2006 Toyota Avalon Power Train

UNDER HARD ACCELERATION WHILE TURNING, YOU WILL EXPERIENCE LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. IE, ENTERING TRAFFIC FROM A CROSS STREET.

TWO PREVIOUS AVALONS (97&98) AND THE ONE IDENTIFIED HERE, DID AND DOES ALLOW THE KEY TO BE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION WITH THE CAR BEING IN PARK. THE DANGER IS THAT THE CAR WILL ROLL AND COULD RUN OVER SOMEONE OR INTO TRAFFIC AND CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY. MY HUSBAND AND I ALWAYS REMINDED EACH OTHER TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK, BUT HE IS NO LONGER WITH ME AND RECENTLY I STARTED TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AND IT WAS ON A SLIGHT INCLINE AND IT STARTED ROLLING WHILE I WAS GETTING OUT. I HAVE COMPLAINED IN THE PAST TO TOYOTA, BUT THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME. A RECENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT THE ANSWER THAT THE 36000 MILE WARRANTY DOESN'T APPLY TO THE REPAIR. I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT THIS IS EVIDENTLY A SERIOUS ISSUE WITH AVALONS THAT TOYOTA HAS REFUSED TO ADDRESS, OR MY 2006 WOULDN'T HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. WE HAVE ALMOST ALWAYS BOUGHT USED CARS AND TRUCKS AND HAVE NEVER HAD A VEHICLE THAT WOULD ALLOW THE KEY TO BE REMOVED WITHOUT BEING IN PARK. YOU ASK FOR A SPECIFIC DATE AT THE END OF THIS "STEP". IT IS ONGOING SO I HAVE JUST PUT YESTERDAYS DATE. THE CAR WAS A GIFT IN SEPTEMBER OF 2014.

HESITATION FROM TAKE OFF INTERMITTENT, TRANSMISSION SHUDDERS ON INCLINES. I WOULD BE PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC AND THE CAR WOULD BARLEY MOVE EVEN WITH PUSHING DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR! THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WILL JUST TAKE OFF! I'LL BE DRIVING THROUGH THEY CITY AND BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MILES PER HOUR THE CAR SHIFTS ERRATICALLY

DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS VEHICLES TRANSMISSIONS HESITATES SHIFTING UP OR DOWN BETWEEN GEARS. PROBLEM HAS BEEN POINTED OUT TO TOYOTA DEALER IN BOWIE, MD, HOWEVER, THEY CLAIM THEY ARE UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM TWO TOYOTA CASE # [XXX] AND [XXX]. ALSO SEE SITE: FOURWHEELDRIFT.WORDPRESS.COM/2007/01/16/TOYOTA-AVALON-TRANSMISSION. ECM ISSUE COULD CAUSE VEHICLE TO FAIL DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITION WHEN MAKING TURNS OR ACCELERATING. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN HER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WHEN MAKING TURNS AND CHANGING GEARS. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED SEVERAL TIMES BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE VEHICLE WAS SLOW TO RESPOND. SHE PULL THE VEHICLE INTO A PARKING LOT AN HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER INFORMED THAT THE IGNITION COIL WAS DAMAGED AND NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED, THE POWER STEERING NEEDED TO BE FLUSHED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27000.

THE FIRST WEEK I OWNED THE CAR I NOTICED A HESITATION IN THE ACCELERATOR FOLLOWED BY A LURCHING FORWARD. TOOK IT TO DEALER WHO SAID IT WAS CAUSED BY THE DRIVE BY WIRE SYSTEM AND WOULD ADJUST TO MY DRIVING IN TIME. NO ADJUSTMENT OCCURRED. I CONTINUED TO MAKE COMPLAINTS TO NO AVAIL UNTIL I THREATENED WRITE TO NHTSA. THEY THEN SAID "WAIT, DON'T DO THAT. WE'LL TALK TO THE SERVICE MANAGER TO SEE IF HE HAS A FIX. WITHIN 30 MINUTES THEY HAD RECALIBRATED THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE/ECM (SAE TERM: POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE/PCM). WARRANTY INFORMATION WAS: OP CODE EG7023; DESCRIPTION RECALIBRATE EMC (PCM); TIME 0.9; OFP 89661-#####; T1 26; T2 99. THE RESULTS WERE GOOD ALTHOUGH I SOMETIMES STILL FEEL ALMOST UNDETECTABLE SMALL SURGES WHEN I AM DRIVING AS IF I AM NOT REALLY CONTROLLING THE SPEED WITH THE ACCELERATOR. BY THE WAY, I HAD REPORTED THIS TWICE BEFORE AND WHEN I READ THROUGH ALL OF THE 2006 AVALON REPORTS MINE WAS NOT THERE. ARE THE REPORTS DELETED AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME? *TR

THIS IS JUST TO PASS ALONG TO YOU THAT I TOO HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT ODD SENSATION OF MOMENTARY ACCELERATION WHILE DRIVING, BUT WHILE LETTING OFF THE ACCEL PEDAL. ON THE HANDFUL OF OCCASSIONS WHEN IT HAS TAKEN PLACE, I BELIEVE I WAS ALWAYS DRIVING IN HEAVY STOP-AND-GO FREEWAY TRAFFIC. ALMOST FROM THE FIRST DAY I LEASED THE CAR, I HAVE COMPLAINED TO FRIENDS THAT I THOUGHT MY ELECTONICALLY-CONTROLLED TRANSMISSION WAS "TOO SMART"--THAT IT THOUGHT IT KNEW BETTER HOW TO DRIVE THE CAR THAN I DID. I HAVE A FEATHER TOUCH IN MY DRIVING STYLE, AND I HAVE NOT LIKED HOW THE TRANSMISSION IS CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF IT WANTS TO BE SHIFTING UP OR DOWN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. NOW, WITH THE RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE, I AM WONDERING IF THE ISSUE IS BROADER AND COULD BE PART OF THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION ISSUE? *CN

2006 TOYOTA AVALON GAS PEDAL DOES NOT PROVIDE POWER UNTIL DEPRESSED OVER 50 PERCENT TRAVEL THEN IT SUDDENLY PROVIDES POWER REPRESENTATIVE OF HALF THROTTLE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHES ON AND OFF WHEN IT DOES DELIVER POWER UNDER THIS CONDITION. ON RARE OCCASIONS WHEN MOVING FROM STOPPED POSITION THE CAR ACCELERATOR IS OVERLY SENSITIVE AND ACTS LIKE I JUST STOMPED ONTHE GAS PEDAL AND NOT THE SLOW MOVEMENT I GAVE TE GAS PEDAL TO MAKE A SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE CAR. I HAVE GOTTEN USED TO THE WAY IT DRIVES AND IT HAS BEEN THIS WAY FOR THE PAST 10 MONTHS. TODAY THE GAS PEDAL HAS VERY LITTLE RESPONSE TO THROTTLE RESPONSE. I CANNOT DRIVE IT THIS WAY AND HAVING CAR TOWED TO DEALER FOR SERVICE. SOME DAYS AFTER DRIVING OVER 30 MINUTES THE CAR ACTS NORMALLY WITH EXCEPTION OF CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. *CN

THE TRANSMISSION POSES SAFETY PROBLEMS BECAUSE IT IS VERY UNEVEN AND UNPREDICTABLE, SHIFTING WHEN YOU DON'T EXPECT SHIFTING, AT LOWER AND HIGHER SPEEDS AND IN CRUISE CONTROL. *TR

2006 AVALON ENGINE SURGED. SENT E-MAIL TO TOYOTA AT THAT TIME. AS I RECALL TOYOTA RESPONSE BY E-MAIL WAS "WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY SIMILAR INCIDENTS" I STILL HAVE A COPY OF THE E-MAIL I SENT. *TR

THE PROBLEM SEEMS RELATED TO THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE PROBLEM NEVER OCCURS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD OR FROM A STOPPED POSITION. PROBLEM IS NOT CONSISTENT ON AVERAGE OCCURRING ONCE A DAY DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM: IN PARKING LOT OR AFTER LOT OF LOW SPEED DRIVING FORM TRAFFIC PROBLEM OCCURS?.. ACCELERATE THE RPMS RACE ON THE TACH AND THE SPEEDOMETER IS OUT OF SINK THERE IS A DELAYED RESPONSE A SHUDDER, SHIFT TIMING FEELS OFF KILTER, ERRATIC HUNTING, THEN A HARSH FORWARD THIS MAY BE A ONE TIME EVENT OR SEVERAL IN SUCCESSION AND THEN RETURNS TO NORMAL SHIFTING PATTERN 2- CRUISING 30 MPH PROBLEM OCCURRED GAVE IT SOME GAS... TACH SHOT TO 4K DELAYED FORWARD ENGAGING THEN THE CAR DROVE ITSELF FOR 1/4 MILE WITHOUT ME TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. *TR

I'M AN OWNER OF A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON AND I'M CURIOUS IF THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED AS A CAUSE OF THE ACCELERATOR ISSUE? I PURCHASED THIS CAR AS A NEW CAR AND WITHIN 2 WEEKS I RETURNED O THE DEALER TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION CHECKED. AT THIS POINT IT LAGGED WHEN DOWNSHIFTING OR SEEMED TO BE CONTINUOUSLY SEARCHING FOR THE APPROPRIATE GEAR. I WAS TOLD THAT HE COMPUTER HAD TO LEARN OUR DRIVING STYLE AND THE ISSUE WOULD GO AWAY. IT HAS NEVER GONE AWAY, AND IT SEEMS TO HAVE GOTTEN WORSE OVER TIME. I HAVE 60,000 MILES ON THIS CAR. *TR

I TOOK MY 2006 AVALON IN TO NALLEY TOYOTA FOR AN OIL LINE RECALL. I ASKED THEM IF THEY COULD ALSO LOOK INTO THE FLOOR MAT RECALL FOR ME. THEY TOLD ME NO DECISION HAD YET BEEN MADE ON THE FLOOR MAT ISSUE BUT WENT AHEAD WITH THE OIL LINE RECALL. I PICKED MY CAR UP THAT AFTERNOON, DROVE 15 MINUTES TO MY MOTHER'S APARTMENT. WHILE SLOWLY GUIDING MY WAY INTO A PARKING PLACE, MY CAR ACCELERATED VIOLENTLY PROPELLING ITSELF UP OVER A CURB AND THROUGH A WOODEN FENCE, LANDING WITH MY BACK TIRES ON THE FRONT CURB OF THE PARKING PLACE. MY BRAKING HAD NO EFFECT AND UPON LANDING ON THE DOWNSIDE OF THE SLOPE, MY ENGINE DIED. I CALLED TOYOTA IMMEDIATELY ASKING WHAT THEY COULD HAVE DONE TO CAUSE THIS TO HAPPEN SINCE MY CAR HAD NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN BEFORE IN THE 4 YEARS I HAD IT, AND YET HAPPENED 15 MINUTES AFTER THEY HAD WORKED ON IT. THEY SAID NOTHING WAS DONE THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS. WE COMPLAINED TO THE AREA TOYOTA REP AND AN INSPECTOR CAME AND LOOK AT THE CAR AT THE NALLEY REPAIR SHOP WE HAD IT TOWED TO. TOYOTA SAYS MY CAR CHECKS OUT FINE AND ANY PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE FLOOR MATS /DRIVER. THE SERVICEMAN DID NOT ADVISE ME TO REMOVE THE FLOOR MATS THAT WERE IN PLACE WHEN THEY WERE WORKING ON THE CAR. THEY RELEASED IT TO ME WITH THE FLOOR MATS IN PLACE. FURTHERMORE, I CONTEND THAT THE FIRST THING I CHECK AFTER THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION WAS THE LOCATION OF THE FLOOR MAT,WHICH WAS FLAT AGAINST THE FLOOR. *TR

2006 TOYOTA AVALON LXS DRIVING HOME FROM VACATION NOTICED NOISE WHEN TRANSMISSION SHIFTED. GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE AS WE APPROACHED HOME. CHECKED OIL NEXT DAY. ENGINE EMPTY OF OIL. PUT OIL IN AND LEAKED IMMEDIATELY OUT. OIL LINE BROKEN. NO WARNING OF ENGINE TROUBLE, NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, NO WARNING AT ALL. HAD CAR TOLLED TO REPAIR SHOP. ENGINE MAY BE GONER. *TR

TRANSMISSION HESITATES EXCESSIVELY WHEN AUTOMATICALLY DOWNSHIFTING AT SPEEDS BELOW 10 MPH. THIS HAS HAPPENED EVERY DAY AND EVERY DOWNSHIFT FROM THE FIRST DAY OF OWNERSHIP. TERRIBLE CONDITION THAT NO ONE AT TOYOTA IS WILLING TO ADMIT OR FIX. WTF? *TR

SINCE OWNING A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON I HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS CAR SURGING & TAKING OFF. FLOOR MATTS ARE NOT A ISSUE SINCE THE WERE REMOVED ON THE DRIVERS SIDE LAST YEAR.. TOYOTA TELLS ME THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES, NOT JUST ONE TIME. *TR

2006 TOYOTA AVALON TRANSMISSION HESITATES AT 0-35 MPH, ESPECIALLY IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. IT HAS NEARLY CAUSED ACCIDENTS. I NEED HELP BECAUSE TOYOTA IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION HESITATES, JUMPS, AND BUCKS AND ACCELERATION IS VERY UNEVEN. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM 0 MPH (I.E. AT A RED LIGHT), THE CAR HESITATES, AND THEN AT APPROX. 20 MPH, WHILE KEEPING THE GAS PEDAL STEADY, THE RPM'S REV UP, AND THE CAR ACCELERATES WILDLY. WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS AT AROUND 20 MPH, IT FEELS LIKE IT SHIFTS INTO A GEAR ABOVE WHAT IT SHOULD BE. THE CAR ALWAYS FEELS LIKE IT IS IN THE WRONG GEAR. THIS CAUSES PROBLEMS WHEN ACCELERATING AND BRAKING AND HAS CAUSED NUMEROUS "CLOSE CALLS." *TR THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, AND THEY MADE A MINOR ADJUSTMENT TO THE SHIFTING POINTS IN THE TRANSMISSION. UPDATED 02/17/10.

WHENEVER I ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE ,SUCH AS ENTERING A HIGHWAY FROM AN ON RAMP THE TRANSMISSION WILL HESITATE FOR A FEW SECONDS BEFORE SPEEDING UP. I UNDERSTAND OTHER OWNERS HAVE ALSO COMPLAINED AND TOYOTA MADE CORRECTIONS COULD NOT FIND IT IN YOUR DATABASE. *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

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

TRANSMISSION RANDOMLY FAILS TO DOWNSHIFT WHEN ACCELERATOR DEPRESSED HALF-TO-FULL TO GAIN SPEED QUICKLY FOR MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, ETC. AT TIMES, DOWNSHIFT SIMPLY DOES NOT OCCUR, OTHER TIMES THERE IS A ONE-TO-TWO SECOND HESITATION BEFORE THE DOWNSHIFT/ACCELERATION OCCURS.

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

I HAVE A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. AT SLOW SPEEDS THE TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO SLIP. 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. WE HAVE HAD THIS LURCHING AND SLIPPING INCIDENT SEVERAL TIMES. *JB