Faults:

I purchased this car brand new in 2002. I have been thrilled with its performance and reliability. I have kept up with all maintenance.

All was well until 6/1 when I pulled into the parking lot at work, and as I turned into my parking space with MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, going no more than 2 mph, my car suddenly accelerated, hitting the car next to me. I felt like I was in a go cart with no control.

The left front headlight was smashed and there is damage to the hood and bumper.

I had it towed to Toyota as I was afraid to drive it. 2002 Avalon's are not recalled vehicles. They cannot find anything wrong with it.

General Comments:

I am afraid to get my car and drive it. After all of these wonderful years, I can no longer trust it.

Faults:

No problems ever! This is an excellent car.

General Comments:

I would consider myself a bit of an authority on Avalon's.

The car, although 8 years old, has no rust and the paint is in excellent condition. Interior is holding up well and shows little to no wear and tear.

Stereo is excellent. Heated seats and Dual Zone AC are great features.

The car handles well as can be expected for a car in this class.

It is extremely solid and smooth riding.

Not sure what the gas mileage is as I only drove it for 10 minutes on a test drive.

Faults:

Run ability of the car has been fine. I really only had a few problems. The air bag light came on at about 80000 miles. and the car cannot sit more than a few days before the battery goes dead. Yes it's a new battery. The main reason why I decide not to purchase another toyota is the service department. They said the air bag computer would have to be replaced to turn the light off. They would not reset the the computer its against the law and would not prove that statement. Yes I call toyota and they reaffirmed that statement but could not produce it. I paid 80.00 for someone to tell me that??? I took it to a garage for 60.00 and they reset it for me it took 5 minutes. Toyota wanted 700.00 to replace it. So... I drive Hondas now, I bought two hondas since then and plan on buying another for my daughters graduation. So... after 23 years of toyota I switched, and Honda been good so far.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing.

General Comments:

I bought this car off the company I work for, which owned it since brand new. So I know the history of this vehicle, and that absolutely nothing at all has gone wrong with it since brand new.

It's probably one of the most comfortable cars I have ever driven, certainly the most comfortable I've ever owned. The ride quality, and NVH levels are really good, with no apparent rattles or squeaks yet.

Performance, for a 1500kg car with only a 3.0 engine, is actually pretty good, but being a traditional Falcon and even a Commodore buyer, I really notice the lack of bottom end torque. But midrange and top end performance is more inspiring; here is an engine that actually likes to rev. Flat out it will keep up with a Falcon or Commodore (actually I found out it's a whisker faster) of the same age.

A/C performance is very good, even in tropical North QLD on the hottest day, it has no trouble dissipating built up cabin heat.

Despite the really soft suspension, somehow it manages to contain body roll much better than it has a right to, though a quick change in direction results in ever present understeer. Steer it smoothly though, and it will take corners much quicker than you might at first expect.

Boring styling aimed at retiring Americans is hard to look past, especially for a young'un like me, (haha) but it hides a surprisingly capable and extremely well built, refined and reliable car.