TRD Aurion quality and support

[Platypus]

I have owned a TRD SL3500 for 3 years(from new).

We flew to Melbourne to pick it up and drive it back home( northern NSW).

I hope no one out there has gone through this, but it certainly happened to me.

The supercharger belt was noisy for the entire 1800Km trip home - as we left, the salesman said it would soon quiet down.

When we arrived at Albury the front end started to get a little rumble.

Grand Motors replaced the faulty supercharger belt - it was the wrong profile. The front suspension bearings were faulty and had to be replaced.

After around a year, the lower steering assembly was replaced (loose). Most of the suspension bolts were also loose - I was there when the mechanic had to tighten them all.

I have had three changes of hubcaps - Toyota should sell sets of four for a dollar as the lugs keep breaking as the caps are almost impossible to remove. I even greased the lugs, which improved the issue but then the cap moved a little and eventually a lug broke off.

Two weeks ago I called in to the local dealer, who sent the four faulty hubcaps back to the regional manager.

The mechanics also took photos of the wheel jack problem which was just noticed( the first flat tyre since I owned the car). The jack will crush the side skirt if used.

I am still waiting to hear from Toyota who are extremely slack in responding.

In the meantime I had to modify the jack using 30mm angle iron - now it clears the skirt and the car can be jacked up. This will do until Toyota respond.

The side skirts are held under the body extending within 5mm of the jack point lip. If a jack with any more than a 5mm wide lip is used it will crush the skirt at the underbody.

Toyota even got the tyre pressures wrong - I use 48psi front and 42psi rear. I started out using the recommended pressures but the tyres scrubbed out.

How could TRD have made so many design errors with this car?

Edited July 3, 2012 by Platypus

[DJKOR]

I have had three changes of hubcaps - Toyota should sell sets of four for a dollar as the lugs keep breaking as the caps are almost impossible to remove. I even greased the lugs, which improved the issue but then the cap moved a little and eventually a lug broke off.

TRD released a bulletin which mentions the proper procedure for removing the caps. When followed properly, no damage is done to them. Even still, I don't trust anyone else to remove them and I personally remove them before taking them in. Haven't had an issue since.

TRD Aurion wheel centre caps

With regards to them becoming loose, there was a change in the design of the inner ring. If they didn't rectify this, I would be chasing them up as this fix was free of charge. For reference:

ATT TRD OWNERS!

The mechanics also took photos of the wheel jack problem which was just noticed( the first flat tyre since I owned the car). The jack will crush the side skirt if used.

I am still waiting to hear from Toyota who are extremely slack in responding.

In the meantime I had to modify the jack using 30mm angle iron - now it clears the skirt and the car can be jacked up. This will do until Toyota respond.

The side skirts are held under the body extending within 5mm of the jack point lip. If a jack with any more than a 5mm wide lip is used it will crush the skirt at the underbody.

Whilst this is in fact true, I have not had the skirt damaged by the jack. The skirt will flex, but nowhere near the point of causing damage to it. A design flaw, yes, but considering I have only (and intend on keeping it that way) used the jack for emergency roadside wheel changes, then it's not something I am overly fussed about.

Remember, this car is basically a modified Sportivo. I guess Toyota did not decide to change their type of jack for something like that considering the supply of Aurion/Camry jacks they already have. The end result is a body kit that was designed without taking this into consideration.

Toyota even got the tyre pressures wrong - I use 48psi front and 42psi rear. I started out using the recommended pressures but the tyres scrubbed out.

The minimum recommended 34 PSI cold is probably a little low for most liking, but so is the 32 PSI for standard Aurion tires so I wouldn't exactly say they are wrong. Having the tires at 34 PSI cold will at least prevent blisters from occurring on the sidewalls, but as said, this is a minimum. In fact, if you put your pressures up to the minimum recommended cold PSI for full load (38 PSI), then you will have your tire pressures at a good level for even tire wear. It's not uncommon practice to do this either. Motoring associations such as the RACQ even recommend it.

Also, personally 48 PSI is a bit high for having your tires. That is starting to approach the region of the maximum tire inflation. 40-42 PSI warm for highway driving is more than sufficient... and even matches up with my statement above.

How could TRD have made so many design errors with this car?

The TRD is basically a kitted up Sportivo. Unfortunately it was not designed from the ground up as a completely separate car so there are going to be little issues like that.

[EC11WA]

I remove the wheels quite often and yes the side skirts do flex. Definate design issue but the skirts should not break if care is taken.

Also as for the hubcap recall. Had mine done as soon as the recall came out with the mods and the tool, and to my surprise, they have just started to do as they did before........rotate and not line up with the wheel. They do not fall off but do move around....solution, i stick a little bit of double sided tape on the inner edge, works a treat.

Be interested to know more about the supercharger belt as i would be under the impression there would only be one available for the TRD as this setup with this supercharger is only used on this car. So the question is, Why would there be another belt with a different profile? I would be asking the question of the dealer as to how they came up with this conclusion, or did they just replace it with another belt of the same specs.

[DJKOR]

Be interested to know more about the supercharger belt as i would be under the impression there would only be one available for the TRD as this setup with this supercharger is only used on this car. So the question is, Why would there be another belt with a different profile? I would be asking the question of the dealer as to how they came up with this conclusion, or did they just replace it with another belt of the same specs.

Originally thought to have been a resolution to the rattle on startup (which we know as the VVT-i controller rattle), Toyota released a revised belt for the TRD to fix a slipping issue:

Rattle in start up

Has anyone dealt with the rattle at start up? Has anyone fixed the problem...

My TRD would start to get a rattle when it was due for a service. I supplied my own oil this time as I am not happy with the "genuine oil" supplied by the service departments. I now run a Penrite full synthetic oil. It is now a case of wait and see if it stops the rattle.

i'm not sure if the sportivos can have the same issue or not... but on my trd, i have a "squeek" and then a "rattle" on start up...

its do to with the belt... i'm getting it replaced for the second time next week and hopefully it gets **** fixed this time cause i'm starting to get ****** off about it...

Make sure you get the revised belt as it is 25mm shorter then what was originally supplied. Had mine changed last week all good so far.

I have a belt here as I plan to change mine at 150,000km and was advised by "David the Viking" himself that this is the revised part number. You may want to double check that however.

[EC11WA]

Thanks Daryl........question answered. OUt of interest, i have heard some horror stories about how much these belts cost to replace. Care to share what is a good price for one of these............i take it there would be a large cost involved with labour also when fitting a new belt at Toyota.