andrewlizz

Hey everyone,

Has anyone had experience changing a timing belt on their V6 Estima?

Jack.

Hi Jack

I have replied your PM. I purchased the geniue parts via http://www.amayama.com/ and have my mechanic complete the job, which includes whole timing belt kit, waterpump, spark plugs.

Cheers,

Hi all, I've just bought a 2005 Toyota Estima Aeras Jap import. I would like to know where I can get an owners manual and service manual as I've always found these helpful. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

The compliance workshop should provide you a tailor-made manual.

Hello everyone,

We are new members and are thinking of buying a recently imported Estima because of the low kilometres (under $50k) and its lower price than a comparable Tarago.

I have heard that parts may be hard to source and are more expensive. The local toyota dealer also mentioned that the Estima lacked some of the safety features standard on the Tarago (any idea what these may be)?

Can you guys please advise how much of an issue this is?

Are the parts generally interchangeable or generally not?

Are parts that regularly need replacement (eg filters, belts etc) parts that are not interchangeable or are we talking about parts that may need changing once in the lifetime of the vehicle?

We plan on keeping the Estima/Tarago for about 5 years until most of the kids have left home and then buy a sedan. Do dealers shy away from Estimas as trade ins?

I guess we have to weigh up whether the difference in cost of Estima parts is outweighed by the lower price and longer longevity of the low mileage vehicle.

To help weigh this up, can you guys also suggest how many kilometres can be expected from both types before they go to that great Toyota graveyard in the sky?

Hope you can help.

Hi,

I've got an Estima Aeras 3L. It has the 1MZFE engine and all the JDM features.

If you buy the car to drive and keep then they are a good proposition. Be aware the V6 MCR30/40 Estima has a timing belt. Toyota suggest 100,00 km or seven year life. So see if you can cam belt replaced in the car purchase, if it hasn't been done already.

It takes about 4 hours. The kit costs around $250 on ebay. Spark plugs are due at 100,000 km and require the inlet manifold to be removed to access.

Mine has done 85,000 km so it's a job to look forward to.

Estimas are flooding the market at the moment so there will no shortage of parts in the long term. Engine parts are the same as the Aurion and Camry of equivalent year.

My last TCR12 Tarago did 300, 000 km wih nothing but brakes and suspension and a few starter motor contact sets. I hope this one does the same. I change the oil and filter every 7500 km and use a full synthetic oil. 1MZFE engines are known to gum up, so oil is cheap - engines are not.

Most brake bits are the same as the local Tarago.

I purchased the vehicle because it was bang for buck and because I paid less that $17k I expect to sell it for less than a local vehicle.

If you buy a Estima it will 2005 (import regs) at the latest so it's 7 years old add five years to that and a dealer won't be interested in it anyway.

If want a well made and appointed vehicle with surprising performance at a good price the Estima V6 is just the thing. But expect buy cheap and sell cheap compared to the local Tarago.

Toyota Estima Owners Club (TEOC), a British forum, suggest that they suffer the occasional auto trans failure, the radiators have a tendency to crack on high mileage rough road vehicles and the oxygen sensors fail at 150, 000 km. So they are pretty reliable all in all.

I really happy with mine.

cheers

Robert

Hi Robert

I am looking for the timing belt kit for my estima (V6 3.0 VVTI), did you purchase the Toyota geniune parts? Any recommendations?

Thanks,

AL

I can't see many Estima owners here. I just got one, great car.