Yep, mine does it too. I haven't had a chance to check the owner's manual to see if it's a feature or a defect.

 

We need to be sure that we are talking about the rear sunshade rising spontaneously in hot weather, which is not described in the owner's manual nor in any promotional material I've seen, although several members of this forum have posted that it does occur in their 2013 Avalons.

The rear sunshade, if in the up position, will retract when the car is in reverse (to enhance visibility) and will then raise itself again when you shift back into Drive. That behavior is normal and is described in the owner's manual.

Robert N.

 

We need to be sure that we are talking about the rear sunshade rising spontaneously in hot weather, which is not described in the owner's manual nor in any promotional material I've seen, although several members of this forum have posted that it does occur in their 2013 Avalons.

The rear sunshade, if in the up position, will retract when the car is in reverse (to enhance visibility) and will then raise itself again when you shift back into Drive. That behavior is normal and is described in the owner's manual.

Robert N.

I know exactly what you are describing. But many times I have parked with the rear sunshade down (on a hot day) and it has gone up spontaneously as I drove off. It doesn't do it all the time, so I assume it's a defect.

 

My car is normally parked in a garage at home and at work. Occasionally it will be parked out in the sun while running errands. With that said, this did happen to me once. I was parked outside in direct sunlight on a warm day. I thought that perhaps I had accidentally hit the button. It hasn't happened again. My rear window has since been tinted...not sure if that is having any impact.

Whether this is by design or a defect, it is interesting that the only time anyone notices this occurring is when they are parked in the sun. If true, then that seems to suggest some sort of sensor is involved (intentional or not).

 

My car is normally parked in a garage at home and at work. Occasionally it will be parked out in the sun while running errands. With that said, this did happen to me once. I was parked outside in direct sunlight on a warm day. I thought that perhaps I had accidentally hit the button. It hasn't happened again. My rear window has since been tinted...not sure if that is having any impact.

Whether this is by design or a defect, it is interesting that the only time anyone notices this occurring is when they are parked in the sun. If true, then that seems to suggest some sort of sensor is involved (intentional or not).

Interesting point...I park in the garage at night, and the rear sunshade has never gone up when I leave the house....only when parked for awhile outside, when it is warm/hot.

 

I actually find it funny that this topic has it's own thread now. (No more complaints of hijacking) :lol:
But it would be nice to find out if most people experience this mysterious auto-up feature. I personally don't believe it's an intentional feature, but more of a error in the programming of the rear-shade-- maybe when the car shifts from reverse to drive? B/C I find it interesting that the shade doesn't go up "automatically" when it is just sitting there parked on a hot day, but only when you start the car and shift the gears from P to R to D, and drive off.

Or Maybe your shade is already in the ON position, but for some defect, the shade goes down in the PARK position and only re-initiates in the DRIVE Position?

Overall, who knows, and frankly, I don't think we'll ever definitively figure this out. But more importantly, does it really matter? If you like, great. If you don't, turn it OFF. If you want it but don't have it, too bad-- you're just gonna have to reach down and push that tiny button manually.

 

I actually find it funny that this topic has it's own thread now. (No more complaints of hijacking) :lol:
But it would be nice to find out if most people experience this mysterious auto-up feature. I personally don't believe it's an intentional feature, but more of a error in the programming of the rear-shade-- maybe when the car shifts from reverse to drive? B/C I find it interesting that the shade doesn't go up "automatically" when it is just sitting there parked on a hot day, but only when you start the car and shift the gears from P to R to D, and drive off.

Or Maybe your shade is already in the ON position, but for some defect, the shade goes down in the PARK position and only re-initiates in the DRIVE Position?

Overall, who knows, and frankly, I don't think we'll ever definitively figure this out. But more importantly, does it really matter? If you like, great. If you don't, turn it OFF. If you want it but don't have it, too bad-- you're just gonna have to reach down and push that tiny button manually.

It doesn't really matter to me as long as it continues to go down with the push of that tiny little button :lol:

 

Does my rear sunscreen go down on its own, not once in 5 months and it's parked outside in the sun quite often.

 

Do you mean down on its own or up on its own? What has been reported here is the sunshade going up on its own, particularly when the Avalon is parked in the sun.

Robert N.

 

I have experienced the very same issue. The jury is still out on whether it is due to the heated weather conditions. As soon as I see a certain reproducible pattern, I will have this addressed.

 

Mine has not gone up on it's own, except after reverse has lowered it. Like many of those that have not seen this "feature," I also have tinted glass.

 

For those that do have this "feature," do you keep the sunshade UP when just parked, or do you guys intentionally keep it DOWN when parked? I'm now curious.

 

I have not had these issues. I park the car with the sunshade up in the day.

 

Today, for the first time, my rear sunshade went up spontaneously as soon as I shifted from reverse to drive after backing out of a parking spot. The Avalon had been parked in the sun on a sunny 77 degree San Diego day. It was not particularly hot inside the car, as the Champagne Mica color is great for avoiding the baking effect that used to happen in my black Lexus -- also, the moonroof slide was closed. My sunshade hadn't been in the raised position for months before this. I feel certain this is just a quirk or bug and not a hidden "feature."

Robert N.

 

Seems like there are different responses to this question. When I park in the hot sun and leave my sunshade down, it goes up without any input from me (not touching the switch). This happens after I put it in drive and drive away.



I thought this was a feature of the car, but other members are adamant theirs has never gone up automatically and now I'm thinking it is a defect as there is no mention of it in the OM.

I had a 2013 TAL fully loaded and now I have a 2014 TAL fully loaded and both cars rear sun shade have gone up on their own when sitting in the sun all day. The 2014 I got in Nov and it did not do it at all until today which got up to 91 in Florida. So I am not sure it a defect or why would it not happen during the cooler weather, it just happens during the hot season.
2014 TAL w/tech


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

Ha....some of these thoughts and experiences are funny. Can't help but laugh adding my experience.
This morning my 1-1/2 month, 2200 miles 2014 limited was parked in the garage overnight with the rear sunshade up. I started the car and backed out...to my surprise the sunshade went down. (I did not hit the button) so after turning around and going to the end of the driveway I got out, picked up the newspaper and returned to the vehicle. (5 seconds) That's when I found the sunshade had gone back up.

Last week the front drivers seat was all the way to the rear and the back was down all the way down as far as it would go. Nobody else had been near the car.

The question now is....is there a ghost in these cars? lol Too funny...

None of these things bother me but I have to grin when it happened.

Cheers,

luvtoy

 

What happened in your Avalon is a normal, documented feature: when the rear sunshade IS UP it will retract when you put the car in reverse so that it doesn't block your rearward vision. When you shift out of reverse it will return to the previous UP position. This is different from what others have reported: the rear sunshade GOING UP spontaneously, usually when parked in the sun.

Robert N.

 

Rob, thanks for that. That's a pretty nice feature (shade lowers in reverse) Obviously I need to read the owner's manual. Naaawww. It wouldn't be any fun if I knew everything.

Luv the Avalon,

 

See Toyota SB-0157-14. It is not supposed to go up by itself. If it is activated, it will go down if you are in reverse gear.

 

Does anyone know what this TSB states or where I can find it online?

 

Occasionally the reverse makes it go down and then it goes up only 3/4 when you put in drive or park. Just push the raise/lower button and it goes the rest of the way, up.
I have had times that it seems to have a mind of it's own and it goes down or up without me pushing the button.


It does seem to get autonomus when the sun is over head

 

When my car is parked in hot sun, the shade goes up all by its self. Yes, I can push button and it will lower. Only on very warm days will this occur.

 

I normally keep the shade down. That is because I use it so seldom I usually forget I have it until it comes up by it's self.

 

I believe if the sunshade was up when you parked and shut down - it will come up the next time you start (and shift into D). Of course it goes down, when you shift to R.

 

If the shade was up when you shut down, the shade will remain up.


We are talking about a shade that was not used and was down when you shut down and came up by it's self when the car is started and shifted into drive . I have had this happen several times. I don't view it as a problem since it was hot in the car and the shade helps.

 

http://www.revbase.com/BBBMOTOR/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=187885


Try that.


or this


http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/


enter 2014 etc.

 

Thank you!

Not a big issue, but while the car is still under warranty I think I'll mention this to the dealer when I take the car in for its scheduled maintenance in June.

Anyone have this done yet?

 

the TSBs describe the problem but I like the "problem".


I generally drive with the curtain up.


One of the reasons I bought the LIMITED was because of the curtain.

 

I kinda agree with you I like that problem. Its automated :wink:

 

http://www.toyota.com/recall


and


https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/


these are also research bits.

 

I have an older Avalon (2011) and a newer one (2014). **Both** of them do exactly what you describe.

It is definitely more likely to occur when temperatures are high.

I suspect that, when it is hot outside, the switch that senses whether the sunshade was up when you started malfunctions. So, if you back up, the sunshade thinks that it was up and went down, and then when you shift into drive, it goes back up just as it would have had you had it up when you backed up.

I made a video of the problem happening in my 2011 and sent it to my local dealer. They used that video to get Toyota Motor Sales to approve replacing the sunshade mechanism. The dealer did so, and the problem returned within four months.

IMHO- don't worry about it. Treat it as a feature.

 

This problem is so annoying... I've had several cars with rear sunshade feature and Avalon is the only one doing this. It definitely happens when it's hot but it doesn't happen all the time. It would come up when it's 71F outside but wouldn't come up the next day when it was 71F again. Then it would come up when it is 81F. Sometimes it comes up while I'm driving in the highway. Sometimes it comes up when I start the car. I wonder if the dealership is going to charge me to fix this when my warranty runs out because I don't plan on getting another car for awhile...

 

The older Avalons (prior to about 2011) didn't have this feature. When you reversed, the sunshade would go down, and then it would never come back up until you pushed the button asking it to.

In order to implement this feature, Toyota had to add some kind of switch or sensor that detected whether the sunshade was up and went down when you put the car in reverse. That sensor appears to malfunction when it is hot outside and the car has been sitting for a while. It seem to believe that the sunshade WAS up when you went into reverse and did go down at that time, even though it wasn't up and didn't go down. So, when you go into drive and start driving off, it raises it for you again.

The fix is to replace the unit with another one. It is a time consuming complex repair that's likely to result in a number of damaged and soiled parts in your car, and the replacement unit will probably have the same defect (as i learned).

I urge you to learn to live with it.

 

had my sunshade replaced. It had a rattle/buzz when raised.
4 hours two techs. Removed rear seats and shelf.
Warranty charge $1400 covered by Toyota.


It did go up with a mind of it's own if left parked in the sun/heat.


It didn't get weird while driving...


The new one does the same.
Enjoy it.
Consider it a feature.


The shade was quiet for about two months and now rattles again. Not a feature. Some day I'll hit it with some high temp lithium grease.

 

When I got mine back, I found that they had reattached the seatbelts incorrectly. Part of removing the rear seat involves removing and then reattaching the seat belt mounting points. The opening for the bolt should be towards the rear of the car, and belt and the rest of the attachment should be pointing forwards, not up, not left, and not right.

Look between the bottom seat cushion and the seat back and verify that all the seat belts are installed correctly. Compare with another vehicle. If its wrong, make them fix it.