on it and we are in the process of replacing them (shocks) now. As a matter of fact I felt like it needed it when we first purchased it with 46k miles on it a year ago. We couldn't put anyone in the back without the car bottoming out over speed humps or drive entrances. It was kind of embarrassing for such a nice car. Now whenever we traverse speed humps or large pavement dips, the Right front strut makes a loud "banging" noise. It has finally given me the impetus to go to the Tokico shocks recommended regularly on these boards. My cost will be about $380.00 plus re alignment. I will let you know how it goes.
    I think you could have replaced them when the car was brand new and felt an improvement in ride and handling, although a stiffer ride.
  • abfischabfisch Member Posts: 591
    Sanandton:

    I do not think you will be disappointed with the TokicoHP's. Leave the wheels and tires the same size. If you still would like more performance without affecting ride quality all that much, than Energy Suspension makes sway bars bushings for the front and rear, that make a remarkable difference as well in cornering. Their is a slight hint of more tranmission of vibration in the cabin but it is negligible. Lastly, the tires can be plus ONE sized but this is a recurring expense, and the least attractive. The TokicoHP's are the ticket.

    abfisch
  • greenbeltgreenbelt Member Posts: 55
    We had to change out the battery in our 2000XLS this past weekend. It went fine. We got the battery at the local Toyota store and it went right in. However, when we started the Avalon afterwards, BOTH the VSC and VSC OFF lights came on and stayed on.

    Any suggestions on what is wrong and how to fixit? Car has 53K (and we love it btw).
  • teezeddteezedd Member Posts: 8
    I have a 2000 Avalon XLS and I tried the procedure posted in #2969 but it doesn't work for me. I changed the battery and it defaulted back to the factory setting.
    I saw the dealer change the programming to make the door not lock on moving from P to D when I bought the car and I think he opened the drivers door during the procedure.
    Does anyone have the procedure that will work for my 2000 XLS ?
  • azfj60azfj60 Member Posts: 15
    First, Hi to all! I'm new to this board, but have read all (!) the posts, as I just purchased a new-to-me 2000 XLS. I love it so far!

    As to the locks, there is a TSB with the instructions that I have at home, can post tonight when I get back. They are different than the ones in post #2969 in that they only have an "On" and "Off" state, not the 4 different ones like in the 2003 manual. If you want to spend $10 and a few hours downloading pdf's, you can get all the TSB's, Repair Manual, etc. etc. at http://www.techinfo.toyota.com. I found it to be worth it already.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Welcome and thanks for the info.

    Usually between the information that can be accessed from this page Maintenance Schedules, Recalls, and Technical Service Bulletins as well as the helpful contributions of a couple of mechanic members in our Technical Service Bulletins discussion, we can produce all the information here, all for the most reasonable price of your membership in our Forums! ;)

    But anything you can contribute is very welcome - thanks! And maybe there are things we can help you with as well.

    Have fun in our Forums!
  • teezeddteezedd Member Posts: 8
    The answer is now posted in Forums / Maintenance & Repair
    /Technical Service Bulletins/ post #410

    It's great to be able to get answers.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Here is a link so folks can get to it easily:

    0patience, "Technical Service Bulletins" #410, 1 May 2005 4:00 pm

    Glad we're able to help, teezedd!
  • azfj60azfj60 Member Posts: 15
    Thanks. Sorry I didn't post the directions earlier. I thought I better try this on mine first, and I couldn't get these to work, as per the TSB last weekend. Still can't turn it off, so I'd be interested to know if these steps work on your XLS.

    Love the Avalon! I'm getting between 25-29 MPG on my commute, mix of hwy, city. Can't beat that! Replaced the blown JBL subwoofer in the rear deck with a cheap ie 8" sub, and it seems to work good. Better than none at all. I think I paid less than $20, and spend an hour removing the back seat to put it in. Also changed the cabin AC air filter, and what a difference in smell that made! It was pretty gunked up. Again, filter for $16 on ebay, less than 45 min to install (while herding kids).

    Rob
  • sanandtonsanandton Member Posts: 342
    2000 XlS with 70 k miles. Had service engine light come on last week. Wife was in the car, so I told her to take it to a nearby Advance Auto and have them check it out. Code pulled said "front bank running too lean" had them reset it, filled up with premium at a reputable Gas station. All went well for about 2-3 days, but it came back on today. The oxygen sensors were reportedly functioning well. Have an appointment at the Toyota dealer Friday. We have purchased the Extended 100k B to B protection plan, so I thought I would let them take a crack at it.

    Any ideas before I throw myself to the wolves?
  • teezeddteezedd Member Posts: 8
    azfj60
    Are you referring to the TSB covering ELECTRICAL EL009-00 in the May 1 post by "0patience" ? See link Above in #3037
    I know that it is critical to follow the procedure exactly.
    If that doesn't work for you I will post what I did before I saw the post.
    Now that I have it disabled I don't want to mess with it again to try the TSB
    TeeZedd
  • azfj60azfj60 Member Posts: 15
    Yep, I tried those procedures multiple times, word for word....and several variations that I could think of, and still couldn't get it to work. Still always locks when I take my foot off the brake. I found the instructions in the Repair Manual, which are essentially the same as the TSB. The TSB just combines two steps in the RM. Any help you have would be appreciated.

    Rob
  • teezeddteezedd Member Posts: 8
    azfj60
    I tried the TSB and I was able to enable and disable the locks with the instructions.
    You do need to keep the door open while doing this procedure until after the 10 seconds at the end.
    Before the TSB was posted I tried this procedure and it also worked.
    I don't know if the last step had anything to do with the success.

    To disable the 2000 Avalon auto lock feature:
    With ignition switch on, open the closed driver's door.
    Turn ignition switch off and remove the key.
    Insert/remove key 5 times within 10 seconds. Do not turn the key on!
    Press the unlock side of the door lock switch 5 times within 10 seconds.
    Insert key and turn on/off 2 times without starting the engine.
    About 10 seconds after completing the above the auto lock is disabled.
    To enable it you do the same thing, only hit the lock side of the switch.
    Good luck. Teezedd
  • pcp2pcp2 Member Posts: 12
    I have a similar problem with 2000 AV-xle after new tire installation. Steady burning check engine, VSC and VSC OFF light come on and stay on.. I disconnect + battery terminal for several min. and reconnect. This clears the computer. The lights go out and stay out for several miles (100+-) of driving and the lights come back on. Is there a trouble code readout for this problem and a fix? Any help would be appreciated.
  • mazcarfan1mazcarfan1 Member Posts: 10
    I'm thinking about buying a '98 Avalon XL and I was wondering hows the radio reception from the rear window-grid antenna does it draws in local and far stations good? and the car i'm looking at has the cassette player with the cd changer controls and i was wondering did my car come with the 7 speaker system I know theres 1 speaker in each door and I think 1 tweeter in each rear door. Does anybody know where the 7th speaker would be?

    thanks in advance!
  • finfin Member Posts: 594
    Had a '99 XL for 3 years...same radio. It was great, as was the rest of the car. Enjoy...
  • greenbeltgreenbelt Member Posts: 55
    We took ours to local Toyota dealer. They had it for four days trying to figure out what was wrong.

    Turns out (or so they said) that the steering angle sensor was not putting out a signal. This led the VSC system to declare itself inoperative and turn on the dash lights.

    The fix was over $600 and covered by our Toyota Platinum extended warranty.

    We haven't had the steady burning engine check light.
  • dodgedodge Member Posts: 25
    Hi about a month ago I drilled some holes in the air box ( I heard that it makes it sound cool) At fist it was fine but then it got real nosy and sounds really bad and loud. :sick: I asked the dealer for a price to replace the air box and they said it would be $ 350 :surprise: to replace it! so if some one knows any way to get one cheeper that would be great.

    Thanks
  • johncmoorejohncmoore Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a 2001 XLS as a replacement for my Solara. I really like the car and have learned a lot from this forum. The car has 42K miles. Does anyone have advice with regard to what I should anticipate/look our for with the car? The car did not have an owner's manual

    Thanks
Sign In or Register to comment.