dave262

Seeing the above replies, seems this is quite a common issue. I suppose though given the pump is always used, it is going to be wearing quite fast in general. In particular, given the pump is tied in with the crank I would expect in theory it will wear out faster with extended high speed driving, since it will be running faster for extended periods. In the case of my pump, I did also have the white flecks of coolant splattered around the front end of the engine on the brake reservoir too, but the leak was pretty catastrophic as the seal had been snagged by a burr which shredded the seal then seized and disintegrated the bearing due to the coolant causing corrosion. if I looked at the pump while the engine was running, the pulley and belt were flopping all over the place and coolant was streaming down from behind the pulley. What was quite concerning is there was no prior warning; just squealing bearings in the morning but no loss of coolant or leaks. After a 30 minute drive however it was a catastophic problem - so if you get the squealing bearing in the morning, it is probably best to not drive it and just limp it to the dealers with caution, since if it is the pump - it seems to degrade rapidly. If you see the pump once its removed - it is a very basic design, and literally once the seal leaks - it will fail rapidly. I am based in Vic, but got the extended warranty as a dealer extended warranty. I was lucky as I had only 3 months left of that warranty when the pump finally went, so they covered the towing, parts and all labour associated with the repair. They only needed a day to deal with it, so clearly they are perfecting the replacement without dropping the engine entirely.

It's a 2007 model, but almost 97,000 km on the clock now. Just picked up the car today, and I suspect the bearing must have been a bit funny for a while... much of the funny rattling and knocking noises I had heard from the front are now gone. Curious... The dealer is actually near Dandenong, and I personally have never had an issue with them. I actually travel halfway across Melbourne to get there... Regular Service from day one was always there, and I never had a need to question their work, pricing, or attention to detail. From my experience, sticking with those you know is always a good idea, and sometimes leads to a good result like in my case! Anyway, I had a look at the old pump, and it is very surprising how perfectly clean it was and the overall condition it was in. The impeller and pulley had heaps of play though, so clearly it was stuffed. The actual coolant was coming from a drain hole just behind the bearing, which is where all the leaking was from and not actually around the shaft. It was explained to me that without that drain, if the bearing completely seized due to the coolant direct contact, the entire structure could shatter - so just as well that drain is there, which also serves the useful purpose of clearly showing there is a major fault! :P Either way, car runs beautifully again, and I was told that the actual job was only 7-8 hours (most likely they did the trick you mentioned ASG14 to remove without dropping the engine). Hopefully this pump doesn't fail any time soon, or the next time I might be up for the $2000 bill once the warranty is expired!

Well, just had it replaced today after being told I wouldn't have it done till next week, and best part - it was 100% covered by my extended warranty! Thankfully as I long ago learned the tricks of the trade (aircon and heater etc.) - the engine has no damage at all, as the temperature never went above normal operating temp B) Initially I thought the price was ridiculous too, but after looking at the location, the pump is ridiculously close to the frame, and I cannot see from a glance how it would be easily removed short of basically suspending the engine in some way... no way I would want to do that myself, just far too much potential for damage or issues with connections! I spoke to about 8 different dealers, and they all said the same thing, it's around $2,000 job due primarily to the labour involved. My regular dealer was willing to do a bit better as I have only ever had my servicing done there since day 1; but thankfully I never had a need to negotiate, as the warranty covered everything I was told I would be car-less until next Friday, but had a call today saying they had some guys work overtime last night to get the car done this week, and as a result - I can pick it up tomorrow! Will be great to have it back, since the 30 minute walk to and from public transport uphill is somewhat ridiculous once the temperature cracks 30... I did also ask to take a look at the failed pump tomorrow, as I am very curious as to how catastrophically the internals failed. Hopefully I can grab some pictures of it, which might serve as a warning to others of what actually happens. Keep in mind, that I literally had perhaps 30 minutes of warning between when I heard the squealing from the pulley, to when I lost a large amount of coolant... seems whatever failed, went really fast. Pics to come with any luck... Oh... and I was told these pumps typically last from about 100,000 - 200,000 km; but rarely have been found as failed recently - but they do fail once in a while. SO for most, it probably won't be an issue for a long time... but best to be weary once you are in that "danger" zone!

Bumped into a Toyota tech parking in front of my car, looking at the pool of coolant under the car, and shaking his head with a concerned look. I asked him to check and confirm it is indeed the pump, and confirmed the pump is 100% gone. No coolant in the reserve again today, and after reviewing my extended warranty, my original dealer will send a tow truck to pick up the car. After speaking with the service department, without warranty is a 3 day job and approximately $2000! Most of this is due to the horrendous location of the pump right next to the frame, so the engine needs to be dropped (although the tech I spoke to reckons it can be done with the engine still in place). Either way, there are no hire cars available, so it looks like I will be getting lots of exercise until next week when they have time to look at the pump... I am told the pump is only about $155, so for anybody who finds a failed pump without warning... unless the car is still under warranty, a pump replacement is a very, very expensive replacement activity in an aurion!

It's been a while since I've been on (literally have had no time for many months)... but had a fairly catastrophic failure of the water pump this morning with zero warning at any time previously! Had the car serviced on it's usual schedule about 3 months ago - the 90,000 km major service. No leaks reported, no abnormal noises, no cooling issues found. Back on the 50,000 km service during my usual fluid checks, I had however noticed a sudden drop in the coolant reserve reservoir; but at the service shortly after I found that - neither Toyota nor myself could find any sign of a leak, so we put it down to possibly air pocket in the coolant system that had suddenly cleared out. Yesterday I came back from a trip from Phillip Island, only approximately 2 hours drive from Melbourne of mostly freeway driving, and no issues at all. No cooling issues, no leaks, no noises. I started the car this morning, and was immediately greated with a very loud and consistent squealing noise, which lasted approximately 3 minutes before completely disappearing as the car warmed. I tracked it down to the area on the front end of the engine; and seemed to be one of the pulleys. I couldn't see any wobbling pulleys or any indication of leaks (there was no sign at all, no water under the car etc.) - and given the heavy rain yesterday afternoon, I figured it was just water on the belt that was making it slip. The coolant reservoir was also at its normal level, middle. I drove off to do my grocery shopping (about half an hour after a 20 minute drive), and came back to find the car resting in a pool of pink coolant approximately 1m wide Overflow reservoir was almost empty now, and when I shone a torch down the side to the water pump pulley, there was clear signs of coolant everywhere on the splash guard along with oily white residue splattered up on the side of the induction box... As there was still coolant in the system, I jacked up the heater to max, and turned on the aircon to force the fans on the radiator on; and carefully made my way to the nearest car shop to get some coolant. By the time I made it to the car shop, while the car was idling I checked under the bonnet again to see the condition, and to my alarm the water pump pulley was wobbling around erratically and gushing coolant from behind. By this point, the coolant reservoir is completely empty. I topped up the reservoir and let the car idle for a couple of minute while it sucked in the coolant, during which time I had to top it up again twice (it was obviously leaking heavily while driving, despite me keeping it under 2k RPM). So I limped it back to the nearest Toyota dealer, where it is currently waiting on the street until they open tomorrow and I can get it inspected. I had to top up the coolant 3 times in the 15 minute drive there... so it is a very serious leak for certain. What I am wondering (sorry about the long story!), has anybody else had the water pump fail at only 95,000 km? And if not, how long should it typically last? My suspicion is Toyota overtightened the belt at last service, which buggered the bearing and thus broke the water seal (I hope there is no oil seal connected to the timing chain too? I forgot to check the oil colour under the cap for signs of moisture). It has been about 6000km since the service, and a heavily overtightened belt I can see causing a bearing failure in that time... as I have had this experience in the past with other cars. I really, really don't want to be spending $1k or whatever it may cost to fix the pump if it is Toyota's service dept who caused the premature failure...

Out of curiosity, did you ever work out how much a new compressor costs? I had a friend not too long ago who came across a similar issue, but in his case it didn't result in sparks out the front of the compressor... his lost a seal on the compressor. If there are sparks, that sounds like the clutch could be faulty on the compressor to me - which is quite rare. If the warranty only ran out recently, still try going to Toyota, as there is often an "implied" warranty that lasts for a little while beyond the end of warranty term which may cover something like this.

Interesting to read about the other experiences some of you have had. I am just really hoping it will re-learn properly! I actually find the opposite about the speed, as now it seems *so* reluctant to change down that I need to constantly plan well in advance to give it a few seconds to change just overtaking another car. Most the roads I drive on are 50-60km/h, but the car does not seem very willing any more to even get up to that speed. Even take-off from the line is shocking. During kick-down, it seems to simply bog down the engine, then eventually change down a gear - but far too late to be of any use! If it stays the way it is though, I am seriously considering getting the old ECU back. In the state it is in currently, the car just does not feel like the Aurion I am used to. Previously I never had an issue going up hills, and now all it does is loses speed and refuses to change down a gear unless I put it in manual mode or push the accelerator to the floor!

Just had the transmission ECU replaced in my Aurion with the latest revision due to the slipping gear changes between 3rd and 4th... and I don't know, but from driving the car today for a number of hours - somehow the new mappings make the car seem boring and unexciting? The change from the old ECU to the new one seems to have made the following changes in the shift mappings: - Gear changes under light acceleration now occur extremely early, generally below 2000 RPM - Kickdown does not occur nearly as easily - you have to essentially push your foot to the floor before it will drop down a gear especially on a freeway - Torque converter lock seems to come into play much earlier, and doesn't release nearly as easily when you try to accelerate - Gear changes under hard acceleration occur much earlier - The transmission does not drop down gears very well slowing down to the lights as well as it used to, instead only dropping down at the last second. This is quite frustrating, as I am now having to rely heavily on the brakes to slow the car down as opposed to letting the transmission do part ofthe work In addition, the VVT-i mappings seem to have changed also, and seem to occur at a higher RPM. Under heavy acceleration, it is quite noticeable when VVT-i kicks in at about 4500-5000 RPM. The engine is also running much quieter and the exhaust note has significantly changed, seeming slightly deeper and more subdued. The only plus side I have seen so far, is that it no longer slips and under heavy acceleration (once VVT-i eventually kicks in!) - the car seems to pull significantly better than it did previously. It also seems to have made the sports mode shifts much faster (near-instant). Overall, I am just hoping that the transmission is still in a "learning" phase. If it stays the way it is however, I am probably going to go and ask for the old transmission ECU back, since as far as I am concerned - I would rather an intermittent slipping transmission than a very boring drive consistently. Has anyone else experienced this, or is it just me?

Patterson Cheney Dandenong (Melbourne South-East) for me - I travel over 30 mins to get my Aurion serviced there, but have never had a single issue. They go through great lengths to investigate any issues reported, and follow-up a few weeks later to ensure everything is fixed and working well. To this day my car has dead-on wheel alignment, no rattles at all (after dash clips fitted) and runs smooth as silk. No complaints at all.

Silly question... have you ever checked the level of the oil? Did the smoke just suddenly start occurring one day, or did it gradually get worse over time? Did any lights on the dash appear at any stage, such as low oil or "check engine"? 5w-30 oil will not cause this type of issue, unless the engine was already severely damaged previously for another unknown reason (such as those mentioned by CONROD). As others have mentioned too, the dealer is just trying to make a quick dollar off you. I would get a second (and third) opinion from other Toyota dealers and potentially get Toyota involved if they still continue to say 5w-30 oil is the cause. In addition, valve stem seals will only cause an issue during take-off from idle where you will see lots of smoke. Is there any smoke once the car is already moving (like plumes of blue smoke from exhaust)? If so, that would be the rings on the pistons or the cylinder sleeves. It may even be something as simple as a faulty head gasket leaking oil into the cylinder. If you unscrew the oil cap and look at the bottom of it, is there any "milky" oil there? In addition, make sure you drive the car as little as possible, as running a car in that condition for much time at all will severely damage all the oxygen and exhaust sensors, and quite likely destroy the catalytic converters (read: VERY expensive to replace all that!). If you find a good dealer, I would try and leave the car with them to look at and see if you can organise a loan car while they investigate.

Take a look in the engine bay around the drivers side - and if it is anything like the sound I had, it turned out to be the edge of the aircon pipe fitting rattling against the body. As the pipe is connected to the airbox inside the car, I guess the sound was just transmitting down the pipe into the cabin?... I can get a picture if you are having troubles finding it. In my situation, the pipe was sitting about 2mm from the frame, and when stopped at lights would rattle - probably just due to the engine vibration increase at idle. I simply used a large screwdriver and bent the support bracket very slightly outwards, so now the pipe clears by about 5mm. I haven't had a rattle since!

Ideally, even if it isn't your primary car - you should aim to get it out for a good drive at least once a week. Driving only a short distance, especially when it doesn't run until it's operating temperature will cause the engine to very quickly foul the plugs, and likely get a heavy carbon buildup. This is simply because when a car is cold, fuel does not vaporise from the injectors all that well, and will instead just condense on the cylinder walls rather than burning cleanly. In addition, some cars (not sure if the Aurion does this) also run the engine quite lean after this point until the engine warms up; as running an engine lean produces more heat. I drive my Aurion to a station every day, approx 20 mins, and even then it only *just* warms up about 1km from the station. If I continue the same schedule for a week or so, it tends to be running a bit rough by the end of the week - and does slightly feel like it is misfiring at idle (just the vibration and it feels like it is kicking just slightly). I just give it a good run on a freeway for a while, open up the throttle for a bit when possible and by the time I am back home, it is running perfectly again.

Remember that even with recirculate air and windows up, there is always going to be some form of vent exposed to outside - otherwise everyone in the car will suffocate! I'm not sure where the ventilation in the Aurion might be, but every other car I have worked on always had vents around the back and had a small vent for fresh air at the front opened even when the fan is in recirculate.

Does the "fix" also improve the gear change lag between 1st and 2nd?

So I ended up getting the Dunlop Fast Response tyres, and first impressions driving in the sudden rain that came out of nowhere - the difference from the Dunlop 300E's even when brand new is just night and day! Steering is now so light that you can steer it with one finger, swerving or taking corners is an instant response, and even driving along tram tracks doesn't result in the "ice skate" effect. Even accelerating fairly heavy from the lights with the front wheels on the white line doesn't even trip the traction control! I am extremely impressed so far, especially since the comfort and noise levels of the tyre are better than the 300E's in addition to the above. Regardless, I would recommend them on first impressions - will see how they are after 10,000km ;)