Automatic Transmission problems of the 2006 Toyota Avalon

I think I experienced a surge in my 2006 Toyota Avalon. I was not sure but people observing that did not stay and wait for police said my car raced forward after stopped at a light. I ended up steering to the right and hit a tree rather than the car ahead or pedestrians. When the police and tow truck arrived they indicated that my airbag should have gone off, but it did not.

I have a 2006 Toyota Avalon. I took it in a few weeks ago to have the accelerator recall problem "fixed". Today (3/14), I was traveling thru a shopping center parking lot at 10 to 12 mph. As I touched the brake, the car started to accelerate, grinding thru the brakes. I pushed it into neutral and jammed the brake. There was a very loud "thunk" and the car stopped and ceased trying to accelerate.

When slowing my 2006 Avalon for turn, speed bump, etc. And then accelerating there is often a lag in the transmission engaging and when it does the car lurches. I have complained many times to 2 different dealers about this since the car was new. After a year or so 1 dealer said that Toyota had issued an adjustment procedure which they performed. The problem went away for a while but has returned. In light of the recent recalls and stories about possible electronic problems with these cars I wanted to add my story to the list. I consider this a serious safety issue since the lag in transmission engagement could cause an accident when making a left turn, especially if it worsens. Further, the only way I know about this latest recall is through the news - Toyota has not notified me directly. This makes the third recall on this car - floor mats, vvt-I oil hose and now accelerator! needles to say - I am not happy with my purchase and will seriously try to convince my wife to take our business elsewhere in the future!.

The transmission poses safety problems because it is very uneven and unpredictable, shifting when you don't expect shifting, at lower and higher speeds and in cruise control.

I took my 2006 Avalon in to nalley Toyota for an oil line recall. I asked them if they could also look into the floor mat recall for me. They told me no decision had yet been made on the floor mat issue but went ahead with the oil line recall. I picked my car up that afternoon, drove 15 minutes to my mother's apartment. While slowly guiding my way into a parking place, my car accelerated violently propelling itself up over a curb and through a wooden fence, landing with my back tires on the front curb of the parking place. My braking had no effect and upon landing on the downside of the slope, my engine died. I called Toyota immediately asking what they could have done to cause this to happen since my car had never had this happen before in the 4 years I had it, and yet happened 15 minutes after they had worked on it. They said nothing was done that could have caused this. We complained to the area Toyota rep and an inspector came and look at the car at the nalley repair shop we had it towed to. Toyota says my car checks out fine and any problem was caused by the floor mats /driver. The serviceman did not advise me to remove the floor mats that were in place when they were working on the car. They released it to me with the floor mats in place. Furthermore, I contend that the first thing I check after the sudden acceleration was the location of the floor mat,which was flat against the floor.

The transmission hesitates, jumps, and bucks and acceleration is very uneven. When accelerating from 0 mph (I. E. At a red light), the car hesitates, and then at approx. 20 mph, while keeping the gas pedal steady, the rpm's rev up, and the car accelerates wildly. When the transmission shifts at around 20 mph, it feels like it shifts into a gear above what it should be. The car always feels like it is in the wrong gear. This causes problems when accelerating and braking and has caused numerous "close calls. " the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and they made a minor adjustment to the shifting points in the transmission. Updated 02/17/10.

I have a 2006 Toyota Avalon xls and I had problems with sudden acceleration when stopped at a red light with my foot lightly on the break pedal, the engine is running, and the car is in gear (drive). All at once, the car would accelerate forward really fast but stop when I push hard on the break pedal. I was thinking that maybe my foot was slipping from the break and onto the accelerator pedal without me noticing it, however, in light of the recent publicity about the gas pedal problems with Toyotas, I am thinking that maybe my foot was not slipping and this piece of information may help in the fault isolation process. It doesn't happen all the time, I would say about once every few months. My reaction on the break pedal is fast and it does stop the car.

This is just to pass along to you that I too have experienced that odd sensation of momentary acceleration while driving, but while letting off the accel pedal. On the handful of occassions when it has taken place, I believe I was always driving in heavy stop-and-go freeway traffic. Almost from the first day I leased the car, I have complained to friends that I thought my electonically-controlled transmission was "too Smart"--that it thought it knew better how to drive the car than I did. I have a feather touch in my driving style, and I have not liked how the transmission is constantly trying to figure out if it wants to be shifting up or down in heavy traffic. Now, with the recent media coverage, I am wondering if the issue is broader and could be part of the unintended acceleration issue?.

2006 Toyota Avalon transmission hesitates at 0-35 mph, especially in stop and go traffic. It has nearly caused accidents. I need help because Toyota is not acknowledging this problem. This is a big safety issue.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Avalon. When depressing the accelerator pedal from a dead stop, the engine idles and the vehicle does not respond. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the failure was possibly due to the emission control. When the contact took the vehicle to a different Toyota dealer, they stated that the failure may be due to the transmission. The failure does not occur when traveling uphill. The current and failure mileages were 23,000. Updated 03-25-08 the consumer stated at low speeds the engine revs and after informing the dealer he was informing NHTSA the dealer found a fix for the defect. The consumer stated still shifts unevenly. Updated 03/25/08.

When entering traffic from the on ramp and with plenty of time under normal conditions my Toyota Avalon, upon acceleration the engine actually cut out I mean with a serious hesitation that I could not respond to in time. The auto quickly approaching my rear veered into the next lane causing the third car to run off on the shoulder of the road. This is indeed a highly safety problem. I escaped without a scratch to myself or car. This has happened many times before but not to this extent. I took my car back to thompsons Toyota in placerville CA 3 times for the same problem and each time they tell me they can't find anything wrong with the acceleration. I have about 10,000 miles on the car now but the problem surfaced less than a week after I bought it. What are my options I need the car and I must drive this safety affected product. The car is ok after you get to 60 mph. On acceleration from a stop position a 4 cyl. Corolla and Honda can perform better, in fact I have a tacoma Toyota 4 cyl 1999 with 100,000 mile that also accelerates better than my Avalon.

I was driving slowly around a rotary, and took my foot off accelerator to drift a bit to allow a preceding car to enter. When I pressed the gas pedal gently, there was a sudden violent kick which frightened both me and my wife. (I believe the transmission had shifted in low, but it was as if we had been hit in the rear with a large slapping hand!) I had to react quickly to avoid being driven into the car ahead by this sudden small burst of speed. An accident could easily have otherwise taken place. The transmission has always been erratic at times since we purchased the car, but this was the worst thing that has happened. I have had the latest computer upgrade on this problem installed, and it was within 1 day after that this took place. I had read all of the NHTSA safety reports on this car, and there have been many similar. In my mind there is a serious safety problem which needs addressing. (a similar but much less violent series of incidents have occurred when in cruise control going somewhat uphill, when it downshifts and the car speeds up noticeably and in some cases so much so that I have to take it out of cruise for a bit) such unpredictability makes both my wife and I feel unsafe in this car at those times.

Transmission hesitation when accelerating from a braking situation. Transmission delay impairing ability to merge or safely change lanes. Repeated occurrences since may 2006. Car is once again in shop for inspection.

Whenever I attempt to accelerate ,such as entering a highway from an on ramp the transmission will hesitate for a few seconds before speeding up. I understand other owners have also complained and Toyota made corrections could not find it in your database.

I' had continuous problems since the first day of ownership, April 2006 with the transmission/linkage slipping/not engaging at slow speeds. It was particularly noticeable when making turns, but also occurs when slowing down, and then attempting to speed up. Attempts to have the problem repaired by the dealership have been unsuccessful; they refuse to acknowledge that there is even a problem!.

2006 Toyota Avalon. At low speeds, especially after slowing, the transmission acts as if it were in neutral, and severely hesitates, when an attempt is made to accelerate. Dealer says it's normal. There are years of complaints all over the web. I can't believe that some have not been rear-ended or struck when attempting to accelerate into traffic from a highway entrance ramp. Toyota should be forced to redo the programming of the responsible computer chip or replace the chip with one that has a faster clock speed. They should also be held legally responsible for all incidents. The date below is for the latest of near daily, usually minor failures like slowing to turn a corner.

: the contact stated while accelerating at 10 mph, the automatic transmission was sluggish while shifting gears, and lurched forward without warning. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who was unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was alerted. Updated 01/19/07.

: the contact stated intermittently, while accelerating and turning a corner the vehicle hesitated, and then lurched forward. The dealership was unable to determine the cause of the problem. Updated 10/17/2006 -.

The transmission acts erratically at low speeds. If I am rolling through a stop sign or just in traffics at 5-10 mph the transmission will "hunt" for a gear. Sometimes it is a hesitation and sometimes it jerks into gear, depends on how much trottle you apply. If I am stop turn right on red, have plenty of time to make a turn before an approaching car arrives, if the transmission is hunting for a gear, I have no control of the car. It might be only for 1 or 2 seconds, but it is dangerous. Repeated service trips, service manangers and even district manager has failed to get anyones' attention. . Read more...

I was on my way to the dealer for an oil change and to have our new (picked-up 26 Jan 06) Toyota Avalon looked over as it had 3,500 miles. We live in the ozarks and of course it is very hilly. I normally use the "manual" mode on the automatic transmission to slow the car down as to descend the hills leading into and out of our sub-division. However, on 23 Jun I just left it in the regular automatic mode and used the brakes. When I saw there was no on-coming traffic, I stepped on the accelerator to go---the rpm's jumped to over 3,000 and then the car lurched forward. Thank goodness there was no on-coming traffic--I can only imagine what might have happened. I asked the dealer to check this occurrence out--they couldn't duplicate. Since the first incident I've had the same thing happen on 4 separate occasions--always when left in the automatic mode and after you've slowed down and then press the accelerator to go. . Read more...

- the contact stated that every time he completed a turn in the 2006 Toyota Avalon ( with failure mileage: 5 miles at slow rate of speed under 20 mph, with the foot on the accelerator pedal the vehicle would not accelerate. Then, without any warning ,the transmission engaged and the vehicle jerked. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer, who stated that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and could not duplicate the problem. The current mileage was 22,109.

Transmission hesitates excessively when automatically downshifting at speeds below 10 mph. This has happened every day and every downshift from the first day of ownership. Terrible condition that no one at Toyota is willing to admit or fix. Wtf?.

Bought the car from Aug 2005. The transmission problem is getting worse. Took few seconds to respond to downshift when step on the gas pedal, few times I almost got hit from behind because of that during heavy traffic.

At times the engine speed does not increase when the accelerator pedal is depressed. Such as when I stop at a red light and then try to accelerate when the light turns green and at times when I try to pass another vehicle and I cannot increase speed or when I slow down and then try to accelerate the vehicle does not accelerate as it should.

: the contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the transmission momentarily hesitates before properly selecting the correct gear to engage. This occurred at speeds of 5 mph and above. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for inspection. The dealer determined the electronic transmission software needed replaced. However, the manufacturer did not have aftermarket software available and no repairs were made. Updated 03/17/06.

I purchased a 2006 Toyota Avalon on 24 Dec 2005. On a number of occasions when I come to a stop, no matter what the speed is the rpm will rev up to about 2000 rpm. I have a very hard time stopping the car. It is a very scary situation & dangerous position I am in. This does not happen every time I drive the car. My wife is afraid to drive it now. I took it to the dealer & they could not find anything wrong with the car. What are my options?.

I'm an owner of a 2006 Toyota Avalon and I'm curious if the electronic transmission has been investigated as a cause of the accelerator issue? I purchased this car as a new car and within 2 weeks I returned o the dealer to have the transmission checked. At this point it lagged when downshifting or seemed to be continuously searching for the appropriate gear. I was told that he computer had to learn our driving style and the issue would go away. It has never gone away, and it seems to have gotten worse over time. I have 60,000 miles on this car.

Toyota 2006 Avalon I recently bought a Toyota Avalon. It now has 3800 miles on it. In the second week after the purchase, I was driving on a ramp to enter a limited access high way. Speed was about 50 mph as I blended in with the flow of traffic. The lane I was in started to slow down and the lane to my left had an open space. I pressed on the accelerator to gain speed and turned the steering wheel toward the left lane. The car, instead of accelerating, appeared to go into neutral, the tachometer reached almost 7000 rpm, then the transmission shifted into the passing gear and leaped forward. I almost hit the rear end of the car in front of me, but since my car had slowed down a little I was able to steer around and get into the left lane. I have gone into this detailed explanation to demonstrate the danger, and potential terrible accident at 50mph that the ã‚??built inã‚?? hesitation of the 2006 Toyota Avalon could have caused. After this experience, I went back to the dealer, got the explanation that the hesitation was normal for 2006 Toyota and nothing could be done about it. I told the dealer I did not want the car and wanted my money back. Of course that was refused. So iã‚??m still driving a car I think is dangerous. I thinktoyota should make a retro fit to correct the hesitation problem.