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As the owner of a 1997 Camry V6, it seems to be extremely vulnerable to dings. It has 130,000 miles, not a lot for a Toyota, but it has started smelling like burning oil when it goes into passing gear on a mountain highway....anyone have any suggestions or comments about the smell of burning oil? Other than that, the Camry is a perfect, all around car, IMO. It is very peppy and reliable. True, it is not a super exciting car.
I think the 1996 and earlier years have the best classic design. The body style is timeless.
When I buy a new car, I'm thinking Toyota Avalon...any comments?
I have owned almost every generation Camry, and have had no problems with any of them. Just maintenance, and they were reliable as expected.
I own a 2005 Avalon Touring. I absolutely love the car. It's very comfortable, no issues whatsoever. Very spacious, considering I'm 6ft4. It's a great road car, long trips, traffic, going to work. It's a great car. I'd definitely recommend it. Highway gas mileage is great, city is good.
Test drive one, and take it from there. It's no small car (you already know that). The trunk is very spacious for your luggage and shopping/storage needs.
Oil changes at the dealer only cost me $29. Can't beat that.
30 minutes or less, or the next one is free (they make sure they're done on time/It's a win win situation). I have yet to spend money on anything, just oil changes. Great car. I'd say go for it, but test drive one and you'll decide.
I have never liked ANY Camrys. The ultimate boring-mobile. Even worse, they are usually going below the speed limit in the left lane.
I know they are very solid cars. But it seems like many Camry owners are on their 3rd one and don't realize there are so many nice and interesting non-Camry vehicles to choose from.
Of course, your Geriatric Mobile will break down more often and lose its value in no time. Sure go ahead, be fooled by that warranty, Mr Goodwrench.
Make sure to update your list of dealerships that are still open for business while you're at it.
That is simply not true at all. The newer Toyotas are total junk, especially the camrys and Avalons. The gap has now closed, and Japanese cars are no better than American cars anymore. If you are talking 1980's or early 1990's Toyota's, I completely agree that they are bulletproof and are way better built than a Gm. But, that is the past. By the way, a 2005 Avalon is a total piece of crap. My 1991 beat up old ford Escort will out last that thing
Here is some information I pulled up on a piece of crap Avalon.....
2005 Toyota Avalon from North America - Comments
25th Feb 2007, 19:49
"Buy a saturn or a nissan"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
There is sad news to report to the thousands of owners of 2005, 2006 and 2007 Toyota Avalon models experiencing the dreaded five speed automatic transmission hesitation, bucking and binding problem: despite what your dealer has told you, Toyota is not working on any fix or reflash. I just got off the phone with Bill Kwong, media representative at Toyota, and he has confirmed that “the engineers do not see evidence that people are having problems.”
I personally own a 2006 Toyota Avalon Limited. It has been a wonderful car with the exception of the transmission, which hunts, searches, hesitates, and shifts hard. The problems (also blamed on the software controlling the torque converter) have caused me to encounter dozens of near collisions while entering traffic. Like most people, I went to the dealer service manager who told me “we get multiple questions per week on this…they’re working on a fix.”
No they’re not.
Since every dealer thinks a fix is in motion, few are even trying to report it the district managers. More disturbing is that there are plenty of documented cases where the district service managers are refusing to intervene, because they’ve pre-determined the transmission issues are “normal operation” — meaning the district managers are going out of their way to prevent the data from getting to Toyota engineers! Since none of the district managers are reporting it to Toyota, nothing is being done. The fact that Googling the issue brings up lemon law suits and discussions about it mean nothing to Toyota, because they don’t take third-party data into consideration.
Even Consumer Reports and Autoweek have reported on the widespread tranny issues. Bill gave me the same line he used in an article in Pittsburgh’s newspaper: “We’re up in the JD Power quality ratings.” Sure, Avalon has fewer reported problems versus the competition, and the rest of the car is pretty good, but that doesn’t solve the one very large, dangerous, annoying issue that is causing owners, dealers and journalists to scream “what the hell is going on?”
So what to do? If you have the issue, you must call 1-800-331-4331, which is Toyota’s national Consumer Hotline. This creates a national problem ticket that gains entry into their system. If you go directly to a dealer rather than call the hotline, you must demand the issue be brought to the attention of the district manager and sent to the national office.
We’d also like to hear about your experiences with this issue. Tell us about your car, where you’re located, the dealer (and what the dealer or district service manager) has told you.
When I asked Bill how many complaints it would take for Toyota to acknowledge the problem (percentage of the 100,000 per year made,) he didn’t have an answer.
It didn’t matter that I mentioned I have evidence dealers are even telling customers not to buy V6 Camrys until the issue is solved. Nor has it mattered that dealers have faced numerous lemon law suits.
Would you like to know why none of this matters to Toyota? Fixing the transmission software will result in lower reported fuel economy, which is something Toyota simply does not want to do. Toyota has made its surge on producing the most fuel efficient cars in class…and a software reflash would most likely reduce EPA mileage estimate on the Avalon, Camry and ES350 by 4mpg.
I’m pretty sure I didn’t sleep through that day in Advanced Marketing Strategy class at Boston University School of Management when we discussed which was worse — lower mpg or mass owner complaints due to a severe safety issue with the product….I believe the answer was: “screw the mileage rating, and protect your customers — make them happy, so they’ll live to buy another $35,000 product from you again in the near future.”
It’s great to see that GM and Ford aren’t alone…getting big means ignoring customers, even if you don’t mean to do it! Like Ford and GM, Toyota will probably wind up with a high-profile recall after too many people die — in this case when the transmission hesitates as drivers try to enter traffic or make left-hand turns.
General comments?
6th Jun 2007, 22:11
Agreed! I totally agree with that last paragraph explaining making quick left turns. I drove a 2006 Toyota Camry V6 on the day that I got it, when I tried making a quick left turn one day the transmission hesitates and then the car goes. It feels as if there's a one second delay or something. Almost got in a wreck. It's not like the older camry I own. I own a 94 V6 Camry and there's no hesitation at all when I go. Nowadays with computers controlling everything, they don't make cars like the good ol days!
24th Mar 2008, 11:34
Hope you read this, Your car has been trained. What I mean is it has remembered your driving habits and adjusted to it. It might not even be yours with just a few miles a car can learn and apply setting to the computer system of your driving habits good or bad. You used to be able to pull the neg. battery terminal and reset this but not anymore. It has to be cleared at the dealership. I recommend driving up the rpms during shifting after you do this. If this doesn't work check your speed sensor for the transmission.
19th Apr 2008, 15:25
2007 Avalon XLS with 28K miles. Bought the car with 8K miles. Put 17K miles with several 800 miles road trips and got incredible mileage (31 to 32 mpg on interstate cruise at 75 mph! A mileage duplicated several times) Heard/read about Toyota Service Bulletin (TSB) and had dealer perform TSB on transmission during routine service. Next trip - 27 mpg! That's right, I have "lost" 4 to 5 mpg on the road. Dealer cannot rollback update he claims. Claims update had no effect on mileage Blah blah blah.
If you have no complaints with transmission DO NOT allow this update. Otherwise, I love the car. Good luck to all.
11th Apr 2009, 10:51
My 05 Avalon with only 28K miles is experiencing the same type of lurch problems. Hope the dealer can fix it with a recalibration and hope Toyota will eat the bill!
Last edited by las vegas drunk; 06-18-2009 at 10:27 AM..
Here is more, before you start criticizing someone for buying a GM car, look at what is sitting in your driveway. I sure hope YOU have an extended warranty.....
2005 Toyota Avalon Touring review from North America
"Avoid the car due to the transmission/reliability problems. An awsome car it could have been!"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
1. Jerky transmission at low speeds.
2. Heavy brake pedal, have to put a lot of foot into the pedal to get decent braking.
3. Transmission slips on occasion when on the highway trying to engage a passing gear. The engine will rev really high and then JAM into gear and take off like super man.
4. The computer mpg reading doesn't work right after two restarts. It will stay at 12-16mpg reading until I fill the tank with gas. Only then does it reset and show actual MPG. Have had mpg of up to 33mpg. But after two restarts the computer no longer gives a proper mpg reading.
5. The climate control has its own mind. Sometimes the heat or ac will come on and never adjust itself to the temp you have set. Might as well use the non-automatic mode.
6. Paint chips very easy, fog lights jiggle.
7. The manual/sport mode is worthless except it does help with the transmission hunting problem. But on a 30k car one shouldn't have to use the sport mode because the automatic mode doesn't work properly.
8. TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE, HESITATION, JAMMING INTO GEAR.
What’s up Toyota? I am losing my faith in your reliability and quality. I am actually considering a domestic car now... something I thought I would never do. Seems like the more modern cars become, the less reliable they are and more problems.
This is the first time I spend over 20k for a car. And I must admit I am disappointed. It will be the last car I spend 20k+ on. Back to buying used cars for under 15k.
General comments?
1. Very powerful engine and acceleration when the transmission does work.
2. Great highway gas mileage. Have gotten 33mpg before. Mostly it is in the 28-31 range.
3. The car is pretty comfortable, handles well with the touring model.
4. Huge back seat and comfortable, they recline!
5. I like the looks of the car, sporty, not flamboyant. Long big car.. Yet feels smaller than it is.
6. I like the JBL sound system with surround sound. Meets my needs.
7 Fairly quiet ride, a little louder than the xls, xl and limited model due to the touring suspension/tires.
8. The motor has a ticking to.
Well, I can attest that there are more people with little to no problems than those who have. I'd need two or three dedicated servers to store the amount of complaints that come from Dodges alone.
I don't think I have the energy to do that. Life's too short to worry about bitter domestic car lovers who have yet to see the light. I don't have to worry about poor resale value, poor quality, and all the nonsense that's associated with the domestic counterparts.
In the end, to each his own. Get your Generic Motors, and Dodges. I really don't care. Toyota and Honda don't have nearly the issues the Domestics have, and they're not the ones shutting doors and laying people off.
The irony is that Toyota and Honda are in this country keeping Americans at work, not the Big?? Three . So who are the bigger losers? (speaking of car makers ) So, be bitter all you want.
Well, I can attest that there are more people with little to no problems than those who have. I'd need two or three dedicated servers to store the amount of complaints that come from Dodges alone.
I don't think I have the energy to do that. Life's too short to worry about bitter domestic car lovers who have yet to see the light. I don't have to worry about poor resale value, poor quality, and all the nonsense that's associated with the domestic counterparts.
In the end, to each his own. Get your Generic Motors, and Dodges. I really don't care. Toyota and Honda don't have nearly the issues the Domestics have, and they're not the ones shutting doors and laying people off.
The irony is that Toyota and Honda are in this country keeping Americans at work, not the Big?? Three . So who are the bigger losers? (speaking of car makers ) So, be bitter all you want.
All I can say is I have a 18 year old ford escort with the original engine and trans, and never had any major problems in the 2 years I have owned it. It has always started, never ran hot, and always ran perfect, and I only paid $600 for it. In fact, the only issue I have had was that the strut mount broke, and that was it. I had much more problems with the old Honda and Toyota's I have owned. And that was when they were actually well built. I think you must work for Toyota, since your car is a well known lemon and you speak highly of it.
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. So who are the bigger losers? (speaking of car makers 
