I am finally dead in the water!!!

[dolomite613]

I have posted on here before. I have two Avalons, an 05 Limited and an 07 XLS. I have pics posted in the Gallery under the alias-white ghost. My problem started back in May with my 05 limited intermittently refusing to start and displaying the VSC/traction lamp. All systems were a go but the starter refused to engage, even the steering wheel locked and unlocked as normal. This led to a diagnosis of a bad battery. I could live with that as I did get over 100k out of the original battery. Before you say it, yes my Avalon has been rode hard and put away wet. The next instance that I had of no starting was recently on the 11th of July. This 2nd time diagnosis was that I had a loose connection in the fuse junction box under the hood. The VSC fuse supposedly had a loose connection. Now for the 3rd time this past weekend it happened once more. This time the diagnosis turns out to be that the junction box itself is shorted out and must be replaced. This is gonna be painful as I am constantly reminded that some Toyota parts are priced neck and neck with Mercedes parts so it would seem. As I have owned many different cars over the years. With the Benz requiring excessive amounts of service and repair. Before you say it, I am well passed my warranty period and am waiting on an answer from the dealership in my request of them to offer me at least some good will coverage. I will keep you posted on my progress. As I am most doubtedly first once more. For the record, I have not added any additional electronic equipment to the car, to ensure that my systems are not over loaded. It remains stock except for the exterior modifications.

One last point, if you are suffering from the dreaded rotten egg(sulfur) smell during hard acceleration, get that fixed under your emissions warranty of 80k miles. Do not accept excuses such bad gas, or you should try a different type of gas. The TSB definitely fixes the problem.

I will talk to you good people later.

[inov8]

I also have an '05 Limited that would one day suddenly not start, immediately after I backed out of my garage, then turned off the engine. There were no warnings; the starter simply did not operate.

The Toyota service folks were very helpful over the phone, guiding me through a computer reset procedure, some diagnostics, and then fianlly suggesting I tow the car in and they would likely have to replace the "power distribution box" (sound familiar?).

The words "backed out" turned out to be the clue. I thought the neutral safety switch might be misadjusted, and though jiggling the shifter had no beneficial effect, I did notice the back-up (reverse) lamps no longer worked. Replacing the fuse for the reverse lamps solved the no-start problem as well.

Evidently, the neutral saftey module gets its power from the reverse lamp circuit, though the factory wiring diagram does not show this. Whan one of the reverse bulbs failed, its filament collapsed, creating a temporary short circuit that popped the fuse.

Take-away message: Check your reverse lamps before spending the big bucks.

[dolomite613]

Thanx for getting back to me so quickly, I will stop by the dealer after work and see for myself. I hope that it is such an easy fix. Mine has always malfunctioned after being driven and sitting for 15-30 min or more and never after reversing. On one occassion it stalled while driving down the road and would not restart for another 30 min. Then it had another no starting episode the very next day--- thats when I took it in for the second time and was told that I had a loose connection on the VSC fuse. Everytime it fails that VSC lamp is the only lamp that stays on. Was your reverse lamp fuse noticeably blown or did you just replace it for GP(general principle)?

[inov8]

Yes, my reverse lamp fuse measured open, and, once it was replaced, the left reverse lamp was bad (you have to remove the entire trunk lid trim panel to replace it; a strange design). I have not experienced any episodes of the VSC lamp coming on, so your problem may indeed be completely different.