Problems with 2006 Toyota Avalon ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

When entering traffic from the on ramp and with plenty of time under normal conditions my toyota avalon, upon acceleration the engine actually cut out i mean with a serious hesitation that i could not respond to in time. the auto quickly approaching my rear veered into the next lane causing the third car to run off on the shoulder of the road. this is indeed a highly safety problem. i escaped without a scratch to myself or car. this has happened many times before but not to this extent. i took my car back to thompsons toyota in placerville ca 3 times for the same problem and each time they tell me they can't find anything wrong with the acceleration. i have about 10,000 miles on the car now but the problem surfaced less than a week after i bought it. what are my options i need the car and i must drive this safety affected product. the car is ok after you get to 60 mph. on acceleration from a stop position a 4 cyl. corolla and honda can perform better, in fact i have a tacoma toyota 4 cyl 1999 with 100,000 mile that also accelerates better than my avalon. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota avalon. while driving 35 mph, the vehicle began accelerating without warning. the contact was unable to slow the vehicle down by engaging the brakes or neutral. the engine shut off on its own. the contact confirmed that the driving mat wasn't the cause of the vehicle accelerating. on three occasions he spoke with lexus, toyota and the dealer. the dealer attempted to diagnose the failure from august 11th to august 13th and could not duplicate the failure. the contact read an article re: lexus 350 es experiencing the same failure. the failure mileage was 6950 and the current mileage was 7295.

When starting the engine, with the brake depressed and green light on,when the start button is pressed the steering wheel lock will buzz but the engine will not turn over. on other occasions the steering wheel lock will buzz and the engine will fire and then die. this happens at random times. the dealer checked for codes and there are none. calls to the zone and district offices have offered no solution. the problem has persisted for several months. we do not use the car for trips in fear it will happen and we will be unable to start the car and be stranded a distance from a dealer. *tr

On three different occasions, while driving my 2006 toyota avalon xls, i pressed down on the gas pedal to pass another vehicle and the gas pedal continued to depress on its own after i took my foot off of it. i stood on the gas pedal and it took about 5 seconds for the pedal to disengage after accelerating very rapidly. the third time, i had to shut off the ignition. i am afraid to press hard on the gas pedal at this point as it is a very frightening situation. a less experienced driver would get injured. i will not let anybody else drive my car because of this. the dealer had no explanation which i find very disturbing. help!! *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota avalon. the contact was traveling at speeds of 5 mph, attempting to make a left turn when he heard an unusual noise coming in the engine area. immediately, the vehicle began hesitating and within seconds, resumed normal operation. on a separate occasion while driving in reverse, there was an unusual increase in the rpms. the vehicle then accelerated with a loud sound coming from the engine. the failure would occur whenever the vehicle was in operation. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on five separate occasions for the identical failures. the dealer was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failures. the failure mileage was 500. updated 06/04/10. *lj the consumer stated he difficulty starting the vehicle, the engine had a high idle, the transmission would hesitate into gear at 10-15 mph and then catch would catch up and disengage and the drivers door wouldn't open. updated 10/14/10

I have a 2006 toyota avalon with ~15,000 miles on it. intermittently, the car will hesitate on acceleration. this is extremely dangerous as i have almost been rear-ended several times and have had to slam on the brakes, at times, to avoid a side-swipe collision. the delay in input to the accelerator pedal to actual acceleration is 2-4 seconds at times. this is a problem known to toyota. the service department is aware of the problem but describes it as a "characteristic" of the drive by wire throttle system. this is a very dangerous "characteristic" and i'm certain will result in accidents. there are many examples on the "forum" on edmunds.com where owners have expressed the same problem/concern. *nm

When stepping on the gas for a quick acceleration, there is almost a gagging sulfur smell inside the car. this happens when entering the freeway via an on-ramp or just passing another car. *nm