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2008 Toyota Avalon

611 messages,  Last post on Oct 10, 2009 at 2:52 AM

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#575 of 611 Re: Headlight problem [mlingga] by mlingga Jul 25, 2009 (11:01 am)
Replying to: mlingga (May 03, 2009 7:59 am) An update for those kind enough to chime in on my headlight problem. At my last routine maintenance visit, I complained about the headlights. When I picked it up, the dealer said they had been adjusted. And, yes indeed, they are now infinitely better. The throw distance on low is about double what it was before, with a commensurate increase in high beam distance. So, just for anyone else, it is possible to have the autolevelling system be out of alignment and apparently it's an easy fix if so.
#576 of 611 Warped brake rotor by mlingga Jul 25, 2009 (11:07 am)
So the headlights work, but now I have a warped brake rotor. Marked steering wheel vibration under mild to moderate brake pressure at speeds over 40 mph. Have around 35K miles on car.   Has anyone else had warped rotor issues? For that matter, when did most of you find that you needed brake maintenance (pads, presumably). I hate just machining rotors, as I am of the opinion that by shaving even more metal off the rotors, you just worsen the heating of the rotors and they rewarp even faster. Is this just my Avy or is this a more widespread issue? Replies to this message: mcclearyfl (Jul 25, 2009 12:08 pm) mlingga (Jul 25, 2009 2:05 pm) fin (Jul 25, 2009 3:30 pm) tjc78 (Jul 25, 2009 3:44 pm) diekema (Jul 29, 2009 10:38 am)
#577 of 611 Re: Warped brake rotor [mlingga] by mcclearyfl Jul 25, 2009 (12:08 pm)
Replying to: mlingga (Jul 25, 2009 11:07 am) This was a regular problem on the previous model ( I have a 2003). I eventually changed the front disks (about 35K) and did the front pads at the same time. Like you I don't machine rotors,   Another contributing factor to wheel vibration when braking is uneven torque on the lug nuts. I found one nut to be overtightened and, upon correcting that problem, the vibration completely disappeared. Replies to this message: mlingga (Jul 25, 2009 2:05 pm) fin (Jul 25, 2009 3:30 pm)
#578 of 611 Re: Warped brake rotor [mcclearyfl] by mlingga Jul 25, 2009 (2:05 pm)
Replying to: mcclearyfl (Jul 25, 2009 12:08 pm) mcc: thanks for the info. It would be great if this was just an overtorqued lug nut, I'll check. If that isn't it, I guess I'm looking at new rotors. Oh well. Replies to this message: fin (Jul 25, 2009 3:30 pm)
#579 of 611 Re: Warped brake rotor [mlingga] by fin Jul 25, 2009 (3:30 pm)
Replying to: mlingga (Jul 25, 2009 2:05 pm) Turning rotors is a subject of great debate. I do it once, depending on how much needs to be removed. If you catch worn pads soon enough and there is no other significant warp factor to correct, you can turn them once if the mechanic is careful and you should not really lose any critical braking ability. After one even average turn however, the thickness becomes much more important. Ask for measurements before and after turning and compare to factory original specs and minimum thickness.   The prior series Avalon (had a '03XL also after the '99XL) was definitely prone to rotor problems and premature pad wear on the factory pads. And the mag wheels were also easily warped by tire techs and an air wrench. The 2005 up seems to be much better as the pads on my '07 are just now wearing down at 40k+ miles, should go 48k to replacement.   The main concern is safety so never hesitate to do the right thing with brakes.
#580 of 611 Re: Warped brake rotor [mlingga] by tjc78 Jul 25, 2009 (3:44 pm)
Replying to: mlingga (Jul 25, 2009 11:07 am) but now I have a warped brake rotor   On my '06 my rotors were warped at around 20K.
#581 of 611 Mystery Electrical problem... by kbetts1 Jul 27, 2009 (11:11 am)
You adjust your headlights by turning a 10mm bolt located on the back of the headlight assembly. They are located just below the two rubber hood supports at each side. It doesn't take much to change them from not enough to too much, maybe three full turns at most.   The Toyota dealer warped my rotors also on the front left and rear right by over tightening the lug nuts. I pulled off the wheels and was going to have them turned but found I didn't have the right size socket for the wheel retainer bolt (most are not held on by more than a couple of screws if anything.) I put back on the calipers and remounted the wheel and was going to let the dealer deal with it. BUT, just messing around with them must have relieved the stress and now there is no more pulsing in the pedal... (YA!).   My only current problem is some mystery electrical problem. Driving down the road with the lights/stereo/AC on and then hitting the wipers caused all the displays to die. Additionally, if I don't drive it regularly the battery goes dead. Dealer says the battery and charging system are fine..
#582 of 611 Re: Mystery Electrical problem...[kbetts1] by redmazda3 Jul 28, 2009 (5:02 am)
My parents 08 Avalon had a dead battery problem. It turns out it was the auto dimming mirror that was put on at the port of entrance to the US. It was wired backwards and caused a massive drain on the battery. Once it was properly wired, the battery does not go dead the next day. They sometimes only drive the car every 4 days or so and the battery cranks the car everytime now.
#583 of 611 Re: Mystery Electrical problem... by kirkkempen Jul 28, 2009 (8:27 am)
Which port of entrance to the US would that be (since the Avalon is built in Georgetown, Kentucky)? My guess is that the mirror was added at the dealership, and they don't want to own up to the mistake.
#584 of 611 Re: Mystery Electrical problem... by redmazda3 Jul 29, 2009 (6:08 am)
Thats interesting. I didn't know it was built in the US. I'll look at the window sticker and see if it was actually added at the dealer. The info about the port was from another Toyota dealer that fixed the problem. The original dealer didn't look very hard at the problem and told us we weren't driving it enough to keep the battery charged. I laughed at that comment, however I didn't have a clue what was wrong except to me it seemed to be a short somewhere and they just didn't want to look for it. The second dealer in Greenville, MS., took the time and trouble to get all the paperwork on the car he could find and by looking at the add ons, he started there and found the mirror wired backwards. Replies to this message: popsavalon (Jul 29, 2009 8:08 am)

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