McCoy Pauley

Turns out that my wife ran over a nail that was causing a slow puncture on the left rear tyre. I'm a bit puzzled as to why that would cause a knock on the right hand side of the car, but the dealer's service department removed the nail and patched up the tyre, and no knock. In relation to the scratch and dent my wife inflicted on the door, we've got four quotes for the repairs. Two of the panel beaters want to replace the entire door and two would replace the skin. Given that there's about $800-$900 difference between replacing the door and replacing the skin on the door, I'm scratching my head over which route to go. Further, if we choose the cheaper option, I won't bother making a claim on insurance because the excess is $950 (my wife is licensed less than 2 years). On a six-month old car, I'm wondering which way to jump. Any thoughts welcomed.

Cursed loudly after my wife finished phoning me to tell me she'd scratched the rear passenger panel all the way down the panel this morning on our Aurion.

You might have wheel bearing issues then. It would be very rare considering the age of the car but it's certainly something worth investigating. There isn't any back axle on the Aurion just the hub assembly, which eliminates a variety of possible speed related knocks. Try jacking the rear corner of the car off the ground and try spinning the wheel listening for noises. Further grab the top/bottom of the wheel and try to shake it to check for any movement. For such a new car though obviously your best option is to take it to Toyota and let them handle it under warranty. Thanks Steven, again. The ironic thing is, my wife scratched the car down the back passenger side this morning.

Thanks Steven. One thing I didn't add was that the frequency of the knocking sound increases as I increase my speed and decreases as I brake.

G'day all, first time poster, long-time Toyota driver here. A bit about myself - live in Melbourne with a sizeable family. Grown up with Toyotas in the family. My dad owned a Toyota Corona bought in the mid-1970s (it's very hazy, but I think around 1975 or 1977) and my mum owned a Toyota Corolla. My first car was my mum's 1978 Corolla, which in 2004 was still going strong. Eventually bought a 2005 Corolla when our first child arrived. Living in the inner-city Melbourne, the car wasn't used very much and even now, it only has 20,000km on the clock. But with three children in the family now, it's too small for most uses, so we bought an Aurion Touring SE earlier this year. Very nice car, but as I've posted elsewhere, it has some minor issues that I need to sort out.

Hi all, I purchased a 2011 manufactured Aurion in May 2011. It's basically used only for short runs to and from home to the local area (school, shops, etc) and it's only clocked up 2,000 km. A couple of weeks ago, we drove from Melbourne to Healesville and back again, including over some gravel (unsealed) roads. That night, I noticed a leak from an area towards the front of the car (behind the front wheels and just right of centre, almost under the driver's seat). The leak stopped by the following morning and I didn't think anything more of it. It appears to be just water and it's a drip every second or so, then slowing down and stopping by the following morning. Today, we were driving back from Nunawading down Maroondah Highway. We drove over the tram tracks on Whitehorse road up the hill towards Union Rd and we noticed a knocking sound coming from (we think) the rear right of the car. I can't really localise it more than that at this stage. It isn't present at very low speeds (5-10km/h) but it's quite noticeable at 50km/h-60km/h (I haven't travelled faster than that). I've read the thread about the intermediate steering shaft issue, and I don't think it's the same thing. I also noticed that the leak was back from the same spot. Again, it appears to be water and it's a drip every second or so. The car isn't due for its service until December, but I'm concerned that after only five months and 2,000km I'm having some (so far minor) issues with the car. The car's performance is not yet affected, but this is the first time I've had problems with a Toyota in years. So I'm planning to book it in with the dealer this week. Any thoughts, suggestions welcomed.