whofan

There's another thread in here somewhere posted by Hado, it's a rippa... This was regarding a nudge bar on the 07-10 model Kluger which I understand is a different part however I suspect the principle is the same. I recently saw an ebay advert for genuine nudge bar and the price seemed crazy $199 delivered! I smelt a scam as this was ridiculously cheap..... but looking at the seller's feedback gave me some re-assurance. He had 6 available and by the time I'd talked the missus into the purchase there were only a couple left so I hit the "buy now" button. In about 2-3 days I have it delivered to me and sure enough, genuine, still in box, nice! I suspect that because it's now for an old model Kluger there are a few people trying to reduce their stock of these items.. I've since seen them for sale for $700+ Anyway back to the original topic The instructions state "20 minute installation", however I can assure you this is a little exaggerated as after 2 hours I was still struggling. Given, I've not a great mechanically minded person and I don't often work on vehicles but I was struggling and so drove the car to my father's house who spent another hour on it and we finally got it on. So I suppose what I'm trying to say is, I suggest you get some professionals to do it unless you're prepared to swear and curse for 2 hours. As per Hado's thread, one of the things you're going to need is a bloody huge spanner/shifter do do up the bolts that attach to the tow lines, I certainly didn't have one of these, I was fortunate that my father did. I think that in Hado's experience he had to go to his local auto shop and buy one. Otherwise all you will need is a socket set and screwdriver.

After 51,000km on the original tyres, the last 10,000km being close to bald, I finally went into serious tyre purchase mode. I found a few people flogging tyres on ebay, surprisingly they are tyre retailers not individuals... and most of them are in the Sydney area. One mob were selling the Bridgestone Dueler 400 tyres for $289 each !! But postage to Melb was $18 per tyre so that puts the price up to $307 and then you still need to consider carting these to a local tyre dealer who will charge you to fit, balance and dispose of your old tyres, my research shows this can cost around $20 per tyre so then you're looking at $327. Then add the hassle of needing to be home to take delivery of them, collecting them from the local courier depot, getting them in the Kluger and then finding a dealer to fit someone else's tyres I decided that I would only go down this path if it was a significant saving over other options. Then I found another ebay seller, this time a local Victorian tyre shop selling them for $340 fitted and this became tempting. During a recent trip to the local shopping centre I spied a Kmart auto and thought I'd pop in there and ask about tyre prices. I asked about the Bridgestones and I was told $385 :o As it was clear this quote didn't impress me I was asked "have you got any quotes from other dealers?" I replied "Yes, I've been quoted $340" whereby he immediately replied "OK, I can do them for $335" I promptly shook his hand and made a booking, they've been on the car now for about 2 weeks From this experience I've learnt that it really does pay to ask the question about price as it would appear there is a pile of margin to made on tyres and the dealers have loads of room to move. The brief moment it took me to look non-plussed saved me $50 per tyre, nice.

I've recently had a good encounter with the local Cannon Toyota dealership in Camberwell, Victoria. I had trouble even getting listened to at Melb City Toyota about the dash-rattle so I raised the issue with Cannon, they forwarded my concern to Toyota Australia for evaluation and the reply I got was an agreement to pay half of the cost. I explained to Cannon that I was grateful for them to put forward my case to TA but I was adamant that the dash rattle should be fixed and paid for entirely by Toyota as I think it's a quality issue that greatly reduces the brand's credentials plus it lowers my resale value. The car is just on 3 years old by the way. Anyway, Cannon asked me to build a case so they could present this to Toyota, so I did, I wrote a one pager stating when the problem was detected and how Melb City ignored my pleas and this was then submitted to TA who have since replied stating they will pay for the removal and refit of the dash, replacing the faulty clips (which I believe hide where the dash meets the windscreen). It's about 4 hours of labour by the way, the clips are only a $30 item. Previously during a vist to Cannon when my wife took the car in for a logbook service the Service Manager invited her and my boy into the service centre for a quick tour, not necessarily riviting excitment for my wife but it was an interesting experience for my son. During another visit they have replaced a cracked arm rest (read other threads) which is another common Kluger fault, this was a warranty claim at no expense to me. The world is so full of bad service but I'm glad to say I've had some very good experiences dealing with Cannon so if anyone else is looking for a service centre it may be worth giving them a try.

I have one of these in the Kluger since we bought it in Feb 2010, no probs, would recommend it to everyone. Protects the rear cargo space of the vehicle from dirt, water and stops cargo sliding around, best $100 I spent on the car.

I'm grateful for your reply, but could you please confirm by measuring them?

Does anyone know the width of the OEM Kluger 19" rims? I suspect its in the range of 7" - 9" ??

We got front and rear for $700 from memory, but this was just after the dealer reverse parked my car into a fire hydrant as I was signing the documents in the office These were aftermarket by the way. I'm very happy with them, 2 loudness settings, we had to got to the lower setting as it was just too loud. An LCD mounted above the rear view mirror has a picture of the Kluger/car and each corner flashes when you get close to an obsticle, also give you a distance to target readout, very helpful. Our after market sensors match our car colour exactly which is the light metalic blue (sorry forget the official Toyota name for the colour). They started talking $1200 for front and back sensors before the "ahem" accident. Marvellous what a couple of seconds can do to the price margin....

We got front and back sensors fitted when we bought our Kluger, I was a little apprehensive that the car was big and also had bad visibility, very, very glad we got the sensors installed as they give you a lot more confidence when parking. Be mindful of the high price variation charged by the dealerships, do some research to find out what they are really worth and be prepared to haggle hard... dealerships make a lot of cash on these additional accessories. If you don't ask for a discount or know what to expect you'll get the maximum price quoted.

No disrespect intended but I think the lack of replies may just be a sign that not too many forum readers are in the first gen Klugers. Did you have a read of the US based "Toyota Nation" forums? They're packed full of good content.

TRD?

<br /><br />Hi,<br />Can i know if this price is from a dealer or private sale?<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br /><br /><br />That was from a Melb Toyota dealer.

I'm happy to be proven wrong by someone more knowledgable... but I don't think there are any Toyota genuine parking sensors they are all after-market. Toyota sell them but all they are really doing is making a commisson on top of the retail price and installation service, kind of like a finder's fee. Becuase they are after-market they are all of different makes and models and installed by different people/companies. I've got an LCD mounted above the rear-vision mirror that has a picture of the car and as I approach a object each corner of the car flashses and I get a readout of the distance to the object. Having said that they are not to be relied on 100%, things can hidde just under vision of the sensors. I'll see if I can find the original manual which will state the manufacturer and model number. The wife has the car at the moment and I'm left home baby-sitting :-(

A ceiling free of DVD screen, that's perfect vision. As soon as anything gets in the way that's less than perfect 15" of diagonal screen hanging from the roof cannot be perfect rear vision, hello, wakey wakey!

G'day I went through this process back in Feb/March this year as my second hand Kluger 08 had only one key. I've posted a thread on here detailing my story, so flick through the past threads and you'll find everything you need. Whofan

I don't understand.... When I've looked at leasing before, getting servicing, tyres, fuel etc included in the monthly costs seemed so attractive as all costs were covered regardless of how harsh you drive. So if you stomp the brakes and take corners fast.... replacing brake pads, machining discs and replacing tyres more quickly than another more conservative driver doesn't matter as you're paying one flat fee. Are you suggesting you have to pay for each service individually?

I have the same problem with the factory fitted unit in the KX-S... listening to the radio at 40 is loud but changing to CD this will cause the windows to shake and you need to adjust the volume down quick-smart to around 30. I guess what I'm trying to say is there is nothing wrong with your unit, I suspect it occurs to all units in all Klugers. I wrote a message in one of the other threads about "what you dislike most about your Kluger" this was in my top 5.

umm I don't have my owner's manual nearby as I'm at work at the moment. I'd have a flick through the manual paying particular attention to the service pages, there should be a recommendation in there as to what needs changing and when. Brake pads can be changed earlier or later depending on driving style, conditions etc... but I would have thought maching of discs would be a little more regimental in their scheduling. Also regarding your fleet costs.... I would have thought the fleet "package" would include things like service, tyres, fuel etc... ??

G'day and welcome... I think you're referring to the fog lamps and how they're missing in the KX-R model? I've seen after-market kits available on ebay... I'm guessing these would need to be wired up separately and therefore need a special button fitted somewhere to your dash. On the KX-S, Grande and even Altitude I think... there is a dial on the headlight stalk to activate the fog lamps but I'm thinking this is missing from the KX-R? So to get the genuine fog lamps you may also need to invest in a different stalk for the steering wheel. Someone else may have actually done this and can be a little more precise with the experience.

Don't you mean the Daewoo Captiva?? hehe Marvelous what a badge does to perceptions of a brand/car. I too looked at a lot of other 7 seater vehicles when shopping but I just couldn't put myself into a Daewoo... it's a bit like buying beer from Aldi, seems like a good idea, saves you money but after a few mouthfuls you can't help thinking you'd rather be drinking the real thing ;)

7 seats is a great feature. We've used it several times now to take us (family of 4) and the grand parents on a trip and we all fit with one seat spare for some day-trip luggage. I think it's difficult and expensive to upgrade to the 7 seater after buying a 5 seater largely because the air conditioning ducts etc in the roof are much cheaper to be done during original build. We had a cloth seat car previously and wanted a bit of a treat/upgrade in our new car so the KX-S sold us for the leather, soooo easy to clean... now that it's winter in Melb I've used the seat warmers for the first time and they're are simply gorgeous, almost sexual I've gone the FWD as I get better fuel economy over an AWD.... I rarely go off road and when I do it's gravel roads without ruts and the Kluger is fine. If I try to be quick off the lights in some greasy conditions I do get wheel spin until I back off the accelerator... You've got to weigh up fuel economy and running costs vs AWD grip. Oh and regarding the 3 cars you were considering, I'd certainly give preference to those that have some of the original new car warranty, this gives you some room to discover problems and have them fixed for free. Plus there is there service advantage (or whatever it's called) that means you should only pay $150 or thereabouts for all services within 3 years or X kms (can't remember the figure. I got my KX-S FWD 7 seater for $42k second hand with 33,000km on the clock back in Feb... prices have surely come down since then but thought I'd mention that as a guide for you, you may be able to get a car very similar to mine for just on $40k....

I think there's a difference between road legal and covered by insurance. Obviously to be covered by insurance you'll first need to be road legal. Road legal in my understanding would mean no tyre protruding from the side of the wheel arch when still and obviously a clear turning circle without the tyre hitting the arch. Now to the topic of covered by insurance... I think this may differ between insurance companies. I remember calling RACV a few years ago now and inquiring about changing my stock tyres on the Commodore. They informed me that as long as I kept the original rim size I was fine. In that case they were 15" rims. I was considering putting on slightly lower and slightly wider tyres and that was the response I got.

Hi George, I can't find the FlyAudio units for the Kluger on your website? Let's hope that Easy Park are using the savings from their way-ordinary web site to reduce the price of their goods and services. That site looks like it's a primary school project!

The seller on ebay who uses the official Toyota images and seller name "sydneycity" (or similar) appears to actually work for Sydney City Toyota as when I ordered the cargo mat from him it came in the official Toyota packaging with Sydney Toyota stickers all over it. All up with postage to my door was about $97 I believe. My local dealer wanted to rip me off $125 !!

Just seen some cheapo roof racks suitable for the Kluger advertised on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Toyota-Avensis-Kluger-RAV4-Prado-Tarago-Roof-Rack-Bars_W0QQitemZ250637308554QQcategoryZ55435QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BPSSI%252BSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%252BUCK%26otn%3D10%26po%3D%26ps%3D63 Quoted buy-now price is $90 which sounds bloody good considering the rhino rack equivalent are around $230 but the seller even has a best offer bid available so I'm guessing you may be able to put in a cheeky bid for around $80. I'm not trying to talk up the seller, honestly... I'm more interested to know if anyone else has bought these and can testify as to their usefulness or uselessness.

During my recent off-road trip to the Ada tree in regional eastern Victoria, my 08 Kluger KX-S developed dash rattle; mostly noticeable over gravel but comes back from time to time. :( I reckon it's coming from the passenger side A pillar but the wife seems to think it's more in the middle of the dash. The 36 month service is due later this year, I'll be sure to mention this problem BEFORE the service with the aim of getting it fixed during the service. We should all expect better build quality from a car less than 3 years old.