2000 Avalon XLS Gold Edition

[brainpause]

Our neighbor is offering his 2000 Avalon XLS Gold for a very good price. It has 133K miles on it. I drove it today and looked it over carefully. Engine looks clean (not washed), but clean, as in no visible leaks. He has had it for about 100K miles. Clean CarFax on it.

Anyway, is there anything in particular I should look for on this model? Any known issues I need to check before buying? I do plan to take it to a mechanic for a lookover, although I am pretty comfortable with this car.

I did notice that the driver data display in the middle of the dash was rather dim. It is a sunny day, but I still would expect to be able to read it. Dimmer switch was turned all the way up.

Larry

[avalonshoe]

i have the exact same model and year. Im at ~125k and no serious problems. My only complaint is that I hear slight rattles in the door when I at low speeds. But, well i guess for a very quiet car, you're bound to hear some noises. Once your driving at higher speeds the road noise muzzles out the vibrations heard at lower speeds.

• I would say check the rear suspension, the car is quite heavy which strains the rear shocks.
• Have a car checked for engine sludge.

I have no "real" complaints about the car.

[padutchguy]

Sounds good, but make sure you get a good price. For 2000, there were two recalls, one I believe having to do with a serious suspension problem. Do an online search for that info.

[csaxon]

TSB Number: SSCY02
Title: Recall - Rear Axle Hub Assembly Inspection and or Replacement
Avalons affected: Check the last 6 digits of the VIN. 066 572 through 067 235 were affected.

[toyo_tech02]

Avalonshoe is correct with that many miles mske sure you have someone remove the valve cover and check that jewel for sludge!!!!

[tr7driver]

Originally Posted by brainpause

I did notice that the driver data display in the middle of the dash was rather dim. It is a sunny day, but I still would expect to be able to read it. Dimmer switch was turned all the way up.

Larry

If I recall correctly, I think you can adjust the brightness of the display with one of the buttons near the odometer. Check the owners manual if you have one.

[brainpause]

Originally Posted by tr7driver

If I recall correctly, I think you can adjust the brightness of the display with one of the buttons near the odometer. Check the owners manual if you have one.

Turns out the driver display works fine. The day I test-drove it, the headlight switch was in the "on" position, not "auto" or "off", so that made it quite dim on a sunny day.

I love this car! I've put nearly 9000 miles on it.

Larry

[Budhah]

Originally Posted by brainpause

Turns out the driver display works fine. The day I test-drove it, the headlight switch was in the "on" position, not "auto" or "off", so that made it quite dim on a sunny day.

I love this car! I've put nearly 9000 miles on it.

Larry

I bought a 2000 for under $5k with 167k miles. for my 15 year old son. Unfortunately the wife and I drove it enough to fall in love with the darn thing. We went looking for a new Avalon for us, when we ran across a beautiful LS430 Lexus.. Now we have even a better car, all because we bought that Toyota.. LOL and loving it.