Read a piece in Automotive News about major start-up glitches with the new Avalon. Was wondering how wide spread this really is.

Mine is fine.
I have a 2006 Limited and I have read about other Avalon "issues" in other forums, but again, all in all it's fine. My tranny seems fine, lots of "toys", ride is great, etc. All the features work well, except for the DVD nav which is a step backwards, for that otherwise great technology in other cars (my opinion). And I miss bluetooth which I understand is now available. I enjoy mine!
Pete

A friend of mine has one and swears by it. I hadn't heard anything about any glitches.

It seems that most of the gliches (so far) are minor. The biggest complaints seem to be the optional GPS system, the major wind noise, and the distance of the headlights.

All in all, they have hit the road with another winner.

I have a friend who has one and has had small annoying things happen. he took it back to the dealer and they couldn't explain why they were happening so they replaced the car.

Wow, they just replaced the car? Now that's service! I wouldn't have expected that.

You should expect that. With car sales down, they want to do what they can to make you happy and to make you a repeat customer.