Avalon trunklid latch: I WAS WRONG

I suspect the most significant problem with the Honda was the dealer.

In the April 05 issue, Consumer Reports gleefully printed some paragraphs from people who said that their cars were reliable even though Consumer Reports said they were unreliable.

One was a Corvette owner that had his for about 40k miles and listed 4 or 5 things done and was proud of how reliable his car was. Consumer Reports then went on about how they could not understand that someone was bragging about a car that required so much repair work.

Well I am not a Corvette fan but if you are you are buying a machine that you want. Compare that with a person buying a bland Camry or Avalon to get around an be comfortable in. Most of them don't notice the dangling seat belts, pathetic handling, body looseness and rattles and the like. Those things are pretty much unfixable in the Toyota's. But when you get down to it, the Toyota has as many flaws as the Corvette these days.

I had a 1973 Civic. Bright orange, cute as the proverbial wet bug. The front fenders rusted through in two years, and the car (garaged) literally would not start from early December through about late March. (The odomoeter recorded ZERO miles during those months.) Neither the dealer nor the factory rep ever solved the problem. Eventually Honda confessed to the rust problem, but they offered compensation to only current owners, and by then I'd long since ditched it.

My Mercedes was a '58 model 219. The 219 was uncommon: a 220 from the A pillar forward, a 190 from the the A pillar rearward. Despite that description, it was straight from the factory, not a body shop's contrivance. Its Achilles heel was its starter. The thrown slush froze and disabled the starter.

The '94 Lincoln Continental: what can I say? Its natural habitat was the top of a lift. The air struts failed repeatedly. By 110K miles it was calling for its third engine.

Did I mention that I love my Avalon? :-)

Brent "We will weep yet not weep together."

-- Carl Sandburg in "Kisses Forgotten"

Yeah, Hondas weren't too great back in those days. But like Toyota, they certainly came a long way.

"Art" wrote in news:U0YDe.15044$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net:

Art, I'm sure I missed the answer somewhere, but why on earth do you keep your Avalon if you despise it so much? Why don't you trade it in, since even with it's myriad of faults, we know it would have excellent trade in value right now, for a Ford that doesn't rattle, or a Chrysler that's reliable, or a Chevy that has tight seatbelts? One assumes from your stance that any of these cars will be far better in every way than your Avalon.

Are you stuck in a lease or something?

He only has 20K miles on his 2001. I think he just likes to complain.

Art most likely is, as it appears are most in this NG, not the average US new car buyer who replaces their vehicle with another new vehicle every three or four years. I seems most of the guys in this NG are used car buyers or those that must keep their vehicles until they, or the car, dies.

mike hunt

Unk wrote:

If the car was running, but stationary, then it makes perfect sense to deploy the aribags, but if the car is parked and locked, then deploying the airbags and unlocking the doors would seem to be a security risk for obvious reasons. It's odd that the bags would blow in a parked car. I suppose it could happen, and the doors would need to be unlocked so the emergency services could get in to get you out. But, if you were already out - engine off and doors locked - then I see no point in opening the doors, even if the bags blew.

I have actually tested this. If the doors are locked with the key, they can not be unlocked unless the key is used again. I haven't got the remote to lock the doors, but I have no reason to suspect that the remote would work any different.

I rolled the windows down, and locked the doors. The doors could not be unlocked. The Owner's Manual even cautions that passengers will be trapped inside, and I found the caution to be true.

Tripple A (Auto Club) puts out a manual to its contract tow truck companies to tell how to unlock doors with the Slim Jim, on the page that describes how to unlcok a BMW, it says a BMW can not be unlocked. Since the BMW can't be locked except with the key, then the only way to not get in again is if the key is lost, or the person that wants in is a crook.

That's my point about German engineering! Their "logic" escapes everyone else.

More German engineering logic?

I find it reassuring that my car can't be opened until the keys show up. I like it even better that it can't be locked except with the key in my hand. This keeps the door from being locked while the keys are laying on the seat, or in the ignition switch.

I have never locked my keys in the car. All the Toyotas I've had with power door locks will not even allow you to lock the door if the door is open and the key is in the ignition - if you hit a lock button, they just automatically unlock.

I guess is a preference thing. You're forced to use a key all the time to prevent the once in a lifetime that you leave the keys in the car or you can make it a habit to put your keys in your pocket as soon as you turn off the engine and enjoy the convenience of power door locks.

I did drop the keys to my dad's Rambler in a lake once. Slim jim the car open, retrieve the key hidden inside, and I'm on my way again.

How about these yuppie idiots that lock infants, children, and pets in a car while they go and run a "quick errand?" Someone calls the police, they can't slim jim the car, and so they have to break a window. The dilemma is, how do you break a window with a high confidence that no glass will fly inside, possibly harming the infant or child? There is a tool that does this if the police officer happens to carry one, but it still trashes the window. I keep one in all of my cars, but have never had to use it.

I would buy the new Charger if memory seats were available. I would buy the Chrysler 300 if it wasn't so ugly. As soon as I find the right car I will replace the Avalon. We paid cash for it.

"J Strickland" wrote: snip

Slight variation on this theme, the doors on a 2000 Corolla cannot be locked with the keys in the ignition.

The newest ABS systems will activate in a parked vehicle with the doors locked or unlocked, if it is struck against it front end, the seat(s) are occupied and the ignition is in the on position.

mike hunt

J Strickland wrote:

I don't know what year or model you are referencing but that sure does not apply to my one daughters 2004 325 CI convertible. With the doors locked and the windows open, or top down, when one reaches in and activates the inside door handle, the driver side door will open, the alarm will sound and the anti theft system activates.

mike hunt

J Strickland wrote:

Try to keep up.

The discussion is if the Keys Are Lost. That would mean the doors are locked and the seat is unoccupied and the ignition is off. And, while all of this is true, the car is hit by another car or truck.

I did surmise that if the car was running and the driver seat was occupied, then it would make sense for the airbag to deploy and for the doors to unlock, but in this case, the keys would not be lost. Would they?

I LIKE the 300, and I really like the Magnum, which is the station wagon version of the same car. I'm not crazy about the base models of these cars, but the top-of-the-line versions are fabulous. Fabulous, that's three words.