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Dear fellow avalon owners, i'm new to the club here (again i appreciate the approval from admin's) I recently came into ownership of in my opinion one very clean & definitely rare late 04' build Mark III Avalon Grande. with a complete and full toyota service history to back it up. Best thing is, everything works - sunroof was cleaned & greased properly on a regular basis. etc etc it's got over 200k on it yet it's still running 5w30 full synthetic, doesn't burn a single drop in between services (i mean within the exception of PCV vapours obviously, but i never have to add oil Just last year the entire intake manifold was off along with all the injectors being fully cleaned/tested or rebuilt depending (only going off what Toyota documents i have) - the manifold was fully cleaned inside out. I also managed to track down both spec sheets including full features list, specs, etc In my opinion i've always had a soft spot for the Avalon amongst other toyota models, with the exception of the Avalon could have been a superior product, along with that old school luxury which personally i adore, when Toyota Australia took over the MCX10R Avalon tooling from the good ol'e US of A, we made a solid car even better. and for the time, it didn't sell, but by the Mark III, they had a certain level of Lexus solidity. But just how over-built they are after seeing one in person really astounded me. Yes it does't have TCS, but half the time Commodore & Falcon TCS systems at the time were primitive at best. The level of refinement within a Mark III is quite impressive with the yanks to thank for certain items in my opinion Ford & GM never thought of. Top 5 features i really admire that isn't offered by Ford or Holden at the time. 1. Electric sunroof with tilt & slide as standard equipment on Grande models. 2. Standard navigation DVD based system that still can be updated even now because the system is still quite user friendly once you get the hang of it. 3. Active front seat headrests that both adjust up & down but also can tilt forward towards you or further back to improve your driving position. 4. "Cool Air Bypass Switch" - Air flows from the centre vents within the following settings, not only is it a safety feature, it's quite nifty. 5. That extra comfortable Lexus-like leather they used on the Avalon's which stood up well over time. All in all, i'm hard pressed to find a top spec Ford or Holden of the time that had navigation that either worked or was optioned for originally. Along with the touch points feeling of a much higher quality finish Will the Avalon catch on ?, only to those who are willing to give an otherwise brilliant car the time of day for..... S_T_P_AVA_BR_VBR_03-04_AVALON0304_Avalon Brochure - March 2004.pdf

So, ladies & gentlemen... few months update. I've been monitoring my tyre life, but unfortunately i have to report the current continental tyres on my Avalon are wearing pretty averagely. There's nothing wrong with my alignment, etc - but the grip is negligible. Now the factory rim size off memory is 16x6 JJ with (off memory) 45° offset 205/60/R16 were factory fitted I upgraded to 215/55/R16 Slightly lower profile, speedo accuracy is negligible (1.48% out) Where as i want to correct that, now i can technically JUST fit a 225/55/R16 and get more grip, and also the speedo correction will basically be -0.23 (essentially dead accurate) Because even the continental's i have at the moment struggle for grip if i really push the Avalon from a stand still in some situations, i just guess she was made on a good day, it has no issue getting out of it's way. Also braking isn't as good which shocks me. Can anyone reccomend branded/respected brands with great grip over what i have, even so a 225 should boost grip substantially over a 205. I could get 205/55's in Michelin Pilot Sport 4's but personally i wana try have more rubber on the road if possible. I know the PS4's are excellent regardless of the size Sizes i'm after preferably 225/55/R16 or 215/55/R16 Last resort is a 205/55/R16 Pilot Sport 4 unless i get more grip from the alternates.

Hi guys, just wondering i've read forms on & off on the Avalon section but i noticed it's not quite as active compared to other threads. But i've got a few questions. Does anybody know if the Avalon has a secret/hidden cabin filter under the dash near the footrest ? Does the "Cool Air Bypass Switch" provide more air flow over the central vents when it's operational ?, or is the foam at the back restricting the fan air flow ? Does anybody run an external transmission cooler ?, applicable to A541E's 4sp auto ? Is there an extra bass "loud" mode hidden within the Mark 3 Avalon Grande (with factory navigation) ? Is the Lexus ES300 & Avalon blower motor the same exact part ?

Hey everyone! I go by OJ, I live in Melbourne, and I currently own a 1999 MCV20R Camry Touring. I’ve had it for a few years and I gotta say, these V6 Camrys are awesome to drive, despite most people my age (I’m 22) suggesting they’re slow as hell. Have another MCV20R that’s been in the family for a long time, so when it came to buying my own daily, there really was no other contender. Anyway, I’ve recently gotten hooked on the idea of doing the old Camry up a bit and make it look a bit sleeker and nicer, so expect some questions about things like wheel fitment and swapping parts over and things of that nature. I’ve also recently gotten interested in getting a Z20 Soarer as a project/weekend type car. Big thing with this idea is to engine swap a 1JZ into it. So I’ll probably be making posts asking about specific specs and things I might need to know in order to do the swap properly. The Soarer is more of just an idea at the moment and I really want to make sure I’ll be doing it right. I hope I can count on this groups collective knowledge to make sure I don’t butcher it 😂. Looking forward to talking with you all.

I have been chasing a fault on my 2000 Avalon for 18 months (after sending it repeatedly to a mechanic for repair. The fault was intermittent engine light (MIL), which eventually came on constantly (after closed-loop warm-up). The fault was diagnosed as knock sensors (OBDII Code PO325/330). The knock sensors were replaced twice and the harness also replaced and the PCM (Powertrain Control Module - computer) was sent away for checking by a specialist. When they still couldn't fix the problem, I had a look at the knock sensor outputs on an oscilloscope. I should mention that if driving the engine hard, the MIL would not illuminate as the computer then only looks at the TPS (throttle position sensor) for ignition timing. I noticed that the knock sensors had different level outputs, so I fitted an amplifier (disused computer sound card amp) with a gain of x2 between the knock sensor leads and the PCM inputs. I have just completed a 4,500Km interstate trip with no further problems with the MIL! So the answer was easy - only fit genuine Toyota Knock Sensors to this engine (which I priced at $263 against after market ones of around $70).

Hi all, this is my first post. I inherited a '98 V6 camry in need of repair, which has been a pet project of mine these last months, to learn auto skills. I am currently diagnosing a squel/persistent chirp from the belt area. I removed the alternator(and ac?) belt that was easy to get at, it was in good condition, the three pulleys it ran through were true and spun freely. I reattached the belt, tightened, started engine and the is noise still there. Before I go further, is it safe for me to remove this belt and start the engine? I would like to be thorough, and I am curious to know now. I'll probably have more questions in coming weeks and months, I'm enjoying working on the car and have found previous threads from this forum to be very useful. Cheers, Mic