It's a Toyota, not a GM/Ford/Chevy. From my experience, they didn't "cheap-out".

I have two Avalons with a combined 340,000 miles. Brakes once each at ~100,000. Plugs at ~140,000. Original Michelin tires only lasted 30,000 ... ok, so that Toyota did cheap-out on.

Other than that, .... one alternator.

 

How did you get 100k out of brakes? Is that an insane amount of highway driving?
Also, which Michelins were OEM? My 08 came with Defenders which are some of, if not the best passenger tire out there. I was wondering if they were the original.

 

My situation similar to Jim08. Had alternator rebuilt around 185K. Odometer reads just over 230K. Original water pump still in service. 2 front ign. coils replaced about 6 yrs. ago.
I presently have an intermittent ABS light. Codes I've pulled with Toyota's user-friendly method indicate RF wheel speed sensor is the issue.

All in all, my '06 Avalon has been a good car.

 

The most common "issue" is that there are no issues, so you may not see a lot of replies. Other than routine oil and filter changes, the only parts I replaced in 95K miles and 14 years were brake pads, battery, and hood struts.

 

CORRECT.

 

My original front rotors on our '07 XLS were replaced at 135k. Centric Premium and Akebono ceramic pads; fantastic! I now have 8k on this setup, wonderful.

My transmission had to be rebuilt at 80k, that was super fun. Bigger "ports" or whatever helped after the rebuild and I now do an ATF change/update every oil change which helps quite a bit as well (in fact I just did one Sunday night). The transmission is a serious weak point but it depends on the year.

I installed KYB Strut Plus on the car about 1.5 months ago at 139k, new tires went on 1.5 weeks ago at 141k and the combo made a huge difference in the car.

Tires, I went through a few different sets of Michelin's until I realized they were not what they once were but even more expensive. I was burning through a set in 26-28k at $800 a pop. I had Yokohama Avid Ascend on for 41k and they did pretty well, I just installed Sumitomo HTR A/S P02's and I am really impressed with these tires. I've put about 2400 miles on them since installed, 25-85 degree driving, nasty weather (high winds, driving rain, sleet) and they do quite well. They are more quiet than the Ascends though not as sticky as the Ascends (or Michelin's) but at literally half the price, what do I care. I had to do a banzai run from Ohio to Central Florida and back so I got a lot of time to review.

I really need to do spark plugs, it's on the list. This all seems like a lot, this is after years of ownership and 71K+ of driving...

If not for the transmission, this would be one of my favorite cars I've owned... Just my opinion and experience...

 

Aside from normal maintenance items, my '05 Avalon Touring needed a Battery, a Mass Airflow Sensor, and (1) spark plug Coil in 13 years ('05 - '18). If I remember correctly, total cost for all of those parts was under $250.

 

I was just pulled over and told that my third brake light was out. I google for a replacement and it seems to be a very common issue. Worst part it takes about 2 hours to replace that as you have to remove the rear seat, c pillar and the back shelf to reach the light. Apparently the part manufacturer cheaped out when it came to soldering properly so temperature changes can easily crack the solders.

 

I replaced my third brake light too. I did not need to removed the rear seat. There is a good tutorial on YouTube.

 

It isn't that hard to replace. I just replaced mine. Behind the rear headrest their is a little plastic cover for 2 bolts. When you remove them all you have to do is pull the seats down then the back shelf and other small things. The job is not hard at all. The hardest part is replacing the reclining cables but overall not a bad job.

 

I had alignment troubles.
car wanted to dive into the ditch. Pulled quite hard to the right. I had it aligned in two places that did little good. The third guy knew what he was up to and got it right. It involved buying, installing and adjusting “cam bolts“ to make camber adjustable. That and a few other things and the Ave drive/steered fine or really nice.
I personally think there’s too much caster (3 degrees) and plan on buying adjusters for that too but the car steers so well now I doubt I’ll get around to it.
My Ave is an 06 Limited and I think the auto dimming rear view mirror is almost worthless. Took the $900 thing out and put it in a box for the next owner. Bought and installed a standard rear view mirror for about $120 at the dealer and it’s just perfect.
Bought new tires two weeks ago and am happy w them. Never thought I’d ever go back to LesSwaub but I did. Bought an economy tire they said was made by Cooper. $500 out the door. My previous Michlen’s were rough riding but with more sporty handling as in easier/quicker steering. Don’t miss the sports car handling, like the new ride and find the slower steering just fine. Traction is at least better than the Michlins but I’ve not slipped even when wet. I was told this tire was designed for the wet PNW. It’s only a 45,000 mile tire though.
May change brake pads as the breaks require too much pressure IMO.

 

545k miles on the 06 XLS I sold this year. 174k on my 08 sitting in the garage now.

On the 06 mechanical:

• 1 water pump
• 2 sets of struts
• 2 sets of cv joints
• Tires, Brakes, Oil and Filters, batteries.
• 1 complete A/C system (500k miles). Includes Compressor, Drier, evap core (under dash) ($1500)
• 1 belt tensioner

Its a very low maintenance car if you take care of it and dont drive like an idiot.

Cosmetic or other wise:

• 1 nose chrome trim piece
• Refoamed the subwoofer in rear deck
• 2 head units
• 1 driver seat (Quarter got stuck, ruined the motor)
• 2 gas caps, gasket started to leak causing dash error.

 

Watch the power steering return hose. It leaks right above the boot for the steering rack, destroys it and you have to replace the entire rack and pinion assembly. I was quoted $350 for the hose and $1500+ for the rack. Catch it early or preemptively replace it.

 

This is a big one right here.

 

Saw some old posts, happily, never had the problem on my 2005 Avalon...But...

Apparently some '05 & '06 models developed an oil leak at the timing chain cover, bad gasket material.
I expect it was also seen on other 3.5 liter motors.

That's all I know, consider it a heads up - Check if Everything is dry!

 

Most common issues that I've seen is bad abusive negligent owners followed by lack of common sense maintenance.

FIPG, Toyota's version of RTV/silicone/gasketmaker, has issues and can dissolve if certain additives are added to the oil. So, besides maybe a bad bead at the assembly line, I'd wager that the cheap bulk oil at quickeelubes, dealerships, and shady indie mechanics, along with unnecessary oil additives, doesn't do the FIPG any good. I'd also surmise that the oil's TAN swing might eat away at the FIPG when dumb owners forget to change their oil with reasonable intervals for their driving style. UOA's rarely give TAN but give TBN which is not the best way to push an oil change interval.

My wife gets 100k miles out of brake pads... while me driving the same vehicle would barely get 30k miles... DRIVING STYLE. I enjoy the drive so rarely will you see me bragging about how long something lasts on my vehicle.

I didn't find Nokians vastly better than Michelins or Bridgestones. Its not even an upper tier tire. Problem with tires is the 'model' within certain brands and typically cheap consumers slamming an entire brand for certain entry-level models.
Toyota sold plenty of vehicles with low UTQG tires. Those aren't bad tires but simply perform to the requirements in the supplier contract.

 

I have an 08 Limited, 107k Miles. Of course the rear sunshade is shot like the rest of them, some cracks on the dash but not too bad, oddly the evaporator core decided to explode for no reason and that was exorbitantly expensive to replace. For some reason the remote start feature no longer functions I'm tempted to have a dealership look at it sometime. The 'info' button on the head unit doesn't bring up info on the song. The headboard in the rear is un-conjoined from the roof of the car just enough not to look tacky but enough to rattle over rough road so I crammed a towel or two in there until I decide to fix it. I had problems with the third brake light not working from time to time. Had to rip the entire back of the car out (only now to realize I could've done it with the seats in place) just to find out the thing was fine the wiring had just came unsecured. That was a real cow getting it back together though. And a cv axle got replaced at one time it was torn or something. The laser guided cruise control still works like a gem, along with the excellent auto wipers (darn Toyota skimped out on that for the newest Avalon probably because it gutted Lexus ES sales.. uppity people). Engine and transmission still works great I am sure this car will get me down the road for however long I want it to, I have my eyes set on a new Sienna some day. The new generation looks so nice I just hope they come out with a plug in version with a beefier battery because the 2.5L 240somthing horsepower powertrain in it now will make it painfully slow being it weighs what 4500 5000Lbs. I have just gotten too used to my family sedan embarrassing most tuner queens on the highway. All in all a very good car for the money I most certainly overpaid for it because apparently no one in 2008 thought laser guided cruise control sounded all that cool so not very many of them had that.

 

I have a 2010, the problem is every part is hard to service for this vehicle. It is not designed for DIY person. I took me 8 hrs to replace spark plugs. The front 3 took only 15 minute but the back three has to take 1/2 of car apart to get to its. Thanks God the plug is good for 100,000 miles.

 

The manufacturer spark plug change interval is 120K miles. If you know what you are doing, one can remove and replace the Bank 1 plugs in about an hour. And yes indeed, it will test your patience if you have not watched some good tutorial videos on YouTube. The videos are worth the time invested. Consider replacing the three rear coils with new Denso coils and save the old ones as spares.

 

I have 2010, not much need to be changed. Except car battery. I went through about 3 in 7 years. Mt EverStar Pl is only 7 month old with problems. There are maintenance work, change spark plugs will take 8 hrs. The front three takes 15 minutes but the back 3 will have to take 1/2 of your car apart. This car is not designed for DIY person.

 

Yes, agree, my next replacement will take less than 2 hr. No wounder the dealer rate was $500 for the replacement.