Dave L

LOL...that's funny. We haven't had that problem (yet), but when we do I might invoke the same rule :)

I had our Alpine overhead DVD unit installed last Saturday and I've never heard the kids be so quiet in the car. Not one word on the way home and almost had to pry them out of the car when we arrived home. The unit looks great and works a treat (even with the copied DVD's - which are backups of the originals, so the kids don't scratch/ruin them). The screen is quite bright with good colour and contrast and the wireless headphones are easy to operate and work very well. Sound via the FM transmitter also works well, however most of the time the headphones will be used (I can't listen to Wiggles and Hi-5 for too long whilst driving) :) Visibility through the rear-vision mirror (when the screen is down), is better than I thought it would be and although it does block the top 1/3rd or so of the view out the rear window it is certainly manageable. I also like the slim design when closed and it is quite unobtrusive and doesn't stand out when standing outside the car looking in. I will post up some photos of the unit when I get a chance. All in all, we are very happy with the purchase and look forward to many (quiet) road trips over the Christmas holidays and beyond...

BB64, This is normal - don't stress. I wondered the same thing the first time I filled the tank...but all is good. :)

Fairstar, This is the Kluger section of the forum. Did you mean to post in here ? Dave

I contacted a place today and they suggested that because it is an OEM Toyota towbar, their specifications are slightly different to that of a standard (Hayman Reece ?) towbar.....so it's probably best to go through Toyota for a replacement hitch. I need to book the car in for it's 1000km check in January so I'll speak with them then and see what they say. Once we get the replacement I will certainly be purchasing either the hitch-pin lock OR the simple padlock thru a hole.... In terms of being an unsavoury suburb of Melbourne, I think it was just wrong place at wrong time. We've parked our other cars at the same shopping centre for years and have never had a single problem (albeit our other cars have never had a towbar - especially one that was not secured to the car better).... To be honest, I didn't even stop to think about the fact that it could be stolen - which is why I started this thread, to bring it to the attention of others that may also not be fully aware just how easy it is to remove and walk away with.

Hi All, I went to jump into the Kluger this morning to come to work and noticed that the hitch & ball has been stolen by some (insert very naughty words here) person. Suffice to say, lesson learned. If you have a towbar on your Kluger and you leave the hitch & ball attached to your car, invest in a hitch-pin lock and LOCK the hitch to your car. I am so angry at the moment. We've only had the car two weeks (and this is the first car we've owned with a towbar....so I wasn't aware of hitch-pin locks etc. until I Googled it this morning). I guess it could've been worse. They could have taken the Kluger and left the hitch behind ! BTW - anyone know a reputable place in Melbourne to buy replacement hitches for a Toyota OEM towbar (which I assume is still made by Hayman Reece) ??

Sorry to hear that RR. Hope you get a good price for the Kluger and in finding a car manufacturer that will stand behind their product better than Toyota (which may end up being an interesting search).

I'm not being as stringent as what RR was....but I'm not thrashing it either. We've just clicked over 600km's and for the first 300-400 I took it quite easy and taking off/acceleration was fairly slow and gradual. I also tried to avoid staying on the same speed for long period of time (which only happens really when you're out on the highway). For the last couple of hundred km's I've driven it semi-normally, but still haven't done any hard accelaration...will probably wait till after 1000Km or so....not that I'll be giving it a flogging all that often - but it's good to give it a squirt every now and again :) Just not when everything's brand new...

Welcome WKD ! You'll love it when you pick it up and start driving it... We picked ours up about 2 weeks ago and we still fight over who is taking it for the day. Such a pleasure to drive and all things considered, pretty darn good on petrol, too. There are plenty of worthwhile topics/threads here which are worth reading and will certainly help to wet your appetite :) Good luck with the waiting process.... Dave

I agree with Kesawi. How long the finish lasts is greatly determined by the environment it is exposed to. The worse the exposure is, the shorter the time period will be before you need to redo the process. In saying this, the dealer's paint protection is subject to the same predicament, so anyone (in my opinion), saying that paint protection is a "once-off" application that will not need any further treatment is incorrect.

No probs. Measuring from the fold in the bumper up to the centre of the sensor, the measurements on my car are: Far Left: 45mm Mid-Left: 90mm Mid-Right: 90mm Far Right: 45mm Front sensors, again from the fold in the bumper (which touches the very top of the fog-light surround), up to the centre of the sensor is 25mm. Also, I had a look in the manual to the front sonsors and it looks like the control box and the beeper seem to be situated somewhere around the centre of the dashboard. The picture in the manual isn't specific...it just shows an overhead diagram with the control box and beeper situated where the front of the dash would likely be (somewhere near the gear shift or just forwards)....though it would make sense to put it where SpeedRacer indicated (on the side of the kick-panel, under/near the glovebox). Cheers, Dave

The paint protection is a rip off. It's the best $1000+ I never spent :)

I'm pretty sure the manual for the front sensors showed where the speaker was. I'll have a look when I get home this evening and confirm. Dave

I agree with Sam. There is nothing to say that even if you never replace the part in question you are guaranteed to ever have a problem.....though it's probably a case of "better-safe-than-sorry", considering the possible alternative !

OK, I just measured the rear sensors on our KX-R and these are the figures. Measuring from centre of bumper outwards (and to "centre" of each sensor): Far Left - 635mm from ground, 745mm from centre of bumper Mid-Left - 640mm from ground, 245mm from centre of bumper Mid right - same as mid-left, but in opposite direction Far Right - same as far-right, but in opposite direction Note: fuel tank is about half way between 1/2 & 3/4 mark on petrol gauge, which may make a slight difference to bumper/sensor heights if you have a different petrol level in your tank. Also, I measured the front two sensors as well and they are both located directly in front of (and centered with), where the fog lights would be/are - if you are looking directly at the car from "front-on".....and are both 615mm from ground (to centre of sensor). Hope this is helpful. Cheers, Dave

I received the manual for the front sensors, but there wasn't a manual for the rear sensors - which didn't worry me as I know how they work anyway...

If nobody replies before tonight, I'll measure mine and post up the info for you...

The Alpine doesn't play divx or xvid....which doesn't bother me as I don't really have anything in that format anyway (and if I did I'd just simply convert tot DVD format, on the PC, and save onto a DVD). Good luck with picking up your cars. You are going to love it ! Now there's a fight in our household each night as to who is driving the Kluger the next day :)

After further investigation, the link below might be an interesting read for many here.... ATTN: All 2GR-FE V6 OWNERS *This is a summary found from a link on the ToyotaNation Forum

Without wanting to sound like I am defending Toyota, which is not my intention, I can appreciate they would no doubt receive many phone calls and emails whenever this sort of thing happens (as does any manufacturer, be it for cars, electronics or whatever). Had Toyota replied to everyone with differing responses, I am sure people would then have a go at them because they are not being consistant in their response to their customers. Try calling Tesltra, Optus, or any other car manufacturer when similar situations arise and I'm reasonably confident the same thing will happen most of the time. Regardless of the fact that the replacement part may, or may not be a satisfactory replacement, I don't see any problem with their similar responses (and would have been more shocked if they had been different). Out of interest, if anyone knows, is it uncommon for rubber pipes/connections to be used in this manner, on engines ? Do other car manufacturers use the same (or similar) rubber pipes for this type of application, or is this a rare occurence that Toyota has done here with the early model 2GR-FE engine ? An interesting topic indeed....

For anyone here that hasn't clayed their Kluger, get out there next weekend and do yourself a favour ! It is so easy to do and the difference afterwards is amazing. I did so on my '03 Mazda SP20 a couple of weeks ago (after reading many suggestions on this and other forums) and was astounded by the result. As mentioned in a previous topic, we picked our Kluger up last Friday afternoon and Saturday morning was spent claying, polishing and waxing (with Meguiars, of course !)...and it brought the paintwork to the same "glass-like" feel and shine as the expensive paint protection pack offered by the dealership. It really does add another dimension when your car is so shiny and looking a million dollars (not to mention the benefits to the car's paintwork from the elements). No photo can do it justice, but all the hard work is worth it when you see (and feel) the end result. Suffice to say, I think I am now a clayaholic

We picked ours up on Friday and it had just under 1/2 a tank worth....which I was disappointed about, but didn't care too much, as the next day I filled it up with 95RON anyway :) Back in 2003 when we purchased my Mazda SP20, it came with a full tank of "premium unleaded - 98RON", which I appreciated. Six years later and a GFC under the belt, things seem much different...

Well, finally picked up our Kluger on Friday afternoon, and we're so happy with the car. Took it for a drive to Geelong yesterday and it purrs like a kitten. I was so excited I woke up early Saturday morning and at 7am started washing, claying, polishing and waxing the car (which took about 4 hours). Now the paintwork feels just like the example they showed me in the dealership (which had the $1K+ paint protection on it)... So far our average L/100km is around 9.7....with about 300km on the clock (this includes a bit of stop-start driving through the Melb CBD), a bit of suburban driving and some open-road driving to Geelong and back. Very impressed with the mileage thus far. Now just need to wait another 2 weeks and we get our Alpine DVD roof-mounted player installed :) Will put up a couple of photos in due course. Such a great car to drive. Even better than I remember when taking one for a test drive !

From memory, they are about $400 for the fronts and $480 for the rears.

It's not illegal if you use rainwater from your water tanks :)