campbeam

After looking at the customer reviews, I can see an obvious pattern. The NRMA signage is the drawcard and goodwill is being destroyed except at a few branches. 141 bad reviews indicates to me that the Business is on the slippery slope of corporate greed and destruction. It might last long enough to be onsold.

Welcome to the Forum. Addition of a fixed 1st gear to the CVT caught my attention as the way forward to enhance the longevity of the CVT. Look forward to seeing your future posts about your experience with actually owning a hybrid. I reckon that you will be busy enjoying your new vehicle so hopefully the following video will be useful.

I read that article some time ago. Unfortunately, it makes sense when V6 is only 4% of Camry sales. Current Camry hybrid has 160KW [combined power] so not too bad a compromise. There is future potential that with more powerful electric motors and further improved battery packs for the combined power to be further increased. In the meantime, I am going to keep enjoying the V6 overtaking power at 100+kph on the highway.

This is a very different review being one on a racetrack. Maybe in hindsight I should have bought a Mk4 and kept it.

The following is a recently released YouTube video by The Car Nut where he zooms onto 3 common parts. I did think that this video is not up to his usual high standard. I was more concerned about the spark plugs than the oil filter cartridge. Fake was such a cheap rip-off and doomed to fail well short of the lifespan of a genuine long life iridium spark plug.. Also not so easy to replace the spark plugs on the rear bank of a front wheel drive V6 so you really need genuine OEM quality. I had to make allowances on the filter section that in the USA they use a plastic oil filter cartridge housing which owners upgrade to a metal one. Also he was using a cartridge filter for the Corolla. However, I did get a laugh about what he did to test the build quality of the fake oil filter cartridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVA4RYql9KU

Looked at the review. Hope that it sells well. I was more thinking that it is a final hurrah to ICE vehicles before EV vehicles get established mainstream. I then went and looked at the GR Yaris review. From there I looked at the Toyota Hybrid reviews. Always looking to the future. After looking at the following YouTube, I wonder what Toyota will have in development to counter this.

Good idea about the table to help support your back. I use the base section of an office chair so it becomes a handy stool. Back section can be used as a comfortable support when kneeling or lying down.

Fully support what Tony has posted. I expect that it will be a few years or 30K kms before the pads really need to be changed. When the front brake pads and/or rotors need to be replaced, that will be a good time to consider also checking/replacing the rear rotors. Best thing for brake maintenance is to regularly change the brake fluid.

You should do a Google search. There are posts about Aurions bought by the Police on this Forum. It would not have been modified except the electrical wiring to accommodate the usual gadgets for Police work. This would have all been removed before going to auction. Fords and Holdens were supplied with a Police pack which most likely included upgraded brakes.

This will happen after driving for a week or so.

I prefer the Sleeper Car approach. Let the Holden and Ford show offs have the Police attention and the involuntary contributions to the Govt. coffers. Best laugh for me 😁😁 is driving quietly past these "noise makers". They are making noise and my car is making distance. 😂

Repco have a weekend sale which includes 30% off transmission fluid. Price is $36.40 for 4 litres of Penrite ATF LV https://www.repco.com.au/en/oils-fluids/engine-oils-fluids/transmission-fluid/penrite-atf-lv-4l-atflv004/p/A9614765

Chinese New Year has begun. It is the Year of the Metal Ox starting from 12th February. Not such a great start for Melbourne with a lockdown. For those who want to be optomistic about this year, consider this quote from https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/lunar-new-year-2021-ox/index.html "The metal element represents anything sparkly from jewelry to the needle of a syringe. So we can see a bigger emphasis on industries related to metal in 2021. "The ox, in Chinese culture, is a hardworking zodiac sign. It usually signifies movements so, hopefully, the world will be less static than last year and get moving again in the second half of the year."

Welcome to the Forum. Never read on this Forum about the factory GPS maps being updated for free by a dealership. Usually, they want to charge for that and it is not cheap. Most members swap out the head unit.

More so from personal experience with previous Camry and current 2006 Aurion, I have replaced with Sachs/Boge struts and King springs. Another member opted for the KYB Excel-G struts. It is a safe bet with either of these well known brands.

Good idea to be taking before photos at each stage so you can check installation and recover if necessary. I do not always do this and plenty of times that I go over to my standby project vehicle to check. Hope all goes well with the installation. Ooooh. Better get do it right so both of you will be impressed with the end result. If applicable, a fall back plan option can be to say "Yes Dear, you were right"

Have a read of this URL. Good idea to check the condition of the serpentine belt. https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/toyota-ac-light-flashing-2/ This YouTube video might also be helpful.

Toyota will replace the oil cooler pipes for free if they are leaking or showing signs of seepage. Usually this will involve an inspection by a dealership. Best to contact Toyoa Australia Customer Service (1800 869 682) between Monday - Friday 9am-5:30pm AEDT or email and confirm that this applies even though your vehicle may be more than 10 years since the build date. Please note that If/when the oil cooler pipes leak, there is a high probability that you will lose all of the engine oil very quickly then need to have your vehicle towed to a Toyota dealership.

Have you considered using a power steering fluid containing a stop leak additive? http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/power-steering-fluid

Following YouTube video will give you an understanding of what will be involved in replacing the water pump. It is not a simple task and explains why with the amount of time and effort involved that timing belts and water pumps are replaced at the same time.

Very similar background growing up with a garage full of tools and being encouraged to use them. Certainly encouraged to have a useful set of hands and to appreciate having tools. Helps with the problem solving to turn thoughts into action. Learn to look for the root cause and not just to deal with the symptoms. As this post demonstrates, if you are not fully knowledgable about a particular service then you could be easy prey for the unscrupulous. Lesson learnt is to know what is exactly in the log book service. Certainly pays to read your owners manual and service schedule. I have had my Aurion for 5 years and it is only recently that I have been looking at these manuals.

I also have trust issues. It pays to have a useful set of hands and the brains to use them properly.

Attached diagram was invaluable when refitting the serpentine belt during replacement of the water pump. A useful tip was to mark the outside of the existing belt so it would go on the same way. I could not find my crayon markers that I had specifically bought at Bunnings so ended up using some toothpaste. Just have to be thinking at times and use what is readily available and not going to cause any issues. 😀😀 Serpentine Belt Diagram on 2GR-FE Engine.docx

I got told by a mobile A/C that the Aurion has a smaller capacity of refrigerant than a Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore. Which LED bulbs did you fit to your reversing lights?

What I can suggest is to use the best quality long life plugs. I am sure that these have a life of 100,000 kms. https://www.denso.com/cgi-bin/global/plug/au_4w/list.cgi?m=61 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Toyota-Camry-spark-plugs-Denso-Iridium-IK20TT-fits-3-0l-1MZ-FE-engines-/183551263884