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2008 Toyota Avalon

632 messages,  Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 4:47 PM

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#554 of 632 Re: Mileage and power [neil5] by fmfl Mar 17, 2009 (10:46 am)
Replying to: neil5 (Mar 10, 2009 12:33 pm) I did a double-take when I read "BMW GummyPledge" ... asking myself what in the heck is that. I googled it and found out it is a protectant sold at BMW places, and that it is probably pretty expensive. Neil5 is on the ball. However, I asked myself what cheapskates use, so I googled Advance Auto and found out they sell something called Jig-A-Loo (which is currently on sale, 2 cans for $8). I also found out the stuff is sold all over the place, e.g., Home Depot, True Value, etc. There is even a Metacafe Advertisement, that will probably go down as the worst ad ever made ... http://www.metacafe.com/watch/597780/jig_a_loo_funny_ad/ . This is a silicone based spray that can be used on everything I guess. Thanks for the education Neil5.
#555 of 632 Re: [ncee] "Gas Mileage on a Trip" by tfelton Mar 29, 2009 (5:15 pm)
Replying to: ncee (Feb 16, 2009 4:48 am) We talked back in February about the mpg with the Avalon. I just came back from the trip to the East as I mentioned and got the following results. Driving was on Interstates plus NYC and upstate NY and MA including trips to the store, pool hall, etc. On the interstates my gas stops are determined by my wife's pit-stop requirements so sometimes I need the gas and sometimes I don't but if I'm close to a half or lower I get gas.   The overall MPG was 28.74 (3,120.5 miles using 108.583 gallons). The individual mpgs were: 29.8, 27.7, 31.1, 28.1, 26.8, 31.1, 24.7, 26.4, 30.6, and 30.0   Ted
#556 of 632 mileage by jpm1908 Mar 29, 2009 (9:20 pm)
Ted - That is darn good mileage. The highway mileage has never been a concern for me. The exclusive "around town" driving was yielding btw 16 and 18. A month or so ago,I increased the inflation of my tires to 40 psi and I there is a noticeable improvement.   I switched to synthetic oil at the last servicing and the longer interval btw oil changes is agreeable.   Regards-Jamie Replies to this message: wwest (Mar 30, 2009 7:35 am) tfelton (Mar 30, 2009 8:33 am)
#557 of 632 Re: mileage [jpm1908] by wwest Mar 30, 2009 (7:35 am)
Replying to: jpm1908 (Mar 29, 2009 9:20 pm) ".....40 psi.."   Yes, that will make ABS activation a LOT quicker....!!   With less tread for road contact the brake pads will be a LOT more effective.
#558 of 632 Re: mileage [jpm1908] by tfelton Mar 30, 2009 (8:33 am)
Replying to: jpm1908 (Mar 29, 2009 9:20 pm) Except when I'm on a trip I don't do "city" driving although we do have traffic in town. It's not like anything you're in. My average around home is 24 to 26 mpg. I think city drivers ought to calculate in "gallons per hour".   The use of synthetic oil is the way to go. I've been using it since 1987. Right now I use Mobil 1 but use the Extended Performance since it doesn't cost too much more than the regular and you can go on a long trip without worrying about changing oil in the middle of it.   As far as tire pressure goes I put in 34 psi.   Ted
#559 of 632 Headlight problem? by mlingga Apr 30, 2009 (5:54 pm)
I have the 2008 Limited with the autolevelling headlights. To my eye, the "throw" on the headlights is incredibly short--on low, it feels like I am overdriving the headlights even at 20 mph. On high, the headlights seem to be what I'm used to seeing with other cars on low.   To try and quantify this, I crudely measured how many feet in front of the car the beam cut off on low. It was about 30-35 feet. The only other vehicle I have to compare to is our Suburban--admittedly not a great comparator, as a much taller vehicle--but the throw on low was about double the Av--around 60 feet.   My question: do I have defective headlight leveling, or is this just a design flaw in the Av? Does anyone else notice this, or is there someone obsessive enough to measure the throw on their Limited headlights? I'd love to have some data before going to the dealer and getting the "no, that's the way they all are" line. Replies to this message: fin (Apr 30, 2009 8:28 pm) wwest (May 01, 2009 8:43 am) mlingga (May 01, 2009 9:15 am) wwest (May 01, 2009 2:16 pm)
#560 of 632 Re: Headlight problem? [mlingga] by fin Apr 30, 2009 (8:28 pm)
Replying to: mlingga (Apr 30, 2009 5:54 pm) Possible the leveling mechanism is defective but more than likely it's fine. The problem is that the newer Avalons, and many other cars, have headlights that illuminate more to the sides and less to the front. Why? Ask the designers. They say it works better for all drivers. I disagree because I like distance penetration on suburban roads and interstates where I drive most of the time, but...   The lights also have a very distinct "horizontal cutoff". Notice on a dark road that everything below a horizontal line out in front of the car is illuminated but there is hardly any illumination above the line. This is hard for some people, including me, to adjust to. But it works, you hit things on the road or that enter the road, not in the air above the car.   Others may have more ideas, hope this helps....
#561 of 632 Re: Headlight problem? [mlingga] by wwest May 01, 2009 (8:43 am)
Replying to: mlingga (Apr 30, 2009 5:54 pm) With the advent of more common use of HID headlights, "tight" beam focussing projector lense, and even in some cases "extra" bright halogen bulbs, the requirement to "shade" your headlights against interferring with an oncoming driver's vision is raised.   So if you have HID headlamps, or even halogen headlamps with projectors lense, then there is a "requirement" for more upper beam cutoff, SHARP upper beam cutoff, than in yesteryear. Replies to this message: mlingga (May 01, 2009 9:15 am) wwest (May 01, 2009 2:16 pm)
#562 of 632 Re: Headlight problem? [wwest] by mlingga May 01, 2009 (9:15 am)
Replying to: wwest (May 01, 2009 8:43 am) What both of you point out makes sense, and it's certainly true that the cutoff on my Av is very sharp. Still, I find that the amount of pavement illuminated is so short that it's truly dangerous to drive on an unlighted road at anything approaching the speed limit. I can certainly say that the Av on high beam is no brighter to oncoming traffic than the Suburban on low.   If anyone with a Limited has absolutely nothing to do some evening, I'd love to hear how many feet their headlights illuminate to see if it's just Avalon headlights or my vehicle in particular. Thanks! Replies to this message: wwest (May 01, 2009 2:16 pm)
#563 of 632 Re: Headlight problem? [mlingga] by wwest May 01, 2009 (2:16 pm)
Replying to: mlingga (May 01, 2009 9:15 am) The headlights in your Suburban are mounted quite a bit higher than your Avalon, so yes, they will have a greater low beam distance pattern by that measure. Check to see if the high beams on your Avalon are actually working. Lots of new cars have "bi-xenons", wherein the HID low beam "shade" is moved out of the way to give the high beam mode more distance.   You will also have, typically, a pair of normal halogen high beam bulbs that illuminate in parallel with the high beam mode of the bi-xenon.   The high beam beam bulbs are also often used at half voltage for greater distance DRLs. Operation of halogen bulbs at this low voltage will often reduce their lifecycle significantly so you might want to check to be sure that both bulbs are operating.   But yes, operating/driving at highway speeds, 60+ MPH, on only low beams can get a bit nerve racking, even scary.

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