campbeam

I have been in a self-imposed financial lockdown to reduce my hoard of oil and spare parts etc. I did resist but then decided that I will mark these containers with the purchase date so they are last in line to be used.

Shell Ultra X has the latest SN Plus oil specification and produces proven results to clean my engine. Price of $38.99 after the 50% discount was enough to open the wallet. 

9 hours ago, bens1x said:

Here's a question I think we've all wondered just what is the expected distance can a Toyota Aurion Engine do is 340.000 a million 

I'd like to hear from you all

In a number of previous posts, I have mentioned that I was informed by an ex-employee of a Toyota dealership to expect about 400,000 kms from the 2GR-FE before requiring any significant engine rebuild work. This was when i was thinking that the valve seals might need to be replaced.

If you want reliability and longevity, then regular oil changes using a quality full synthetic engine oil is highly recommended. Because I do mostly short distance urban driving, I am fighting an ongoing oil sludge battle so I do an oil change say every 3 months. 

SuperCheap Auto are having a 3 day sale ending 2nd June 2021 50% discount for Shell Engine Oils.

Shell Ultra X 5W-30 was the oil that I have been waiting for so ordered just the Limit of 2 this time.

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/3-day-deals?prefn1=srgBrand&prefv1=Shell&j=4802272&sfmc_sub=25368615&sub=205970513_SCA01_CRP&l=333_HTML&u=101377686&mid=6010680&jb=211&utm_source=email-subscriber&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=au-sca-2021-wk49-3dd#main

13 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Interesting video Ash. There are many good arguement for the use of the Gig casting process. What an amazing machine and looks really expensive too. I think Tesla are onto something here and with the constant technological advancements it really becomes a no brainer in an ever changing world. But in saying this, there are the Pros and Cons involved.

What strikes me is that Tesla couldn't achieve decent quality control and more to the point, panel gaps, using traditional methods and have to resort to this more extreme option to cure these quality control issues. My Aurion has perfect panel gaps as I'm sure most others here do and it's not even a Lexus or a fancy luxury car and was made using the old fashioned way. 
Nothing wrong with stamped metal in my opinion. Also makes panel repair much easier as you can unstitch and restitch sections of the underbody. But this isn't what manufacturers will care about. They are more interested in driving efficiencies, which isn't a bad thing, but this will make the car a throw away if it's involved in a decent collision, where once upon a time it could be repaired quite easily. A cast alluminium sub frame won't bend like metal and will in most cases just break, rendering it nearly impossible to fix. You'd have to strip the entire car to do a thorough inspection to rule out any further stress cracks in which making a repair unviable straight off the bat.  In the event the car is smashed, I'd say it would most likely be a write off. The upside of this would be that not only could you recycle the good, working parts, but all those exotic materials will have a decent scrap value too. The downside could be that cars will become like washing machines and fridges, no soul and a dash of planned obsolescence. 

 

 

It would take a lengthy post to rebut the points that you have raised. There are a number of YouTube videos for this purpose. Looks like Tesla will be making their next model with 3 major body parts, front body casting, structural battery pack and the rear body casting. There is also speculation of a future 1 piece body casting but that may some years away, if ever.

I have seen some videos speculating about the future of car maintenance shops as EV will not require as much regular maintenance e.g. engine oil changes etc. Guess that the panel beaters will also have to adapt and learn a few new techniques to repair electric vehicles or even replacing a badly damaged body casting with a new one.  

Until flying cars or anti-gravity sleds become a reality, there will be an ongoing need for tyres.

Another bit of speculation is that existing OEM vehicle manufacturers could continue to manufacture the vehicle body etc but use partners to supply the battery packs, electric motors and software. Toyota could be partnering with BYD and Tesla for this purpose.

Finally came across this YouTube video which simply and adequately explains the Gigacasting process, benefits and whether OEM can replicate what Tesla is doing. Guess that Toyota will be heavily relying upon their suppliers to achieve the benefits. 

On 5/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

Toyota build quality is the defining factor. No mechanically driven thing can be perfect, but Toyota definitely do it better than most.

I have been thinking about your post. Fully agree that build quality is a defining factor. However, I changed from Honda to Toyota mainly because of price.

A big reason why I will not buy a VW Group vehicle is because of their Corporate culture e.g. dieselgate, warranty claim avoidance.

50 minutes ago, AurionX2 said:

How I'm doing it: after placing the drain pan under the casing and loosening it I start to undo it slowly while applying upward pressure against the thread, this way there's very little, if any, oil dripping past the o-ring. Then once it came off completely (you can feel the characteristic thread click) I swiftly pull it off and away turning it upside down. Once the oil deluge stops I carefully place the casing in the drain pan. Not messy at all. Rubber gloves strongly recommended 🙂

My approach is to put the Aurion up in ramps which then gives plenty of safe working space underneath.

I can use 2 drains pans, 1 under the oil filter cartridge and the other 1 for the engine pan drain. I loosen the housing until oil starts dripping into the pan then continue with an extra turn so that more oil continues to drain. Eventually, I fully remove the housing and drain the remaining contents into the drain pan.

Any oil on the outside of the housing is easily wiped off with a rag. Not really that messy and I am using gloves. Extra protection for my skin and to make hand cleaning easier is to use Sorbolene. Also makes putting on close fitting gloves a lot easier.

3 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

That's dedication. I'd love to buy another one. If I do it will definitely be a 50 series Presara, preferably the end of the run models.

Original intention was to sell my existing Aurion but no reasonable offers received so gave up. Thinking changed so that if my Aurion gets written off in an accident, I would be after another Aurion to replace it. No problem if a worst case scenario happens and you have a standby ready to go.

Still occasionally looking for a give away priced 50 Series Aurion as another project.

On 5/25/2021 at 9:39 PM, gjlockyer said:

After a 2nd lengthy Test Drive it sold itself and we ordered a 2WD Cruiser Hybrid, Graphite with Nutmeg interior.

Recent posts going down memory lane have reminded me of how much I was determined to buy a used 1994 Honda Prelude VVti-R at first sight then a closer look while waiting for the seller to arrive home. Sold itself just sitting there and the selling price was attractive.

Still remember doing an inspection of my Aurion which was an eBay listing by a vehicle wholesaler then going home to increase my bid with a view to winning, if the price was right. 

Another memory was taking an interstate road trip with our new 1998 Camry and watching the odometer roll over to 1111, 2222 etc.

If you do a Search on this Forum, you should find the threads about the intermediate shaft issue. I do recall one post where the solution was to tighten or replace the bolts. These are special bolts which can be sourced from Toyota.

6 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

generally speaking the Aurion is a special car in my mind. It combines all the elements that make it a well rounded vehicle. Power, comfort, economy, spacious, practical and excellent build quality. I don't think there will be a better car for the money. Love the V6 !

Totally agree that the Aurion is a well rounded vehicle. So impressed that I have had a spare/standby Aurion sitting in the backyard for 5 years. Fortunately nothing major has gone wrong with my 1st Aurion.

I do know that I would get very tempted if a later 50 series Aurion or V6 Camry became available at a bargain basement price.

In the meantime, I am loving the V6 after only having 4 cylinder vehicles.

Reckon the love will keep flowing for another 10 years or longer until there is a viable replacement autonomous Electric Vehicle at the right price [for me].

Another recent YouTube video. I reckon that UBER would have been able to negotiate a wholesale price for their fleet size purchase.

Quite interesting to see whether 2022 is going to be a turning point for a significant increase in EV sales in Australia.  I am sure that when the demand is proven, then Toyota will be ready to release their EV onto the Australian market. Until then, they will sell as many hybrids as they can manufacture.

Another thought would be to lubricate the accelerator cable with some silicone spray, if there is one on your model Corolla.

Something else for future consideration is to change the automatic transmission fluid, if that has not already been done.

Welcome to the Forum. Bit of good news after a lengthy wait for a July build confirmation. Just remember to have the RAV4 fully insured before you drive it away from the dealership.

I fully agree with Tony's post.

I did get a laugh from your grandson's request. Young fellow must think that you are on your last legs. I reckon you should get the last laugh and make him wait for his 21st birthday.

You will be doing well to enjoy driving your RAV4 as much as I enjoy my Aurion after 7 years ownership. Currently plotting and planning that maybe by 2031, I will be sitting in a fully autonomous electric grocery getter.

I would be inclined to check/clean the air filter, Mass Airflow sensor [MAF], throttle body and Idle Air Control [IAC] valve.

Following video shows how to remove the throttle body and then do the cleaning.  Instead of doing this, I use throttle body cleaner on a rag to clean the opening especially around the throttle valve. I also spray the cleaner into the opening/passageway of the throttle body leading to the IAC valve. 

Just viewed this YouTube video. Plenty of hype but I readily admit to being a skeptic. Pricing does not seem to be keen enough to tempt the early adopters to jump in and part with their cash. Toyota hybrids are still going to be a viable option.

Good question got asked at work today. Would you buy a 2nd hand electric vehicle? At this moment, I would only consider Tesla because of established battery quality. It does make you wonder what the resale value of these EV will be especially when future upgraded versions are released.

On 5/20/2021 at 9:24 PM, AurionX2 said:

Check out toyotanation forum, in the US they're apparently serviced at 120k miles which is, what, 200k kms?

As per page EG-97 of this pdf of the 2GR-FE,

" Long-reach type spark plugs are used. This type of spark plugs allow the area of the cylinder head toreceive the spark plugs to be made thick. Thus, the water jacket can be extended near the combustionchamber, which contributes to cooling performance.Iridium-tipped spark plugs are used to achieve a 120,000 miles (193,000 km) maintenance interval. Bymaking the center electrode of iridium, the superior ignition performance as platinum-tipped spark plugsis achieved and durability has been increased."

https://www.rav4world.com/d1/attachments/pdf/2GR-FE.pdf

8 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Sounds like a good plan Ash. I'll monitor the colour of Dad's oil over the next few months and see. That muddy, brownish/reddish colour has me thinking it's residual engine flush the silly mechanic put in it. It didn't even require it as he was the one who had been servicing it every 10k or less where sludging is virtually impossible. So why put engine flush ?? Because he could and because he could tell my Dad any story and poor Dad would believe him. Mongrel even sold him a fuel injection clean when the car only had around 50k on the ODO !!!!. That one made me curse.

Hopefully after this service the oil should assume it's normal colour degradation, you know that kind of golden syrup look. 

I did have a close look at your pictures. I was more looking at the oil filter cartridge and no apparent signs of oil sludge particles in the filter element. The reddish colour certainly looked like the remnants from an oil additive treatment.

It will be interesting to see how many kms pass before the oil on the dipstick is not so transparently clean and goes to a light golden colour.

My suggestion for the next oil change would be to use a budget engine oil as an engine flush before adding the new engine oil. All helps to give the new oil a clean start so it can stay cleaner longer.

17 hours ago, KAA said:

I always put nothing less than 91 in the tank and if the price is low for the 95 I use that, lately the prices jumped 30 plus cents per litre so 91 is it. Many here only use 95 in their cars and that is fine it is a personal choice, some use E10 as well and as the cars are built to handle the E10 I choose not to use it unless I was traveling and had no choice but to use it.

My personal preference is 95 PULP. I more noticed the slight improvement in fuel economy on road trips after taking into account the lead foot and trying to tame it.

Now that prices are higher than earlier in the year, I have reverted back to 91 ULP.

Previously trialled 91 octane E10 and got very poor fuel economy results so back to ULP.

On previous road trips, I have used 94 octane E10 but more as a cost saver at that time.

6 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

I decided to use Penrite for his car for two reasons. One, to support Australian business and two, something different to the Nulon

Two big reasons is that they are quality and the price when on special.

6 hours ago, Bigmike62 said:

I'm doing 2 oil changes a year, regardless of kilometres travelled.

Good preventative maintenance thinking. Girlfriend's Yaris has been a bit neglected so I am going oil changes end of each quarter for this year then probably switch to every 6 months.

1 hour ago, Jacaranda said:

How difficult is access to the rear of the lights? I read that a plastic panel inside the wheel arch has to be removed and removing the wheel makes the job easier.

I just loosened the front half of the inner plastic guard inside the wheel arch.

You can then access the side of the headlight unit for the parking light.

Limiting factor is the length of the LED bulb that will fit in the housing.

Following YouTube video gives a good overview of Chinese EV manufacturers and their vehicles available for 2021. I noted that Toyota has a partnership which is a good tactic to overcome any battery supply issues.

3 hours ago, Jeremy79 said:

The times I described is the only time it seems to happen

You ignore warning signs at your own peril. A bit of preventative maintenance can avoid an expensive repair or breakdown at a later date.

2 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Why anyone would buy one of these is mind boggling. There's more at stake than just buying a cheap car. Cheap for a reason too.

One of my sayings particularly at work is "All is well until something goes wrong". Without mentioning any existing brands which I think deserve to fail, some warranties are not worth having. I wish that Australia had those "lemon" laws to hasten their departure from the market. In the meantime, stick with Toyota.

Toyota and the other OEM vehicle manufacturers are in the midst of a battle for their survival. Supply chain issues are impacting their production and cashflow. Electric vehicles are starting to disrupt the Auto Industry but they are also being constrained by battery supply issues.

This means that Toyota has had to rationalise its product and model range based upon demand and production capability. Starting to make sense why Toyota abandoned the small cheap car market i.e. Yaris in Australia.

I think that Toyota will be more watching the Chinese Auto makers as they begin to export from China under their own brand names.