mr_grumble2010

Driving to work this morning, pulled up to a set of lights in the right hand lane next to a dumptruck. Lights went green, I took off normally, next thing I know, I'm being push sideways ! Idiot changed lanes without seeing me, claims he didn't see me in his camera's Anyway, after 15 months of being selective where I park it, cautious about anything that may mark the Aurion, it comes down to some tool who's too %$#@ lazy to use his side mirror. Heading down soon to have it asessed at my local panel shop. Obviously rear bar cover, door etc can be replaced, but how do they repair the thin section of the quarter panel between the rear door and the wheel ?

Depends on whether you want your car to ever run the same again. Personally I wouldn't take anything to either of these places. Might pay to have a read of the link below before you visit either franchise. You'll drive in thinking how cheap it is and before you know it you'll be up for a $240 windscreen wiper change as well. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1639119 If your cheapest quote from Toyota is $270, just take it there, it doesn't sound all that expensive to me. Alternatively, you could do it yourself if your that way inclined ?

Not that long ago, I dinged the rear bumper of our Echo and looked into reapir costs. Was going to cost me $400-$600 if I was to take the car in and say fix it. It was recommended by the guy at our local panel shop, that I remove the bumper, fill it, sand and prep myslef and they'd simply throw a few coats of base and a couple of clear, all for $100 cash. Down side now is that the nice shiny bumper makes the rest of the car look average As long as it hasn't pushed the plastic bar cover in too far, it shouldn't be that difficult to fill and prep.

Ah, yes that makes more sense now looking at the shape. Cheers B)

Just rolling thru ebay and came across these. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Genuine-Toyota-Aurion-Spoiler-Protector-Kit-GSV40-New-/150557444578?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item230dec49e2 Looking at the photo supplied, it's difficult to see what they are or where they fit. Anyone had any experience with these ?

Yikes !!!! That doesn't look good at all. Interestingly the 2nd pic, the one of the underside of the plastic cover, looking at the colour of the oil, it looks like a milky brown colour, the colour engine oil gets when mixed with water ! Your initial assumption about a head gasket may be correct, however I don't know why it's spewed the oil everywhere though. Would be interesting to find where it's come from. Keep us posted on whatever happens next and good luck

Was there any explanation as to why the head gasket went ??

It seems that as Toyota customers, Service Bulletins often go unknown until we actually make comment that something actually wrong. Is there a way I can find out what Service Bulletins are outstanding on my vehicle ? If asked, will Toyota tell me, whether I intend on having the work done or not ?

With all the nasty plastic bits replaced, what was the outcome ? What I'd like to avoid is having to continually go back to have these noises rectified. If the're confident that can sort them first time round, I won't be so concerned about having it done. I have thought about throwing the odd bit of dry libe around to see whether I can fix it ?

Thats strange nobody else with the update model has ever complained about the rattles and sqeaks thats seem to inflict a good percentage of the "series one" cars. and first i've heard abouts sqeaks coming from the auto tilting mirror?? My upgrade ZR6 has many rattles and squeeks, something I'm quickly tiring of The most dis-satisfying aspect of the entire car is the interior trim, plastic bits in particular, really cheapens the car unfortunately. Although my rear vision mirror doesn't make any noise, it's as loose, so on a heavily textured surface, it's almost impossible to see anything behind you through the vibration. My main noises seem to be: - Plastic trim around the gear selector, squeeks like a MF ! - The lid of the centre console vibrates, need to drive with one arm constantly on it to shut it the hell up. - The silver plastic trip (woodgrain in the Prodigy) just above the glovebox, squeeks on and off. - Drivers grab handle next to my head, rattles on and off. - Something in the passanger rear door rattles, not sure about the source of this one. Going top mention something next service, but would prefer the noises as opposed to someone ripping the contents of the car apart.

One of the many noises I'm discovering with the interior is one situated around the right hand side of my head. Initially I thought it may be with the upper seatbelt securing point, however I discovered it was in fact the grab handle vibrating. Probably not the source of your clicking but it may be worth a quick look at ?

I just got chatting to an old guy here in the Caravan Park who owns an Aurion Touring and asked to see his Service Book. Seems we were all wrong Service Intervals are as follows and are as of the Warranty Commencement Date. 9 Month / 15,000km 18 Month / 30,000km 27 Month / 45,000km 36 Month / 60,000km 45 Month / 75,000km 54 Month / 90,000km etc As my Warranty Commencement Date is March 2010, that makes the next service interval Sept 2011 (or 30,000km), so all is good Thanks guys........

Yup, think that may be the way to go. Personally. I thought it was 6 monthly but if it's 12 monthly then things are ok.

40 psi around town is too much yes. For high speed travelling, i've always up'd tire pressures to around 40 psi, makes a real difference in Emergency breaking which is somewhat a common occurrence with the wildlife darting out in front of you at every turn. Tires feel less squirmish.

"reduction" that ought to be........bloody iPhone !!!!!

Is interesting how much difference tire pressures really make. The same trip from Dubbo to Broken Hill, same cruising speed of 105km/h and the same load, wife and kid with a/c on two separate times, one with tires at 32psi and the next at 38psi yielded a resection of 0.8 l/100km from 7.6 l/100km down to 6.8 l/100km.

Nice find ! I'm interested in this film for the headlamps / bumpers. Are these Toyota products ?

Definately, beter fuels negate the need (most of the time) for the use of injector cleaner. The times I have used it with good results are after prolonged city driving in stop start etc > 10,000km, where there is a noticable difference in smoothness and economy after the treated tank. My preferred method of use is to combine a long trip of 1,200km up front with a treatment of injector cleaner. Is usually a different car to drive afterward

I think the effects of the incorrect gasket may be more apparent than that. Both tail-lights in our facelift model fill up with soapy bubbles every time I wash the vehicle. We don't have water in the spare wheel well however. The gap created in ours must be significant as there is a family of spiders that have set up home in the drivers side light I've looked at two others I've come across and both had the same 'high tide' marks left by water ingress.

In our 91 Echo, (260,00km) I only ever use Mobil or Clatex E10, for me I find it gives the best economy and general feel. I fill up on a weekly basis and will usually get 650-700km on an average tank (50km highway / 30km Syd CBD) ~5.5 - 6.0l/100km I have tried Regular ULP and found the economy fell right off as well as the general performance. Premium, I can reflect both economy and performance figures when compared to E10. I service my own vehicle and have tried different things to determine what impacts economy the most. Surprisingly, I've found that a filthy Air filter (Ryco branded), gives very little, if no worst economy than compared to that of a new filter, just as long as the muck isn't penetrating through to the other side. The main contributors, I've found that make the most significant difference in economy are; 1). In tank petrol filter - I've changed out 2 so far (approx 80k apart) and notice a significant difference each time. 2). Plugs - I change mine out every 20k. 3). Mass Air Flow Sensor - Grime builds up around the sensors, particularly the sensor that determines ambient temperature. The grime acts as an insulator, therefore shielding the sensor from the actual ampbient temperature. Result will be incorrect readings being fed to the ECU. 4). Throttle Body - Removal and cleaning the muck that builds up around the butterfly. 5). Injector cleaner - I don't use much of this due to the constant high speeds, however if your in traffic most of the time, excessive carbon build up occurs, then a bottle of this stuff yields an increase in economy every 20k or so. Other factors like tire pressures make minimal difference and having them over-inflated, just makes the ride hard and will wear suspension components quicker. I have mine set at approx 35 PSI, anything more and ride quality just goes to the dogs. Your driving style will probably be the biggest overall factor that's going to determine what economy your vehicle will achieve. I achieve good economy due to the highway factor and the time at which I drive in to work, however if the traffic is s**t, I would expect 8l/100km is what you'd have to expect, considering instantaneous fuel usage in slow, stop/start traffic would be upwards of 20l/100km. Steve

Does it pair with other phones, I'd try that first. You would think Nokia should pair with anything, however it's worth trying another phone just in case. My iphone4 wouldn't pair to anything that wasn't apple (even the same head unit as yours), when I first bought it, you would think that if a device is Bluetooth enabled, it wouldn't care, but they seem to. As for the dealer, what a load of bull%^*#. Would be interested to know which dealership your referring to. I'd go to another, they should replace it without even drawing a breath.

Yes, it's the dark Metallic Blue, the pic does look a bit lighter than it actually is. I've never tried the whole aerosol can thing when it comes to cars, do you compromise the quality of the finish using aerosol sprays ? Steve

Cheers Rob, I crawled under late the other night without much light and couldn't see much, I assumed that the plastic bar cover would have to be removed as one piece then seperated. Am going to give the spray job a go myself, I have the gun and compressor and will need to consult google to learn up on the preparation side.... Steve

I managed to reverse our echo onto a 3 foot high pole on a car park last night. Has only mangled the rear metal apron just below the plastic bar cover. Am hoping to pick up another and have it sprayed and simply re-install. Anyone know what's involved in removing this panel, does the plastic bar cover need to come off first ? Steve

Bearings in the top struts felt pretty good when I changed the struts recently. Ball joints, wheel bearings and control arm bushes seem to feel tight with no apparent slack or obvious 'noises / clunks' on small bumps etc. The rough ride is just that....rough, no mysterious noises that would suggest worn components etc. Both front and back are equally as rough, rear probably worse as it doesn't have the weight to dampen out the bumps. Original bump stops were re-used, I couldn't find anything wrong with them, can't imagine how they'd have a continuous effect on ride quality though ?? What about tires ??? As I've already stated, tire pressures are identicle to that of a later model Echo, however they tires I have are quite old (possibly original fittment, from a donor vehicle)and the rubber seems to have hardened. Could this effect the way in which the tire flexes, giving the same effect of having over-inflated tires ?