Allen

Thanks CONROD and rollaurion. I was already sceptical about dealer service and you have opened my eyes a bit more. I have a good mechanic of many years standing who can do log book service. I take the point about service advisors who are paid to upsell. This one wrote on a hand written digital screen and thrust it into my hand to sign. I said, What am I signing? and received an uninformative answer. Toyota do promote the image of the highly trained person working with specialised equipment and if the reality is that it is the apprentice then I will give them the flick. You would think Toyota would be awake up to this and not be happy about it. I read an article in Choice where dealers were so busy looking for things that they could charge for that they overlooked basic faults that had been planted and should have been found during inspection. Thanks again for your comments. I can't speak too highly about the car. Seats are good too. I have a back which my physio described as basically stuffed. However I drove the length of the Hume Highway without pain and remembered my drives to Brisbane on the bench seat of my first Holden which was quite a different story where pain was concerned.

1000 km inspection went well although so impersonal I found it hard to discuss anything. I did however get some assistance on using the Bluetooth voice commands and I was assured that if I had any difficulty with it I could ask them. The revving between gear changes seems to have abated or I have taught myself to minimise it by lifting the foot off the accelerator gradually. As an exercise for marketing their service to a new owner close to where they are, i felt they failed abysmally. I may as well have been talking to a machine for all the rapport I was getting. It took about 10 days to get an appointment which seems a bit pathetic for a free inspection. I saw the invoice for some $54 which I gather is billed to the dealer who sold us the car. Maybe I'll try out another dealer than Ferntree Gully Toyota at 10,000 kms.

1000 km inspection tomorrow. The car is very quiet at speed over long periods and the automatic sound level compensation is very effective. I listened for whine but couldn't hear anything that bothered me. The actual surface of the road causes big differences to the actual sound level in the car. I'm very pleased with the sixth gear which I had thought might be fairly decorative. But no. Up and down long slopes with the cruise set to 110 and no gear changes over long stretches such as Goulburn to Albury which is quite hilly in places. I discovered the setting for litres per 100 km which I didn't realise was available. This showed the impact of wind. I had readings of up to 7 with a head wind and around 5.6 with a tail wind - all with the cruise at 110. I tried it over a distance at 100 and fuel consumption dropped to 4.8. I realised on filling with LPG that I was using more than the figures showing on the dash which I think means that the car assumes you are running on petrol. My impression is that the gas liquid injection was using about 13% more than petrol although when I changed to petrol over about 80 kms the consumption was actually greater than I was getting on gas, but I suspect other factors such as wind and hilly conditions caused this. I got 616 kms on a full tank of gas including some suburban driving while getting out of Melbourne. The gas fitter who has a very good name recommends Mobil which I gather is 7/11. I've also used propane here and there. Based on actual amounts of gas used when filling and allowing for the price difference of the two fuels, I estimated that I'd need to get 4.17 litres per 100 km on petrol at 110 km per hour to match the cost of the gas and this based on my actual driving rather than figures on a windscreen so I am delighted with it. One of the benefits of the liquid injection I understand is that as a liquid it is cold and makes for cooler running and greater engine durability. So I am very pleased with the car!

I haven't noticed anything that concerns me. The diff ratio is quite low - well into the 4s - I thought around 4.6 but I can't find the exact figure, but I could understand a slight whine although additional sound proofing could help which I may explore as I like to be able to enjoy the sound system at highway speed. I'll have a listen as I drive Melbourne to Sydney tomorrow when I'll also be looking at the performance of my Orbital liquid gas injection.

From talking to my mechanic I gather you are right about the electronic throttle and he also says that Toyota won't want to know about it even though everyone else does because it is not economic for them to get it right for the few manual cars that they make.

Thanks rolla91. I imagine the chip could be reprogrammed to normalise engine speed during gear changes but I don't know whether I would trust a dealer to do it and I'd rather live with it than risk something being hashed. Maybe a specialist tuner could sort it out but it should be able to be corrected under warranty.

I have bought a new Corolla Ascent Sport which will have its 1000 km inspection next week. I'd be interested to know what if any faults typically crop up at this time and what things to look for that can be overlooked by dealers. There are only two things that have impinged on me. One is that I see no sign of lubrication on the door hinges unless they use something that is pretty invisible. The other has been remarked on in the Dogs and Lemons review of this car which is that between gear changes the engine often revs about 250 revs rather than falling away in the usual way on a manual box change. Dogs and Lemons felt that Toyota should have been able to deal with this issue. Is there anything that can be done by a dealer without risking fouling things up altogether e.g in reprogramming what happens? I'd appreciate any comments.

Hi lylee, I enjoy the deep gurgle of the exhaust in my wife's Celica and she enjoyed the moment when someone asked her if she was driving her son's car. Well the car is red and is lowered and has a big exhaust so it was a fair question but she enjoyed claiming the car as her own. However at highway speeds I like a quiet car that doesn't get in the way of the biggest sound my ears can handle.

73 and have enjoyed many beautiful cars including two EHs an Alfetta GTV, a Mazda 1800 which I still have, a V6 Camry and we have just bought a new Corolla Ascent Sport in Tidal Blue which is getting liquid injected LPG. All manuals except the EH Prem. Also a 1956 Morris Minor with a Perfect Tune head, extractors and a huge exhaust for its 803 cc engine. It had a first gear capable of propelling it to walking speed. I drove it from Brisbane to Melbourne at 70 mph until the gearbox broke at Goondiwndi which slowed me down. I value quietness in cars because I'm a classical music lover with a complete Bach collection and the Camry is my yardstick of a quiet car. Driving and music are two of my main interests.

Thanks J_J. Yes I do sound a bit paranoid and I enjoyed the TV analogy! A bit careful after reading warnings here and there in the handbook warning of unexpected events. Many thanks for your help.

I want to clean the inside of the rear lenses on my 2000 Camry 20 series. Have pored over the workshop manual and can find nothing helpful. If it wore an older car I'd start unscrewing items, but I'm a bit cautious about what you can do without setting off an airbag inadvertenly. IT seems access is from the inside. Can I just start disconnecting? Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks for that. Can the same thing be done for a 2000 Camry?

I's still working out my own answer to the same question, to gas or not to with my V6 Camry. I don't want the cost of replacing two cylinder heads. They must be terrible conversions if the car uses nearly twice as much fuel as on petrol. Quality conversions are the way to go. I've used GasResearch for many years because I know they do not run lean at high revs which does nothing for performance or engine longevity. I converted our Celica nearly two years ago, and despite the cooling system being in good order, I ended up with a cracked head. I do wonder if some of the damage may have started before I bought the car as the only fault my mechanic found in it was cracking in the upper radiator tank. I replaced this but the damage may have been underway before this. I also live at the top of one of Melbourne's steepest hills. Much as I value air conditioning, I've decided to switch it off and rely on air movement only when I drive up the mountain. I value my cylinder head more than I value the comfort of the cooled air. I'd definitely use the Flash Lube to protect the valves since my installer himself recommends it and I'd dynotune to minimise loss of power. If the job is properly done, there really shouldn't be any, or none that is discernable by the driver. I think a lot of damage has been done to gas by poor installations. I really don't understand the poor image it seems to have. This is a high octane fuel around 110 I think which makes it better than any petrol I'm aware of unless you have acces to aviation fuel. I notice straight propane is available at a number of Melbourne outlets which I think would improve both power and economy. If taxis can save a heap on fuel costs without blowing up their engines, I imagine that the rest of us can and that the problems people have can be avoided if we know the possible mistakes. I've run a 1970 Mazda 1800 on straight gas for over 11 years and covered over 300,000 kms in it. Yes I lost a cylinder head a long time ago, but I think this was due to over zealous metal remova in one of the ports when the engine was being built because I've had no further trouble. A lot of conversions are being sold on the basis of a tiny cost after getting the Commonwealth subsidy. They may be excellent conversions, but it worries me a bit that they are being sold on price, because the best conversions cost quite a bit. But I think many people in outer suburbs need gas since they are more likely to be clocking up high mileages.

Hi SupaTouring. Thanks for reply. I'm in Melbourne - originally (and proudly) a Queenslander!

Would appreciate some guidance about overhauling the master cylinder of our 1995 ST-204 Celica (non-ABS). A replacement cylinder seems ridiculously priced. Can someone tell me where to get the parts to re-sleeve? Many thanks.