By Gary Lord

July 2003

I'll let you into a little secret - writing long-term tests about Toyotas is a bit like being a weather forecaster in the Sahara desert. Nothing ever happens. Once you've praised the build quality and the sheer ease of ownership, and trotted out the same old lines about it feeling as fresh as the day it arrived, there's usually nothing else to say.
But our recently acquired long-term Avensis isn't like any old Toyota. What started off as a couple of niggling teething troubles soon after the car was delivered have developed into big problems that saw GY03 CJU off the road for the best part of four days earlier this month.
So what's happened? Shortly after our last report went to press, the driver's seatbelt packed up. There was no obvious reason -the buckle simply refused to hold the metal clip. Slotting it into the passenger-side buckle cured the problem temporarily, but it meant any additional travellers were confined to the rear - hardly an ideal situation.
Then there was the fuel flap that refused to slot back into place once opened. Tank tape was the rather ungainly interim solution, but at least it stopped the constant reminders from other motorists that we'd forgotten to close it. Compounding the misery was the piercing squeal let out by the brakes when the pedal was pressed. I thought it might be down to the fresh pads and discs, but after letting them bed in for a few hundred miles - as my dealer recommended - the noise got worse.
So with an ever-growing list of gripes, I booked the car into McCarthy Toyota Croydon for an early check-up. Unfortunately, getting hold of the parts wasn't as easy as we had first thought. According to the dealer, the belt problem affect-ed a number of early-build cars, and due to the demand a new buckle wouldn't be available until July (it was May at the time). Even more alarming was the fact that new discs and pads - needed to cure the screeching - were non-stock items, too, and on back-order. The cup-holder - which had failed that morning - also required replacing.
Finally, however, we got a call to say that the parts had arrived, and within days the Avensis was in McCarthy's workshop. All went smoothly, and if it wasn't for the fact that the wrong belt buckle had been sent, we'd have had the car back the same day. As a result, we kept the courtesy model for an extra three days.
The experience left us with a positive impression of Toyota's aftersales operation. For starters, the bill was a big fat zero as all the work was done under warranty. Also, the brand new Avensis courtesy car was excellent. Although the whole experience was undeniably an inconvenience, the service was above what most London outlets seem to manage. So are our problems now behind us? I hope so. We've run a number of Toyotas on our fleet in recent years, and the Avensis has had more problems than all the others put together. On the plus side, however, it remains a very competent and comfortable cruiser - refined at speed and civilised through town - and the looks are growing on me every week that passes. Then there's the boot, which is enormous.
If Toyota's primary aim was to lift the profile of the Avensis above that of the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Vectra masses, then in terms of driving refinement it has certainly managed this. Let's just hope that we've seen the back of our troubles.

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