Tony Prodigy

I suspect you're driving with lights on during the day ? You've got me curious about this too. The ambient light sensor in the middle of the dash should govern how bright to make the cluster lights. If it's too dark during the day, then I would be inclined to think that your sensor could be faulty. How does the cluster look at night ?

Those brushes are excellent to use "if" you can get one lol.. My wife doesn't wear make up, so there's zero possibility of having scored one for the detailing collection.

Haha, yeah I am. I much prefer car related tool toys rather than electronic gadgets that will break. Quality tools can last a very long time if not a lifetime with proper care, so I see it as an investment. Buy once and you'll never have to dip in your pocket again for the foreseeable future anyway. It's been busy work wise and we've had plenty inclement weather to be able to do much outside. Once I get my carport up I'll have a bit more freedom to tackle those nice little jobs. I am planning to do the "B-pillar" plastic mouldings on the doors as they look shocking at the moment. So hopefully I'll be able to post up a small DIY on how to restore these. I'm with you on that Robert. I love the idea of being self sufficient and not have to keep handing money over fist to the utility companies. Unfortunately I don't have rain water tanks but I can appreciate the idea of having them. I may have to consider this one day. Cheers mate

70% down ?? That's hilarious. How did he arrive at that assumption ? I love some of these diagnosis theories. 🤣 Coils either work or they don't. There is no in between. Have you ever been zapped with 40,000V ? It's not pleasant I can attest to that lol.. While checking for spark on my other car, I found out it was working.. the hard way 😁 I've been browsing Ebay myself for some time looking to get myself a spare set as I know the time will come at some point and I'd like to have them in my possession ready to swap out in case the car protests on a Sunday for example. I need the car in tip top shape so wifey can take our boy to school and she to work. I haven't purchased anything as yet, so I'm kind of in the same boat as you Rodney. I have had friends who replaced their coils with those "cheaper" Chinese ones and they've had a hit and miss affair. Out of 6 coils purchased, 2 were faulty out of the box, so that doesn't inspire confidence with respect to quality control from said manufacturer. If money was no object, I opt for the best quality, obviously, but not many of us would like to slap down 1k+ for ignition coils. It's a huge whack and I'm not sure they have to be so expensive. I think somewhere in the middle would be a reasonable sum to pay so I prepared a short list of potential candidates. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-x-Brand-New-Ignition-Coils-for-Toyota-Aurion-Kluger-Rav4-Lexus-350-450-3-5L/162751227635?fits=Model%3AAurion|Make%3AToyota&hash=item25e4baa6f3:g:uH4AAOSwBkRaCRwx:sc:AU_RegularParcelWithTrackingAndSignature!2148!AU!-1&frcectupt=true https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-Pack-Ignition-Coil-for-Toyota-Aurion-Estima-Kluger-Rav-4-Tarago-3-5L-V6-2GR/224025076519?fits=Model%3AAurion|Make%3AToyota&hash=item3428ef6327:g:N8wAAOSwRNdezg82:sc:AU_ExpressDelivery!2148!AU!-1 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ignition-coil-for-Toyota-GSV40-GSV50-AURION-3-5L-06-on-2GRFE-Denso-2-Yr-Wty/174235271248?fits=Model%3AAurion|Make%3AToyota&hash=item28913b4050:g:BQcAAOSwMQ5e6Zo7:sc:AU_RegularParcelWithTrackingAndSignature!2148!AU!-1 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NGK-Ignition-Coil-FOR-TOYOTA-AURION-GSV4-U5076/382724299227?fits=Model%3AAurion|Make%3AToyota&epid=13019700195&hash=item591c2559db:g:3QoAAOSwwnNd-Vtz:sc:AU_StandardDelivery!2148!AU!-1 In the end it's up to you. For me I'd probably avoid the cheap Chinese made ones and pick something with a little bit more pedigree for peace of mind. One of the links above is for 100% Australian. I'd be more inclined to support local industry than CCP anyday.

OMG ! Takata make seat belts too ??

That is frustrating I know. The usual google search will almost always bring up searches from the U.S. and very little from our side. Did you also try this site ? http://general.toylexparts.com/camry/285370

Beautiful wheels those actually. If you find a set for that money without any gutter rash I'd jump on them quickly. The ones you linked won't sell because of the awful rash. I believe once a wheel is rashed like that of what's in the picture, it's worthless. I've never heard such a sound from my car to be honest so I can't be sure where or what could be the cause. It's obviously something suspension related or something under compression somewhere. Maybe you can check and tighten all the mounting points under there.

Have you had a mechanic go over it yet to determine if the chain actually needs doing ? Don't spend the money if you don't need to. Look forward to your report mate. Cheers

That is some damn good logic for those who starting whinging on the price. I spend the extra couple grand any day to get the better car. It's a no brainer. It's hard to find a proper "decent" car these days. Too many roughians out there.

Nice one Robert. Good bit of Macgyvering mate. You'll have to sleep with one eye open after that shameless raid of "who she must be obeyed's" secret stash 🤣

I tend to get that way too, not giving the interior enough attention, but when I do I tend to go the whole hog. One thing I love doing is to remove everything from inside the car, get my car blower dryer out and blow the dust out of every nook and cranny. If you have a fine detailing brush, go over the the cracks and crevices including the air vent louvres. Blow everything out so then all is left to give it a wipe with a warm soaked microfibre cloth. I also have the Meguiars interior cleaner spray which I use. It leaves a nice fresh, subtle fragrance I like too.

I know. It seems counterintuitive but I'm sure the dynamics will change will the low profile tyres for sure. You'll lose a lot of the comfort factor with 45's on 18's. Squish noise could also be the nolathane bushes perhaps ??

Looking good Luke ! It's not a drastic drop yet subtle enough to give you the improvement you were looking for. I wouldn't go any lower than that. I think it's perfect. Give it some time to settle in a bit and see what it feels like then. Well done mate

All I can say is thank God I have a great car in the Aurion and that I don't have to worry about replacing it anytime soon. I'll keep it till it's done I reckon. I really hate buying cars. Takes so much time and energy and having to deal with all sorts, sifting through the B.S. and the rest of it.

Dude, I've already seen that video !! I cannot remember how I even got there, but I distinctly remember watching it. That vga phone camera quality.. aaahhh, takes me back

Haha nice Did it do 2 MPG too ?? Sounds like a serious machine. Can I ask what it was ?

A sporty or performance car should be a manual for sure but the Aurion is neither. Sure it has more power than you need but you have to remember, it's not a hoon car. I love the effortless way it glides away off the start with a little tap of the accelerator and transition between gears so seamlessly. That's the joy of a good auto. With traffic the way it is who'd want a manual anyway ? I wouldn't daily drive a manual anymore. I'm over that.

You make a reasonable point Adam, but I always found the yard people to be very shifty and car yard cars are more expensive than what you could get for private. I'm not saying all yards are bad, I just don't like the shifty sales tactics. When you buy private you still have to be on guard. You can usually get a feel for a person after a few minutes and if your gut says walk away then you probably should. I've walked away many times and the guy I bought my Aurion from was a total Gentleman and was completely straight with me. The car really sold itself and went over it with a fine tooth comb and was able to negotiate a deal that saw me get it for 7k less than market value at the time. I've had it for around 7 years now and it's been flawless.

You'll start a war with OPEC with that free radical thinking 😂😜

So did they change the boot floor design before commencement of production despite the Promo material heralding the inclusion of a full sized spare ? Was there wheel well or something in the original design ? It's quite pathetic to ditch the spare all together and expect you hold a can of goo instead. Who are these people ??

Hahaha, so true. The Aurion has nothing sporty about it so it doesn't really inspire you to drive it like you stole it. I can understand the 86 though. That car would have more of a roadster feel. If I had spare cash I'd really love a BMW Z4. Superb car !! Roadsters are fun to drive like the Mazda MX5 too. My M3 is on a whole different level again. It feels solid, planted and very neutral in the corners thanks to the 50/50 weight distribution and the ///M suspension. Handling is sublime, with linear power delivery from the engineering masterpiece S50B32 engine. I love that car.

I think you both make valid points here but Ashley hit the nail on the head in terms of long term ownership. I know Toyota make a quality product but batteries are batteries and they will all go bad eventually and if a battery pack costs 7-8k now, how much would this be in 10 years from now ?? I think the hybrid will be ready for the wreckers at that point. Who'd spend 10K or more replacing the battery packs when the car is practically worthless ? I much prefer petrol power and the refinements Toyota have made, especially to V6, make it a better choice for me.

At the end of the day, you have to weigh up what is suitable for the family. The Aurion is an amazing vehicle, especially the later Gen models. Unfortunately production ceased in 2017 and then we got the V6 Camry back. If money was no issue I'd seriously consider the newer Camry. Forget Hybrid. Those things are a false economy with those very expensive batteries (which cause damage to the environment from the way the lithium is mined) that will require replacing and when that time comes the car will be worthless and any cost saving made via fuel economy would've been eaten up with depreciation and the need to have the batteries replaced. That's if electrical gremlins don't eat your wallet in the meantime.

Oh Bugger ! Semi shade is better than no shade I guess. I get wifey to deploy the windscreen shade to keep the sun off the dash, steering wheel and control stalks. She tends to get lazy sometimes and as a result the indicator stalk on my car has faded (sun damaged) and so I went out and purchased a pair of near new replacement items to replace one day. A towel over the steering wheel does wonders too. Keep the paint sealed with a quality sealant and it will resist those nasty rays.

Thanks also from me Luke for your update. It was a good idea to measure before you get the job done, this way you can compare the difference. Pedders suspension is quite good. I wouldn't worry about quality. They've been around for decades mate. I had pedders suspension on my 1981 XD Falcon and it rode and handled superbly. I realise the two cars are different entirely, but my point is that I'd trust Pedders to deliver a good product. Hahaha, That was the first thing I noticed. There's a cigarette paper in it 😄 At least it fits and you're able to keep it sheltered from the damaging UV rays. Look forward to the finished product. Cheers Luke