Toyota Venza Forum

Hey Bud,
That's certainly an archaic filtering system. Chevys among others had a similar system in the 50s. My '67 Etype, had a side mtd. canister until I converted it to spin-on.
What a bunch of idiots on the engineering team.

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Ken
Severna Park, Md
6 cyl., AWD, Metallic Silver
Prem#2, NV, SR, & TO packages, Curtis hitch
Door edge guards, Body side moldings, rear bumper protector

I wish I could say how common experiences like John's are with the Venza. Most Venzas are probably solid, but this thread suggests that too many are not.

Wish I could put a percentage on it. I conduct a car reliability survey, but the Venza isn't included yet because not enough Venza owners have signed up to participate yet. Currently halfway to the minimum sample size.

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TrueDelta.com
Car reliability, real-world gas mileage, and price comparison information

Hello ALL...I'm new to this forum, but signed up due to some issues we've had with our Blizzard Pearl 6-Cyl Venza. We purchased in Feb and immediately I noticed some steering issues. I'm not sure how toyota does the power assist for the Venza, but ours was definitely WRONG. It was "sticking" which caused it to wander on the highway and not "track" like a normal steering would do. We took it to the dealer, and it was fixed perfectly. Now it steers much better.

We have $13K miles on the vehicle and already getting a rattle up near the backup camera area. Anyone else figured out where this is coming from?

The lumbar air inflator "bag" is plastic in the seat and it crunches when I go around a right hand turn. They are going to put a whole new seat in for us when we take it back in.

Lastly, and the problem I'm most concerned about is similar to John's CLUNKING strut problem. My wife normally drives the car as I drive my Land Cruiser every day. So, needless to say, my wife had a hard time explaining to me the noise. As soon as I pulled out of our driveway and over the small "curb" to the street, I heard it immediately. It sounded like the control arms or strut when the car flexed. We will be taking the car in at our oil change next week and have them check the struts and arms on the independent suspension.

The car just doesn't seem to ride as smooth as when it was new, either!

Maybe we should ask them to undercoat it for our troubles?

Anyway, I look forward to hearing if others have experienced any of these problems. We love the car, but I really don't want to keep having issues.

Hi,

I haven't, yet, experienced any quality issues. But, I have to state that I only about 3500 miles on her. The following is a database dedicated to our mfg. and the Venza, which, I have been tracking. There have been issues, but, not has generally been reported. perhaps, you and others who read this thread can publish your issues here:
2009*TOYOTA*VENZA*Consumer Complaints - 9 reports found.

Good Luck with your Venza!

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Ken
Severna Park, Md
6 cyl., AWD, Metallic Silver
Prem#2, NV, SR, & TO packages, Curtis hitch
Door edge guards, Body side moldings, rear bumper protector

We have put 10K on our Venza and love it...few oil changes and alignments (lot of rail road tracks)... Also had an console piece changed when we first bought it... no issues since... Great ride and decent gas millage... (especially compared to the 1967 Chevy C-10 with 500+rwhp and the 2004 F-250 with 450+rwhp)

Not bashing..promise... just chuckling... I pay close to $100 every other oil change for filters and oil for my F-250 (oil at $12 for a 5 quart jug..need 15 quarts and oil ($20) and fuel ($45) filters) I do my own changes. I find your post humorous...
I have yet to change the oil in the Venza. (Wife takes it to the dealer, arguing that it costs less than my oil changes...lol)

We are looking at a new Venza but have some reservations. The car is noisy, especially in the back seat. The 20" tires seem make it wander Does anyone else have these problems. The 4 cylinder doesn't seem to lack enough power but has the same problems.

If you're asking me...the answer is a resounding "NO!". Although we haven't had it long I'm very impressed with how quiet it is compared to my Honda Pilot. I've noticed no wandering at all (what kind of roads are you driving on?). We do have the V6 which has plenty of power so I can't comment on the I4.

Hi
I've owned my Venza since last August and being a "car guy" of sorts, I pick up on any automotive abnormalities very easily. I have not experienced any "wandering" with most of my driving as highway. The larger tire and wheel combos can accentuate sensitivities to individual driving styles. Although the potential for road noise is greater with certain tire (larger dia) and wheel combinations, I did not feel it a detriment in the case of the Venza. I feel the roomie-ness, ease of access, and cargo space, by far, offsets any of your causes for alarm. But, then again, we may not share the same driving styles and perspectives. I spent 3-4 months researching this vehicle, as well.
Good Luck in your choice

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Ken
Severna Park, Md
6 cyl., AWD, Metallic Silver
Prem#2, NV, SR, & TO packages, Curtis hitch
Door edge guards, Body side moldings, rear bumper protector

We are much happier with our Venza now that our steering problem was fixed. I'm not sure our problem was "wandering" but I think you could call it that. Really, it just kind of felt "sticky" at highway speeds. So, when the road slants would want to move the car in a certain direction, it wasn't easy to make the micro-corrections in the steering to offset the road. I could see where this could be called wandering, but the Toyota dealer adjusted the power steering and it has steered PERFECT ever since this adjustment. They didn't even have to ask when I told them it seemed like the steering was "sticky" at highway speeds bun more responsive at slower speeds. I'm sure the car has a variably controlled steering box based on speed...nearly all new cars have variable assist.

Anyway, about the back noise...we don't feel like it is excessively noisy. However, you will find on different forums that toyota didn't do a great job of undercoating, so if you're driving on roads with loose material, it will sound noisy under the wheel wells.