Toyota Avalon Repair Manual, worth it?

[grandpapa]

I have seen 2005+ Avalon repair manual (CD format? or PDF in CD format?) on eBay. Usually run between $10-$20. Wonder if anyone has seen it or used it before. If so, was it useful?

I used to have hard copy repair manual/guide from Haynes (for my other/older cars and found it somewhat useful). Even I was not able to do most of the job but knowing how to take out certain parts can be very helpful.

I don't see Haynes has anything for 05+ Avalon. Just wonder what do you guys think.

[Tom in Tacoma]

Wish I could help you but with the extended warranty I just take it to the dealer for fixes (which happen very infrequently!).

[boosted-fc3s]

I use and highly recommend www.alldatadiy.com They give you up to date factory manual access, service bulletins, etc. Everything a factory tech would get. Its 44.95 for 5 years of access. Cheaper in the long run than buying/updating service manuals.

[inov8]

I looked at the eBay offerings and the descriptions are a bit cryptic, so I am not
sure precisely what you would receive. I am not aware of any Toyota factory repair manuals that span more than one model year.

Toyota/Lexus has a web site (https://techinfo.toyota.com) where you can download the factory tech and repair manuals, and TSBs, for any (or all, if you like) year and model. You first must purchase (credit cards accepted online) a short term subscription ($15 for 48 hours; $75 for a month) and be prepared to spend several hours navigating to what you want and downloading it. If you have dial-up service, it's probably impractical. I ended up with about 120mB of PDF files for my '05 Avalon, and another 200mB-or-so in manuals for relative's '03 Camry and '04 Prius vehicles.

I find the info indispensable for a lot of repairs, such as brake pad replacement and wire colors, but not as user-friendly as Haynes or Chilton manuals. For me, the PDF manuals are more convenient than a 3"-thick printed book. I just print and review the 2-3 pages I need before starting a project.