Rattle Rattleson

Definitely a hand pump is needed for a DIY gearbox oil change. You can get pumps with specially made filler spouts that can get into the tight spaces surrounding the refill hole. Another very good reason for removing the refill plug first is that you are letting incoming air displace the oil coming out the drain hole. If people do not think that this matters, try emptying the gearbox with the filler bolt intact. It will splatter and "glug" all over the place and make a mess on the floor. With the refill plug removed first, the oil will come out smoothly and won't splatter everywhere.

Positives (from my viewpoint) are tried and proven port injection technology and normal aspiration. This avoids any potential issues down the track with upper engine carbon deposits and expensive cleaning (assuming you follow the oil change requirements). Car is probably the best ever Corolla in terms of smoothness, refinement and ride and performance is pretty decent too - infact a tiny bit better than the high performance original twin cams from the late 1980s. Bad points are that (if you want an auto), the CVT might not be your cup of tea, as it tends to make the engine run at maximum torque RPM (so somewhat "drony") rather than go through distinct automatic gears (though the Corolla has 7 "virtual" ratios but they are nothing more than pre-programmed relative positions for the respective drive pulleys) - it is still a CVT. perhaps given the age of your existing Corolla, you might be happier in a 1.5 Yaris if you are on a budget and wanted something a bit closer in size and weight to what you have now. Plus you get a traditional auto (albeit only 4 speed - what you probably have now anyway).

You don't mention what model year but for mine (2014) it has a PIN code (6 digits from memory). And that was set by me manually soon after purchase. I have it noted down in my owner's manual so when I have to disconnect or replace the battery, I know what numbers to key in. I think most work like this. If yours is new the PIN may just be a default of something like all zeroes. But otherwise if someone set the code previously, you may need to have it reset at the dealer. This incidentally is one reason why some mobile battery places will temporarily supply power when the battery is physically being replaced, since people often lose these codes.

Hi, Sorry for the delay in replying - I have been very busy. The IM intake will almost certainly fit because the airbox base, the engine air intake and all associated geometry is precisely the same in both the US valvematic engine and ours. But I wouldn't recommend at all going to the trouble - it just isn't worth it. I have been able to confirm (both by viewing photos of the intake plus the compliance documentation at the Californian Air Resource Board a.k.a CARB) that the intake includes the restrictive carbon filter mandated by Californian emission regulations. This being the case, you'd either leave it in place to reduce power over our stock intake and have it get dirty into the bargain, or attempt to remove it with a dremel or similar. And if you remove it, you are still going to be left with the interior "ledge" or "step" that the filter is heat-staked into (and which does not exist in the smooth-sided interior of our intake airboxes). The result is that it is more than likely fitting the air intake will at best do absolutely nothing whatsoever and will actually more likely lose you power. Our cars are already about 4 kw more powerful than the US version as it is and part of the reason for that is the incredibly restrictive intakes needed to satisfy legislation over in the US. In my view, the best option here in Australia - if you don't want to un-necessarily over-spend and you wish to remain legal, is to simply buy a better quality air filter for the stock intake and leave it at that. I have tried two - the Apexi and the HKS - both dry as I am not keen on the oiled ones - and I prefer the HKS as the power delivery to me seems to be a bit smoother overall compared to the Apexi (and that same result occurred when the HKS was tested on a Toyota 86).

Hi all, My mother's 2006 Yaris was subject to that front seat recall a few years back where they replaced the retaining tracks. Prior to the recall, the seat always felt fine. After the recall, the seat adjustment felt a bit vague and stiff though this feeling subsided a little over time (not to my satisfaction though, but complaining to Toyota got me nowhere). Nevertheless, ever since the recall, the seat has never felt secure in the adjustment "slot" or notch. Every time I am on and off a pedal, change direction or go over bumps, the seat feels like it is moving in the tracks very slightly due to free play. It is exactly how I would expect a really worn out seat to feel if it had been adjusted tens of thousands of times and had lways had really overweight drivers in it (I am not a lightweight but I'm not fat either). I have mentioned this to Toyota twice since that recall and they deny there is anything wrong with it. Has anyone else experienced this problem with their Yaris seats subsequent to that recall? Thanks

I just noticed. Those are the Podium II alloy wheels aren't they? I bought a set of 5 Podium II wheels for mine earlier this year (but I wanted the 16 inch). One of the reasons I bought the base Ascent is I really hated the alloy wheels as sold in the higher end models (they remind me of cheese graters) and always knew I wanted the Podium II wheels instead.

Thanks a lot for getting back to us on this. I will definitely try this next time I am cleaning out the back of the car. As you say, it is critical to re-open the latch via the hatch handle before attempting to close the hatch again. If this works on my model I will be more than happy to put the fuse back in the car so all my interior lights work again. The main problems have always been situations like yours where the hatch needs to stay open for a while - for me this happens with lots of shopping stops, cleaning, etc. Plus only a couple of weeks ago, I replenished the rubber seal around the hatch (using Swissvax Seal Feed - fantastic stuff) and you really need to keep the hatch open for quite a while to let it properly absorb into the rubber before a final wipe down. That is another instance where this trick will be very handy because I had the hatch open for a few hours to do that properly. I am just curious - did they come up with that answer really fast or did they have to think over it? If it was really fast, sounds like a lot of people have mentioned this annoying issue before! I might just add one little hint to this trick. Maybe buy some red or green (or some other bright colour) masking tape and just lightly put some over the catch once you've stuck it into position. That way when you go to close it again, you will see the tape, remember what you've done and release the catch before closing the hatch. I can just otherwise see people (including myself), just closing the hatch on autopilot and wrecking the catch mechanism.

That makes sense about that being a hybrid feature given the batteries are such an integral part of the way the vehicle functions. The reason I know my lights do not time out in the petrol model is I neglected to close the rear hatch one time and that rear cargo light drained the battery (same thing happened with the overhead dome light in our Yaris - no timeout combined with me not checking before leaving the car). Since those two episodes I make absolutely sure every single light is off in our cars when we leave them. As for my Corolla, I pretty much have that fuse semi-permanently removed. The pain of changing that bulb is such an issue that I actually prefer to have no lights at all than have to face replacing it (as an aside, does anyone know if all interior lights have to work - including rear cargo - for a car to pass a rego check - I am pretty sure they do need to all work?). At the very least you can complain to them and let them know other owners are not particularly happy with the lack of control over the light and inaccessibility to it. Anyway, despite all of that I am sure you will love your car. When I saw it I loved the look of it (seems to combine the best visual cues of my older model and the new one) and I just prefer the more conservative look over the new petrol model. And if I am regularly getting 6.5 litres per 100 in day to day driving with my 2014 petrol model I am sure you will get amazing economy and very smooth performance from the hybrid drive train!

That is pretty amazing when you think about. After all, there is only one significant difference between a Sportivo motor and the 1.8 motors employed in the rest of the range over the last decade. And that difference is only felt above 6,000 RPM. If you don't take it above that, you might as well not bother owning one! That's 40-something percent more power just gained through revs without sustaining a drop in torque! So given that I expect most Sportivo drivers actually drive the car - at least some of the time - as the engine designer intended - it is pretty remarkable.

I suspect the 20 minute timeout must have been introduced in the 2015 series update or is exclusive to the hybrid (probably the former). The lights stay on indefinitely on my 2014 model. I agree that not being able to directly control the behaviour of the light is an extremely annoying problem, made all the more problematic because of issues relating to access to the bulb itself (though as I say, it might be different for later models). That said, the rear cargo light of the Scion IM (same as our 2015 and later petrol Corolla) looks to be no more accessible than mine is and the 2015 Corolla and possibly the Hybrid likely wouldn't be any different. I would be very surprised if you could just lift or even pry off the cover in yours. The factory documentation on my 2014 model explains a prolonged procedure starting with removal of the rear seats, removal of all the rear scuff panel trim, rear boot trim and rear quarter panel trim. It runs in all to about a dozen pages and cross references a number of procedures in order to be able to do it. I know that after reading through it all I decided there and then that once the light bulb blew, I would never replace it (unless for some reason I cannot re-register the car each year with a blown cargo bulb). What seems so incredibly odd is that Toyota decide to grant access to the top of the rear dampers (where they attach to the rear strut towers) via a removal rectangular panel only a couple of inches below that light bulb, but never put an access panel on the bulb itself. I can only hope that Toyota employed some incredibly long-life bulb that they expect (hope?) would last the life of the car. I guess the fact that I cannot see any complaints in the internet yet about impossible-to-replace Corolla light bulbs (apart from mine) suggests that no-one has had to replace one yet and felt the need to complain about it.

I can't speak specifically about the Hybrid model but if the lighting system is the same as the petrol one, you are unfortunately out of luck as there is no actual switch or other "normal" way to disable it. The only way you can prevent that cargo light turning on is to remove the relevant fuse from the fuse box within the engine compartment (assuming that is where it is located in the Hybrid model) or (if possible) remove the actual bulb itself. For the petrol model the fuse is called something along the lines of the Dome or Dome Light fuse. The cover of the fuse box will show a "map" on the inside indicating where the fuse is physically located in the box. The box also contains a small plastic fuse puller to make removing the fuse easy. But when you remove the fuse, you will also lose the overhead lights in the interior so it is not a great solution. As for removing the actual bulb, I have not seen the latest (2015) models onwards but I know in the 2012 - 2014 models you can't even get at the bulb without ripping out most of the trim in the rear of the car including the rear seats! I suspect Toyota changed this in the 2015 models onwards as they came to realise that changing the bulb was ridiculously difficult, beyond most owner's capabilities and the cost of having a dealer do it would amount to several hundred dollars with all the parts and trim that have to be removed and re-installed. So I think those are your only options unfortunately. For my own part, I remove the fuse if I do not want the rear cargo light to operate. And to answer the other part of your question, no, the light stays on for as long as the rear hatch is open.

Something I just realised today: all the US-based TRD intakes have to have a charcoal filter that is fitted in series between the actual air filter element and the MAF sensor. Typically this secondary filter sits right on top of the normal air filter (so at the bottom of the top half of the air box. We do not have these secondary filters in our stock airboxes (and I can confirm that as I checked for this when I changed my filter during my service in April). That being the case, it would seem pointless buying the TRD intake since we will lose performance. Those charcoal filters are known to cause power loss which is why so many people naughtily remove them (they are required to meet Californian emissions standards). So yes, it really looks like the only legal and practical option is a panel filter only. Which one is anyone's guess as you can ask 10 different people and get 10 different opinions. As for me, I will keep my money and hopefully one day it will be possible to buy a DIY tune courtesy of Alientech / RD Technik,

Probably. The only difference as I say between dropping in a TRD / K&N versus the whole TRD intake is the upper airbox and the coupler. I don't know how much those two things influence performance. It may or may not be measurable in terms of outright power though the noise will likely be a bit different. One would logically think that, however, that the much more direct coupler in the TRD kit is a good thing for both induction note and maybe even performance. But yes, you just have to ask yourself are you prepared to pay the difference just for those things. I think it is safe to say that any difference in power between the TRD filter on it's own and the whole TRD kit might be around between 1% at most. Even the difference in performance on the Toyota 86 between a K&N filter on it's own and the whole TRD kit is very small (even unmeasurable) in terms of power, however the TRD kit does quite significantly provide no loss of torque anywhere in the entire rev range which is more than I can say for the K&N filters on their own (where typically you do gain top end power but also lose a little bit of torque at lower revs). That is something else to think about. The TRD kits are not supposed to reduce performance anywhere in the rev range, whereas a free flowing air filter on it's own such as K&N on it's own has been demonstrated in dyno tests to reduce torque at some points lower down the rev range. That is on the Toyota 86 which is obviously a different car but it is still a naturally aspirated VVT-I Toyota engine when it comes down to it.

http://www.trdusa.com/intakes.html Follow the above link and you will see a picture of it installed (second photo from the left on the bottom - click to expand to full size). Part no. is listed here: http://www.trdusa.com/parts-detail.html?p=PTR03-12160&years=2016&models=iM&categories=Performance Engine&subcategories=all I have attached the installation instructions PDF to this post. PTR03-12160 INSTALLS.pdf

I have the installation instructions and the news is good and bad. The TRD intake uses the stock intake plumbing to the stock lower half of the airbox. So the only replacement parts are the air filter, airbox top and the red coupler to the throttle body. So this is good news in the sense that installation should be very straightforward compared to an intake that replaces everything. The bad news of course is that it likely will not provide the same relative performance improvement as, say, the kit for the 86 which replaces some of the original intake plumbing and removes the resonator. On the other hand, given what I know about resonators and intake tuning, it is very likely Toyota engineers realised that removing the existing tuned intake portion of the system together with the resonator would have reduced low-down and midrange torque - something you really wouldn't want in a car such as this. Anyway, the above info suggests to me the intake is expensive for what it is - other TRD intakes have more parts for the same money. So it really comes down to do you have the money lying around and don't want to pursue aftermarket options or not I suppose! It looks like any performance increase would come from a combination of the replacement filter and the fact that the replacement coupler is slightly shorter but more critically dead-straight and (possibly?) slightly more rigid, as opposed to the stock bellows which are obviously quite soft, curve around a fair bit and are noticeably longer. I think the shortening and straightening of the coupler is achieved by the replacement air box top having a larger surface area (which in itself is achieved by having straighter, more vertical sides than the stock airbox top) and the resulting re-location of the coupling connector in the far corner of the airbox top. I may still get this kit at some stage despite the poor value only because it is still really the only viable option if you want to stay "in house" with Toyota parts and want to ensure that you remain strictly legal here in Australia. There are no other enclosed intakes that I am aware of and so far as the original air scoop plumbing is concerned, it really is a very involved process and is a right pain to go removing without damaging anything, let alone returning the car to stock.

The TRD intake for the Scion IM is now finally listed for sale on the TRD US website (I check the site once per week and it has appeared in the last 7 days). It has a list price of $399 US so going by what the other intakes cost on eBay, probably the low $500s for Australia excluding post. I am waiting for a downloadable PDF of the install instructions so that I can see if it might be worth the risk of buying one to install on the Australian ZRE182. No mention either of spare filters for it (a must naturally even if they are re-usable). The filter they list as a spare is for the standard airbox (same for Australian cars as US Scion IM).

For anyone wondering about this, no, unfortunately the upper bumper lips are different. The new model lip is deeper than the pre-facelift model. I saw a 2015 Corolla in the carpark today and checked mine side by side. Lucky I did! If you look at photos the upper lip seems identical but it is only when you see them side by side you can see that the new model has the deeper lip (probably the reason the new model is slightly longer too). So we have no OEM option for the 2013 - 2014 models (apart from protective tape only), though I have seen some non-OEM aluminium solutions for the 2013 - 2014 sedans on eBay.

I've been doing further research into this and have exchanged quite a few emails this week - particularly with the extremely-helpful Greg at Carformance. The bottom line at the present time (May 2015) is that a bench tune is the only possible avenue at the moment. On the current model ZRE182 / ZER172 Corolla with 103 kw, you would be looking at a power gain of 10% to 15% depending upon your preference for torque delivery characteristics and fuel economy. That is actually extremely good for a normally aspirated engine and would be enough to turn the car into something with a similar performance level to a Swift Sport. But as I mentioned in my previous post, I would prefer to leave my car stock rather than bench tune it. For it is just too risky, too inconvenient and too inflexible. Personally I am really only interested in the DIY option where you can buy a device to tune it yourself through the OBD port with a purchased tuning file from an authorised dealer. The way it all works is that the Italian-based company, Alientech, is the company behind cracking OEM ECU encryptions - not just for Toyota but pretty much everything else as well. They then provide the tools needed to perform the tunes but these tools can be provided as bespoke ones to different companies. RD Technik is then the Australian company who takes these raw tools and tuning data from Alientech. They then expend considerable time and effort so as to "Australianise" the tune such that it works optimally with our particular cars in our particular conditions. As Carformance pointed out to me, that last step is critical because overseas cars don't come with the same tunes as Australian cars, plus our fuel and driving conditions are different as well. RD Technik then have a dealer network who tune the cars using the RD Technik optimised and finalised tuning files. Carformance is one of those dealers. So far as OBD tuning is concerned, the important thing to understand is that it may never happen. It requires that Alientech crack the encryption on the ECU. Currently they have only done that for the earliest Corollas with the 2ZR-FE engine (ZRE142). That said, my understanding is that given it is already possible to bench tune the ZRE182, Alientech already have the raw information needed to attempt cracking it, but they still have to do that and obviously do it successfully (apparently ECU cracking is getting more and more difficult as car companies are hell-bent on manufacturing "anti-tune" ECUs and are getting better and better at it as time goes by). So the bottom line is that if you are prepared to have a dealer crack open your ECU and tune it that way, you have a good option already. If you would prefer to do it via the OBD port, that may come in the future. When that happens, the initial option will still be that you'd need to visit a dealer to have it tuned. Down the track, so long as the car can be OBD tuned, it should eventually be able to be tuned using the Powergate 3 device (which is the handheld device which is "locked" to your car and which facilitates self-tuning with easily-swappable tuning files provided by a dealer). I will be keeping a semi-regular eye on the Alientech website as they regularly publish updated, downloadable lists of cars that are dealer-tunable and also cars that can be tuned using the Powergate 3 type of device (for home tuning using those same tuning files that the dealer installs). If and when I find the ZRE182 (current model Corolla) on either or both of those lists, I will update this thread.

Just an update to this. I'd suggest people don't go near Viezu as from what I can ascertain, there is no proper Australian national agent any more (there was a couple of years ago)and therefore it seems to be run from UK head office. Furthermore, in my experience they do not respond to email enquiries which is absolutely the very last thing you'd want dealing with a company that wants to completely overwrite your ECU (or PCM - Power Control Module) as Toyota refer to it. There are two companies in Australia, however, that are worth looking into at the present time. One is RD Technik. They answer email queries quickly, appear to be forthcoming, very knowledgeable and honest and their main marketing focus is that they tune Australian cars to Australian conditions. Currently they can only bench tune the ZRE182 Corolla with a resulting power increase of around 10 - 15% depending on your preferences (balancing torque to power to economy). They cannot OBD tune them (yet) let alone the DIY method (where they send you a device so you can upload the tune yourself). Personally I would avoid bench tuning a road car, especially if it is still under warranty, so I'd be waiting to see if they can get to a point where they can at least OBD tune it, even if it means going to one of their dealers. But for me, the DIY method is best because it is then very easy to change tunes, return to stock, etc and you are no longer absolutely reliant on the company and / or their dealers once you have bought the tune. That is quite different to the bench tune method where you are stuck with the aftermarket tune if that company is no longer in business. That might seem like a glass half-full way of thinking but it is amazing how tuning agents seem to come and go like day and night. When you come to sell the car, you are stuck selling it with the tune (which the typical used Corolla buyer probably won't want), especially since there are a number of cheap insurance companies cropping up these days - for example Coles - where you cannot modify your car at all if that modification results in improved performance. The second company is Carformance. Again, forthright and speedy answers to email queries. Currently, although they cannot tune to Corolla at all, they will be able to once the tuning company they use (Alientech) has cracked the encryption so to speak. From what I can ascertain, this is just a matter of time. Currently Alientech can tune older versions of the 2ZR-FE but not the ones used in the current model (from 2013). Personally, I am going to keep my eye on RD Technik as the company appears to be incredibly professional and they seem to do everything in house here in Australia - including the coding - which to me is important because our stock cars come with a different tuning parameters to begin with than cars in other countries. If and when they can OBD tune these things, I think a 10 - 15% power increase will be really nice. Combine that with a TRD exhaust and TRD intake, and you would have a really nice little warm-ish hatch. The sort of thing the Sport model should have been in the first place (though I don't blame Toyota for selling it as is). http://rdtechnik.com.au/index.php/cars/toyota/toyota-corolla-rd-technik-performance-ecu-chip-tune.html http://www.carformance.com.au/car-sorter/s-w/toyota/corolla/toyota-corolla-1-8-ecu-tune-performance-chip-upgrade-sport-levin-zr-sx-australia.html

The Viezu company appears to be advertising ECU tunes for nearly all current model Toyotas - not just the 86. They began to advertise them at the end of last year. Prior to this announcement, stock Toyota ECUs have been acknowledged as being "locked" or "uncrackable" thereby needing the entire ECU to be replaced for tuning purposes. They actually list a tune for the 1.8 2ZR-FE engine, however based upon what the website says, it is the older version of the engine - effectively the one fitted to the ZRE152 model (100 kw), not the version fitted to the 2013 to current model (103 kw). Whist the gain is modest (around 5 kw), it may well be more about outright power and may improve things like throttle response, torque, etc. But even so, 5 kw is 5 kw and that would be noticeable to me. Probably what is more impressive is the extra 10 nm of torque. So the tune would seem to aid driveability at middling revs whilst not running out of puff up high either. When you think about it, these two changes might seem modest on paper, but they effectively would give the tuned car the same performance as the stock one when the tuned car has a fully grown male passenger on board versus just the driver in the stock car. And with these little cars, it isn't hard to notice the difference in performance even with a third of a tank of fuel versus a full tank, let alone the weight of a passenger. Even with a more powerful car like the 86, small differences like this a very noticeable to someone familiar with the car. As I say, at this stage there is no info on the engines that come stock with a "better" 103 kw factory tune, but if they ever did create a tune for the current stock engine, you could get a really nice little car with that tune and a TRD intake and a TRD axle-back. Probably around 110 - 112 kw might be my guess and hopefully better throttle response and a smoother transition to full torque when you bury the pedal at low revs (probably the only things that I think could be better with the stock engine apart from the electronic flywheel effect on gear changes which is probably a pollution thing). Anyway, just thought I would put this out there. It will be interesting to follow this and to see if anyone gets the tune and what it does. The good thing about modest tunes like this is that the claims are realistic, the company has a good reputation and the car would remain perfectly legal without breaking any ADRs or modification rules (in that even you had the tune, an intake and exhaust, you would be increasing power to the point where the car needs to be re-certified or where you'd have to get other stuff like better brakes, etc). https://viezu.com/tuning/cars/toyota/corolla/corolla-18-vvt-i?year=&fuel_type=Petrol

Well of course just the colour red adds 5% performance as we all know. I've been searching today trying to find install videos and the intake on our stock cars is really complicated. On the one hand the complication implies replacing it will be good for outright performance but on the downside installation really looks to be a pain in the backside. I'll probably start asking questions on the US forums once the product has been out on the market for a while. I just saw a YouTube video where one guy had to remove practically the whole front of the car to remove the old stuff - it goes all the way into the bumper - really complex for what it is. There has to be an easier way than that! Of course, I suppose that is one advantage of the SRI style intakes plus K&N style one you originally linked to. You can probably leave the original intake nozzle structure sitting in place without any issues, though I'm not certain. If I could find very accurate, step by step instructions about removing the stock componentry I wouldn't be worried but I do worry about people's YouTube videos which are usually a result of trail and error with an emphasis on the error part. Even my Haynes repair manual just glosses over the intake related stuff - it only goes as far as servicing the filter, MAF intake to throttle body, etc. I may end up having to pay to access the factory documentation before I spend any more money on this. If you really do have to pull half the front of the car off to do it properly it's probably better just to get a nicer air filter!!

Probably best to be patient till there are more owners of the TRD intake and we can make an educated guess here in Australia as to whether it fits our cars or not. The Scion IM has the Valvematic version of our engine (2ZR-FAE) but from what I can tell, the physical layout is identical as are the locations of things like the MAF sensors and PCV valve plumbing. The US cars are potentially more compromised with intakes because they have the brake master cylinder taking up space on the same side as the intake whereas with our cars there is nothing there. It is for the latter reason amongst others that I am not certain the intake will even fit on our cars because it is possible the base of the stock intake is engineered differently in the left hand drive vehicles. It is hard to tell from the photos but the TRD intake looks shorter and possibly deeper - as I say, really hard to tell (but the stock intake seems to look identical to those in our Australian cars). If you look at the TRD US website they only list three parts for the intake - air box top, inlet hose and coupling hose. To me this implies it uses the existing air box base, but this then confuses me because the replacement air box top looks so different in shape to the stock one. That is why I am just waiting to more people in the US have it (and it would also be good to know if US Corolla owners can fit it too - that would further support the notion that it would fit our cars since the Corollas have the "optional" 2ZR-FE engine which of course is the same as ours). As for cost, well of course all these aftermarket parts are expensive because they know the market can handle it. You are buying three bits of plastic for nearly $400 US :) But that is the case whether you own a Corolla or a Toyota 86. I just think the TRD solution is an elegant one and worth the extra dollars over the ones made by third party companies. You'd be able to buy the TRD intakes via eBay for the same prices people pay in the US and the shipping charges are not that horrific (maybe about $80 US). At this point in time there are no import duties of course but I think the Government is changing that in July 2017. So I would want to get mine before this time next year if I get it at all. I need to stock up on more spare TRD oil filters before the new July 2017 import laws and it would be nice to be able get them and the intake all in one (expensive) hit.

I'm not sure about other states but here in NSW, according to my query with the EPA last year, they will require a vehicle owner to submit to a noise test at an approved testing station if they receive two or more complaints from members of the public relating to that specific vehicle (members of the public can report a noisy vehicle via the EPA website). The obvious reason for needing more than one complaint is that you will inevitably run into people who are overly sensitive to noisy (but legal) cars and bikes. Of course this doesn't prevent the vehicle owner from putting the stock intake (or exhaust) back before the test. When I asked the EPA about this loophole, they had no reply. I suppose it is also possible for a rego inspector to flag it, however they'd have to be certain it was too loud otherwise they would be reprimanded by the RMS for falsely failing a legal car. As for performance, a well-engineered intake will definitely improve performance, particularly with a normally aspirated engine. The reason I like the idea of the TRD ones is that they are specifically engineered by TRD, backed up with dyno testing and because California emission requirements are so high (most TRD intakes are engineered in the US), that makes them likely to legal anywhere in the world where they can bolt onto a car.

It is a really grey area with these intakes. There is nothing I could ever specifically find in any legislation regarding enclosed intakes and it comes down to anecdotal experience. Here in NSW for instance, I keep reading that an intake has to be fully enclosed (even with the bonnet open). That said, I think you might be pushing it for full legality if only because the designs you've linked to will create significantly more intake noise than stock and this may well push the green guide vehicle noise emissions beyond the legal limits for this particular car. For example, in a stationary noise test, the microphones are going to pick up noise generated by the exhaust, engine mechanicals and the intake and you only have a 5 dB allowance over stock. You may be fine but the problem is you won't know till it has already been purchased and installed and noise emission tested. The other caveat is that intakes such as these may not do much for performance ((might even reduce performance) because the actual intake is located in a much warmer part of the engine bay than the stock arrangement so the air will be less dense = less power. So any gains from the short intake path will likely be offset by the higher intake temperatures. You might want to look into the TRD intake marketed for the Scion IM. I have my eyes on this (does not seem to be out yet) since it ought to bolt right into our cars, it is fully enclosed like the stock one and there are genuine engineering reasons why you'd achieve a small improvement in performance (not much, but it would be there). I don't actually know if the TRD intake will definitely fit but put it this way - when I have the money and it becomes available I am likely going to try and buy one. And if it does not fit / work on my car, then bad luck for me!

Hi, Does anyone know if the profile of the top horizontal lip of the rear bumper is the same on both the 2013 - 2014 hatch as it is on the current facelifted one? From what I can see in photos, they are the same (although obviously the bottom part of the bumper and tail lights have been restyled). Reason I ask is that Toyota Australia have an official OEM stainless steel bumper protector that fits on the top part of the bumper lip. This is miles better than the basic plastic protective 3M film they offered as the only option for the pre-facelift model. Toyota only offer it for the 2015 onwards model but so far as I can see it ought to fit all of them perfectly. Anyone know if this part will fit the pre-facelift model? Thanks