Thanks Gary, yeah; I am dropping the car off tomorrow!
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Thank you, and welcome to Toyota Nation! :hi:
Thank you, and welcome to Toyota Nation! :hi:
41 - 60 of 102 Posts
You're welcome. Hope you enjoy it.
Me it was love at first sight, then came the test drive and on my B-day to boot! SOLD!
I'm finally taking mine for it's first "just for the fun of it" road trip Tuesday. Drive out west on the TransCanada. See how far I can go without my back giving me problems (aiming for the SK border, but like the Bob Segar song "Roll me away" there's no telling where I'll wind up) No stopping unless necessary. Might even try out the sports mode and the paddle shifters for fun. I'm itching for a trip back east. It's not the rocky Mountains but I miss the winding hills where I used to live in Quebec. The roads are flat and straight here. Not the same fun at all. I think my Black Beauty is going to cost me a fortune in gas going nowhere specific for no reason at all except the fun of going for a drive!
Me it was love at first sight, then came the test drive and on my B-day to boot! SOLD!
I'm finally taking mine for it's first "just for the fun of it" road trip Tuesday. Drive out west on the TransCanada. See how far I can go without my back giving me problems (aiming for the SK border, but like the Bob Segar song "Roll me away" there's no telling where I'll wind up) No stopping unless necessary. Might even try out the sports mode and the paddle shifters for fun. I'm itching for a trip back east. It's not the rocky Mountains but I miss the winding hills where I used to live in Quebec. The roads are flat and straight here. Not the same fun at all. I think my Black Beauty is going to cost me a fortune in gas going nowhere specific for no reason at all except the fun of going for a drive!
I think you will be plesently surprised just how well the Gen 4 Limited V6 does everything well as highway cruiser. The only negative might be the seating comfort. A pad, a blanket ,or a pillow, might be a good take along just in case. Have fun Gary. This is what your Avalon was made for.
P.S. Watch out for the POTHOLES. More so with the 18 inch wheels.
Thanks @Shortstop2014!! I had a safe drive and a real blast. After my stops in Winnipeg I Left phone in ignore mode, popped my USB stick in and set it to Bob Seger's Greatest hits cranked the volume up and hit the TransCanada Wetbound. although the song "Roll me Away" says "I could go East, I'm could go West, it was all up to me to decide"... Going West was the smart direction at this time of year. Last thing I wanted was driving back with the sun right in my face. Wound up in Brandon MB. and needed a bladder drain big time and had some McJunk. Then headed back. Rear sun shade came in handy then half way back I got night time driving and really love the auto everything, (leveling headlights, high beams, auto darkening rear view and side view mirrors) but the best is definitely the auto darkening side view mirrors!
I checked my phone when I stopped in Brandon my rear end needed a break and saw your post and thought: Gee thanks for the seat tip after the fact. LMAO Definitely no where near the gen 3 seats comfort but definitely better than a Rockin 'Rolla! it'd be OK if I hadn't lost so much weight these past years! my "natural bottom cushion" don't got much padding left! The Gumout Regane started improving my fuel consumption and fuel sender quirks. There's a couple Traffic lights where you slow to 80km/hr then back up to 110. and was lucky to get most of them red. I was in eco mode and i had fun a few times nailing a take off but full throttle acceleration is insane the front is not heavy enough and the rest were a mile back in no time even at way less than full throttle. Definitely has the acceleration when you need it or just want it. No stutter or hesitation whatsoever. Beautiful sunny day to boot over 50F.
They're a rare thing here since there's only one freeze thaw cycle. Once the ground freezes up that's it till spring. The major highways have a concrete slab as a base probably a foot if not more thick with a little asphalt layer. BUT when they do the roads then take a concrete saw and literally cut expansion joints across the road about every 2nd doted line and fill them with some rubber sealer. When they are worn it's smooth but when they need to be redone or like yesterday have recently been redone they fill em up a bit higher so it's like riding 4 basketballs... tock a tock a tock. So no pothole slalom fun.
Hi all, I've lurked here for years but never posted. Three years ago I bought my 2014 XLE Touring with the XSP dealer appearance package. Since then I have lowered it and installed window visors and roof spoiler.
![315534]()
Interested to see what other members have done to their Avalons.
Interested to see what other members have done to their Avalons.
Would love to see the window visor and roof spoiler- do you mind uploading a recent pic of those mods?
Very Cool I never knew the Touring Model had a XSP package. So nice to have something a little different.
Is the rear bumper diffuser painted the same color as the car, and not the same flat black color as all the other trim models?
Is the rear bumper diffuser painted the same color as the car, and not the same flat black color as all the other trim models?
Looks so much better, Very nice different looking Avalon for sure, You bought well. Enjoy.
Joined
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8 Posts
New 2013 limited owner. Love it...loved my 2010 more thought lol...dam the guy who rear ended me.
![315671]()
New member here, but not quite an Avalon owner just yet. Going to examine and test drive a 2015 Limited (non hybrid) this coming Tuesday, which, if purchased, will replace an aging and rusting 2007 Passat. I’ve done significant enough research to feel pretty confident about this generation of Avalons. I’m just sick of fixing my cars or having things go wrong with things that really just shouldn’t ever go bad. Is there any one thing that I should be particularly attentive to? 2015 Limited with less than 80k miles. Price will hopefully be negotiated to less than 16 grand.
Passed service records. And a one hour test ride over the worst roads you can find. Inspect everything works. And if you don't love the car, walk away.
I just bought a 2015 Avalon Touring this week. I'm coming from a Lexus IS250, which I LOVE (and still have), the perfect blend of luxury and fun for me. I had expected to go with an ES350 for the next car, for my wife and me, now that the IS reliability has declined but were quite disappointed in the "appointments" in the ES as well as the ride position for me at 6'3": the seat didn't go down enough. Just not what we were expecting for the money. Back to the drawing board, stumbled on the Avalon model in research that I had known NOTHING about. Drove one and VERY impressed. This one is the Touring edition; I think there might be variations within that for options? Haven't figure it all out yet. lol The inside looks like NEW except for the chrome metal surrounds on the cup holders with are peeling. I want to try to get the front plastic plate holder off the grille but not sure how to do that yet. The two front accessory ports aren't working; need to look for a blown fuse first. The tire inflation reporting system seems to be hung up too. But all in all, I think I got a decent bargain on this car and love it so far. Side bolsters on the driving seat were a nice surprise and missing on the ES350.
Now I need to look this site over!
Now I need to look this site over!
2013 Avalon XLE Touring V-6, 1997 Land Cruiser, 2014 Lexus LS460L AWD
Joined
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3 Posts
Greetings all. Leased my 2013 Avalon Touring in Nov 2013 figuring I wanted lower monthly payment since I was laid off earlier that year. Wound up going back overseas May of 2014 and didn't want to turn it in early. Bought it the end of the lease with less than 10,000 miles and it's around 18,000 now. Laid off July 3rd 2020 due to COVID concerns by my company (their client forced it cuz I'm over 60), supposed to go back to work but the country I'm going to work in still has closed borders. Bla bla bla. Here because I'm looking for info on making her ride smoother and think I have found a good answer. New radio on order. Figured the Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX floating panel should work ok. I like the specs of the Kenwood but it's way too big and out of stock. Better stereo, smoother ride should do the trick. Photo is from back in 2013. Other Toyota's bought since then, 97 Land Cruiser and a 2014 Lexus LS460L AWD. LC needs a new head gasket but otherwise ok. The Lexus is just a beast and what I wanted when I leased the Avalon. Bought it in August of 2018 with 10,074 miles on the clock. Justification is LS for long distance, Avalon local car. Meh, we'll see how long I can keep them both. Paid off but stuff could happen.
![328406]()
Nice! I hope that country opens up soon so you can get back to work. I'm over 60 too, and was out of work for 8 months due to a company buy-out. It's not fun. Back to work now, and just bought a 2015 Avalon Touring. I wanted another Lexus like my IS250 but the reliability isn't good on those any more and the ES350 was not impressive at all on the inside. I envy you having an LS! Out of our price range. I hope the head gasket isn't too expensive and you have great luck with both of them going forward!
Joined
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11 Posts
Hello Everyone,
I'm a long time lurker and thought I would lurk no more!
I have a 2018 XLE (base) Avvy, CSM color. The car was acquired in early November.
I never realized that this is the dream car I needed to have.
My previous vehicle was a 2016 Sentra (hello JATCO lol). I like a lot of people suffered transmission failure in the Sentra. At 63,300 miles, (ex Enterprise rental) the CVT gave up the ghost. Now the transmission was in the process of giving up the ghost prior to final failure (violent trans shudder, abnormally raised line pressure leading to a car that didn't have much power chirping the tires at part throttle frequently).
Fortunately when I purchased the car from Enterprise, I spent 1800 on an extended warranty that would pay for itself. The transmission and the labor to install it was 4162 of which I had to pay 0 thanks to the warranty.
Not content with just having the transmission replaced, I researched into why these things were failing at such a high rate across the Nissan product line. Through my research, I learned that Nissan sent these cars out of the factory with inadequate transmission cooling leading to premature failure. I purchased an external cooler which I had installed after my transmission replacement.
My introduction to the Toyota world was an interesting one. On Saturday 26 September, a 2grfe powered rav4 plowed into me whilst I was at a stop sign. The impact was so severe I was spun around. Fortunately I was ok but little red riding hood number 2 was not. The car ended up written off with substantial frame damage.
Now there were a couple of things I didn't like about the Sentra, namely, that CVT. I hated how sloppy and lose the damn thing was. In case you were curious why I got that 2016 Sentra in the first place, the previous car was a 1997 Sentra that was awesome. That thing was so reliable and never broke down. It never needed to hitch a ride on a tow truck. Only once did the check engine light come on (vent control valve). It was assassinated with 147K on the odometer by a Nissan that went Rouge.
I said to myself, I'll get another Sentra since the prior one was so good to me and hassle free. Man, they don't build them like they used to! Those pre Renault Nissan cars were solid! Every bit the equal of Toyota cars in terms of reliability.
The plan originally was to acquire a CPO V6 Camry to replace the Sentra. I went onto the Toyota Certified vehicle site and saw the Avalon as an option. I had overlooked the possibility of getting an Avalon. I said to myself, the Avalon is the Toyota flagship and is a bigger more spacious Camry. It should be nice.
I had come across an Avvy that I did end up buying but getting it wasn't easy. This silver Avvy only had 6K on the odometer. I had to have it! I wanted this car so bad!
I called the dealer but they told me it was sold. Man I was crushed! I would visit a couple of local Toyota dealers to check out the Gen 5 Avvy but I didn't like the Gen 5. The long smooth flowing lines of the Gen 4 were gone, The roof line was too low that I would hit my head getting in (I'm only 5'9), but what really sealed the deal and scared me away were the habits of the ua80 8 speed transmission.
I test drove 4 v6 2019 Avalons and they all exhibited behavior I didn't like such as wonky and weird shift points, excessive gear hunting, the transmission not sure how many gears to kick down at higher throttle applications etc...
A couple days later, the dealer with the 2018 6k mile Avvy called again to let me know that the car was once again available. I told them hold it for me, I'll take it! The person who tried to buy it couldn't secure a note from their bank fortunately for me lol. I made the 150 mile trek up north fetch it. I paid cash and took it home with me a couple hours later and I've been ecstatic with this car ever since!
I've just done a couple things such as upgrade almost all of the lighting to led's (have the turn signals left to do) , installed some vent shades in the windows, and a cover for the dash.
I make it a habit to learn as much as I can about the Avalon and its K platform mates, the 2grfe, and the u660 transmission. Currently have 9900 miles looking to change the oil shortly at 10K (oil was changed at the dealer the day I got it).
Thanks for reading!
I'm a long time lurker and thought I would lurk no more!
I have a 2018 XLE (base) Avvy, CSM color. The car was acquired in early November.
I never realized that this is the dream car I needed to have.
My previous vehicle was a 2016 Sentra (hello JATCO lol). I like a lot of people suffered transmission failure in the Sentra. At 63,300 miles, (ex Enterprise rental) the CVT gave up the ghost. Now the transmission was in the process of giving up the ghost prior to final failure (violent trans shudder, abnormally raised line pressure leading to a car that didn't have much power chirping the tires at part throttle frequently).
Fortunately when I purchased the car from Enterprise, I spent 1800 on an extended warranty that would pay for itself. The transmission and the labor to install it was 4162 of which I had to pay 0 thanks to the warranty.
Not content with just having the transmission replaced, I researched into why these things were failing at such a high rate across the Nissan product line. Through my research, I learned that Nissan sent these cars out of the factory with inadequate transmission cooling leading to premature failure. I purchased an external cooler which I had installed after my transmission replacement.
My introduction to the Toyota world was an interesting one. On Saturday 26 September, a 2grfe powered rav4 plowed into me whilst I was at a stop sign. The impact was so severe I was spun around. Fortunately I was ok but little red riding hood number 2 was not. The car ended up written off with substantial frame damage.
Now there were a couple of things I didn't like about the Sentra, namely, that CVT. I hated how sloppy and lose the damn thing was. In case you were curious why I got that 2016 Sentra in the first place, the previous car was a 1997 Sentra that was awesome. That thing was so reliable and never broke down. It never needed to hitch a ride on a tow truck. Only once did the check engine light come on (vent control valve). It was assassinated with 147K on the odometer by a Nissan that went Rouge.
I said to myself, I'll get another Sentra since the prior one was so good to me and hassle free. Man, they don't build them like they used to! Those pre Renault Nissan cars were solid! Every bit the equal of Toyota cars in terms of reliability.
The plan originally was to acquire a CPO V6 Camry to replace the Sentra. I went onto the Toyota Certified vehicle site and saw the Avalon as an option. I had overlooked the possibility of getting an Avalon. I said to myself, the Avalon is the Toyota flagship and is a bigger more spacious Camry. It should be nice.
I had come across an Avvy that I did end up buying but getting it wasn't easy. This silver Avvy only had 6K on the odometer. I had to have it! I wanted this car so bad!
I called the dealer but they told me it was sold. Man I was crushed! I would visit a couple of local Toyota dealers to check out the Gen 5 Avvy but I didn't like the Gen 5. The long smooth flowing lines of the Gen 4 were gone, The roof line was too low that I would hit my head getting in (I'm only 5'9), but what really sealed the deal and scared me away were the habits of the ua80 8 speed transmission.
I test drove 4 v6 2019 Avalons and they all exhibited behavior I didn't like such as wonky and weird shift points, excessive gear hunting, the transmission not sure how many gears to kick down at higher throttle applications etc...
A couple days later, the dealer with the 2018 6k mile Avvy called again to let me know that the car was once again available. I told them hold it for me, I'll take it! The person who tried to buy it couldn't secure a note from their bank fortunately for me lol. I made the 150 mile trek up north fetch it. I paid cash and took it home with me a couple hours later and I've been ecstatic with this car ever since!
I've just done a couple things such as upgrade almost all of the lighting to led's (have the turn signals left to do) , installed some vent shades in the windows, and a cover for the dash.
I make it a habit to learn as much as I can about the Avalon and its K platform mates, the 2grfe, and the u660 transmission. Currently have 9900 miles looking to change the oil shortly at 10K (oil was changed at the dealer the day I got it).
Thanks for reading!
Joined
·
29 Posts
Hey all, just picked up a new to me 2016 Avalon Limited in Mag Grey Metallic with Lt Grey interior and 115k miles, just barely broken in right?!
Unfortunately, I'm also dealing with some sort of water leak dripping from up behind the glovebox somewhere. I've ruled out the AC drain and the moonroof at this point, and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the wiper cowl area... will be pulling it apart here tomorrow to pinpoint it, but i've been able to locate where it's dripping in from looking up under the dash, I'm just not sure how!
Unfortunately, I'm also dealing with some sort of water leak dripping from up behind the glovebox somewhere. I've ruled out the AC drain and the moonroof at this point, and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the wiper cowl area... will be pulling it apart here tomorrow to pinpoint it, but i've been able to locate where it's dripping in from looking up under the dash, I'm just not sure how!
41 - 60 of 102 Posts
