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2008 Toyota Avalon

614 messages,  Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 8:51 AM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Avalon, Future Vehicle, Sedan


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#556 of 614
mileage by jpm1908
Mar 29, 2009 (9:20 pm)
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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
#557 of 614
Re: mileage [jpm1908] by wwest
Mar 30, 2009 (7:35 am)
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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 614
Re: mileage [jpm1908] by tfelton
Mar 30, 2009 (8:33 am)
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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 614
Headlight problem? by mlingga
Apr 30, 2009 (5:54 pm)
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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.
#560 of 614
Re: Headlight problem? [mlingga] by fin
Apr 30, 2009 (8:28 pm)
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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 614
Re: Headlight problem? [mlingga] by wwest
May 01, 2009 (8:43 am)
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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.
#562 of 614
Re: Headlight problem? [wwest] by mlingga
May 01, 2009 (9:15 am)
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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!
#563 of 614
Re: Headlight problem? [mlingga] by wwest
May 01, 2009 (2:16 pm)
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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.
#564 of 614
Headlight problem by doug3030
May 01, 2009 (2:55 pm)
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My 2008 Av Limited has the same problem as indicated by others. I made a remark on the forum some time ago that when driving in the country, I had a difficult time picking up deer standing beside the road while in the bright mode and darn near impossible when using the dims. Seems the brights just don't reach out there to illuminate the road as they should. Change bulbs ? Suggestions? When I checked w/Toyota dealer they commented, "Normal".
#565 of 614
Re: Headlight problem [doug3030] by mlingga
May 03, 2009 (7:59 am)
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Replying to: doug3030 (May 01, 2009 2:55 pm)

Doug: sounds like we're both complaining about the same problem. I was afraid of just what you said, that if I took it to the dealer they'd just say "that's the way they all are." That's why I'm hoping someone with an Av Limited will take the time to measure the throw distance on their low beams, If not, maybe I'll try to talk the dealer into letting me see the throw distance on a Limited on their lot and see if it's equally miserable.
 
I'll say again, that 30 feet of throw is way inadequate. I'm talking about overdriving the headlights not at 60 mph, but at 30 mph!

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