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I know of no schedules changes for the car and if Toyota follows their normal pattern we wont see any changes at all until the 2003 model year. There may be option changes before then, but overall, it will be the same.
Drgg4, I really love the car. I like just about everything on it but it wont tow my boat so it is out of the question for me to own one. If I weren't an outdoor nut, I would probably buy one, especially if I had kids.
WHILE OUT CAR WAS IN THE SHOP WE WERE GIVEN A CAMRY TO USE AND IT DID THE SAME THING.
On vehicles with leather seating surfaces, the leather-to-leather contact can cause what sounds like a rattle when you drive over rough roads. The noise usually happens when there's contact between the seat-back and the cushion.
To confirm the cause, change the position of the seat-back: the noise will be worse when it's fully forward, and get more quiet when it's reclined. To eliminate the noise, apply a light film of liquid dishwashing soap (such as Ivory) to the contact surfaces with a clean finger or shop towel and wipe off the excess. Don't use a lot, and keep it away from the seating surface.
Price would be helpfull al well as any problems.
Just filled up my 2k yesterday with 90 octane ethanol gas. Have used this since I bought the car. Used it on a 98 for two years. Have used ethanol for the last 15 years with no bad results.
Only 1.5k miles so I cannot give you a very accurate mpg figure. On other car I could not tell any difference between regular and premium. If there was any difference in performance I didn't notice it
Maybe someone else is more discriminating than I.
Chuck
The car runs fine on 87 Octane but I have always used 89 Octane. According to the experts if the automobile is designed to run on regular gas (which is recommended in the owners manual) then you should not use a higher grade because it will not improve performance. They also claim that the detergent in regular gas is superior that of high octane gasoline.
Next, you will run into the issue of the TDA fee. I have discussed this issue several times in this topic but basicly, we pay for Toyota's advertising on the invoice. This amount varies by region and Edmunds tells you it exists but this rarely prepares you for the amount. In the Central Atlantic region, it is slightly more than the holdback and we even the owner doesn't get this money back.
Finally, you may find the supply/demand curve doesn't lend itself to very short deals anyway. At our store, the retail guys are routinely getting $1000 to $1400 over total invoice. Here in the Internet department, we take a little less but not much. We are selling every one we get within days of its arrival. It is really a sellers market.
I don't want to discourage you from doing this, but I do want you to be prepared for what you may encounter. There certainly are regional differences in supply and demand and you may get lucky but don't be shocked if you discover that the best price ends up being well over your opening salvo.
Will Toyota be having one upcoming soon as well? When? Might there be such a thing as a 2000 Avalon clearance? How much discount (if any) can be anticipated for a 2000 Avalon on "clearance"?
(Was reported here that 2001 Avalons will have first retail beginning September 2001)
The car has met my level of expectations and I am enjoying driving it. My one complaint is the lack of factory mud flaps. My car is black w/ stone leather interior (striking) but it has rained all week and the sides do get much dirtier than they would with the mud flaps...
This is our third Toyota and my fifth rice burner. I keep these things for at least five years and 135K - 190K miles depending on how much I like the car. For under $26,500. this baby is a keeper.
I wouldn't wait for the 2001 unless I was going to turn it in three years or less, or lease it.
My 2 cents.
Bob
Been reading most of the topics (Avalon 1,2 and 3) and appreciate your input into this forum... my question is in reference to the 2001 models: What happen to the Constellation Blue color choice? We were looking for that color for an XLS here in Texas unsuccessfully... we settled on my second choice of Silver Spruce (which my wife says looks like a light blue)
Toyota must have a pretty effective product tracking system to pin down a problem that closely.
Another reason for their success in the competitive world of automobile manufacturing.
Well Done Toyota!
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/mmy.cfm.
It's only for Avalons built between March and May 2000.
Sorry
As a person who has actually engaged the VSC (on dry pavement), I can tell you that it is a real trick to push a car hard enough to use the stability control.
When I lived in that city previously, I did buy a Camry from them. From my past experiences, I know that dealership is much easier to work with than the dealerships (sales & service departments) in my current city. I have shopped my local Toyota dealers and they were not as helpful in trying to find what I wanted in options or in offering a price related to invoice.
Question: If I buy from this responsive dealership 100 miles away, could I have problems if/when I need warranty work done at the local dealerships?
Now, if the service department is of questionable quality, they wont lift a finger to help even those who did purchase from them so it may not matter.
I'll give you a real world example of how things like this happen. I had a customer buy a Sienna from me last year. They were very nice people and never gave me any problems during the purchase. Two months later, my service director called me and asked about them. It seems they had a suspension part "fall off" the van. It was pretty obvious that it was due to hitting something in the road but we couldn't prove that. I told the service guy about how good of customers they were and he slipped the claim through Toyota. Without this word from me, he could have made them pay due to abuse.
If you purchase out of town, I strongly suggest using the local guys for oil changes and all the regular maintenance. Once you have a history with the service department, they will "forget" who you bought it from if there is ever a question of warranty claims.
Also, don't rub it in their faces why you bought out of town. If they ask, just tell them you have a friend at the other store in the sales department who got you a deal you couldn't refuse. I know this should go without saying but you wouldn't believe some of the things I hear.
I have owned 3 Camry's (88, 92 & 95) and have been fortunate in that we never needed warranty work. Maybe I missed the recalls if there were any. Maybe I'm not as fussy as some others are. But it still is a concern if/when I may need warranty work locally on my new Avalon.
I contacted 4 local dealers (personally and via email) and none were helpful in finding the options I wanted (hard to find XL cloth with power seats and moonroof) or in offering a competitive price which was related to invoice.
The out-of-town dealer is one of the largest Toyota dealers nationally. Maybe they know how to make the car buying experience easy?
Now we just need to decide whether we sell the 92 or the 95 Camry when we buy the Avalon!
I also suggest going into the service department and seeing how they interact with their customers. Pick the store that feels the most professional and has the highest CSI ratings. Create a relationship with them so if there ever is a warranty issue, you will have an advocate instead of an adversary.
The dealer told me that a Tech Service Bulletin was issued in Sep 99 and Jan 00 that informed dealers about the noise problem. Dealers were instructed to replace the strut mounts for vehicles under 36K miles or 3 yrs, whichever came first. My Extended Care agreement won't cover the relacement cost, since the problem is not a result of a "mechanical failure," which is not defined in the agreement. Obviously, I can't dump my car for a reasonable price, since any prospective buyer would hear the noise. Has anyone out there experienced the same problem? To whom can I address my complaint? I don't want to pay $440 to replace original, defective strut mounts.
Good luck to any other Avalon owner experiencing the same problem.
Thanks!
Best thing I can suggest is to get your cooling system checked for internal leakage, get an oil analysis to check for contaminants, and then last but not least, get another opinion and estimate before proceeding with any work.
Good luck.
When I finally pulled into the first available gas station the "fuel range" showed 3 miles remaining and the gas gauge was dead against the empty peg. But when I filled the tank - and I topped off the tank as much as I could - it only took 15.5 gallons.
Am I correct in thinking that Toyota has built in a 3 gallon safety margin on both the gas gauge and the "fuel range" display?
I learned to drive on a motorcycle, without a gas gauge. Used the trip odometer and the extra reserve position on the fuel tank petcock. So to this day I still drive by the trip odometer more than the fuel gauge.
For the tank to be so empty at 400 miles, at 250 its still only "half". All automotive fuel gauges are skewed this way except for the 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass (and surrounding years) where they had an 18 gallon gas tank and 18 ticks on the fuel gauge. And by golly somebody sure was anal in the design as the needle was linear and the ticks accurately represented a gallon.
BTW, after reading this section, I am now using the Lexol Cleaner & Lexol Conditioner....both available at Pep Boys...but many other good products available.
Any help would be appreciated.
It's picking up a distinct high pitched "whine" in
the stereo (AM/FM/Cass/CD). It's intermittent but
when it's happening it's quite loud and it happens
with the whole system, no matter what component I'm listening to. It happens to get worse when you turn on the lights too. The only way to make it stop is to shut the car off for a while and take your chances the next time you start it that it won't happen. But it could suddenly start as you're driving down the road. Local dealer has had the car many times now and has replaced the receiver/cass component a couple times and the CD component a couple times. They've also "traced" the wiring but have found nothing. I can sense they're about to give up on it and tell me tough luck. Anyone ever run into this problem?