New battery last year.
Replaced the radio - CD went bad.
2nd set of tires.
The Avalon is a great car. It gets 28 MPG on the road and about 23-4 in the city.
I plan to have the timing belt replaced at 100 miles, and at the same time the water pump, belts, hoses and then drive it another 100 miles.
Jack.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 23rd May, 2009
Excellent all around car that has low maintenance costs
The only non routine maintenance repair is that the trunk release button on the dash does not work. This happened at about 132,000 miles.
The car is quite responsive, although the steering feels light.
The brakes and ABS work well, although you have to put your foot into the brake pedal, otherwise it seems that the brakes are not responding.
Very comfortable car for long trips.
Fuel economy is excellent. With the cruise on at 70 miles per hour, it returns 28.6 MPG.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 18th September, 2008
I'd buy it again in a heartbeat!
Check engine light went on... no one could figure out why - ran fine.
Replaced tires.
Replaced battery.
Replaced brakes.
Replaced upper and lower radiator hoses.
LOVED my Avalon. I'd get another one today if I could afford it.
Luxury, styling, every creature comfort you can think of (in that model year, anyway).
Seats were very comfortable (leather) - drove thousands of highway miles between 3 states repeatedly and was always enjoyable.
You just can't go wrong with a Toyota.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th June, 2007
Perfect for its intended role
Front wheel bent by a pothole at 49,000 miles. Created some vibration at highway speeds, but vibration stopped after it was rotated to the rear.
Otherwise, nothing. Normal maintenance only.
The second-generation Avalon is a car so competent that it won over a die-hard car and motorcycle enthusiast. I purchased the car with low miles from my father, who was dying of cancer and no longer was able to drive. My car at the time was a 1995.5 Audi S6 (review soon to come) that was a great all-around performance sedan, but at 100,000+ miles and almost ten years old was starting to become expensive to maintain. I started driving the Avalon and sold the Audi reluctantly, but over time came to appreciate the Avalon's qualities as a highly competent daily driver. It is extremely quiet, rides very smoothly, and has excellent space for five passengers and a huge trunk. It gets 24 MPG in my traffic-congested commute, and 33+ MPG on long highway trips. Moreover, it is utterly reliable, and so well laid out under the hood that routine maintenance is a snap. It is a car with a target buyer far older than me (36 years old), so it is as stodgy as they come, but it is also designed for buyers who expect a well designed, high quality car and know one when they see one.
I gave the car middling marks for performance, but those marks are probably unfair. The car is intended to be a comfortable family car, not a sporty car, and its performance is quite competent overall. The engine has good power, not neck-snapping, but capable of handling any traffic conditions, and the transmission shifts very smoothly. The car has a lot of body roll in cornering and nose dive on braking, but actually sticks well when cornering and stops short. The only real flaw that I have found is that its snow traction is surprisingly bad for a front-wheel drive car. I might be spoiled after driving a Quattro-equipped Audi for years, but the Avalon seems to lose traction and spin its wheels far too easily - the traction control engages constantly in snow and frequently in rain. I suspected that the OEM tires were the problem, but it has been just as bad after I replaced them with Kumhos that had good snow traction ratings from Tirerack.
The car has so far been flawless for the first 50,000 miles, and I anticipate many more trouble-free years of driving with proper maintenance. (I maintain vehicles by the book or better, using synthetic oil.) The only concern that I have is that the body structure seems a bit loose already, but it may just be a bit more flexible by design than the Audi, which was structurally very stiff. I am occasionally tempted to get a more exciting car, but I have decided that I will keep this one regardless, as my daily driver. With the Avalon eating up the commuting miles at low cost, it might be feasible to get the 87-89 911 Carrera that I have always wanted, as a weekend-only car. :)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 27th April, 2007