Faults:

In June 1997 the motor of the driver's side window seized and had to be replaced. Many rattles which the dealer said they couldn't hear.

Just out of warranty (3 years) the Climate control system went haywire. Only the dealer could fix it at a cost of $1000. We declined.

At 43000 miles had to replace Left Outer C/V boot.

At 94000 miles had to replace the starter.

At 99000 miles had to replace all 4 struts.

At 103000 miles had to replace both V/C gaskets, again replace the Left Outer C/V boot plus the axle, replace the power steering pump and rack and pinion at a cost of $2000.

General Comments:

For the amount of money we spent on this car, both to buy it and all the repairs, I'm not feeling the serenity or whatever line they give you in their ads. Compared to the 3 Mazdas we had the Avalon has been much more expensive. I think I'll stick with Mazda.

Faults:

The blower for the Heat/AC was making noise for about a year. The dealer pulled out a deceased mouse that found its way in there. It is quiet now.

The boot from the right front trans-axle was found ripped open and therefore the trans-axle was replaced.

The electric antenna failed and was replaced.

The front suspension was soft and would bottom out on speed bumps. The struts were replaced and we clear them now.

General Comments:

This car is faster than expected. After checking we found it has higher compression than most unleaded cars: 10.5:1. It runs good on regular gas. I tested it for MPG and found it got 27.85 MPG. I added a product called MACHTANE octane booster, to see if it would do any better with a higher octane, and now get 39.9-43.5 MPG. I think premium gas would be helpful too, but more costly now days.

The ride is very smooth even on washboard dirt roads, which I have to drive here in Arizona.

The roominess is an unexpected pleasure and we can easily get 5 adults comfortably inside.

The wide wheel base makes sporty handling and getting around town is a breeze.

The engine starts faster than any car I have ever had and runs very quiet. it is often hard to tell if it is running.

It does not run hot on the hi-way, even on the hottest (115F) Arizona summer days and hi-way speeds of 75+

Faults:

I am the second owner of the car. I bought the car with 55000 miles in march or this year. valve cover gasket was leaking. I had dealer repair. I also feel like cold start idle is too high. 2250 cold drops back to 700 when temperature gets up. I feel like cold idle speed could cause damage to transmission if I put in gear at cold idle. let me know. gstadlin@cox.net could throttle body be bad?