dave262

Even in the dry I constantly loose traction during a kick-down... the Aurion seems to have an uncanny ability to even wheelspin in third while it is moving, which I have never seen from another automatic before... Does anybody else notice that if a kickdown occurs, but you quickly back off the accelerator and the revs stay high - the transmission seems to be intentionally slipping, as the car doesn't seem to really change speed?

Mitsubishi resell is not good generally, quite likely as they are nowhere near as reliable as Toyotas. I have owned a Mitsubish Magna in the past, and have a family member with a Lancer - and the number of combined problems with the cars is just amazing. The Magna had an uncanny way of being able to destroy 2/4 of the engine mounts once a year, corrodes through the same fitting every 3 years (due to incompatible metals!) and generally is all noise and no go. The Lancer, well apart from getting two faulty shockers after 2 months brand new, along with a loose(!) spring and missing bolt holding in the fuel tank, it still works okay - but I definitely wouldn't buy another Mitsubishi. IMO they are a bit cheap and plasticky inside too... Going from the Magna to the Aurion for me was a no brainer, and I have never looked back for even a moment. However... if you are into modding things on the mechanical front, there is no end to the number of mods you can make to a lancer... anything from turbos to LSDs etc can all be found easily and installed. You want to mod an Aurion? Good luck - at most you can change the suspension, wheels and exhaust. But to me, all it says is that the Aurion was designed properly up front (apart from that crushed Y pipe!) as opposed to requiring mods to bring the most out of it. Just my two cents, take it or leave it ;)

If you aren't too concerned about losing your radio presets, clock etc. - it might be a good idea to disconnect the battery. Nothing worse than coming back to a battery that become so discharged that the acid level is below the plates. Happened twice to me an a few times to friends who have gone overseas for more than a month, and usually results in having to buy a new $160 battery... You could also see if somebody could stop by once a month or something and hook up a charger or take it for a drive (if you can trust them of course!)?.

I find it quite a shock still when I have a fully loaded car, travelling up-hill, yet can still overtake slower cars with ease and find myself doing 150! Then of course finding somebody in a holden or a ford thinking they are kings of the road, only to find me pulling ahead in a FWD family car! The look of shock is totally worth it! But I think the best thing about it for me is just the fact that I have yet to find any major flaws with it, even after two years. There are no major rattles, no huge design oversights (I have owned, serviced and modded a mitsubishi magna for many years, and basically magna = total design travesty!). I am more than happy enough with the performance, the fuel economy, the comfort, handling... and as DJKOR sadly experienced the hard way just recently, they are very safe cars too. If they keep making the Aurion, and just improve little things like the poor transmission behaviour and the "cheap" feeling door handles, I'd definitely buy another one without hesitation! I think the only thing that could make it better would be AWD, but even then I can live with it being a FWD regardless.

It's all completely normal as far as I know. Mine makes the same smell, in particular after it has been driven fairly hard and then suddenly left idling at lights for example. The effect over time does tend to reduce I've noticed, as it smells more like a "hot" exhaust fume smell now, as opposed to the rotten egg smell when I first got it.

Have you had any loss in power ? The gas injection systems are far more advanced than the previous mixer gas setups, but are also significantly newer and more expensive. Going with the injection system is the best solution for modern day cars, as it doesn't cause a significant performance or efficiency loss, and is generally more reliable. Essentially, the old-style system mixes gas with air through the air intake and basically "tricks" the ECU into thinking it is still injecting and running the engine normally off petrol. The gas injection system basically replicates the existing petrol injection system and uses its own ECU and sensor hook-ups, thus the reason for the significantly higher cost. You will also probably void your warranty (if you have one). As was mentioned by Rocketeer1 however, do remember that the properties of gas make it quite harsh on engines that are not specifically designed for it. In addition to using thicker oil, keep in mind that gas also has very little lubrication properties and can therefore cause some damage to valve seats and other internal engine components. Generally there are additives that are supposed to keep this at bay, but you would have to check this with a qualified installer. This is just some general information I found when considering a conversion myself, but I personally decided against it due to the increased wear-and-tear factors and high costs. Also not a major fan of having a compressed tank of gas behind me or losing boot space or my spare tyre. The best places to go and find the advantages and disadvantages would be a reputable gas installer and a good mechanic.

Looks a fair bit like maybe one of the Canon 1200mm L USM models... they are insanely massive. I saw one last year at the Avalon airshow. Just wish I had something along the lines of a Canon 1D or at least a Canon 5D body... only got a 450D right now, but have a 70-200mm L USM and 17-40mm L USM lenses for it. Even on a basic camera body still takes some absolutely stunning shots. If only there weren't chunks of dead pixels on the sensor... but that's what happens after like 80,000 shots and lots of travel through adverse conditions!

I thought season 14 was the latest? The episode they played first was season 14 at least (I think? they cut out sections of both shows, so dunnoh if it's right or not)... the snow special I'm not sure when that was.

lol i thought that was what CH 9 did with everything? Once upon a time they had the crown as the highest rating station, but somewhere along they lost their way. Maybe because they cut out so many parts to fit more ads in, that people had no idea what was going on any more! We seriously need more stations in Aus. Compared to the likes of places in Asia and the US... I never understood why it took em till just last year to finally get more than like 5 channels here!

Anybody else out there watching Top Gear on 9 right now, and thinking: a) the HD channel looks worse than SD B) the "2 hour" episode they are running is actually a 1 hour episode with 10 min ad breaks every 15 min I have seriously never seen such a shameful performance. On SBS at least you could actually remember where u were at in the show! They just keep making more ad breaks right when it gets interesting! Not to mention the quality loss is huge compared to SBS HD... /end rant

It's not a matter of Panic, iot's about Toyota's slip in quality control, this morning WORLDWIDE AGAIN, Looks like a grounding of Corollas with a steering fault. Yes I like Toyotas, we wouldn't own an Auirion and Prius if we didn't, but I don't stick my head in the sand and say hey, they can do no wrong. You spend enough time here trying to help those who find faults with their cars, you know that Aurions have a heap of faults too, that relate to quality control, squeaking dash boards, complaints about headlights etc. etc. etc. Unfortunately it's just a matter of external supplier outsourcing in lots of cases, and yes like any manufacturer - Toyota can still have issues. They have quality control mechanisms in place, but short of driving every car off the production line for 20,000km and driving on hundreds of varying road conditions - these sorts of issues can never be easily detected no matter how good the quality control is. I recall reading in the paper that the braking issue with the Prius refers to "inconsistent braking feel when traveling over rough roads" anyway. Unless Toyota went testing the cars over and over again looking for this exact issue, it's not going to be easy to detect. Compared to a majority of other manufacturers out there, there have been very few major critical safety flaws with Toyota cars in general. Consider the number of issues that are known on the Aurion, such as VVT-I oil line leaks (extremely rare in Australia, even non-existent), "knocking" intermediary steering spline shaft, squeaking and rattling dash - all these are not safety-related issues and pose no risk to the driver or anyone else. The braking issue in the Prius is potentially an issue, but how many accidents have actually been attributed to the issue? Without hard statistics, it can't really be proven that it's an extensive risk at all. At least there is a proactive response to the *potential* issue, albeit with the media storm slamming Toyota for it. Toyota should be praised for at least acknowledging the issue despite how significantly it could potentially tarnish their image. How often have you seen such a media storm over the issues with the Holden fuel lines blowing apart and setting engine bays on fire, or as another user above mentioned - the complete failure of the entire steering mechanism in the captiva? Unfortunately in this situation, Toyota is simply a victim of their own success. I own an Aurion, and after driving it for over two years on a daily basis, I am quite confident in saying that it is the best car I have ever driven. It may not have as many fancy features as some other brands out there, may not be rear wheel drive or have a "sports muffler" option - but I wouldn't have it any other way. It gets me from point A to point B consistently, safely and reliably all the time while still having great handling and performance - even with a family onboard!

LOL i know that feeling all too well... when I pulled apart my old Magna to fix some rust, I had like a jar of screws and bolts left over. Looking over the car though, I have no idea where they came from as I can't find any missing! Surprisingly the car feels no different even missing so many haha Maybe some day it will just fall apart into pieces without warning haha

Have had my car booked in for service for the past few weeks. The clunking has been steadily becoming worse to the point it now feels like a car with broken engine mounts. It was really bad the other day when the car was full - every time I accelerated it would clunk (even while moving), when I even tap the brakes it would clunk, and even just rolling down the hill and the gear would drop down I would get a clunk! It doesn't seem to have affected the handling at all, but the sound is very noticeable. Even friends have commented over it recently! :o It really makes me wonder how much worse it can get...

I find the side air vent tends to creak / rattle a fair bit on mine ever since the dash clips were done - and this only occurs during cold weather or hot weather with aircon on. As others suggested, also make sure the passenger seat belt is flat and hasn't become snagged on the edge of the seat...

Had a van pull out in front of me on Burwood highway the other day during busy traffic then just stop in the middle of my lane - car next to me in the middle lane so couldn't swerve - just slammed on the brakes and managed to stop with no more than about 3cm from the side. was a P-plater newbie driving a large van for the first time for a job. I think I was just lucky that I saw him early enough to slam on the brakes. If people are going to pull out, at least look what is coming!

But by building the Falcon in LHD over in the US for the US market, the fact that it is also built in Aus for us is completely irrelevant. We're not going to be taking jobs away from the US, if anything by having US engines we'll be creating jobs for them (at the expense of our own, unless we starting building the engines here too). I think it really depends on who will be calling the shots too. I recall seeing an article not too long ago saying Ford Australia received some award for the most improved fuel efficiency of a large engine recently (but just cannot find it for the life of me). If they brought some of those minds into play to develop something that can enhance some of those fuel guzzlers in the US - they might start recovering some sales in the already insanely competitive world... especially since the whole focus these days is carbon this, carbon that...

But can you imagine the result if they went AWD? You'd never hear the end of it when they take corners like they are on rails... it would be like a WRX on Steroids!

Just came across this article on The Age... no mention of the Aurion with this though oddly enough, even though it's really in the same class as the mentioned Accord and Maxima... End of the road nears for Falcon

Surprisingly, as long as you use a light coat, it doesn't really run down anywhere. All you will get is it 'evaporating' after a month or so if the cabin heats up a bit. This solution is more of a temporary fix. Here in Queensland summer, it kept it quiet for about a month... then I couldn't be botheres anymore. hmmm do you know of any other more permanent options, other than simply tightening any loose panels? Only other thing I can think of is some very thin closed-cell foam - but I don't think it would hide very well along the narrow edges...

You may not have the dash rattle, but you aren't immune to the creaking dash problem :P There isn't much solution to it mate. It's how the car is. You can try to lubricating any surfaces the plastic makes contact on the underside with some silicon spray our use an adhesive to completely lock any plastic bits together, but apart from that you are just going to have to live with it. I think after the warranty "fix" of the dash creaks, it made the air vents creak like crazy instead - especially on a hot day when the aircon is running. Why oh why did Toyota persist in using incompatible plastics together? On the silicon spray topic, how long does this solution last? I would have thought the oil over time would gradually run down any surfaces?

I always found with the stock Dunlop 300E tyres that 35-36PSI is about right for them. Dealer always fills them to 35 PSI, which seems to be a good balance between comfort, handling and wear.

I have had my whole dashboard replaced (had warped in the sun near the drivers side tweeter grill. This had happened while in holding yard pryor to delivery - 06/07 build and 04/08 delivery) and had the rattle fix done at the same time and it has been great every since. I believe that it is only the piece under the steering column that is removed as the intermediate shaft goes from just above the brake pedal through the firewall and to the steering rack. Thanks SupaTouring. Hopefully they won't need to touch the dash then! I have already had the recall replaced pipe done (with the rubber hose unfortunately) the other day, but I have been told there is a back-order in Japan for the intermediate shaft spline until March, so I have the low "thud" in the steering until then. Might just get it done at the next general maintenance I guess and get some new tires too. I must say I was quite impressed that the dealer managed to replace that line without a single oil drop anywhere. I can tell the oil has been changed too, as the car always runs far smoother after oil changes. I can't find the yellow stripe on the hose however, but it seems to be a new hose as it is black instead of the previous powdery grey of the old one. Is the yellow stripe on all these hoses to indicate they are the "fixed" ones, or is it something the dealer marks?

Amazing they could even get the whole thing back together without causing more problems than before... if it were me, I would either end up with screws missing, or more leftover than before! <_< On the topic of fixing the dash rattles, does anyone know if the intermediary spline shaft can be replaced without removing parts of the dash? I would hate to get the dash rattles back while they try to fix a separate issue...

Oh I was under the impression the entire pipe would be replaced... I can understand why this is probably easier for them to replace by itself. I think I might just fight for the metal pipe regardless though. If the metal hose is used on the newer models, there is obviously a good reason. Thanks for clearing that up!

Look at my DIY from page 1. I would have to say that it was difficult to try and change the pipe and I have tiny Asian hands (as in my fist is about the size of those stubby 250mL Coke cans). It even scratched up my hand pretty well. I don't think Toyota would go through such effort to change the pipe. Yeah it does look like it would be an absolute pain to change... something I definitely wouldn't consider myself for this exact reason (and of course warranty!) - but Toyota is going to replace it regardless, so they would have to go through the same effort regardless of whether it is the metal or the rubber pipe... Or am I missing something here?