2005 Toyota Avalon Limited review from North America

The VVT (variable valve timing) oil lines started leaking shortly after I purchased the car in 2008 and cost $500 to fix at the dealership. The dealer did exactly what they said they would do when they said they would do it and was spectacular (except for the price).

My vehicle has the keyless entry and the driver's outside mirror has a mind of its own. Most times when getting back in the vehicle after leaving and locking it, the mirror tilts itself all the way up. I have reset it literally hundreds of times, both manually and via the memory function, but to no avail. The dealer and everyone I have spoken with are at a loss as to the cause of the problem or how to fix it.

With the factory Michelin MXV4 tires, this car handles extraordinarily well for a large sedan. It feels glued to the road and handles just as predictably at 100 MPH as it does at 10 MPH.

The vehicle's acceleration and fuel economy are excellent. I drive between 35,000 and 40,000 miles per year and my overall average is around 26 MPG. That's pretty amazing for heavy sedan. On the highway, it get's around 32 MPG.

This vehicle's ride is tuned to the highway - it positively floats along at high speed. The price you pay for this is to not have as nice a ride in town at slower speeds. The Dodge Charger I rented while traveling actually took slow speed bumps much better than my Avalon does AND it had a holder built on to the inside of the fuel door to hold the gas cap while filling up - I have to just let the Avalon's hang from its plastic leash.

There are no blindspots to speak of and the cabin is cavernous. There is a pass-through from the trunk to the passenger cabin to allow the transportation of skis and similarly lengthy items, but a full fold-down rear seat would be nice.

There is more wind, road, and engine noise than I expected. I have ridden in an older model Avalon XLS that is noticeably quieter than my newer one.

I am at a loss as to why the radio and steering wheel control buttons are illuminated in green. Everything would look much better in the blue-white LED coloring that illuminates everything else.

My vehicle has the heated/ventilated seats. I have not sat in one of these vehicles without this option, but whoever designed these should be taken out and flogged. While the actual seating surface is very comfortable, the curvature of the seat back is HORRIBLE. After purchasing this car and driving it for a couple of weeks I had so much back pain from the misshapen seat that I could hardly walk. I now drive the vehicle with a $15 bean bag pillow from Target in the driver's seat - makes all the difference in the world. Even with my complaint against the poorly designed seat, the ventilation is great! Having had it, I would never again go without.

I share others' exasperation with this vehicle's transmission. The shift points and timing are questionable at best and the lag time between stomping the accelerator and the transmission's downshift is ridiculous. When traveling downhill, if you release the accelerator to allow the car to coast the transmission will sometimes downshift, presumably to maintain the car's current speed, but this feature is also clunky. It would seem that Toyota needs to take a refresher course in transmission engineering.

The laser guided cruise control is great and the fact that it will automatically apply the break if you get too close to the vehicle in front of you is smart. However, if your car slowed down to maintain the distance between your vehicle and the car in front of you and it then moves out of the way, the cruise control floors it to get you back up to speed. I cannot imagine why they could not have designed the controller to gradually return you to the set speed.