Overview & Reviews

The Avalon gets side-impact airbags, new headlights and taillamps, a new grille, a new trunk lid and pre-tensioner seatbelts with force limiters.

• One of the best full-size cars on the market. Stylish, reliable, and surprisingly roomy, this thing has a back seat like Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas.

• Invisible in a crowd. Dashboard plastics are too shiny for a car this nice.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 51.00

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  98 avalon - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By j chan - December 9 - 2:00 am

  we brought this used with 37K miles from toyota dealer. Cars paint is terrible, looks like mircobubble on the top. Paint chip easily. Had to replace strut plate at 50K miles at $900. trunk leak water due to bad gasket in tail lamp. air conditioner had to be recharged last week at 65K, car drives great, but everything sucks.

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  98 Avalon XLS - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By jad0110 - September 30 - 10:00 am

  We have 146,000 miles on our Avalon and we have enjoyed every mile. The car is very solid safe, my wife was T-boned at 20 mph in the center of the doors and there was NO frame damage. We especially enjoyed the high quality materials of the interior - a Lexus for less $. The back seat is limo spacious, but at the sacrifice of some trunk space. Overall, a great car if you value luxury over sport. Just keep the oil changed every 3,000 miles (very important!) and expect years of reliable transportation.

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  Good Car - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By Fl Driver - January 29 - 3:36 am

  I bought my Avalon used in 2002. So far the only maintenance problem Ive had is that the check engine refuses to go out. Ive a few mechanics look at it, and no one can seem to find the problem. Other than that, it has been an excellent vehicle. Strong engine, with OK mileage.

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  Recall for sludge - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By vicky - November 19 - 2:16 pm

  At around 113000 miles their is a oil gel/sludge in the engine below the valves. At 131340 miles there was dried oil in the form of coffee grinds in the internal oil screen that filters the oil inside the oil pan cover. WHEN OIL LIGHT comes on at 131340 miles HAVE IT TOWED to your closest dealer or you will be paying for a new engine. Make sure you tell the Service Manager NO ONE IS TO DRIVE IT or let it run at idle. Or you will have major internal engine damage. I was not notified by the manufacture that there was a recall for sludge ... so if it is smoking that could be the sign that it has an oil gel problem and it is covered by the manufacture. At 131300 miles changed front springs.

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  Seriously this car is almost as old as me - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By carenthusiast7 - March 15 - 8:39 am

  Im 18 and a serious car enthusiast and this was my first car when my dad handed it down to me when i got my license @ 15 and a half(had 150k miles on it). Of course it isnt exactly my choice of a car and I made a bet with my father that if the car died we would get a replacement car of my choice(reasonably priced of course). And Im still losng that bet, that car has not died at all or shown signs of even slowing down. Sum of it all, you cant go wrong with this car if you need a used cheap low maintainence car for just point A to point B.

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  My Last toyota - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By Mackie - July 4 - 2:00 am

  I boutght toyota because of its reputation for quality. Havent had any problems unitl this year. I had to pay over $700 to get the climate control fixed. I plan on trading it off. No more Toyota cars for me.

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  Excellent Car - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By SpyderMan51 - July 14 - 9:46 pm

  This car owes me nothing. It is highly reliable and has never left me stranded after 218K miles. It gets ~27 mpg in the DC beltway traffic. I purchased the XL new with very few options and it has all of the need to haves for traveling 1 hr to and from work.

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  Taking a beating, but still ticking - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By Bill - June 14 - 11:16 pm

  I love my 98 Avalon Love my JBL sound system. Great for tail gating and travel. Especially for travel because of road noise, which is still an issue for the newer models. I had two major issues with mine. The air conditioning sensor went bad and in 2004 engine was rebuilt due to sludge damage. Good news both were covered by Toyota. I’ve owned a Corona, Corolla, Land Cruiser, and Avalon. Favorite model was my Corolla. I don’t think I will have to buy a new car if my Avalon keeps running as good as it has the last 6 years!

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  Im Impressed - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By iggy7 - December 16 - 3:32 pm

  This is my first Toyota, and i bought this a few weeks ago. It has 230k miles on it and it drives great! It making a Toyota guy out of me.

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  She is 11 years old - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By Luvs2run - May 4 - 2:00 am

  and very reliable. Ive done regular oil changes and semi scheduled maintenance. NO problems. Had an oil leak after a Jiffy lube oil change. Found local mechanic who fixed oil leak for $120. Dealer claimed needed to replace $2800 worth of parts. No one seemed to be able to find it except for one local Toyota Repair tech. Had pan for oil drips in garage for a year until I found Mr. wonderful. Car is so reliable, paid for and still a very nice looking car. I wont part with it until it blows up.