2006 Toyota Avalon

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL FROM A DEAD STOP, THE ENGINE IDLES AND THE VEHICLE DOES NOT RESPOND. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE WAS POSSIBLY DUE TO THE EMISSION CONTROL. WHEN THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALER, THEY STATED THAT THE FAILURE MAY BE DUE TO THE TRANSMISSION. THE FAILURE DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN TRAVELING UPHILL. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 23,000. UPDATED 03-25-08 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED AT LOW SPEEDS THE ENGINE REVS AND AFTER INFORMING THE DEALER HE WAS INFORMING NHTSA THE DEALER FOUND A FIX FOR THE DEFECT. THE CONSUMER STATED STILL SHIFTS UNEVENLY. UPDATED 03/25/08 *TR

THE TRANSMISSION ACTS ERRATICALLY AT LOW SPEEDS. IF I AM ROLLING THROUGH A STOP SIGN OR JUST IN TRAFFICS AT 5-10 MPH THE TRANSMISSION WILL "HUNT" FOR A GEAR. SOMETIMES IT IS A HESITATION AND SOMETIMES IT JERKS INTO GEAR, DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH TROTTLE YOU APPLY. IF I AM STOP TURN RIGHT ON RED, HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE A TURN BEFORE AN APPROACHING CAR ARRIVES, IF THE TRANSMISSION IS HUNTING FOR A GEAR, I HAVE NO CONTROL OF THE CAR. IT MIGHT BE ONLY FOR 1 OR 2 SECONDS, BUT IT IS DANGEROUS. REPEATED SERVICE TRIPS, SERVICE MANANGERS AND EVEN DISTRICT MANAGER HAS FAILED TO GET ANYONES' ATTENTION. CHECK OUT THIS WEB SITE, HERE ARE 44 PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS:HTTP://FOURWHEELDRIFT.WORDPRESS.COM/2007/01/16/TOYOTA-AVALON-TRANSMISSION-PROBLEMS-EXPOSE-TOYOTAS-PROBLEM-REPORTING-PROBLEMS/ *TR

I BOUGHT A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON IN SEPT. '06. THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. AT SLOW SPEEDS THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS. IF I AM SLOWING ALMOST TO A STOP AND THEN STARTING UP AGAIN THE TRANSMISSION DOES NOT ENGAGE, THE ENGINE REVS UP, AND THEN THE CAR LURCHES FORWARD AS THE TRANSMISSION FINALLY ENGAGES. WE HAVE ALMOST BEEN REAR ENDED WHEN ANOTHER CAR IS FOLLOWING CLOSE AND THINKS THAT I AM GOING TO MOVE FORWARD BUT CAN'T BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION DOES NOT ENGAGE. I HAVE ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE CAR LURCHES FORWARD AFTER THE TRANS SLIPS. I ALSO HAVE TO WAIT FOR A VERY LARGE GAP IN TRAFFIC IF I'M CROSSING A LANE TO MAKE A LEFT TURN AS I NEVER KNOW IF THE TRANSMISSION WILL SLIP LEAVING ME IN THE ON-COMING LANE OF TRAFFIC. WE HAVE HAD THIS LURCHING AND SLIPPING INCIDENT APPROXIMATELY 60% OF THE TIME. ON TWO OCCASIONS WHEN REACHING SPEEDS THAT WOULD BE SHIFTING FROM 2ND TO 3RD A VERY LOUD BANGING NOISE AND LURCHING OCCURRED. UNFORTUNATELY, ON TWO VISITS TO THE DEALER I WAS NOT ABLE TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM. *JB

WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC FROM THE ON RAMP AND WITH PLENTY OF TIME UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS MY TOYOTA AVALON, UPON ACCELERATION THE ENGINE ACTUALLY CUT OUT I MEAN WITH A SERIOUS HESITATION THAT I COULD NOT RESPOND TO IN TIME. THE AUTO QUICKLY APPROACHING MY REAR VEERED INTO THE NEXT LANE CAUSING THE THIRD CAR TO RUN OFF ON THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. THIS IS INDEED A HIGHLY SAFETY PROBLEM. I ESCAPED WITHOUT A SCRATCH TO MYSELF OR CAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES BEFORE BUT NOT TO THIS EXTENT. I TOOK MY CAR BACK TO THOMPSONS TOYOTA IN PLACERVILLE CA 3 TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AND EACH TIME THEY TELL ME THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE ACCELERATION. I HAVE ABOUT 10,000 MILES ON THE CAR NOW BUT THE PROBLEM SURFACED LESS THAN A WEEK AFTER I BOUGHT IT. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS I NEED THE CAR AND I MUST DRIVE THIS SAFETY AFFECTED PRODUCT. THE CAR IS OK AFTER YOU GET TO 60 MPH. ON ACCELERATION FROM A STOP POSITION A 4 CYL. COROLLA AND HONDA CAN PERFORM BETTER, IN FACT I HAVE A TACOMA TOYOTA 4 CYL 1999 WITH 100,000 MILE THAT ALSO ACCELERATES BETTER THAN MY AVALON. *JB

I WAS DRIVING SLOWLY AROUND A ROTARY, AND TOOK MY FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR TO DRIFT A BIT TO ALLOW A PRECEDING CAR TO ENTER. WHEN I PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL GENTLY, THERE WAS A SUDDEN VIOLENT KICK WHICH FRIGHTENED BOTH ME AND MY WIFE. (I BELIEVE THE TRANSMISSION HAD SHIFTED IN LOW, BUT IT WAS AS IF WE HAD BEEN HIT IN THE REAR WITH A LARGE SLAPPING HAND!) I HAD TO REACT QUICKLY TO AVOID BEING DRIVEN INTO THE CAR AHEAD BY THIS SUDDEN SMALL BURST OF SPEED. AN ACCIDENT COULD EASILY HAVE OTHERWISE TAKEN PLACE. THE TRANSMISSION HAS ALWAYS BEEN ERRATIC AT TIMES SINCE WE PURCHASED THE CAR, BUT THIS WAS THE WORST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED. I HAVE HAD THE LATEST COMPUTER UPGRADE ON THIS PROBLEM INSTALLED, AND IT WAS WITHIN 1 DAY AFTER THAT THIS TOOK PLACE. I HAD READ ALL OF THE NHTSA SAFETY REPORTS ON THIS CAR, AND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SIMILAR. IN MY MIND THERE IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM WHICH NEEDS ADDRESSING. (A SIMILAR BUT MUCH LESS VIOLENT SERIES OF INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED WHEN IN CRUISE CONTROL GOING SOMEWHAT UPHILL, WHEN IT DOWNSHIFTS AND THE CAR SPEEDS UP NOTICEABLY AND IN SOME CASES SO MUCH SO THAT I HAVE TO TAKE IT OUT OF CRUISE FOR A BIT) SUCH UNPREDICTABILITY MAKES BOTH MY WIFE AND I FEEL UNSAFE IN THIS CAR AT THOSE TIMES. *JB

I' HAD CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS SINCE THE FIRST DAY OF OWNERSHIP, APRIL 2006 WITH THE TRANSMISSION/LINKAGE SLIPPING/NOT ENGAGING AT SLOW SPEEDS. IT WAS PARTICULARLY NOTICEABLE WHEN MAKING TURNS, BUT ALSO OCCURS WHEN SLOWING DOWN, AND THEN ATTEMPTING TO SPEED UP. ATTEMPTS TO HAVE THE PROBLEM REPAIRED BY THE DEALERSHIP HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL; THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS EVEN A PROBLEM!*AK

TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT EVERY TIME HE COMPLETED A TURN IN THE 2006 TOYOTA AVALON ( WITH FAILURE MILEAGE: 5 MILES AT SLOW RATE OF SPEED UNDER 20 MPH, WITH THE FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THEN, WITHOUT ANY WARNING ,THE TRANSMISSION ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE JERKED. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 22,109.*AK

2006 TOYOTA AVALON. AT LOW SPEEDS, ESPECIALLY AFTER SLOWING, THE TRANSMISSION ACTS AS IF IT WERE IN NEUTRAL, AND SEVERELY HESITATES, WHEN AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO ACCELERATE. DEALER SAYS IT'S NORMAL. THERE ARE YEARS OF COMPLAINTS ALL OVER THE WEB. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SOME HAVE NOT BEEN REAR-ENDED OR STRUCK WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE INTO TRAFFIC FROM A HIGHWAY ENTRANCE RAMP. TOYOTA SHOULD BE FORCED TO REDO THE PROGRAMMING OF THE RESPONSIBLE COMPUTER CHIP OR REPLACE THE CHIP WITH ONE THAT HAS A FASTER CLOCK SPEED. THEY SHOULD ALSO BE HELD LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL INCIDENTS. THE DATE BELOW IS FOR THE LATEST OF NEAR DAILY, USUALLY MINOR FAILURES LIKE SLOWING TO TURN A CORNER.