crinkles

I assume you have an auto. i have an 05 Altise. it depends on how much you trust toyota to provide a lifetime fluid. under severe service on the 4 cyl model, it needs to be changed at 90,000 km. the fluid is probably a lifetime fluid for someone who does only light normal service and plans to dump the car at 150,000km. it is easier to do than an oil change really. get 4 L of T-IV from the dealer. plus a new washer for the ATF plug at the bottom of the tranny pan. I use a Torx T55 socket on the plug, or you can use a 100mm hex male socket to undo. i felt the torx would not strip the bolt as easily as a hex nut. it's a simple case of draining the pan, re-doing the bolt back up (36 ft lbs of torque) and refilling with 3.5L of T-IV. you need to check the level of the fluid after the change. i always check it cold because i can't get a reading when hot. run it in idle and shift through all the gears from P down to L and back up, then pull dipstick, clean, and re-insert. Note the following: a drain and fill only gets about 40% of the fluid out on this U241E auto. if you are pedantic then you can do three or so of these each a week apart, but the gain becomes less each time you do it. I just did it once at 55k and once at 60k and will do it again in 30k intervals from now on. i'm at 82k now and the fluid looks like new. my fluid was brown at 55k! the U241E does not have a filter to replace so taking the pan out would be a lot of effort for not much gain. drive around to heat the fluid up before draining and drain for a couple of hours after that. a lot of people especially the yanks have issues with T-IV but i would stick to it, and it is pretty reasonably priced from Toyota, and purpose made. i think Nulon's synthetic ATF claims it is compatible but it is more expensive, and quite frankly not worth the risk IMHO.

Yep, first time doing oil change. It was satisfying doing it myself. I bought the semi syn oil from Repco and the guy told me 10w 30 is the correct grade. I was surprised as well. With 86,000 on the clock, I thought 10w 40 or 50 would have been more appropriate. I've changed the oil filter and air filter but I couldn't find the cabin air filter. Anyone has any idea where is it? if you have a bog standard altise you won't have one, i have an 05 and service guy looked it up - no filter.

10w-30 is the CORRECT viscosity for the 2AZ-FE engine. Us Australians need to get over our fear of "thin" oil weights. In the US, 10w-30 is considered the thickest oil for any cars since the 90's. THey routinely run 5w-20 oils in the heat of their deserts. Our heat is no more special than that.

the problem is you lowered your car a lot, caused damage and now have to deal with the cost and consequences.

The ACV36 4 cylinder models with the U241E transmission do not "require" a transmission service ever according to toyota unless driving conditions are severe, and then it's to be changed at 90,000km. I do not believe this is OK. I tow a small trailer too. To drain and Fill the ATF is really easy so I do it for peace of mind. It is even easier than an oil change. I do it every 30,000 km. First change was at 55,000km, then 60,000km (bought it second hand). You only get 3.5 L out of the total capacity of 9L every time you drain and fill so you need to do it more often to maintain the fluid. THe remainder is stored in the TC and rest of the transmission. I used toyota T-IV the first two times, but will be doing the process with Amsoil ATF from now on. I know Honda does a 3x drain and fill and calls it a complete change, and they should know, they have pretty picky trransmissions from 2000- 2003.

i will PM a place that does it. some individual folks sell it too, i ordered ATF from a lady in south australia. holding off on putting ATF in. i'm a bit of a wimp - i may stick with T-IV while the camry is my primary car.

There are two Penrite ATF's that meet the Toyota WS spec to give you more options. The SIN ATF and the ATF MHP. personally i would trust Amsoil's new ATL formulation over penrite's offerings. WS is a low viscosity fluid, which those penrite formulations are not. (but hey penrite is known for "thick is better"). I have some Amsoil ATF ready to go for my T-IV tranny. just need the miles to click on over.

try bob is the oil guy. they have some guys on there who have done it at home using an IR temperature sensor and flushing through the cooler lines.

LOL....

Well I guess for the newer Toyota's they adopted the OBDII standard because the Aurion certainly is compatible with a ScanGauge and other OBDII interfaces. I guess 2006 was when they pulled their finger out. i found it really disappointing in any case! All that the Toyota customer service said was "we can't explain why it doesn't work". at least the service manager at the dealership played straight.

LOL. it is not OBD-II compliant. Toyota Australia uses a propriety system. Scanguage II is made to work with OBD-II but does not work on my dec 05 built 4 cyl. (even though OBD-II is stamped on the plastic cover to the hookup). The service rep said Toyota made it propriety so that Toyota service centres can draw more in. same scanguage worked on a 2000 echo, which was imported.

- any idea on a good mechanic for inspections around Melbourne? I am in caulfield. All i know of is RACV :) The dealer said you really dont need an RACV inspection done as Toyota with this much KMs dont go wrong. BY the way its a Holden dealer :) stuck with a Toyota on a previous trade-in. Since thats the only toyota he has. This is what i think. Not sure if thats the case. The vehicle drove well. Alignment was out, will give it a thorough drive again on some bumpy roads just to check. Of course the dealer will tell you not to bother with an inspection. it is not in their interest for you to have it independently inspected. They know you will walk away if only the slightest issue shows up in the RAC report. That price seems low. combined with an out of alignment issue, I would be wary. I'd rather buy from auction. I think the price is too low personally for it to be an A+ vehicle all over. Personally I wouldn't go for it, but, maybe an RAC inspection would give you peace of mind. Do not believe a single word a dealer tells you, ever. they will tell you ANYTHING to make the sale. Also, remember these dealer-sold "warranties" are usually pretty vague, and would require you to have it serviced at the specific dealer you bought it from. you move to the other side of town from your work, or to another town, and you lose it. personally if they say you don't need an inspection because "toyotas at 75k are bulletproof" why are they trying to sell you a warranty so hard?

i believe it is already on sale. Toyota south africa sells a 2.0 D4-D corolla. http://www.toyota.co.za/VehicleHighlights....ehicleModelId=9 fuel consumption 5.3 l combined / 100km, similar to VW 2L TDI.

I have tried a scanguage II with my 05 altise 4 cylinder. The australian camry is NOT OBD -II compatible. it is mandated int he US that all cars should be, but not in australia. if it were, the scanguage would make an excellent trip computer. My service guy at Toyota said, (can you believe it) Toyota Australia made the OBD-II connector propriety on Australian models in order to necessitate owners to go to toyota for servicing. On an imported '00 echo, it works though (built in Japan)

while i hear you about the ford issues and service , i can assure you every car company does the same. i've had occasions where toyota has treated me with contempt, but have not had any mechanical issues with my car. The corolla is certainly EXCELLENT value for money and I suspect this is the reason it does so well. for 99% of the population, it is all about VALUE with takes in all the aspects of reliability, customer service, etc. If hyundai got their fuel consumption issues sorted out - they would compete 1:1 with toyota. but despte quoted fuel consumptions EVERYONE i know who drives hyundais complain about fuel efficiency. Oh, and i think ford is pathetic with what it's doing in comparing a DIESEL car that costs what, $9k more than a corolla, with a petrol car. They must think people are really stupid. How long does it take to recoup diesel fuel savings when you pay 9k extra up front? FOREVER!!