Very Disappointed With Avensis

[Mr S]

I recently bought a 2001 1.8VVti 50,000 miles off parents and have had quite a few issues in the 3 months. Sorry for a long post however I am disappointed because I bought the Toyota for reliability!

1. Steering often makes loud scraping sound when doing low speed manouvering. I decided from posts on internet that its not too much to worry about

2. A loud rattle started 2 months ago on accelerating (partic. uphill) from underneath when engine is hot. Independant garage said it was pinking and said go to Toyota for diagnostics. Toyota said it isn't pinking and said whole exhaust system needed replacing at cost of around £1200. (Strangely, the rattle disappeared for a couple of weeks after being with Toyota) I then saw a mechanic friend with 20years experience & he said not to worry its only a loose heat shield on cat. I have gone with my friends opinion but still not very happy!

3. Battery failed and required replacing due to faulty cell.

4. Engine fault light came on. Toyota said possible oxygen sensor problem however they reset light and light still has not come back on.

5. Took it for MOT today and although it passed they pointed out the clutch is slipping and requires replacing. I cant really tell myself but I hope to get this looked when the car is due its service in next couple of weeks.

Never had so many issues (and there are others not mentioned!) and almost thinking of selling it now. Anyone got any comments particulary on points 1 and 2 ? Thank you.

[sjrainsford]

Some points I feel I should make...

1. Doesn't really make the car un-reliable. If everything checks out ok, then it's one of those things.

2. Doesn't make the car un-reliable either, it's just a rattle.

3. Ok, this effects things. But batteries do fail after a few years, it's normal like brake pads wearing.

4. What can I say to that one? Obviously whatever caused the problem is gone now. Bit of soot on the oxygen sensor maybe?

5. Clutch slipping at 50K miles? How's it been driven? Sure the garage ain't lookin for work? It's not really sommat that's tested on an MOT.

It's a shame to see you are a little let down by the car, but I think maybe you are letting these minor things get you down. Rattles and funny noises can be excused if they aren't caused by a real problem. If you bought say a volkswagen, then maybe you wouldn't have any rattles because it would be more solid as i've experienced.

But if you want to know what un-reliable is, buy a volkswagen. It doesn't rattle, but god they get annoying when everything starts playing up!!

If this post has in any way seemed offensive, then I apologise in advance and by no means meant it like that. Just hoping you may see things from a different angle and feel a little better about things.

[bfckarlos]

When all things are considered, all I can say is that I have not come across a more reliable car than my 99 Avensis.

Yes mine has the steering column issue, but as stated it doesn't affect the driving, and sure it has one or two rattles, but with a little patience and searching it can usually be found and is usually nothing serious. But when you consider that ALL cars at some point suffer with these things (and lets face it , some start rattling as soon as the drive off the forecourt), you have to take a look at the big picture, and decide for yourself if you can live with the car or not.

But I'm sure you have got many years worth of driving left in it. I've had mine now for 2 years and the only thing had to do, is tyres and a Battery, sailed through past 2 MOT's no probs. I won't be changing just yet, and when I do, it WILL be a TOYOTA. :group-cuddles: :group-cuddles: (Though I do fancy a Lexus.)

[silverarrow]

how much oil does it use ??????

[Mr S]

Thanks very much for your replies. You are right that I am making more out of it than I should be. It's just I never expected to have so many issues in a short space of time.

And yes silverarrow. it seems to use a bit more oil ?

[Starensis]

Just to add something to this discussion...........

My office contains 10 people who have a range of vehicles from Ford's, VW's to Volvo's.

I of course have an Avensis.

Over the last 3 months everyone in the office has had major problems with their NEW Ford's & VW Golf's. The issues range from Faulty flywheels to losing gears.

I sit there & listen to them whingeing about how crap their vehicles are. At the end of the converstaion I just smile & say " Should have bought a Toyota"!

OK we may have a few minor issues & rattles, but god, I am glad I don't have a Ford or VW!! I just happen to believe that from 2000 - 2002, the cars turned out by Toyota were not up to their usual standard.

However, they are STILL better than most!

[sjrainsford]

Listen to Starensis!

He has a good point. you may be a little let down, but if you were comparing that to other cars you would be more than happy!

Put it this way, I had a volkswagen passat sport after my avensis and lex gs300. It stayed with me for 6 months and I was glad to see the back of it.

yes it drove well, was good on fuel and felt solid. But that's it. Nothing ever worked properly!

Toyotas are good on fuel generally, and hardly ever go wrong which is why they are so cheap to run. My 1.8 Avensis was cheaper to run than my renault clio 1.2 I had before!

Bet you wish you'd never said anything now!! Thing is, most of us are in these forums because we are interested in these cars, so we are bound to defend them. But it's always valuable to hear other peoples experiences, good or bad. That's what makes these forums useful as well as interesting!

[bryanbengal1]

I own and operate a Taxi in Southend, Essex.

I am on my second 1800 vvt-i, unfortunatly wrote off the first Y reg one after having it for a year. That one used 1ltr of oil every 600 miles, not a problem if its checked regulaly as it should be.

Now have 02 reg which has had management light on for few weeks, will sort out with new bank 2 O2 sensor in new year, as this is showing as problem code. Also gearbox bearings were replaced at 100,000 miles. Common problem but this was after 100,000 miles

We know there are common problems with this car and many others have worse problems than the Avensis. I have only had to replace tires, pads. oil and filter in a year and 4 months.

The Avensis is now becoming more popular with the trade in town, with more and more drivers replacing their cars with an Avensis. This is the sign of a good car as they will get rid of any problem cars.

[Guntes]

I own and operate a Taxi in Southend, Essex.

I am on my second 1800 vvt-i, unfortunatly wrote off the first Y reg one after having it for a year. That one used 1ltr of oil every 600 miles, not a problem if its checked regulaly as it should be.

Now have 02 reg which has had management light on for few weeks, will sort out with new bank 2 O2 sensor in new year, as this is showing as problem code. Also gearbox bearings were replaced at 100,000 miles. Common problem but this was after 100,000 miles

We know there are common problems with this car and many others have worse problems than the Avensis. I have only had to replace tires, pads. oil and filter in a year and 4 months.

The Avensis is now becoming more popular with the trade in town, with more and more drivers replacing their cars with an Avensis. This is the sign of a good car as they will get rid of any problem cars.

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[Guntes]

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/choose_user_reviews.html

[dacman]

I own and operate a Taxi in Southend, Essex.

I am on my second 1800 vvt-i, unfortunatly wrote off the first Y reg one after having it for a year. That one used 1ltr of oil every 600 miles, not a problem if its checked regulaly as it should be.

Now have 02 reg which has had management light on for few weeks, will sort out with new bank 2 O2 sensor in new year, as this is showing as problem code. Also gearbox bearings were replaced at 100,000 miles. Common problem but this was after 100,000 miles

We know there are common problems with this car and many others have worse problems than the Avensis. I have only had to replace tires, pads. oil and filter in a year and 4 months.

The Avensis is now becoming more popular with the trade in town, with more and more drivers replacing their cars with an Avensis. This is the sign of a good car as they will get rid of any problem cars.

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well mine has been terrible. 2 engines, 2 gearboxes, car scrapped at 4 years old and 64000 miles. I have been told its worth £200 for spares.

[baz1985]

Frankly, my Avensis has been shocking too. Mainly build related issues, rather than reliability

[spanners]

I own and operate a Taxi in Southend, Essex.

I am on my second 1800 vvt-i, unfortunatly wrote off the first Y reg one after having it for a year. That one used 1ltr of oil every 600 miles, not a problem if its checked regulaly as it should be.

I also live not far from Southend and do a daily 22 mile each way journey to work at Ford's Dunton Engineering Centre plus regular fortnight to three weekly trips to Derbyshire and back. My 52 reg old shape Avensis Vermont 1.8 VVT-i is driven pretty hard at times and has done about 75,000 miles so far. Now I doubt if it uses a litre of oil in 6,000 miles, I'd be really worried if it used that in 600. I change oil at 10,000 mile intervals and use Casrtol Magnatec. I previously ran a '97 Carina E which had 145,000 miles on the clock when we recently changed it for a Celica. That old girl was still using no more oil than the Avensis even at her ripe old age. The only thing I can suggest, and this is based on a lifetime's experience of high performance motorcycles, is that you don't use it hard enough and the bores have glazed up. It really is a mistake to treat an engine too gently. This prevents the rings and bores from mating correctly with the result that oil consumption escalates and the only real solution is to strip the engine, glaze bust the bores, fit new rings and go thrash it for a bit!

[pete.c]

I recently bought a 2001 1.8VVti 50,000 miles off parents and have had quite a few issues in the 3 months. Sorry for a long post however I am disappointed because I bought the Toyota for reliability!

1. Steering often makes loud scraping sound when doing low speed manouvering. I decided from posts on internet that its not too much to worry about

2. A loud rattle started 2 months ago on accelerating (partic. uphill) from underneath when engine is hot. Independant garage said it was pinking and said go to Toyota for diagnostics. Toyota said it isn't pinking and said whole exhaust system needed replacing at cost of around £1200. (Strangely, the rattle disappeared for a couple of weeks after being with Toyota) I then saw a mechanic friend with 20years experience & he said not to worry its only a loose heat shield on cat. I have gone with my friends opinion but still not very happy!

3. Battery failed and required replacing due to faulty cell.

4. Engine fault light came on. Toyota said possible oxygen sensor problem however they reset light and light still has not come back on.

5. Took it for MOT today and although it passed they pointed out the clutch is slipping and requires replacing. I cant really tell myself but I hope to get this looked when the car is due its service in next couple of weeks.

Never had so many issues (and there are others not mentioned!) and almost thinking of selling it now. Anyone got any comments particulary on points 1 and 2 ? Thank you.

REF: engine rattle.

hi,

does this noise seem to come from the black plastic air intake. mine had a diesel sounding clunking noise around 2000rpm on pickup and letoff and really got on my nerves. put your head against the manifold and manually rev the car using the throttle body cable, if you hear the noise coming from here then its your plastic intake manifold, don't ask me why but have heard it was a bad batch and design fault from the supplier to toyota and most replaced under warranty. my car is 4yrs old now so not covered. i obtained a cheap "new" manifold and replaced myself NO MORE NOISE AT ALL!!!!! ;)

don't know what was causing the noise cuz after investigating the old one there was nothing obvious and no rattles when shaken.

[DTO]

I also had my manifold replaced undr warrantee on my 2002yr 1.6lt Avensis (old shape)- I couldn't hear the noise but the mechanic diagnosed a "whistle" from it when revving. Something to do with the internal passages.

As hard as I tried I couldn't hear it. This was at around 60 000 km. The mechanic didn't take more than 30 mins to finish the job.