Hiro

What sort of driving are you doing? Has it been lifted, or the tyres changed to more off-road focused ones? Carrying extra weight? Lots of things influence fuel consumption...

Rebuild it - new synchros, bearings, oil seals etc. Any fluid solution will be only temporary and just masks the problem. No real way of getting a "new" one, and almost guaranteed that any second-hand one you find will either have the same problem or will start displaying symptoms very quickly (it's a known weakness of the C-series boxes).

I bought a case of filters from LSI the other day, with eBay Plus discount it came down to ~$9.50 a filter (these were YZZE2 ones though so smaller/cheaper than the ones for Aurions etc)

'08 Corolla will be timing chain, not belt.

Yeah you need to get access to the top side of that fuse block

Can you take a photo of it? I think the integration relay is on the underside of the interior fuse box that the COR is in (which is on the top), it's a really annoying spot that may be made harder (or easier if you can take it out) by the passenger airbag (if you have one).

Often the fuel pump relay isn't called that, it'll be the EFI or Circuit Opening Relay. Doing some digging, on Aus models it seems the COR is on the fuse-box behind the glovebox/passenger airbag, the EFI relay will be in the engine bay fuse-box

Not a threaded hole for an eyelet (that is usually for going into a special hole in the bumper, but there still should be at least one (if not two) towing/transport hooks on the rear (usually next to the mufflers) so the car can be pulled out of a ditch etc or strapped down to a flatbed

Modern cars yes, a lot of older ones don't though

You mean quarter windows? Opera windows haven't been on cars since the ~'70s/80s (and then mainly on vinyl-roofed pimpmobiles)

RDA7686 looks like it has approximately ~1mm more offset (50 vs 49.2) - this might not seem like much, but it can mean the difference between the rotor sitting neatly in the middle of the caliper and rubbing against one side of it once the pads start to wear. RDA8112 (or DBA2709) is the correct rotor for the Camry, I'm hesitant to recommend any other size unless someone can confirm that it does fit and work.

I could see it potentially improving the life of tyres from a deterioration/dry-rot/UV-damage perspective (like moisturising/conditioning leather), but not actual tread-wear

In general, when air only comes out of the vents when the fan speed is set to HIGH, it means the resistor pack for the fan switch is busted (HIGH normally bypasses it completely). The noise could be completely un-related, where does it sound like it is coming from and does it change depending on if the A/C is on or not? Does it get cold?

Hand tightening is fine as long as you've got good access and good grip, on some setups you might need to be using tools (and funky oil filter cup tools in order to actually grip the housing) at which point it can be very easy to over-tighten. And 17.5Nm is well within the range of a lot of 3/8" torque wrenchs

It's not common terminology here, but if you're looking online it might come up especially on US sites - the E11x (the "11" or "110" series) is actually the 8th-generation Corolla. The numbers got out of whack when Toyota combined the E3x thru E6x all as the 3rd-generation (also happened for the E12x/E13x 9th-gen, E14x/E15x 10th-gen and E16x/E17x/E18x 11th-gen). But yes, the AE111 and AE112 have the same suspension (apart from SuperStrut AE111 models).

Is the carbie just a replacement OEM one or an aftermarket (Weber etc)? Has it been tuned/jetted properly? 31s really wouldn't be helping either.

It can be important if you've got the replaceable element type with the plastic filter housing (which the previous generation 2ZR had) rather than a spin-on metal canister, using the correct tool and the correct torque is important in those cases both for sealing and for not damaging the housing.

That's not the TRD rear bumper, or the correct boot lid, or the correct spoiler. It also wasn't released until August 2007, so a Nov '06 build date would be highly unlikely (not to mention that TRDs are also individually numbered). And the "Sportivo" interior is different to the TRD one too. Even if it had been rear-ended and the boot/bumper replaced with normal ZR6 parts, that wouldn't explain the build date. In short, that ain't no TRD Aurion. It's a normal Aurion that someone has put $10 eBay/Etsy badges on (seriously, both the Limited Edition and Sports badges are just generic aftermarket crap that you can get from Etsy). At this point, without photo proof I'm even doubting it having the supercharger...

TRD Aurions came out in two specs - 3500S, and 3500SL. That's it. Anything else is aftermarket (or custom). Also, the TRD Aurion came out in 2007, not 2006. This makes it even more likely your "mate" (your profile indicates you supposedly own one) has just got a normal Aurion with a TRD sticker slapped on it.

1) In general, forums are dead or dying. Facebook nailed the coffin shut several years ago, you occasionally come across some signs of life but they are the exception rather than the rule. Expect tumbleweeds 2) Most forums are based around enthusiasts or modifiers to some degree, even though TOCAU is an "Owners Club" most of the owners here have intents on making their car better. The Corolla Cross isn't much of an "enthusiast" car. 3) It just isn't that popular to begin with. 4) Toyota Japan/Australia doesn't tend to do annual iterations of cars other than updating the year (and maybe something small like a headunit upgrade or more safety equipment) and selling the leftovers from the previous year as a runout. The typical model year cycle is approx 4-6 years, with a mid-life facelift, so we're still a year or two away from any significant changes.

Unless you have an aftermarket ECU/piggyback, there is nothing that a dyno can do for you other than tell you how much power you're making and if your AFRs are ok. Factory Toyota ECUs are not tuneable. If you are running aftermarket engine management though, then you need to look for shops which have experience with that brand/model of computer, not so much the car (a 16V 4AGE is a pretty simple engine that any decent tuning shop can handle)

Apart from Accidently Kelly Street, I can't say I'm familiar with their music. As my first post described, the name is a combination of Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and Lee Marvin's classic Western/musical "Paint Your Wagon"

ZZW30 MR2, I believe it's the same part number as the ZZE123 Fielder wagon one. You still need to re-pin the plug on the steering wheel though, as the ZRE plug is different. I haven't pulled the interior apart enough to work out if the body side of the power windows loom is there or not on mine, that's a task for a rainy week or 3.

Yes, ZRE steering wheel controls are fully functional (apart from the Display button, which is separate from the audio controls and would normally go to the instrument cluster - there aren't enough channels/wires on the clock spring for that one to work but I'm ok with that). The airbag connects up fine and doesn't throw a code, I can only assume that it will function correctly in a crash as there's not exactly any way of testing it.

That Nissan Thailand build plate threw me for a minute until I saw the Tiida in the background...