tissue

Google 'camry dashboard melting' or similar, its a common problem in hot and humid environments like most of Australia.

Dont know if anyone has a definite fix, but theres a few bandaid remedys. It looks like it is the glue within the dashboard pad is leaching out through the rubber, so anything you do to remove the 'shiny ness' is basically removing the glue.

Im just buying a dashmat to cover it up, so it reduces any future damage. Might try to clean it up before I trade it in however.

For the record I dont own a TRD but a Persara.

Had my belt tensioner replaced last week, 100k on the clock.

Make no mistake there will be obvious rattle which will get worse. If I put the car in R or D with park brake on and looked at the belt tensioner it was bouncing up and down (more than normal, as it does generally have a small amount of movement when the engine is running).

I checked two other Aurion's a Sportivo and ATX with less k's about 45 each and they ran very smooth.

The biggest clue was with the car running as above and at temp turning the air conditioner with the front wheels slightly turned it produced a loud almost continuous belt squeal.

I took it to the local toyota car yard (I know these guys well) and they got the head mechanic to come out and listen.

As soon as I started the car and put it in D he said it was the tensioner, turning the air conditioner produced the squeal. He also commented that they had replaced a few of them.

Tensioner cost $420, new belt if needed $88 and about 4 hours labour.

They replaced the tensioner only, put the old belt back on as there was nothing wrong with it.

Since the replacement I have not heard the sound again, I have the old tensioner in the garage.

He checked to see if it had a "Service Bulletion" out that may cover the replacement, but there is not one.

They repeatedly asked me if the car was still under warrenty, but that had run out.

I got the impression they would replace it under warrenty thou. Ask them if you still have warrenty.

Just for record in case someone searches for belt squealing or tensioner, I have had the exact same issue as above fixed previously and it is spot on. The noise is a continuous noise that comes from the belt area, and will be going if the car is hot, cold, air con on or off. The only thing that seems to affect it, is that at speed it isnt quite as loud but is very loud at idle. The noise sounds exactly like a loose or squealing belt, because thats what it is (not getting enough tension). Mine was replaced at 90k.

Unfortunately for me, my mechanic had never heard of it and speaking with Toyota they didnt seem to think that many had been done. I went through a bit of trial-and-error to fix it, which resulted in me getting the bearings on all the pulleys changed and a new belt (all cheap fixes) before I had the belt tensioner replaced. Luckily that fixed it though.

The problem that the OP has though sounds much more severe.

I bought an ex-gov 06 Aurion AT-X with 80,000ks. Had full Toyota service log book records and all.

Only issue that I have had is the clutch in the alternator was getting stuck and causing the belts/pulleys to squeal on idle. Cost a bit to fix as it was difficult to diagnose.

I thought this was going to be a phenolic spacer, which seem to work ok.

You would lose power and/or throttle response with this I would have thought, by adding (minor) extra length to the intake piping?

The main thing I use S mode for up here is driving through the Clem 7 tunnel and locking it into 4th. I found cause of the grade of the tunnel, if you leave it in D then you need to step on the brakes every 50-100m which becomes tiresome.

Doesnt help that there are 4 speed cameras in the tunnel.

Looking into the Kumho's... is there any advantage going with the tyres that have directional treads?

Have a look at this thread, I got the Kumho KU27s and have had nothing but good experiences with them. They wont corner as well as some of the others suggested in here (around as well as the stock tyres) but will last 50-60,000ks and are quiet.

Hey all,

Im planning on replacing the stock 6x9 speakers with some Focal splits in the front and Eclipse 6x9 in the back. Before I pull the car apart, does anyone know if the stock front and rear speakers are exactly the same (size, mounting points, etc.)? If they are then I only need to pull off 1 door trim to start measuring and making some spacers to fit both front and rear speakers.

Cheers

Where did you purchase the tyres for that price? The listed RRP on Kumho's website is $328.90.

Kumho KU27 LX Platinum

The price is for 215/60/16s not the 17s. It was from one of the sponsers on Boostcrusing - Option1 Garage - which are a drift workshop so get cheap as prices on Kumhos. I couldnt fault their service or the tyres.

How much were they?

Can anyone tell me anything about Yokohama C-drive tyres? I've used Yokos before and can't complain. Family car use/commute/occasional country runs.

The stock Dunlops are close to shot at 41K.

Got them for $131/tyre fitted through discount on another forum. I think the RRP on them is around $200-220 per tyre.

Anyone has used any other tyres that are sticky and good for some playing around let me know....

Cheers.

Mick

Not really a high performance tyre, but I got some Kumho Ecsta LX KU27s fitted the other day (215/55/16) and they are a bit better than the standard Dunlops for a lot cheaper.