the.rid

Just got my Kluger grande and I have not decided on an insurer yet.

can you guys tell me what model and year you own, who insures your car and what you pay a year?

Cheers.

Interesting variation in costs. Just looked up our charge and it is $511.94 which covers March 2009 until March 2010.

We are with RAA Insurance in Adelaide and have several other insurances with them as well. This has the benefit of reducing

the premiums. We have a 2007 Grande 2WD.

Hey Leighthebee,

I was reading elsewhere in these forums that someone else had rattles in the dash and it ended up being the wiper housing and the Toyota dealer new the fix for it and has posted it on the Toyota internal portal.....maybe that's it, if it sounds like it's coming from behind the reverse camera??

mines a KXR

and the horrible rattle comes from directly above the reverse camera display.

anybody have this same rattle??

We travel back and forth to Adelaide from Canberra several times a year and when we first did this trip we had these

dash rattles. Read on the US site http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=122 about this problem and approached

our dealer who removed and replaced the dash. First attempt was nearly successful and after the second remove/replace

there is not a peep. Solid as a rock.

New modified arm rest has been fitted to the drivers side. It is a lot sturdier than the previous ones that were fitted. Plastic fatigue was cited as the issue on the job sheet. Unfortunately they only did the one.

Plastic fatigue .... go figure ... this on a 1-2 year old vehicle. They are toying with you.

So what you do is go and lean on the armrest/s in question with your elbow as someone would do

when adjusting their seating position. If it is not able to withstand that then it is certainly not worthy of being

called an arm-rest and should be replaced with one that is of sufficient strength for the purpose.

We have had our Grande since 2007 and have always used a full bra whenever we travel over to Canberra from Adelaide.

We do this trip 3-4 times a year and the front of the vehicle is still brand new whereas the windscreen is definitely showing

battle scars.

Would seriously recommend one if you are doing any long distance driving in country away from the cities. We have been through locusts,

bees and the general bugs which inhabit our wonderful land and the bra keeps the car pristine and the radiator does not clog up with dead bugs.

Certainly makes for washing the vehicle easier.

Good luck.

I've a August 07 build one too and it split around the 2500km mark.

I've now almost got 28000kms and decided back then not to get it repaired in fear the dealer my create door squeaks in the replacement process. Possible door squeaks or rattles would bother me more than the split.

But your posts hear will prompt me to raise the issue at the 30000k service.

Thanks for your posted info.

It is not a 'mileage' issue as much as it is just a weakness on our particular builds. Definitely no door squeaks after replacement. Obviously this has been fixed on later builds as where else would Toyota obtain the replacement panels. From what I can read on other forum sites it is a worldwide problem.

I've a August 07 build one too and it split around the 2500km mark.

I've now almost got 28000kms and decided back then not to get it repaired in fear the dealer my create door squeaks in the replacement process. Possible door squeaks or rattles would bother me more than the split.

But your posts hear will prompt me to raise the issue at the 30000k service.

Thanks for your posted info.

I think I have one of the first Klugers in the Country, ours are still fine what do you look for and where??

Ok then, sitting in the car seat (either driver or passenger and now I find out that the rear armrests are the same so will have them checked out) with your elbow on the armrest, press down slightly with your elbow and you should feel it bow under the pressure. Not just the padding but the plastic underneath the padding bends. If you then press with your fingers along the armrest in the middle you will also feel it flex easily. It is not firm and solid as an armrest should be. That is of course if you have a 'dodgy' armrest. Our rear armrests also show this tendency to easily flex and will have to be attended to. If they do break (or snap) when you lean on them they then become quite spongy and ours made a cracking sound as the two halves came back into place.

Hope this helps. I read on a US forum about the rear armrests also presenting the same problem even though they are slightly shorter in length.

Following on from my post of March 22nd., I have had the passenger side door panel replaced due to the armrest cracking (or breaking) due to it's inherent weakness. As mentioned our vehicle had a build date of August 2007 and this weakness in the armrest has obviously been fixed in later builds.

How much later I do not know. Out of curiosity I called the dealer's parts Dept. and asked how much the inside door panels would cost. I was quoted a figure of $2,150.00 each side. What the ..... . I said I didn't want to buy the complete door just the inside plastic door panel for a Grande. But the answer was that as they are currently being replaced under warranty that is the listed retail price.

Certainly happy they broke while in warranty.

There must be many of us heading into the 10,000km service by now. Or some of us have been and done it already. I'm at the 9,000 mark.

What were the key items you requested to be attended too. I would be interested know and I guess other members might benefit to know.

My two are,

1st 6 stacker bluetooth unit has the person I'm talking too struggling to hear me. They say my voice is shallow and weak.

2nd Numerous dash rattles/plastic tweaks within the dash, especially around the edges of dash and the joint above the centre air vent with the dash are occurring and almost every day it seems.

New one appear whilst a previous one may disappear for a few days. Outside temperature seems to be playing a major role here. Today under the steering wheel area produced non stop rattles thats my passengers even comment on.

But I love the vehicle totally, so it's not a whinge post.

Ours has done 25000km, mostly on trips from Canberra to Adelaide, (sometimes straight through, sometimes with a break half way). Only items which required attention at the 2 services we have had are .... armrest breaking, and dash rattles. Dash rattles took two trips to the dealer to get sorted and now there is not a murmur. Armrest was fixed by having the whole drivers side door panel replaced. Have not had anyone complain about Bluetooth reception, but then again our microphone is in the console between the sunvisors not down on the dash. Only mod which we have done is changed the air filter to K&N drop-in and we always have all 5 tyres rotated at the service. Could not be happier with the vehicle. It is extremely comfortable for the cruising we do and is relatively economical on our trips ... 10.03lt/100 (9.96kls/ltr or 28.3mpg). Glad we purchased a Kluger Grande.

Did they say whether it's been fixed in models after a certain production date?

No, but then again I didn't ask. Our Grande has a build date of August 2007. The new panel's armrest is definitely stronger and does not bend as much when you press it in the middle. It still bends when you do the 'press in the middle with fingers' test, but at least it feels a bit thicker and stronger. I just went and checked the passenger side and that one feels decidedly dodgy (or should I say very flexible) in comparison, so will be chatting to the Service people shortly. Maybe this side panel will also need replacing.,

Driving along one day, and as you, do you lean on the armrest to shift position. Suddenly there is a 'crack' and the middle of the armrest becomes extremely flexible. Next service I mention this problem of the cracked armrest and it seems that this is 'common' to Kluger armrests. The Service Dept. then ordered a replacement. I asked to have a look at the broken armrest and when the Service chap came out with complete drivers side door panel I was almost speechless. The armrest had a split in the plastic base under the padded top running lengthwise down the armrest about 3" (85mm) long. For this they have to replace the whole panel. The new panel's armrest is substantially stronger and does not flex when you press on it with your fingers.

As the cost of replacing this panel is up in the high hundreds if it occurred out of warranty I think it would be advisable to check your armrests with the finger test and if it flexes take appropriate action.

Must check the passenger side armrest now and see if that one flexes as well. Will check a new Kluger when I next visit the dealer.