Kesawi

Tow bar won't get the windscreen but will have same effect. If they're sitting that close, then they're also at fault if you roll back and hit them.

Hill start assist won't activate until you are in gear and the park brake is released.

I believe the nudge bar may be attached through these points. There is a corresponding removable patch on the front plastic cover of the nudge bar which I think is the tow point. Haven't ever taken it off to have a look. I still wouldn't rely on it as a recovery point.

Can't get the clear coat in a bottle anywhere that can be applied over the base coat repair?

Fit an aftermarket recovery point if the chassis has a strong enough position. I was going to look into this but never got around to it.

The following link is information on the towing eyelets from the US manual: http://sumbiz03.home.comcast.net/~sumbiz03/5-01Towing.pdf Key points are: Should only be used on hard surface roads. Avoid sudden starts or erratic driving maneuvers which place excessive stress on the emergency towing eyelets and the cables or chains. I imagine the Australian manual would be pretty similar (it's too cold outside for me to go down to the car and check). Based on the details in the manual, I would suggest that they are not rated recovery points. There are also two points on the rear, that could also be recovery points, but are most likely tie down points, as the steel in the area is very light. I did some rough numbers on the various towing/hold down points in a post on the Toyota Nation Forum. The size and thicknesses of the materials at these locations don't appear to have the necessary load capacities to work as recovery points.

I agree completely with the comments above. For $700-800 you could buy a DA polisher, pads and products to look after the car. Alternately you could probably get two full details, with chip repair for the same amount.

ScratchX takes a little bit of work, often 3 applications to get rid of some scratches and swirls (See this link). ScratchX is also not very aggressive and there are other Meguiar's products which would probably be better at removing swirls from an 8 year old commodore (see Aggressiveness Order for New Consumer Products). I suggest that you try Mirror Glaze #205, failing that a combo of Mirror Glaze #105, then #205. These seems to be the most recommended combination on the Meguiar's Online Forum. The other products aren't available in Australia, and I've only been able to find #105 & #205 at Zen Automotive Suppliers Car Care. If you post some pictures of the swirls on the Meguiar's Forum someone should be able to give you a good recommendation. Best bet is to try a different products on one spot to see if it makes a difference before doing the whole car. Why wait a month to do the Kluger? Wash it, clay it and wax it straight away so that the finish is clean and protected right from the start.

Glad to be of assistance

Accidental double post

Topics dealing with aftermarket sat nav. Toyota Genuine Sat Nav, Is it worth it ? DVD player with 7" Screen Installed. AVICHD3

I don't have an answer to your question, but if you haven't bought the car yet, save your money and buy an after market unit. There are better units around that you can get for less than what Toyota will charge. There are topics on this forum and the audio forum which have recommendations. I'd put some links up but I'm writing this on my PDA so it's a bit difficult.

Process was: 1. Clean wheels with Meguiar's Hot Rims Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner. 2. Wash with Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner. 3. Clay using Meguiar's Quik Clay Detailing System. 4. Touch up visible scratches and swirls using Meguiar's Scratch X (Unfortunately with direct bright sunlight, and no swirl finding light I was limited as to what I could see under those conditions). 5. Apply Meguiar's #7 show car glaze. This step was not really critical. 6. Finish with Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0 Liquid. 7. Polish Nudge Bar with Meguiar's NXT Generation All Metal Polysh. 8. Apply Meguiar's Gold Class Dash & Trim Foam Protectant to external plastic trim (unfortunately I couldn't find the external trim products anywhere). Each of the main steps took 30 - 45 minutes as the Kluger is a big car. If you haven't clayed your car before, then will definitely need to do it the first time you apply a wax. How often you need to clay afterwards depends on what conditions your car is exposed to, which is different for each individual vehicle. A rule of thumb I've seen is after you've washed and dried your car, place your hand inside a plastic bag and then run it lightly across the paint work. If it feels rough then it is time to clay. From my experience with the kluger, the horizontal surfaces seem to pick up the most contamination. Polishing is really up to your own personal preference. I used ScratchX just to remove some really visible scratches. There were still some minor swirls present, but I couldn't be bothered putting in the time and effort to remove them by hand. I'll save that for when I get a DA polisher. Not polishing won't affect the performance of the wax to protect your car's finish. The car still came up quite reasonable, although not show car finish, without the polish. I must say it was rather satisfying to run my fingers over the car and have it feel like glass afterwards. One of my friends was so impressed that he made his wife feel the smoothness of the paint.

Glad to be of assistance. This is how a metallic silver looks with Meguiar's NXT Wax 2.0. Still need to get a DA polisher and remove all the minor swirls, but silver is good like that. More images in my gallery

I've been using a cheap Karcher to wash and rinse on my metallic silver kluger and so far haven't noticed any damage. I suggets you read the following links which discuss pressure washers and damage. http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10816 http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showt...hp?t=10102& Make sure you also follow the excellent tips from DaveXR8 in the topic Car Detailing Tips when washing.

In general, definitely. The car could have been sitting outside in a holding yard for some time and will most likely have accumulated surface contaminates, which will need to be removed by claying. The following video on YouTube shows just how much dirt can be on a brand new car: You should check the terms and conditions of the factory paint protection first before claying to see whether it will invalidate the warranty. Personally I believe paint protection is just something to get the dealer extra $$$ on a sale.

Definitely. The car could have been sitting outside in a holding yard for some time and will most likely have accumulated surface contaminates, which will need to be removed by claying. At a minimum you should clay and wax the car. The following video on YouTube shows just how much dirt can be on a brand new car: You will probably also have swirls installed by your dealer when they "detail" it before delivery. I would recommend that you ask the dealer not to wash or detail the car prior to delivery and that you do it yourself. Usually all they do is just give it a wash. Another trick the dealer uses is to hand over the car inside the show room where the lighting is pretty poor. This happened to me and I missed a number of defects that were very obvious once the vehicle was outside in brighter light. Insist that the vehicle be moved to somewhere brighter. Direct sunlight should be avoided as the glare from the sun reflecting off the paint can make it hard to see any defects. I would recommend bringing your own bright light (such as a torch) and going over every bit of the finish to make sure there are no swirls or scratches. If you find any, get the dealer to fix it properly to your satisfaction. Don't be fobbed off by them saying "it will buff out". They put the defect there, make them get rid of it. A good place for further information or questions is the Detailing - Shown & Shine forum here on TOCAU.

Good video link I found for how to wash a car: http://www.webridestv.com/showvideo.aspx?video=43655

I like your work. I too had some free time over the week end and made my own seat protectors for the lower rear part of the front row seats. Due to my kids being young, and their legs being short, I find their feet always end up resting on the back of the front seats between the base and the seat pockets. I got sick of always cleaning dirty foot prints off my nice black leather. My solution was to buy some 0.8mm thick clear PVC plastic sheeting from Spotlight, fold it into the pocket and attach it to the seats with some adhesive backed hooked velcro tape. Two 400x500mm pieces of PVC are all that is required. It is hardly noticeable and given the recent rain in Brisbane was $20 well spent. I'll post some pics shortly.

My preference has always been for portables as they are generally cheaper, have more features, and are easily upgradeable. I've been a dedicated TomTom user as I've found they had the most features and were always the most highly recommended. My unit is a TomTom GO 910, which has since been superceeded. I recently purchased a TT XL 340 for SWMBO which is a good unit, although it doesn't have bluetooth. I have used TomTom Navigator on my PDA, however I wouldn't recommend doing this for every day navigation as I find it always takes a while to get a GPS signal and doesn't have the same features. My recommendation would be to get a TomTom GO 730. It has the all the features you require, with the exception of cannot be easily stolen, which no portable unit will offer. While it is a little more pricey than some of the other units out there, it does have a number of advantages: There is a well established community on the net providing maps, firmware hacks, safety camera updates and other add-on apps for the unit (http://www.ipmart-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=382). This has enabled my old 910 unit to run the latest firmware despite TomTom not supporting it anymore. Has a feature called MapShare, which allows you to make changes to the maps including speed limits, blocking/unblocking streets, traffic direction, turns at intersections. I've found this invaluable as the whereis maps are full of errors. Traffic antenna is available for the unit (buy a european one off ebay and it wil cost you $60-$80 compared to the $200+ Tom Tom want here in Australia). A quick comparison betweem in-dash and portable units is given below: In-dash units: Pros Look a lot neater Integration with stereo system so that audio can cut out when GPS directions are being given or in telephone calls. Harder to steal Better GPS reception Dead-reckoning (ie will still give you position when GPS signal is lost). Big screens No wires running across the dash. Cons Unit and add-ons are expensive Expensive map upgrades Limited GPS features Some units only have coverage of major cities and highway. Can't take it with you if you don't travel with your vehicle. No regular speed camera updates. No regular firmware updates. No traffic updates Will the GPS unit still be supported in 5-10 years Portable units: Pros Units are cheaper Cheaper map upgrades Firmware regularly updated to provide new features or bug fixes Can take the GPS with you if you travel. Some units can now have TMC-RDS traffic data for Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney. Generally have more GPS features Most units have regular safety camera updates. Map coverage is generally quite good. Cons Smaller screen Portability makes them easier to steal. Generally can't integrate with car audio system. No dead reckoning, although some units such as the TomTom 930 have begun to implement it.

There is this thread elsewhere on TOCAU which discusses Resetting the ECU although it is not based around the Kluger. My understanding is the ECU constantly adapts to the particular driving style over 200-300km. So if the previous driver hammered the car, and a new driver takes over it will eventually adjust to their style. I noticed initially my Kluger was a little sluggish when I first got it (as a demo model it already had 6000km), but became more responsive over time as I drove it.

I've only every seen the type of mit you mentioned above at any of the auto stores, and have one myself. I've never found any problems only having the lambswool on one side. I'd also suggest you get some grit guards for your wash buckets. They keep the grit that rinses off your mitt in the bottom of the bucket and prevent it going back onto the car, causing swirls. I bought mine from Adam's Premium Car Care Products Australia.

Welcome to the forum. General recommendations I've ssen on the forum are to run the tyres at around 38-40psi as this gives better fuel economy, reduced tread wear and lower tyre noise. There are a number of threads discussing this issue: Rice Racing's Kluger Performance Thread 03 Kluger grande tyre pressure, optimum tyre pressure Tyre Wear There is also some good information that is well worth reading on tyre pressure and tyres in general at The Wheel and Tyre Bible. The information in relation to tyre pressure is about half way down the second page. These links should answer most of your questions.

Finally got around to spending some time lookng after my car. Process was: Clean wheels with Meguiar's Hot Rims Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner Wash with Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner Clay using Meguiar's Quik Clay Detailing System Touch up visible scratches and swirls using Meguiar's Scratch X (Unfortunately with direct bright sunlight, and no swirl finding light I was limited as to what I could see under those conditions). Apply Meguiar's #7 show car glaze. Finish with Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0 Liquid Polish Nudge Bar with Meguiar's NXT Generation All Metal Polysh Apply Meguiar's Gold Class Dash & Trim Foam Protectant to external plastic trim (unfortunately I couldn't find the external trim products anywhere). Last clayed back in March, and finish is now silky smooth again. I love this stuff. All work was done by hand, and now that I have recently aquired a DA I'll buy a swirl finding light and get serious with the swirl removal. More images in my gallery. Please feel free to leave comments.