So my aunt is in town and she let me drive her 2002 toyota avalon today while i let her drive my max. Now ok, this thing has 210 HP and 220 lb. TQ, not much more than my max but WOW it felt SOOOO much more powerful. It makes me think something is wrong with my max. The power delivery was incredible. I know something has to be wrong with my car because i dont have that much less horsepower and i feel so much slower! I get crappy gas mileage so i know something has to be wrong. Im going to replace my 2?? oxygen sensors and my knock sensor, reguardless if they work or not. (im the kinda person that has to just change everything and i dont care about spending the money)

i feel like my car is fast, but after driving this car i dont feel so fast anymore. anybody think of anything else i should replace that could be bad and would lead to power loss/bad gas mileage? any input is appreciated. thanks,

-todd

 

have you tried pulling ecu codes? have a dirty air filter? fuel filter? pcv valve? etc? check all the little stuff first.

 

I don’t know what could be wrong but I just wanted to comment on how nice your car looks! That thing appears to be mint, the exterior, interior and engine all look immaculate from the pics on your homepage! Are you the original owner of the car?

 

sorry i guess i should have mentioned that i did try to pull the codes and NOTHING. 0505. i replaced the air filter, fuel filter, new plugs, new synthetic oil, cleaned throttle body, cleaned iac valve. i dont know what else to do!

Smithdogg1 thanks for the compliments!! The car is in excellent condition. I just bought it actually at the begining of this year with 100K and i got it for about 6700 out the door from a dealer which i think was quite a deal. It had one owner before me who really took very good care of the car. i love the car to death, now i just need to find out whats wrong with it!

 

Need new O2 sensors. It's funny how people think that when they do basic maintenance stuff to their car it should run perfectly. You only did they basi stuff and you think you're done? Sorry if I offend you or if you feel I'm making an example out of you but you really should read the FAQ. 100K means new front O2 sensors. It's time to get under the car and do some rea work. EGR system is probably next. Also please post your SIG only once per thread, as a courtesy.

 

who said i think it should run perfectly just because i did maintenance? thats obviously why im posting to find opinions on what else i should try. what exactly do you mean by EGR system? replace it or clean it? thanks.

 

The way you phrased it sounded like you already did everything that can be done. First change the O2 sensors as they are about gone right now. If you still have a ****ty running car then, send a PM. BTW, that avalon should be slow compared to the max, even auto. One sig per thread dude.

 

aight i will replace the O2 sensors and go from there. thanks for the advice. btw, it doesnt run ****ty it runs great. just doesnt seem to have the power it should!

sorry the sig thing is such a big deal. i like to put it in there so i know which ones are mine and it saves me time cause im impatient. but for you, i wont put it in more than once.

where is probably the best place to find a decently priced O2 sensor? ebay, JR nissan?

 

It's not that, it's just that people have to scroll down that much lower to get to some posts.

Go to the GD forum, there is a group deal on O2 sensors from oxygensensors.com .

 

MaximaTodd,

I know how you feel! My pop's has a 02 Avalon & yes it does feel like it has more umph to it. But me and my father have raced plenty of times & he has never beaten the Max. Even when my Max was bone stock it would still walk all over his Avalon. But I do know how you are feeling, because the Avalon does feel alot torquier then our Maxes do. But believe me if you line up against one of them it won't even be a race, you will decimate the Avalon big time. It's funny that this post is here, because I was just telling my friend last night how my dad's Avalon feels quicker then the Max but in reality it's not. That entire conversation came about because his younger brother was on the way over to my friends house & he just purchased a 04 Acura TL. My friend was saying that when he get's here to race him & see how bad I lose to the Acura. I just laughed because he doesn't understand the Max even though he's driven in it plenty of times with me. So anyway his brother arived, we raced, it was close, but the Max still got the (W). So once we returned from our little journey his brother told him that the Max beat him & my friend couldn't believe it! He thought for sure the 270hp Acura TL was gonna spank me, but once again the Max proved him wrong. I guess what I'm getting at is don't under estimate your vehicle, it's one of those sleeper's everyone doesn't think to much about!

 

ha thats great. i feel a lot better now. you know what im talking about. it does feel like a very powerful vehicle but i guess its not as fast as the max. its so smooth tho i wish my max was that smooth. are you a auto or 5 speed? and what mods do you have? ive heard those TL's are pretty quick cars. thats sweet you showed him whats up!

now ill get some new O2 sensors and then everything will be peachy again.

 

if you have an auto max an avalon will beat it but a 5spd max will kill the avalon. I used to have a 97 Avalon and it barley beat out my dads 99 and no my dad has a 03 Avalon and i have a 975spd and i will walk all over it. And from personally expirences the Maxima has a higher top speed and handles 110+mph a LOT better. Like at 110 my dads car feels like it will fly off the road but at 130 mine feels great. But anyway if your auto the avalon should be slightly faster espically since its auto tranny imho is better than a auto 4thgen tranny.

 

I have driven the Avalon also. Yes it is quick but look at the milage. You have over 100k and the Avalon is a new car with low milage. Unless the Max is mint (everything replaced that starts to go at that kind of milage) it wont run like it did when it first came from the factory. I have 116k and when i first got this one, it didnt run like my last one. After i changed everything that she needed, she runs great and is pretty damn quick too.

 

O2 sensors will have an effect on partial throttle acceleration, but not at WOT.

 

Damn, beat me to it!

 

I know that. There is a pre-programmed MAP that is used at WOT with a preset AFR or something like right?

 

I'd say take it to the track and see how your car runs. That can tell you a lot. Also remember that cars tuned for more lowend response will generally feel more powerful. Go drive a new V8 pickup truck and you'll swear it will destroy any Maxima from 0-50mph......but it won't. It's just the torque sensation that tells you're mind you're going quicker than you really are. A new Avalon vs your auto with a WSP y-pipe is going to be a very tight race. If I remember right, the later model Avalons are good for mid 15s at 90mph which is right in line with what your car will do.

 

Yessir.

 

thanks for all the input everyone. i now am 99% sure that it is the O2 sensors because i feel like my acceleration is not quite up to potential but my WOT seems to be very nice. So i'll replace those O2 sensors and let everyone know what comes of it.

BTW, when my bro gets home from work this evening he is going to race me in the avalon while i drive my max so we shall just see who is REALLY faster and not just who feels faster!

 

this has really been bugging me and upon doing some research, i found that the avalon does 0-60 in about 8.0-8.4 secs and does 1/4 in the low/mid 16's (according to car-stats.com and msn autos). if thats the case i will hopefully walk it. i guess i will find out soon enough.

 

your guess is prolly right about the knock sensor

 

O2 sensors can be bad even if they don't throw a code?

 

Yes. They tend to get less sensitive and work poorly. I just replaced mine around 50 miles ago, my fuel needle barely moved since the install.

 

BigD did you replace all of yours, or just the front 2? ive been reading up on this, and some say you only need to replace the front two because they control the air/fuel ratio?