Used 2014 Toyota Avalon Consumer Reviews
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Rides like a truck. poor engineered struts.
gordon grier, 04/01/2015
updated 07/02/2016
2014 Toyota Avalon XLE 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
96 of 101 people found this review helpful
I had a 2005 toytoa avalon that had a very comfortable ride. This 2014 Toyota Avalon rides like a truck. Poor engineering . Toyota fixed the poor ride problem on their 2016 Avalon models. So on 06/01/16 , I bought new front 2016 Avalon coil Springs part #48131-07120 , #48132-07030 & new front 2016 Avalon shock absorbers part #48520- 8z156 , #48510- 8z299 for my 2014 Avalon. After installing them on my 2014 Avalon , I am now very happy with the improvment in the ride quality. The cost for the springs & shocks was around $400.00. All 2016 shocks & springs fit on 2014 with no problem. The very uncomfortable ride was driving me nuts. This change was a lot cheaper than buying a new car with a more comfortable ride. Hope this helps others with the same problem I had .
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Give this an extended test drive before buying!
Arslan T, 03/30/2016
2014 Toyota Avalon XLE 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
30 of 31 people found this review helpful
I drive about 26k miles a year and about 80 miles a day here in Houston and was looking for a used road warrior. My biggest factor in purchasing our 3rd car here is road comfort (to avoid road fatigue) and efficiency/mpg. I have two friends that have the older Avalon models and rave about its comfort and ride, and currently having an ES 350 and seeing its reliability and comfort, the new Avalon was an obvious choice for me. We had the opportunity to purchase a 2015 Avalon XLE but the week that I was to purchase the car I had an opportunity to rent the same car. 200-300 miles later and I am absolutely set on never buying this current Avalon! The exterior has great looks and the interior took a bit to get use to. As others have reviewed, the ride is firm on the highway to the extent that you will feel most bumps, causing road fatigue much earlier (about 25 mins for me). Secondly the seat does not have adequate lumbar support, making the ride much worse. Please do test drive the car before buying this as Toyota has changed the Avalon to make it appeal to younger buyers. As a 30 year old, I really should care about the fun to drive factor - which is def there! - but I just can't get over how uncomfortable the ride is on the highway. Test drove an Accord and a Camry today as well and surprisingly even the camry - which was my last resort car! - even has a better ride in terms of comfort than the avalon
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Loving my Es, Um I mean Avalon!
New Southerner, 08/30/2017
2014 Toyota Avalon XLE 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
18 of 18 people found this review helpful
If you like a touch of class, style, performance and panache from an automobile, this is the one for you. Several weeks ago I purchased a used 2014 Toyota Avalon. Having recently moved south from the Midwest, I wanted to shed my 4-wheel drive veh for something smaller. Initially I went looking for a gently used Lexus ES350. My reasons were simple: I’m getting closer to 40 and my automobile needs are starting to bend more toward function and less form. This meant arguing my ego down from the thought that I needed to ‘sit high’ or that I need 3 rows for the few times a year we use the 3rd one. So on to the car; I initially drove 3 or 4 ES’s and on one return test drive I ended up parking next to an Avalon. “What’s this?” I asked the salesman. He responded ‘the Avalon’ and proceeded to tell me of how the car rides a variation of the same platform as the ES. Really? Also that the engine and powertrain were virtually Identical. Really?? So I gave this car –which I had never even glanced at, much less considered before- a good once over. Lowered front end profile w/quadra-beam headlights, Aston-Marton inspired lower intake grill flanked by chrome enveloped fog lamps. A clean and handsome profile with a slightly ‘windswept’ greenhouse profile and a beautiful tail end w/LED lights and dual, trapezoidal exhaust…. “Hmm, will you get the keys for this”??? I asked. Got inside. ‘Whoa, seriously, nice!’ A 6 inch touch screen w/digital readouts for the HVAC just below. Mine has the lighter interior w/contrasting taupe, brown and black color scheme. It’s a very rich look accented by liberal swaths of chrome. On to the drive. The ride was the final deal cincher. The engine is buttery-smooth with plenty of power for passing. In fact, I had to learn how to properly finesse the engine when I am passing because stepping down to hard gives way more power than you probably were looking for. I want to address the ride quality itself though. Many have written that the car thunks or crashes over bumps. Honestly, I hadn’t noticed it at all. I think the ride is quite appropriate honestly and I have to believe those that don’t care for it are not the younger buyers Toyota had in mind with this departure from the traditional Avalon. The only places I have to give the car less than stellar marks are the sound system and touch screen. The base unit’s graphics seem a generation behind the two vehicles I have most recently owned and it suffers mightily from sun glare. You literally cannot see a thing it certain situations and that is with dealer placed tint on all windows. . Also, the basic sound system sounds very tinny and has very little bass. They are merely adequate and I have been accustomed to far better utility. (the unit in the base XLE doesn’t even show album artwork for ipod songs) All told, this car is a serious sleeper for most. For some, the prestige of that L in the Lexus nameplate is worth the extra money for what is in many important respects the same car. After spending days if not weeks looking for the perfect gently used Lexus ES, I finally found it. Just so happened that it wears a Toyota badge and prefers to be called Avalon.
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We Call It "The Turnip"
Dave Kopczynski, 08/26/2015
updated 02/22/2022
2014 Toyota Avalon Limited 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
36 of 38 people found this review helpful
After owning nothing but Camrys since 1989, and being completely satisfied with them, we decided to "upgrade" to the Toyota "Flagship", assuming that it would be nicer than the Camrys. This was the biggest car buying mistake of my life! Our 2014 Avalon Limited has the harshest ride and the most road noise of any car we have ever owned. We refer to it as "The Turnip" because we feel the ride and noise would be what you would expect from a turnip truck used on a farm to transport vegetables. The seats are about as comfortable as sitting on a sheet of plywood. Understand that we think the deep metallic red Avalon is one of the prettiest cars on the road. We get a lot of compliments on the appearance of the car, and I always try to sell it to the people making the compliment. However, when new people ride in the car, the comment is something like, "What were you thinking? Did you even drive this thing before you bought it?" Regrettably, I didn't drive the car; I went entirely on Toyota's reputation for quality and the terrific Avalon reputation for a quiet, almost luxury car ride, in an affordable vehicle. Toyota says they redefined the ride to appeal to a younger (40-ish) group of potential buyers. I really don't see where a "neck-snapping" noisy ride would appeal to people in any age group. A few other complaints: 1. Navigation system is already out of date; 2. Analog and digital speed indications are different; 3. Rattles are starting to appear; 4. Sound system is very unimpressive compared to systems in our other cars. I have tried several times to trade this car for something (almost anything) else. Car dealers KNOW the Avalon's new reputation, and the trade-in value is below the low end of the Kelly Blue Book range of values. The saddest event was when I test drove a Ford F-150 pickup truck and the ride quality and lack of road noise was FAR superior to the Avalon. Summary: If you feel you simply MUST consider this car, take it for an EXTENDED test drive before signing the paperwork!! Drive down a highway at 60 MPH and just listen to the road noise!! There doesn't seem to be adequate sound insulation in the body. READ READ READ the reviews!!! Better yet, buy something else. Update: After trying several times, we have not been able to get rid of this car. Dealers know that this is not the quiet comfortable car that Avalon used to be. The car has very low mileage and is in absolutely flawless condition, but we have not been able to get within $2000 of KBB or NADA trade in value. This car was a very poor choice. Update 2/17: We still own this car because we have been unable to get any kind of a reasonable trade-in on the vehicle. We keep the car as a spare when someone in the family needs a car when their car is in the shop, etc.. This is not a problem since we have four cars for two drivers. We purchased a new all-wheel-drive SUV last November. Sadly, the SUV rides far better than the Avalon and, unbelievably, is quieter. The most annoying thing about this Avalon is that it could have been a wonderful car if they had only left it alone and kept the fantastic quiet comfortable ride for which Avalon was know up to the 2013 model. I enjoy reading other Avalon reviews where the Avalon is compared to "the Flintstone's car with granite wheels". At least I get a couple laughs out of the $35000 I threw away on this car. Update 2/18: Because we refuse to take a financial beating on "The Turnip", we still own it. We just couldn't find a dealer, including Toyota, who would even give us the "trade in" value toward list price on another car. We have two SUV's that ride much better than the Avalon, and are much quieter. The Avalon needed a complete 4-wheel brake job, including rotors, at 31,000 miles! Never had a car before that required a brake job at such a low mileage (usually, we get 60,000 or more miles out of brakes). Again I will state that this could have been a wonderful car if Toyota maintained the quiet and excellent ride quality that it was known for before the 2013 model. BTW, I bought a Subaru Outback for about 70% of the cost of the Avalon. The Outback is a pure joy to own: better, quieter ride than the Avalon! Shame on you, Toyota!! Update 2/19: As mentioned above, we didn't get rid of this car because of the very poor sale/trade in value. After 40.000 miles, we don't hate the car quite as much because we have experienced no problems requiring repairs. Routine maintenance has been all that has been required. The car still rides and sounds like a truck, but we have given up on that. What bothers us the most is that this could have been such a great car, had it been designed with a little more sound insulation and a better ride. I guess Toyota makes the same basic car that is quiet and has a great ride: it's called a Lexus!! Update 8/19: Car is still a noisy, rough-riding, uncomfortable, and very reliable and trouble-free car. We'll be stuck with this for years.
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2015 Avalon Limited
tome1, 02/26/2015
2014 Toyota Avalon Limited 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
So far, other than ride quality we enjoy our new Avalon. Very responsive, excellent power, electronic package is very nice (a lot of safety features).
Great Value, Reliability and Performance
S. C. Charles, 05/23/2016
updated 05/31/2022
2014 Toyota Avalon Limited 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
I've owned the Avalon Limited for just over a year and I'm very pleased with the performance, comfort and economy of this full-size sedan. There are a few minor annoyances that all cars have. Updates to the NAV are expensive, Road noise a bit more than a car of this class should have and oral commands to the NAV and phone are problematic. The high points are the ride is both firm and comfortable, the quality of the interior is exceptional, the sound system is very high quality, the engine is powerful and the effortless, shifting of the transmission is smooth and flawless, the MPG in a full-size car with 268 HP is unbeatable. I did purchase the vehicle used with 8K miles on it at a substantial discount to the sticker price and I feel I received a great value for a car I'll drive for at least 10 years. The reliability of a Toyota is accurately stated by biased and unbiased authorities alike. Suffice to say I'm very happy with the purchase and looking forward to driving this car for a long time. *Update I've now owned the car for 2 years (over 10,000 mile driven) and could not be happier with the purchase. I've experienced no mechanical issues and the car is as good as the day I brought it home. Great Job on the redesign and continued reliability Toyota! I'd gladly buy it again today! Update I've now owned the car for 3 years and my initial review was accurate the cars interface with the phone/NAV has improved. The mileage is very good at 28.5, the handling of the vehicle is that of a sports car, the ride is a bit rough for a luxury car but very quiet and smooth. I'd buy the car again without a thought. Update I’ve now owned the car for over 4 1/2 years and have nearly 52,000 miles on it, I’m still very happy with the vehicle it has been extremely reliable with no mechanical breakdowns, there is no rattling or shaking everything is still solid and the car performs extremely well. The only maintenance the vehicle has required is scheduled preventative maintenance including tires. This has been by far the best vehicle I’ve owned in my 35 years. Update, I’ve owned the Avalon for nearly 6 years and can happily report I’ve had no mechanical issues or breakdowns, I’ve only replaced the battery. I’ve only noticed one anomaly and that is the rear window shade will extend to the up position un-commanded when the car is been parked outside in the heat. I would definitely buy this car again. Currently awaiting the 2022 version and will consider purchasing next year. *Update I've owned the Avalon now for nearly 7 years and am still very happy with the purchase. I've experienced no mechanical issues or breakdowns and now have over 71,000 miles on the odometer. I do have one growing issue and it's minor in the overall picture but to be fair must be noted. The entire front of vehicle, hood, front facia and fenders have a many rock/paint chips. It will have to be repainted, it's a maroon car that is almost white on the front. The paint must be very thin or improperly applied at the factory. I've looked at many Gen 4 Avalon's and very few have the same anomaly. This is a very minor complaint but should be noted to give a fair and balanced review over time. Overall, knowing what I know now after 7 years I would happily purchase this vehicle again..
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New ride quality a big disappointment
rgilm123, 09/29/2014
2014 Toyota Avalon Limited 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
37 of 42 people found this review helpful
As a previous owner of a 2002 & 2009 Avalon we were happy when we saw the new 2014 Avalon and bought one without doing much research. We made a Great Big Mistake! If you liked the ride of previous AvalonÂs you are in for a big disappointment. The ride is terrible! Overall the car is beautiful and the amenities are great but the poor ride cancels all that out. You will feel every crack and bump in the road. Not as a gentle ride but as a big old thump. Wish we would have taken the test drive on a rougher road before our purchase. We heard Toyota was trying to appeal to a younger market with new Avalon and it may appeal to them, but if you were a fan of the prior AvalonÂs do not purchase
Hybrid Avalon Touring 2014
Hybrid Avalon 2014 Touring, 06/25/2016
2014 Toyota Avalon XLE Touring 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
20 of 22 people found this review helpful
For some reason Edmonds doesn't know there's a Hybrid version of this car so I selected the V6 version. I Really like the Avalon now that I got rid of the OEM Toyota chosen Bridgestone Turanzas. DO NOT get an Avalon with Bridgestone (rocks) tires. I test drove the care with Michelin tires and the ride was firm but comfortable. My located Avalon came with Bridgestone Turanzas and the car rode brittle and handled terribly. I did some investigation and found others had Bridgestone Turanzas and hated them and got rid of them. At 16k miles they were getting so loud I couldn't bear it any more. I went to Toyota and they did not care or help. So I was on my own and put Pirelli P7s on the car and it rides, handles, stops, goes through rain great and is very quiet and is a LRR tire that gets great MPG. My headliner behind my sunroof fell down and the Toyota dealer fixed it once (including nasty fingerprints all over the headliner that I had to argue with the dealer to clean) and it fell down again. Toyota came up with a second headliner fix and they got it right. The radio every once in a while goes dead on AM or FM. It works fine through Bluetooth or other sound inputs, radio just dies. It's intermittent so of course the Dealer can't fix it. Poor quality radio though buyer be ware. The NAV system that Toyota provides would have been outdated in 2008. It has no speed limit and updates are horribly expensive and don't come out very often. My $100 Tom-Tom Nav or my apple phone do a far superior job than the one Toyota sticks you with. Regular free updates and speed limit display on the Tom-Tom. So after my flawless 2012 Camry XLE Hybrid, this Avalon has come with some issues and Toyota has not been much help. What I do like is the MPG for a car this size. Comfort is pretty good. I've gone on some long trips and the seats are firm but not fatiguing. I would expect more padding in the seats for a car like this. Overall I like the interior layout. The armrest on the driver side at 17k is starting to wear through. Not too happy with the lack of durability of the arm rest vinyl. The steering is great. very low effort and accurate with decent road feel for a big car. The styling is pretty nice for a car in this price range. Over all a pretty nice car that I enjoy driving now that I prematurely had to get rid of the Toyota OEM Bridgestones. I have always owned Toyotas, and I still like this Avalon, but the quality and customer care is sadly slipping from Toyota and the dealers.
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2014 Avalon Limited
Bruce Colman, 04/28/2015
updated 04/30/2020
2014 Toyota Avalon Limited 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Bought it new last fall, should have been an amazing product. The first winter the battery died, discovered it was a known problem with the Canadian dealer, lots of cars coming in on tow trucks with a battery with a bad cell. GPS system is useless, a five year old $150 Garmin has more features and is easier to use. I actually use a Gamin window mount GPS on road trips. The most discouraging part is the rattles in the roof, dealer had tried to fix them, several times over a year, bent the roof requiring more repairs, turns out the problem was common to many Camry/Avalons with a sunroof, the inner support binds with the outer roof at times, poorly engineered. Toyota had a maintenance bulletin, which required stripping the interior to add a kit, took over a year to sort it out. The rain sensing wipers would start normally, in heavy rain of wet snow, go on high and 'lock on high'. Spoke to other owners, same problem, required turning the wipers on and off to reset. My year 2000 BMW 528 never had these problems. Side mirrors do not always return to normal after backing up and going forward. Ended up trading the car in, definitely not recommended.
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Very pleased
Robert Hunt, 01/18/2018
2014 Toyota Avalon Limited 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
This car is everything as advertised. Runs great, quiet, great radio, navigation system is excellent. Gas mileage is true at 26-28mpg Highway and 21-23 mpg in town. If I could change one thing it would be the back up camera’s vision from Navigation screen. In bright sunny situations it is difficult to see.
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