Dear Tom and Ray:

We recently bought a used 1997 Toyota Avalon, which we love, but we are concerned about one minor problem. When you first start the car and for about the first five minutes of driving, the turn signal will not work at all. After that, it works perfectly. I can replace the flasher relay myself if that is all it needs, but I don't want to spend $45 on the part to find out that it isn't the problem. I also don't want to pay my dealer $50 to tell me it's my flasher relay. Since sticking my arm out the window won't sit well with my wife in January, could you tell me if you've run across this problem before? -- Ray

TOM: Yes. And it's usually the flasher relay.

RAY: I'd take the chance and buy one, Ray. It should solve the problem. By the way, that'll be $80. You did read the fine print at the bottom of our column, didn't you?