dave262

Well done Tofuboi for doing what so many of us are too scared to do with the Aurions, experiment with exhausts! Will be interesting to see what can be done, especially about that crush section. The only reason I can possibly come up with as to why a crushed Y section would have been made (other than for cost reasons) would be for backpressure purposes or some method of controlling the drone. By removing this, it's anyone's guess as to what the outcome will be! Good luck! It is a scarily advanced ECU from reading the service manual... I read about it having dual processors and dual memory banks with each processor and memory bank crosschecking constantly for any errors and failing over if necessary! Not to mention things like soak timers that trigger off fuel tank pressure checks 6 hours after the car is turned off. Some rather impressive technology there, but unfortunately with such smarts comes limited flexibility - especially for modding :( Makes it even harder when it's a EURO4 compliant car, since all the sensors are super-sensitive...

Hi, not sure if this is correct but my understanding was that the transmission is sealed for life from the factory and does not require servicing or fluid replacement like older camrys. No this is not the case, as transmission fluid will always require changing in any Auto transmission, as it will become contaminated with material from the clutches inside the transmission. It still requires the same service and care as any auto transmission. Give it a few days to re-learn the shift patterns, as the ECU will have almost certainly been reset during the repair. Depending on what the issue was, it may have simply been swapped out by Toyota for a new transmission, which is generally cheaper than the hours required by mechanics to rebuild the transmission and also more reliable (as it will be certified and tested by Toyota).

Why on earth would they bring back a car with the same name that has historically brought such negative attention? Avalon died long ago, and for very good reasons... They should have brought it back with a new name that at least leaves history where it is.

Even though it is essentially an Aurion in the mechanical area, it's not really viable to try and make the Aurion AWD using the Venza drive train. For one, the engine is facing the wrong direction, and you will also have issues due to the single channel running under the car that is used for the exhaust, which will obviously cause some problems for the drive shaft and re-routing the exhaust. Venza looks like they are trying to compete with the Holden Sportswagon to me... Sportswagon to me is a pathetic name for a car anyway, and deserves to be put in place by a competitor as big as Toyota! :P Having AWD and the power of the 4GR-FE will definitely pull some sales away from Holden. However, the fact that there is no manual option doesn't really make sense, considering how many seem to desire it. Given the safety features such as traction control and stability control, I believe that some of these features cannot be implemented using a manual box easily, which may be why there is only the auto option. Still, an interesting move by Toyota and it will be interesting to see how they go with this. Definitely not gonna trade in my Aurion for one though! :D

The dash rattles are a known issue due to faulty clips that hold the various pieces together. Toyota released a fix for it, but it wasn't a recall. Talk to your Toyota service dept and they should be able to source and install the kit for you under warranty.

How can the police help in this sort of situation? Maybe it's just me, but I can't see them being able to do anything when the idiot who did the damage wasn't seen or caught...

They will most likely be coolant lines. I have seen these very often on V6 engines, and are apparently part of the method of heating up the coolant quicker to bring the car to operating temp. They basically connect into a ring that runs around the side of the oil cooler.

I would have to agree the transmission is a bit of a pain with the lag... especially when you want to get moving quickly and it refuses to drop down a gear for far too long. Flaring is less of an issue, since it's more random than anything else. A proper sports sequential shift would be nice too, but keep in mind that the Aurion is a family car and isn't directly targeted at the high performance car market. Head unit and speakers I personally don't find too bad, other than the bass being far too boomy in the front (i have it set at -3). The treble is impressive for a stock setup, as almost every other car I have driven has terrible treble (case in point - Honda!). Of all the cars, I think the Mitsubishi would probably have to have the greatest flexibility with its stock setup in the lancers, where you can opt for a brand-name quality audio setup with decent speakers. This is something that Toyota really should consider I reckon.

Strange that they would totally axe the TRD brand... I would have backed off and done a little groundwork in the background on doing up some of the smaller more popular cars like Yaris and Corolla... then finally there would be a decent looking small car out there that doesn't just look generically rice! I think the biggest failure for the TRD was really the fact that there is minimal difference between the stock and the TRD models, other than a few trim differences and maybe some performance parts. Coupled with this was the ridiculous asking price for such a basic difference. I wouldn't be paying the ridiculous price that was being asked for the 3500SL when it came out, when I could have got something even more attractive with a good reputation from the likes of Lexus. A bit more research into what the public is asking for and what they would be willing to pay for it should have been done. It's a pity, because now it just leaves it back to the see-it-everyday-generic ford and holden varieties of performance models... never gonna see any more unique TRD branded Aurions around any more, other than what is already on the roads =\ You never know though... in a few years time maybe they will have another shot at it. I can't see Toyota writing off so much expenditure and never getting any return!

Urrrghhhh...Never to Midas or Ultratune...I'd rather do the servicing myself, which is actually VERY VERY EASY. LOL. Agreed there! My friend took her car (1991 Mazda Eunos 30x) to Midas for general maintenance, with problems such as leaking coolant, shaking at idle, unable to start in damp weather, guzzling fuel and smoke out the exhaust. I knew from fact from doing a check-up of the car myself that it had worn plugs, old oil, clogged air filter, a faulty distributor cap and rotor, and 2 dead oxygen sensors. Only reason she got it serviced there is because of the warranty if it broke down elsewhere. It came back from service, running only marginally better, and on a checkup of it myself, I found that the plugs had been replaced, as had the oil and coolant. However, the air filter had not been replaced, the plugs were replaced with the wrong temperature plugs, the oil was far too thick for the car and was making it extremely sluggish performance, and the coolant concentration was approximately 1%! The car could still not start in damp weather, which I knew was a result of a dodgy distributor, so I took it to an ignition specialist, who confirmed it had a major crack and a stuffed button in the distributor cap. I then fixed up all the problems, and the car has since run perfectly! Not impressed with Midas at all. Ultratune, I had my old 1990 Magna TP surging at idle and pulled it in there for service, and they took a look and had the audacity to say "it's just the way these cars are, they all do it! All you can do is just put up with it"! I played around with some connections on the car, and tweaked a few adjustments and found a loose throttle position sensor screw. Fixed it up, adjusted, and all perfect! (as much as a Magna can be lol). For these reasons, don't even bother with these service places! Do it yourself and you learn far more, and it costs half the price!

wow that sounds rather catastrophic... especially after only 45,000km! Did they give any indication of the cause? I've had that same clunk before too, but at a slower speed (like 60km/h) - but it only revved in neutral for about 3 seconds before recovering. Never happened since. I swear there is something not right about the software that runs that transmission, regardless of whether Toyota says it is "by design", so I wouldn't be surprised if it's a result of dodgy TCU code causing these sort of mechanical failures! Complain to them about getting a courtesy car too. They can't expect to take away your car for a whole week with an "unknown" problem, and expect you to make do with nothing! At least provide you with a cabcharge for the week!

Toyota is apparently working on this issue, and believe that it's related to the firmware on the ECU/TCU. It is apparently related to both the flare between gear changes or 2nd - 3rd and the rather large delay switching between 1st and 2nd.

Anyone know if the Touring model has the bracing on the rear suspension? I have driven both the ATX and own a Touring, and the Touring does seem to have slightly better handling than the ATX. Whether this is due simply to different tyres and size I am not sure, but there is some sort of difference I think...

Toyota does this, but it has only been a recent change as far as I'm aware. That is why you don't need to change the oil so soon after getting the car, which you would have to do on most older cars (due to the buildup of metal filings etc in a new engine). This is also part of the reason that long term costs are kept down low, as services are only every 15,000km - as the engine was already clean initially and faults are found in the factory rather than being sent out.

You might also note that Toyota says to not idle the car for long either, and mentions specifically to start moving pretty much straight away. I still wait until the engine drops the revs down to about 2000 RPM before moving anyway, if only because I hate the lurch as I try to put it into gear when it is revving so high! It does however surprise me that the car revs so high when cold though, as the article does mention that lots of wear can occur on the bearings when revving straight after the engine starts, as there is no oil in these locations temporarily. On cold starts the Aurion seems to jump up to around 2500 RPM or sometimes higher immediately after start! You would expect that there would be a 1-2 sec delay or something to get the oil moving...

For those wondering about the surge/lag between gear changes, I've been told that Toyota has recognised this as a fault and are working on a fix for it. The word is that there is a problem with the ECU/TCU code that causes some dodgy calculations in the lower gears. Can't wait for this fix, as the flaring is getting worse and I can't imagine does good for the transmission!

Right now all the car manufacturers will be doing whatever they can to pull in any new car buyers - especially in the large car segment. Paint colours is just a simple, almost costless way of making an appearance and dragging in the green

Everything of importance inside the door is usually protected from any water in some way anyway - often just a sheet of clear plastic that divides inside and outside. Usually some form of metal protection on the inside metal too so that any seepage that does occur is drained and doesn't corrode away at the inside of the door.

Kicking myself for not getting one in my Touring... However, from what I was told by the dealer - the only one that has it *truly* factory fitted is the Presara, while the rest are aftermarket models that look almost identical to the factory one. Not sure about the fitting quality, but $2000 - $2500 is about right for them to be added.

So for the cause of the creaking and rattling, we so far have: a ) The beam behind the dash - causing metallic rattle in a plastic mug sound b ) Rattle from wiper mechanism - causes general rattle from passenger side of car c ) General dash rattles Obviously the first one is quite major to replace, but are there any particular "kits" or such that we should mention to Toyota if they don't know what to do about the rattles?

It is a little wider than some... i travel through a road with those zigzag traffic islands down it every day which makes it really noticeable how wide the car is. I normally don't even have to turn to go through one of the traffic islands with most cars, but with the Aurion i have to turn just a little bit or I go straight over the edge of them! I think it's by about maybe 20 or 30cm wider though - so not *that* much wider...

Since when was an SL TRD Aurion $80K? sticker price was $61500 + ORC before the price drop almost a year ago... For $3.5K more than a "full price" SL TRD you could get an R36 Passat... AWD 6-speed etc etc... The last time I looked at prices (probably some time ago!) the top-end luxury model TRD was about $80k.

Apart from the creaks and squeaks, I had a sound that came on during higher interior temperatures that sounded like a bolt bobbying around in a plastic mug. Turned out to be a faulty beam that everything under the dash is bolted to. It has a telescopic section where the inner rattled against outer wall. What is your rattle sound like? Mine sounds rather similar, but has a more "metallic" ring to it and only occurs after the car has been idling for approx 30 seconds. I have a suspicion it is a cover from something, because if I travel over a fairly sharp bump at slow speed I can hear the rattle occur momentarily. It only comes back randomly however, which is rather frustrating to diagnose - but more often in hot weather, or after a half hour of fairly steady driving. Load has minimal effect on it, or so it seems. I had a look for that beam, but I think I may have to start pulling many things apart to check it, so I will just ask the service guys to take a look when it is serviced. I have a list of things they need to check during the service... just another item to add!

To me it sounded like a creaking sound coming from the left hand side of the dash sort of just below the windscreen and in about 80mm from the tweeter. happened on normal roads at sort of 40-60k speeds and particularly bad on chipseal or older corrugated roads. everyone, including Toyota, thought it was a dash noise. If this sounds like yours, then get them to go under the bonnet and get into the wiper mechanism area. Good Luck! I know how frustrating it is I have this rattle too... I always thought it was just one of the vents that came loose as a result of having the windscreen replaced (that is when all the rattles started in mine!). Will have that checked out next service I think, which will probably be in the next few weeks anyways since its due.

What sort of rattle is it? Can you describe it and under what conditions it happens etc. ? I wonder if it would be the same rattle that I have on mine that nobody can find, and I can't easily reproduce...