I purchased this car from my brother-in -law, and he told me about the jerky feeling while driving at slower speeds. Well, i noticed it at all speeds. after my service mechanic told me that i needed a new air filter, new spark plugs and wires, throttle body needed cleaning, new fuel filter, i balked at the suggestion. I did allow the replacement of spark plug wires and spark plugs, since i thought that was the best service for the conditions i had experienced. Well, the condition was still there. So, i go on the internet, read a lot of complaints from other people and decided that one or more of the three coils on this car were defective. so. i found a lot of coils priced from $18 to $118 each on e-bay. Well, i purchased the cheaper ones ( $56.00) total, had them shipped to my door and installed them myself! This solved my problem....the car runs smooth and i am happy. i wrote this to inform anyone who might have this problem. this car has three coils, so one being weak allowed the car to run, just not as smoothly as it should . on an engine with only one coil, the car would most likely not run at all. Some cars have 6 coils so the failure of one coil may be less severe than what i noticed. I hope this helps. I'm not mad at my service man,since new filters,( oil, gas and air), clean throttle bodies, spark plugs and wires are very important.

My new (used) Avalon of a week old (under my ownership) has a nasty shift from 2 to 3 gear. The car is automatic so it might be something with the computerized 'talking' that tells the car to shift from one gear to the next. From 1 to 2 it is fine and from 3 to 4th gear it is fine but when it goes from 2 to 3rd gear, it feels like someone (really strong) is kicking the car from behind. I know this is not normal in Avalons because we also own a '96....and that cars gear changing is like butter! So what is up with the car?