DAY50K

I got an owner's manual with it. Very nice if one can read Japanese :) My son managed to get an automatic translator app on his phone that would translate after taking a picture of the page. After rolling on the ground laughing for a while at the jiberish that we got we were none the wiser... At least the pictures sometimes speak for themselves! What are the options of me getting an English version of this? There was a link posted elsewhere on this forum for a place in NZ but after bookmarking that page my computer security says it's an "attack site" and not safe to open. Any other options?

I just want to add to this topic. I got a few quotes before I made the decision to purchase my current car - 2005 Estima 3.0 V6 with 4WD. This was about 2 weeks ago (October 2015). Mind you I'm over 40 with maximum NCB. Here is the tally from most expensive to the cheapest for a full comprehensive insurance: NRMA (the only online application that had a choice between a 2.4 and 3.0 litre engine) $1460 (2.4L) and $1505 (3.0L) exsess $800. YOUI (have to call them) $1377 with excess of $750 (no difference between a 2.4 or a 3.0) Shannons $1350 with excess of $550 ( have to call them and expain you are a motoring enthusiast) Suncorp $1085 with excess of $1400 (for the 2.4) this was an online quote so I don't know what for a 3.0 (adjustment of excess possible which will change the final numbers somewhat). Famous Car Insurance $852 with excess of $650 for the 3.0 L engine. Just Cars $795 with excess of $625. They only had the 2.4 option online so after calling them they changed the policy for a 3.0 at no extra cost. Seems no-one really cared for the 4WD version of my car (phew!). Naturally I went with Just Cars. Still it's quite a jump from what I was paying for my '99 Tarago (under $400 with Real Insurance) but still... Hope this helps!

This is the other remote I have. Fresh battery installed but does nothing :)

Perhaps? Should it work with the dash mounted "entertainment unit"?

I was lucky to get a goodie bag full of paperwork for pretty much everything that's been installed on this car. Everything is in Japanese of course but at least I have a fighting chance of figuring something out by looking at the pictures and googling model mumbers/names. According to the literature I'm supposed to have a digital TV/DVD installed under the passenger front seat. I have the installation and user's manuals plus a remote that matches what's in the paperwork. Also there are the antennas installed on the windscreen (as per the manual). However the box under the seat is not this - very similar but not it. I read elsewhere on this forum that this is the computer for the Sat Nav in the dash. Can anyone confirm? I wonder wat's happened in the past. Evidently the TV tuner/DVD must have been installed at some point but have been removed. This is what I have now. There is also a smaller box under the top one but was not able to photograph.

Now a question. The car comes with a CD/DVD/GPS/Radio/TV head unit which only has low number FM stations, Japanese maps in the GPS, no TV signal and plays a select few DVDs (it acually does!). I know the best way forward is to just exchange it for a a local one and this will be a task for the future as I still have to recover from the finacial outlay of actually getting this car :) There is an aditional screen for the rear passengers which for the life of me I cannot get to work. Even when a DVD is playing on the in-dash screen, the rear one is lifeless. Any trick to this? I have a remore control of some sorts but even with a fresh battery it operates nothing. Any clues???

My car had the Japanese ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) gadget in one of the numerous storage compartments. Pretty useless here, besides every time I sarted the car up, a lovely Japanese lady was reminding that the card is missing from the ETC device. Actually it was a guess as I don't understand Japanese and the only thing I could decipher from what was said was "ETC Carto" :) The decision was made to amputate this gadget. The compatment just disconects from its hinges by pulling on it and then a bit if jiggle later it comes out. Three screws undone and the unit is off. Just unplug the power supply and the antenna cable and no more greeting upon every startup. I heven't yet followed the cable through but my guess is the antenna on the dash is for the ETC. If that's right I'll remove this as well.

The dealer who I bought the car from was nice enough not just to get me some white plates ( I was dreading to get the standard yellow ones) but he also had a surprise in the form of pretty cool combination. Incidentally the combo matches my logon name here... fancy that! The slight problem (at least in my eyes) was thet the thin front plate doesn't quite fit at the front where a larger and more square Japanese plate should sit leaving unsightly holes in the bumper. Some scrap stainless steel in the form of a BBQ cabinet door found at the last council cleanup came to rescue. A quick cut and grind and viola! Looks better already. Cost - $0, time spent about 45 minutes.

Two weeks ago this machine joined our family. It's a 2005 Estima 3.0 litre V6 4x4. I've had an Aussie Tarago for close to 4 years and decided to upgrate to a far superior Estima. Initially I was wary of the four wheel drive option as it's not really necesssary on a road car in Australia but this one was so nice that I decided to go with it. Also I was not sure about the 3 litre V6 but reading up about it made me decide it was the best way to go. I'm pretty much faced with the same issues as any owner has with a Japanese import Estima so I have already read up about some of the problems and found answers. My intention is to address some new ones and maybe touch upon some that have already been discussed.

Hi everyone, I just joined this forum as last weekend my family became the happy owners of an 2005 Estima T (V6 with 4WD). For the last 4 years or so we had a 1999 Tarago GLi which served us well however the decision was finally made to upgrade. The Tarago is now for sale while I concentrate on getting my head arround the new, fully loeaded car. The Japanese sure love their gadgets. I'm lucky the car came with all the books but of course it's all in Japanese. I already visualise the issues I'll have trying to figure everything out. I know I'm not alone as I can see plenty of Estimas driving arround and I'm sure others have gone through exactly the same challenges as I am about to embark on. I'll be asking some questions and hopefully will be able to answer some as well. Cheers!