2006 Toyota Avalon Power Train

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.

TRANSMISSION HESITATION WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A BRAKING SITUATION. TRANSMISSION DELAY IMPAIRING ABILITY TO MERGE OR SAFELY CHANGE LANES. REPEATED OCCURRENCES SINCE MAY 2006. CAR IS ONCE AGAIN IN SHOP FOR INSPECTION. *TR

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE ACCELERATING AT 10 MPH, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS SLUGGISH WHILE SHIFTING GEARS, AND LURCHED FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED. UPDATED 01/19/07. *JB

BOUGHT THE CAR FROM AUG 2005. THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE. TOOK FEW SECONDS TO RESPOND TO DOWNSHIFT WHEN STEP ON THE GAS PEDAL, FEW TIMES I ALMOST GOT HIT FROM BEHIND BECAUSE OF THAT DURING HEAVY TRAFFIC. *NM

I PURCHASED A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON ON 24 DEC 2005. ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS WHEN I COME TO A STOP, NO MATTER WHAT THE SPEED IS THE RPM WILL REV UP TO ABOUT 2000 RPM. I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME STOPPING THE CAR. IT IS A VERY SCARY SITUATION & DANGEROUS POSITION I AM IN. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR. MY WIFE IS AFRAID TO DRIVE IT NOW. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER & THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? *NM

PURCHASED A CERTIFIED, USED 2006 TOYOTA AVALON TOURING MODEL ON JULY 15, 2006. WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF OWNERSHIP, I NOTICED A SERIOUS HESITATION IN THE TRANSMISSION, ESPECIALLY AT SPEEDS BELOW 10 MPH. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO KOONS TOYOTA DEALERSHIP ON JULY 8, 2006 AND HAD THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT SHOP FOREMAN, DRIVE THE VEHICLE. HE CONFIRMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS INDEED HESITATING AND THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM FOR 2004-2006 TOYOTA SIENNAS, AVALONS AND CAMRYS THAT SHARE THE SAME 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. CHRIS TOLD ME THAT THE COMPUTER THAT SELECTS THE APPROPRIATE GEAR BASED ON VARIOUS CRITERIA ANALYZED BY THE SYSTEM IS TOO SLOW IN PROCESSING THIS INFORMATION, WHICH IN TURN CAUSES THE HESITATION AND RPM SURGE BEFORE A GEAR IS ENGAGED. I LODGED A COMPLAINT WITH TOYOTA TODAY (CASE NUMBER 200608090063), AND WAS TOLD THAT THE "CORPORATE LINE" IS THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS BEHAVING AS WAS INTENDED. THE DEALER TOLD ME THIS ISSUE CAN BE FIXED BY A REPROGRAMMING OF THE COMPUTER OR REPLACING THE CHIP WITH A "FASTER" VERSION. OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A TERRIBLY DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT TOYOTA NEEDS TO ADDRESS. *NM

I OWN A 2006 AVALON LTD. UPON ENTERING THE ON-RAMP TO ROUTE 23 IN WAYNE, NJ, I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE TO SLOW THE CAR. AFTER CONFIRMING THERE WAS ROOM TO MERGE, I APPLIED THE GAS AND ATTEMPTED TO MERGE. I NOTICED AND HEARD THE TACHOMETER SURGE BUT THE TRANSMISSION DID NOT ENGAGE. I LOST MY OPPORTUNITY TO MERGE AND HAD TO QUICKLY APPLY THE BRAKES. BY THEN, THE RAMP LANE HAD ENDED AND I HAD TO TURN ONTO THE SHOULDER TO AVOID HITTING AN ONCOMING CAR. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO TO THE DEALER WHO EXAMINED THE CAR AND STATED THAT THIS WAS/IS "NORMAL OPERATION WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER CARS OF THIS TYPE". I OPENED A COMPLAINT FILE WITH TOYOTA ((#20060719XXX...LAST 3 NUMBERS LEFT OUT INTENTIONALLY). THE TRANSMISSION ON THIS CAR CONTINUES TO EXHIBIT ERRATIC BEHAVIOR (TRANSMISSION HESITATION) UNDER THESE SAME CONDITIONS (BRAKING FOLLOWED BY ACCELERATION). THIS SITUATION SIGNIFICANTLY HINDERS MY ABILITY TO SAFELY OPERATE MY VEHICLE WHILE MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. *JB

I WAS ON MY WAY TO THE DEALER FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND TO HAVE OUR NEW (PICKED-UP 26 JAN 06) TOYOTA AVALON LOOKED OVER AS IT HAD 3,500 MILES. WE LIVE IN THE OZARKS AND OF COURSE IT IS VERY HILLY. I NORMALLY USE THE "MANUAL" MODE ON THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN AS TO DESCEND THE HILLS LEADING INTO AND OUT OF OUR SUB-DIVISION. HOWEVER, ON 23 JUN I JUST LEFT IT IN THE REGULAR AUTOMATIC MODE AND USED THE BRAKES. WHEN I SAW THERE WAS NO ON-COMING TRAFFIC, I STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR TO GO---THE RPM'S JUMPED TO OVER 3,000 AND THEN THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD. THANK GOODNESS THERE WAS NO ON-COMING TRAFFIC--I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED. I ASKED THE DEALER TO CHECK THIS OCCURRENCE OUT--THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE. SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT I'VE HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS--ALWAYS WHEN LEFT IN THE AUTOMATIC MODE AND AFTER YOU'VE SLOWED DOWN AND THEN PRESS THE ACCELERATOR TO GO. I'VE READ ON THE WWW.EDMUNDS.COM WEBSITE ABOUT OTHERS WHO'VE EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING. THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WRONG AND BEFORE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT OCCURS TOYOTA NEEDS TO FIX THE AUTO TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE TRANSMISSION MOMENTARILY HESITATES BEFORE PROPERLY SELECTING THE CORRECT GEAR TO ENGAGE. THIS OCCURRED AT SPEEDS OF 5 MPH AND ABOVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES FOR INSPECTION. THE DEALER DETERMINED THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE NEEDED REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT HAVE AFTERMARKET SOFTWARE AVAILABLE AND NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. UPDATED 03/17/06. *JB