The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer seven times where the oil tube, hose, filter housing, studs and drain plug casket were replaced. However, the failure continued. The failure mileage was 30,214 and the current mileage was 56,289. Updated 01/12/11 the dealer replaced, the drain plugs, gaskets, crank seal, valve covers and oil pan. The moonroof did not operate properly and there was a problem with the battery not charging. Updated 04/15/11 the consumer stated the upper and lower oil pans were replaced. Updated 07/19/11/

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

Vvti high-pressure oil rubber hose leakage problem on 2005 Avalon at 29,500 miles: Heard strange engine noise; saw very little oil although I had changed oil only 300 miles ago and no sign on dashboard. Put 4-5 quarts of oil and drove 20 miles and parked. After starting the car, saw a huge oil puddle under the engine. Next morning towed to Toyota mechanic who mentioned the above vvti rubber hose leakage problem in bank 2 (top one). The metal clips connecting the rubber hose to the oil metal tube on bank 2 erode the rubber portion with time, making a small pinhole leak at first which can lead to a crack suddenly under high pressure. Googling it I found that it is a very common problem with these V6 engines on 2005 Avalons and other Toyota cars, such as, rav4. Toyota has a service bulletin on it, but it never warned owners like me about it.through a personal letter. Some people had their engine seized due to it, mine did not. But worse was in store for me. After the rubber hose was replaced by another similar rubber hose, I started noticing in the following days that the engine started making a grinding noise when I started it cold - after 10-12 hours of overnight parking, say, 75% of the time, but the noise died away after 30 seconds or so; no noise if warm. Also, a growling noise was heard when going up small indoor gradients like parking lots. Mechanic said that the bolts on the timing gear in both bank 2 and bank 1 had become loose, two bolts were out in the gear box with one broken - all caused during the oil leakage. I was lucky my engine had never seized due to it. He had to replace all parts associated with it, namely, timing gears, cam-shafts, cams, tensioner ring, etc. Also, replaced the rubber hose with an all-metal oil tube, as that was what Toyota had on its Lexus ES350, but this only due to my insistence. Rubber hose can leak again. Also, put silicone on some engine gaskets (?). Toyota needs to warn Avalon owners about getting this vvti hose replaced.

- Bellevue, WA, USA

2005 Toyota Avalon previously had massive oil leak, had vehicle towed to dealer and repair was covered by Toyota and provided with rental (10/08) 6/09, started vehicle and the engine made a loud clanking noise - had vehicle towed again and was informed by the dealer tech that it needs a new engine. Have extended warranty but not sure if they will cover repairs. 67,000 miles.

- Miami, FL, USA

I have a 2005 Avalon XLS with about 25,000 miles. I took it to have a routine oil change on January 23, 2009. When the service technician got under it to remove the filter and drain plug he noticed oil sprayed on the engine and frame and asked me if I knew the vehicle had an oil leak. I told him no and that I hadn't noticed any oil on the ground where I park the car. He then looked at the engine from the top and noticed oil pooling on top of a small hose that connects to a metal line. He told me I should take it to the dealer right away to have the oil leak fixed. I immediately drove to the dealer and a mechanic there told me the problem was the oil pipe sub-assembly. The Toyota service rep. Said Toyota will get and pay for a rental car until my car was fixed. That was over 9 weeks ago and I still don't have my car back!!! the service rep states this problem is happening to many, many Avalons and they're waiting for the parts to come in. I think there needs to be a recall issued for this problem not to mention the fact that Toyota knew about this issue back in 2005 but did nothing about it. Also, can anyone explain why it's taking so long to get the parts?

- Venice, FL, USA

2005 Toyota Avalon with 70,000 + miles and just had 70,000 mile service. I was driving home from work and heard engine sounding louder than normal. No warning lights or other warning was given. Had vehicle towed to dealership. Analysis revealed broken oil pipe and oil soaked timing belt. Part is on back order and will not arrive until Feb 18 from Japan. I was further told that more than a thousand on backorder. In reviewing complaints on 2006 Avalon, I noted similar complaints and apparently a service memorandum has been issued. Appears to be a defective part. Because of safety risk, shouldn't this be subject to recall?

- Hampton, VA, USA

Drove to work (17 miles) 10/2/2008, as typical at 6:30am still dark. After driving about 5 miles kept getting whifs of burning engine oil but kept thinking it was another vehicle on the road. This was intermittent enough so I did not think it was my vehicle. Also the newness of the vehicle deceived me. Arrived at work and did some looking. Found the trail of oil in the parking lot and raised the hood to see oil spewed on the passenger side of engine compartment. Called for tow to mechanic. Mechanic said that there is a tsb on this. Why was there not a recall? this could be catastrophic! the oil light did not come on and the temp was normal throughout....my only indication of a possible problem was smell and to my knowledge persons without this sense are more common than I suspected.

- Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

: the contact stated the vehicle was taken to the dealership for an oil change within 7 miles of the dealership and driving 55mph the warning light and the check engine light illuminated. Within minutes the engine stalled. Upon inspection it was discovered the oil pressure dropped below the recommended level causing the failure. The design feature of the vehicle allows the engine to stall because of the low pressure before an engine failure. As a result to this feature there was a loss of power steering and brakes. A complaint was previously filed ODI number, 10147740.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

Vehicle is 2005 Toyota Avalon feature is engine sensor that causes engine to shut down engine when operating temperature is exceeded or oil pressure drops below Toyota determined level. The vehicle was taken into Toyota for 5,000 oil change that morning. Service was not properly done by Toyota dealership. In operating the vehicle, the oil and engine lights turned on. While operating vehicle on highway trying to get back to the dealership, the engine shutdown with no warning to the driver or vehicles behind the Avalon. A traffic accident was barely averted. The Avalon abandoned driver on highway and impeded traffic. Vehicle had to be pushed to the side of the road by police while other officers controlled traffic. Oil filter was replaced and the oil was changed. This in no way limits the fact that due to design, the engine can shut down with little to no warning to the driver or the vehicles following. While it is nice that the engine can save itself, it should not be at the cost of injury to the driver or causing an accident due sudden deceleration without warning to other drivers. There was no property damage or a crash due only to quick reactions of the driver in the vehicle behind the Avalon.

- Falls Church, VA, USA