Clodhopper

Great cars! My opinion? With the extremely low miles driven, use Mobil 1 and a Wix oil filter, and change at 6,000 miles or every two years. Drive it enough to get the engine temperature up to normal, to evaporate any condensation in the crankcase. Other considerations are the fuel going stale before you use a tankful, so consider a gas preserver such as Sta-Bil or the like. Your tires may develop flat spots if they sit for a month and the air pressure will creep down. With disk brakes, they will sound noisy for the first few stops as the pads take the little bit of rust off the rotors. It's all normal. My three Avalons are all above 220,000 miles with no engine issues. Good luck1 -Warren

My 2006 Limited also developed similar issues as you described. The mileage was around 160,000 at the time. On a hunch, I had a great local mechanic replace the front half-shafts (axles). Thes have two Constant-Velocity joints per axle, as I understand, and the noises and vibrations reminded me of U-joint problems in old lifted Jeeps I abused. The after-market axles, as I understand, are a great solution to fix torn boots over those joints. I've heard that a torn boot, from Toyota, requires the removal of the half-shaft, then the boot goes back on the old axle, and you still have high-mileage joints in that axle, only with a new dust boot over the old joint. Toyota, so I heard, doesn't sell a complete half-shaft like the aftermarket vendors offer. I chose to do both axles at once, because both sides have the same wear, and the labor saved was worth it. IIRC, the half-shafts were around $180 each, and the labor was about $300, and problem solved. Good luck! -Warren