23rd Jan 2007, 23:01

I have a 1998 Toyota Corolla. This car was new when I bought it and now has 150,000 miles on it. Recently I started hearing a knocking noise that seems to mainly occur when I press the accelerator while turning the wheel slightly to the right, sometimes even on sharp turns at very slow speeds it may make a loud scraping noise.. Turning left the knock or scraping does not occur. I have had three mechanics look at it and they cannot find anything wrong, but have heard the noise while test-driving it. It seems to come from the front end some place. All mechanics say that the CV joints and tie rods look fine and the brakes look normal. The car drives great except when turning it slightly to the right. Also it seems you have to drive it for a while before it starts to do this. Any ideas?

I have had two other Corollas and have never had any problems. Toyota's are the best cars out there. Have had way too many problems with American cars.

25th Jan 2007, 15:19

To the gentleman that works in the Toyota dealership and is not aware of the Toyota sludge problem. Please read this:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/toyota_sludge_settlement.html

And please be more aware of Toyota issues.

23rd Feb 2007, 23:29

My 1998 Avalon (85K miles) developed a wallowing ride over the past few months and finally obviously bad bounce testing. I was advised by 2 different mechanics that the car needed new struts and I replaced front and rear and did an alignment. Immediately after the repair there appeared a new and very annoying clicking and rattling sound coming from the front end, moreso on the passenger side. This is most noticeable at slower speeds during acceleration, deceleration and on bumpy pavement. These sounds were not like this prior to the expensive strut replacement and I'm wondering if something was done incorrectly at the time of mounting.

3rd Mar 2007, 21:57

I own a 2000 Toyota Avalon and have a loud sound that seems to be coming from the front tire area on the passengers side. I have had it in twice and one mechanic thought it was my brakes so he put new brake pads on. Noise was still there so the next mechanic thought it was the serpenty belt. Even after that was replaced the noise is still there! After reading all of the comments I gather that replacing the struts and mounts are a waste of time. I only read one comment that suggested something different (interior panel of tire well). Has anyone else been able to get rid of this very irritating noise? I would love to hear any suggestions before I take it to another mechanic!

10th May 2007, 21:14

I have a 1997 Toyota Avalon with exactly the same problems that many of you have experienced:

1) Very noticeable rattle from the front passenger side suspension when cold / slow speeds / rough roads.

2) Steering rack problems!! The original one had to be replaced at 69K, and the Toyota replacement is about to be replaced at 183K.

3) Struts -- replaced around 90K with Tokicos -- best choice that I've made with this car (I'm sure OEM replacements would be dead by now)

Every single oil change has been done at a Toyota dealer, and I have been very good about getting the major services done (30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180).

Does anyone have engine knock? I have had it for about 50,000 miles now, and combat it with premium (93 Octane) fuel. This doesn't completely stop it, but makes it much less frequent. The dealer has never been able to fix it.

The other thing that I have noticed is that the transmission is hesitant to shift when the car isn't warmed up. This seems to only have been happening in the last 10 - 15,000 miles. Anyone with an explanation or a similar experience here?

5th Jun 2007, 18:46

I have a 1997 Toyota Avalon with exactly the same problems that many of you have experienced

1) Very noticeable rattle from the front passenger side suspension when cold / slow speeds / rough roads.

Troubleshooting first thought it was suspension or brakes. But after reading everyone else did too and it did not fix it. We thought we should not go that way.

So climbed under and poked around, only to find a cross support bar had broken free from the clamps used to hold it to the frame. Actually the clamp was still there, the rubber bushing to hold the bar was dry rotted and fell out. Causing the bar to rattle between metal components with every bump. With 250,000 miles, we did not want to drop the front end to replace the clamps. I used heavy duty wire ties and it has working for thirty miles and counting!! Oh, the wire ties were free!!

8th Jul 2007, 16:14

I also own a 1997 Toyota Avalon and have the same problem with the noise in the front passenger side, with some noise starting in the rear. I took it to the Toyota dealer who said that "the struts need to be replaced." AND they quoted me $2,100 to do so. I don't think so, especially after reading all of the above comments. Thanks for advice. We'll try the ties!

Also, about the transmission acting sluggish -- I did have the dealer flush the transmission fluid. It works like a charm now. You might try that to see if it helps.

18th Jul 2007, 13:02

My 1998 Avalon has over 105k miles on it. I've replaced the rear arm bushings twice, and now need to replace the rear strut assembly and mounts. The older Avalons definitely have suspension issues. Anyway, if you get your car repaired at a Toyota dealership, make sure you don't pay them a crazy premium for the parts. I just ask them for the part numbers and then get the parts online (from a place like Auto Part Warehouse as an example). These are new parts at, generally, half the cost of what a Toyota dealership would charge you. The dealership may not warranty the parts, but they’ll warranty their labor. At half the cost, it’s worth it to me to get the parts elsewhere.

23rd Sep 2007, 23:23

I figure this might not be necessary, but I wanted to be added to the list of a loyal toyota buyer, but not very satisfied. I bought the car on a very warm day... no issues with the knocking sound... heard it the day after... first thought it was ball joints... after trying to replacing those and having no luck taking out the cotter pin, I gave up...

This sound is coming from my 1997 Camry XLE V6, and was actually happening to my 1995 Lexus SC400 (rear pass).

Very sad to continue to use poor quality parts for a car that is overall 9/10...definitely makes me think twice between buying Toyota/Lexus against other imports now...

Very sad. If anyone can comment on how long people have had these issues, with no major issues besides the sound of falling apart... mine sounds terrible, but if its just sound... I would rather save the $$$$ and deal with it that way for now...

Thanks!

Has yet to happen to our 1998 GS400 Lexus... that is more of a performance car... so maybe they stopped using it... just surprised it was happening on the 1995 SC400 sports coupe from Lexus though...

If it weren't for the reliable motor, and ease of maintenance... what a dilemma... I guess nothing is perfect...