A year ago I bought a 2011 Avalon, it drove and still drives like a new car with 80 thousand miles on odometer. 2 wks later I was on the highway and pushed the peddle to the carpet at 40 mph, the motor erupted with the power of a volcano eruption!! I thought the front end came off the ground!! (I know it's FWD) I couldn't see over the hood though and the front end veered to the left then to the right then back to center before I could let off the gas. I don't think the previous owner ever stomped on it as I did. Scared me and my wife and I was grateful that the car came down on the asphalt. The motor started making a ticking noise after that, heard when the wife drives into the garage and fairly loud. It still drives like new though, and 2 trips to Spokane with great gas mileage. My wife says when she speeds up and it gears down, the front end still gets a little squirrely and she's not stomping on it either, just giving it the goose. It wears expensive new tires and drives straight down the road. Any comments will be appreciated, I'm afraid of the Toyota dealership here (where I bought it) but will eventually talk with them I guess.