What problems have you had?

[Tmaster100]

I thought i would vent my frustration about all the problems i have had with my Aurion since i bought it new just 2 months ago..

1) Firstly the car was filthy and had more scratches then a cats scratching post. The dealer was apologetic and surprised that the car was left in this state and dutifully logged about 13 areas requiring rectification. The interior even had stains in it.

2) As soon as i drove the car out of the dealers lot i heard dash creaks, cracks and other noises and thought great, here we go.

3) I took it to the dealer and was told No Fault Found, here we go again i thought. I had all the paint rectification completed and it still wasn't satisfactory.

4) I took it back to the dealer and they fixed the issues with the paint i still was concerned with. Finally it was resolved but again, no creaks in the dash noted.

5) I called past the dealer and took the foreman for a ride and he heard the creaking and cracking from the dash and soon picked up something is wrong. We booked it in yet again.

6) Left it with the dealer and after 3 days the dash had been pulled out, modifications made and was told a clip wasn't even in place under the dash.

7) One of the remotes stop working. Back to the dealer again. Remotes reprogrammed and all good.

8) A few days later the remote fails again so back to the dealer. This time a problem is recognised with the onboard computer and it wont let any new remotes be programmed into the system. They tried contacting Toyota for two days to no avail, they were unresponsive. I then find out that they need my car for a further 2 days to investigate and perhaps change the BEM (body electronics module).

So Monday in it goes yet again. Within two months the car has been at the dealer 7 times and after this repair has spent a total of nine days at the dealer, all within 2 months! The Sales Rep who sold me the car swore black and blue these cars were of high quality and cant beleive how many times it has been back and i am sure it's not the end of it either. Whats worse is this car has rattles and squeaks coming from everywhere, i just can't track them all down. I think the steel brace in the rear is causing rattles too and the front end sounds weird going over bumps in the road.

Conclusion, i will NEVER buy another heap of **** Toyota again and fully intend on passing my experience to as many people as possible. Whilst some of you have been lucky i havent and Toyota really dont give a stuff. I have emailed them to advise them what i have experienced and that in hindsight that the car should really be replaced but they never responded. The dealer said that have never seen so much trouble with an Aurion so i am at wits end why i have a car park down there with my name written on it, i'm sure they are sick of me taking it down there.

I paid $40K for this car and i rightfully deserve a car that is free from defects and operates to manaufacturers specification, not a car that needs to be returned to the dealer almost weekly for repairs!

To the dealers credit they are trying hard with all the repairs but not cleaning a brand new car at pre-delivery is a big mistake to start with and something told me it was just the beginning. This is my first Toyota and now will be my last.

/end rant.

Edited October 14, 2007 by BlueAurionSX6

[Alphabeta777]

Sorry to hear about it. All Toyotas owned by my family have been relatively problem free.

(except for the 1985 Toyota Corona, which the last few years in its life started becoming more weak)

All manufacturers have lemons, and I would think that your vehicle is one. However, it is your choice, and no one is stopping you staying or leaving to another manufacturer.

[Aurion]

10 or more Toyota's and haven't had a single problem. Call that lucky?

Try a european car company or korean and you will learn alot more.

[dannywss]

all i can say is badd luck, i m soo happy with my aurion, more fun than my camry05, faster, although gets dirty pretty quick-_-

it really depends on which dealer you go, i think... for $40k, they should treat you better than this, tats all i can say, coz some of us, only paid like around $35k (sx6)

[AcoustiK]

I feel your pain, getting such a lemon of a car. But im sure you would be just unlucky out of the batch you got such a sh*tty unit.

BUT.... with the stains and crap already in the car and in a NEW car, im a bit skeptical that this car is an accidental lemon.... I think its someones ignorance/fault down the supply chain that you ended up with this.

I totally agree with you that Toyota should have given you a replacement after such a short time with the car. If I were you if Toyota doesn't get back to you, I would get some regulatory body to sic'em.

From my point, what would satisfy me, is that toyota should take back this car and produce a fresh one, but in the meantime they should give a car to borrow.

Also, be reasonable, Not all toyota cars come out like what you got im sure many of us here are happy with their toyota... and that with every manufacturer there are always bound to be the bad luck bunch who gets a lemon.

[BanHien]

I thought i would vent my frustration about all the problems i have had with my Aurion since i bought it new just 2 months ago..

...

3) I took it to the dealer and was told No Fault Found, here we go again i thought. I had all the paint rectification completed and it still wasn't satisfactory.

5) I called past the dealer and took the foreman for a ride and he heard the creaking and cracking from the dash and soon picked up something is wrong. We booked it in yet again.

6) Left it with the dealer and after 3 days the dash had been pulled out, modifications made and was told a clip wasn't even in place under the dash.

....

I believe this is a common problem with all Aurions - My Presara has same noise but only sometimes - Many owners in this forum say the same thing and the dealer keeps saying can't hear it - This may be true because they may test my car only a short distance. My old Toyotas (still keep one) have not had any problem.

BH

[poohbear]

10 or more Toyota's and haven't had a single problem. Call that lucky?

Try a european car company or korean and you will learn alot more.

Maybe you really did get a dud ..

but i must say that in comparison to euro cars, i'd prefer a toyota (or generally jap cars) for reliability.We have a VW passat car (2001), not too old but there's engine, radiator and then there's oil pump problems, and the service/repair costs are so high that I sometimes feel its so not worth it...

[SilverProdigy]

I'd feel the same way if i was you. In theory when you buy a new car you should not have any issues, irrespective on how much you paid for it.

I too was a bit disappointed when I picked up my Aurion which had the following issues:

- Minor scratch at the sided of the front bumper

- A small minor chip on the chrome grill

- One of the high-beam lights wasn't working

I am first to admit that these are very minor and most people wouldn't spot them. How the car was supposedly have gone thourgh a pre-delivery check and passed is beyond me. Remember, that's one of the reasons why we pay the dealer-delivery charge. Why i bought an Aurion is because of the Toyota reputation for build quality and reliablility, plus wanted to support the local industry. So you should chase up Toyota, and definitely get a replacement

I had to bring the car back to the dealership twice because they just repainted the bumper instead of replacing it. It's ok now, the only issue i have is the passengers head-rest is making some annoying noise when i go over some not-so smooth road. I'll get the dealer to check it out on my next service.

Overall, the Aurion is still a great car. I'm sure the falcons, commodores and 380s have more quality issues..From what i hear, the imported Fords, Holdens, Mazdas and Volkswagons don't score that highly on the quality stakes.

[Buri_ZR6]

sorry to hear about all those problems in such a new car. i guess its a bit of unluckiness. i would skitz it at the dealer if that happened to me. i would give that dealer to current affairs for selling a lemon. so unlucky. ive got a zr6 in gold. luckily its problem free. this is my second toyota and have had no problems till this time. what could be done for you to be satisfied???

[Tmaster100]

Thanks for your comments. The car is back at the dealer now and will be there for around 2-3 days i'm told. The car had 17kms on the clock when i bought it so maybe it's just a Friday car or something. Never owning a Toyota before and reading all the press about the high quality and reliability of Toyotas is what sent me off to buy an Aurion, its just unfortunate that i ended up with a lemon and the more the dealer pull the car apart to fix something the more rattles are going to eventuate so in my view it's a downward spiral from here on.

I also found another quite large paint defect on the bonnet this morning but i doubt i will mention it to the dealer as the bonnet will likely need respraying and it will likely never match 100%.

I am just very dissapointed that Toyota hasn't responded at all. I havent bothered to email the Dealer Principal to where i bought the car from because they would never swap a car over, they rather have the money in the bank then have an irrate and dissapointed customer driving around a lemon that they sold. I did tell the salesperson this morning that i wont be back and i wont be buying another Toyota despite the fact that he knows how many times i have been back with the car but they never offer the prospect of talking to Toyota about replacing it.

I will resend my email to Toyota again and find contacts in both the RAA (Royal Automobile Association) and the Department of Consumer Affairs to see what they have to say about the matter.

I personally beleive the car should be replaced with another brand new one. One unhappy customer that talks usually leads to several boycotting the brand, and in this case the dealer too and Adelaide is a very small place. The only way to get results is to make it public and at the end of day much more could of been done to prevent this issue.

[Tmaster100]

Update -

Finally Toyota has responded to my email and is following this up with the dealer. I'm not sure what will come of it but knowing how car manufacturers and dealers work they will do anything to ensure the car is not replaced and just keep on fixing things not matter the inconvieniece to the customer.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Edited October 15, 2007 by BlueAurionSX6

[AcoustiK]

Umm good luck with that... If they are still giving you the poor result.

Find one day when there are lots of prospective buyers, and come in and complain in a voice people can hear

[BanHien]

........

Try a european car company or korean and you will learn alot more.

I can show you all my papers/invoices for my BMW318i

(a) After 23 months, one cyl failed (could not use the car for 3 days),

(B) After 45 months, the engine failed (2 nights slept away from home),

© After 60,000k brakes failed and failed again just after 90,000k

other small items not listed

BH

[dannywss]

Find one day when there are lots of prospective buyers, and come in and complain in a voice people can hear

DO this! and i believe this will WORK!

[Tmaster100]

Or park the car out the front of the dealer with huge signs on it "This car is a lemon". As it turns out the road that the dealer is on is Adelaide's largest and busiest by far and is extremely close to a competitors manufacturing plant!

[mc223]

Ive my aurion since january and apart from someone backing into me 3 days after i got it....(driving across the nullaboar as well).

The only real thing ive had a complaint about was the dash rattle that has been mentioned in a previous topic.

Which ive noted for the next service which is on thursday... what i was quite surprised about was the fact that the service guy didnt know what i was talking about...

But all in all, ive drove just on 40,000km and the car has been great.

I'll echo the comments of the people above in regards to the bad luck on getting a lemon.

[Adrian]

I have a couple of minor problems as well.

Radio display goes blank or pixelates when car is hot (left out in the sun) and transmission flares in the warmup routine.

My car was made in Oct/06 does anyone have a similar build time in thier problem cars ?

Thanks

[Tmaster100]

Out of curiosity does anyone else hear a lot of clicking in the dashboard area when you turn on your airconditoning after the car has been in the sun? It's kinda of like a tic, tic, tic as the airconditioning piping contracts etc..

I have never heard this before in any other car and i have owned and driven many but the Aurion does this for about 20 mins or so every time.

[pato]

Out of curiosity does anyone else hear a lot of clicking in the dashboard area when you turn on your airconditoning after the car has been in the sun? It's kinda of like a tic, tic, tic as the airconditioning piping contracts etc..

I have never heard this before in any other car and i have owned and driven many but the Aurion does this for about 20 mins or so every time.

the ba falcon we owned did the same thing.

as well as my mates 180sx.

i have owned 3 toyotas in my short driving life ( iam 20 )

a sv21 camry, a 2000 corolla conquest , and a 1990 jza70 supra.

the sv21 camry we had from new until about a year ago when someone crashed into me, the corolla we also had from new and my supra i picked up december 05

to be honest ive thrashed the crap out of all of these cars. gave them an absolute hammering. and after years ( 15 for the camry, 1.5 of which were when i was driving) of abuse these cars have been as perfect as when they were purchased. This quality i have not seen in any other brand of car that i have been associated with ( friends cars etc )

the only problems ive ever had is on the camry when it was about 14 years old the water and oil pump blew.

which i replaced for i think $50 for both, second hand.

this quality in contrast to mums ba falcon, which we had for around a year until the brake master cylinder decided to have a catastrophic failure, causing me to be driving along at near highway speeds with no brakes whatsoever.

say what u want. but dont speak down about toyota quality due to your 1 month of owning one.

some cars are mistakes.. they have general faults. the same as ppl

dont rate something as crap just because of one example.

thats allmost the definition of racism

[m_luke]

I'm curious... what is the date as shown on the build plate?

-m_luke

[adventurer007]

Out of curiosity does anyone else hear a lot of clicking in the dashboard area when you turn on your airconditoning after the car has been in the sun? It's kinda of like a tic, tic, tic as the airconditioning piping contracts etc..

I have never heard this before in any other car and i have owned and driven many but the Aurion does this for about 20 mins or so every time.

I have exactly the same ticking sound on my prodigy. It's 2 mths old so should be around the same build date as yours.

[Tmaster100]

I'm curious... what is the date as shown on the build plate?

-m_luke

July 07

[ca6leguy]

Couple of creaks or scratches here and there does not make the car a lemon. You will start to worry when your car develop mechanical problems.

[melvinlau]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with a brand new Aurion, it's sad to hear that Toyota has lost a customer on which has honestly been a great vehicle. The only advice I can offer you is; if you want a quick response don't go to Toyota Head Office, we get the same amount of service as any other guy off the street. We ask for resolutions to our stock shortages, cars coming out of Japan late, release information on upcoming models, and the service has always been slow.

You are much better off going up the dealerships' management. But good luck with the vehicle and I hope it works out for you soon.

Melvin

[200kw]

The only problem I had was a bulge in the drivers side door seal. But this was repaired under warranty on my 1st Comp Service. The tank wasn't full when I took del, but the dealer said " come back when it's empty and we'll fill it up" It sounds like your dealer is a bit dodgey. I would complain to Toyota.