SamF

I recently replaced the car battery on my 2008 Kluger and since then the keyless entry has been behaving errantically, working sometimes and not others. Does anyone know whether a reset is required after replacing the battery and how this is done ?

Every time I go to the home page and logon I get the following error;

[#10193] We encountered a problem processing your login request. Please try again.

When I try a second time it let me through. This is not a mistake with userid or password as it happens every time.

Can you please advise regarding rectification.

To the best of my knowledge the Kluger has no Rated recovery points. People that have required these have had them specially made and fitted. However since the Kluger is a soft-roader it is unlikely to be put in a serious recovery situation. For minor recovery situations, the tow "i" bolt in the front used for towing and two eyelet in the rear can be used with a little caution.

Hi all,

I need help/info. I know there has been a lot of info about Kluger bluetooth etc with past threads. We have a 2009 KXS-AWD and have had trouble with the bluetooth phone connection since new. My Nokia 6120 did connect with the bluetooth, my wife's 6120 did not. I updated her phone software to no avail. so, we bought another Nokia. It works sometimes. Still have to manually connect each time the car is turned on, what a pain. Often it wont connect, the screen displays UNAVAILABLE. Toyota don't seem to want to know about it.

The question is, do you think it is faulty or is it still the phone that's the problem, or is the problem with the way we have set it up.

Is the Grande model better??

thanks

Geoff

Hi Geoff

I have a Nokia 2700 Classic and I own a 2008 Grande, I have had no problems what so ever. I sounds like the bluetooth service in you car may only be able to support one connected bluetooth device. To isolate whether it is the phone or the car. I would delete your phone from the registration and then just add your wife's phone as the sole bluetooth device and see if this fixes the problem. If it does its the car, if it doesn't it's the phone. I read of other people having difficulties connecting Nokia phones however I changed my phone from a Motorola to a Nokia recently and both phones connect and reconnect without ever having a problem.

Would you believe after making the initial post in this thread in Aug 2008, I am still on the original tyres and my Kluger has just clocked over 60,000km. I have rotated all 5 tyres, and they're just about shot now. Not displeased with that mileage

Ditto here. Have rotated all 5 tyres since new Feb 2008 and have never done a front-end alignment. Have done about 60,000K most of it towing a caravan which should have accelerated the wear and still have possibly another 5000 -10,000Ks left. Not displeased with the wear considering it is a 2 Tonne motorcar. Having had Bridgestones on most of my cars over the last 20 years, they are normally a long wearing tyre.

Thanks for the reply... So I assume this quality issue only affects all nudge bar on-order from July (2months ago) onwards..I wonder how about the existing ones they released before that (which some of you out there is currently using!)... I wonder what is that quality issue........

I have had the Nudge Bar fitted from new (Feb 2008) and I have had no issues with it yet. Then I would not expect any as it does nothing unless it is impacted. I was assured by Toyota when I bought it that the Nudge Bar was air-bag compliant, so I wonder what the quality issues are ? Are they falling off?

I finally got the Tekonsha P3 & it's recommended to install a extra 20amp breaker which I also have..

I've called a auto electrician who will come out & install for $150 so I'll get it done by a pro.. Will post pictures when done if anyone's interested

I realise this may be too late. Can I please see the pic of the controller under the dash? Does it interfere with your legs. as there doesn't seem to be much room? Can anyone else give me advice on where to put the controller so its not in the road

Thankyou

Attached is a photo of the unit attached to my Kluger. It does not et in the way or interfere with anything.

Having recently purchased a AWD Kluger, and planning a trip to Tasmania, I am wanting to know if I can rely on it to take us the off road occassionally. We are looking at beaches and tracks - nothing too full on. But can it handle soft sand and mud?

I think the Kluger will amaze you where it can go. However with ALL AWD/4WD a little bit of common sense is always worth exploiting.

The ground clearance is about 200mm which will see you over most rough stuff, however if not certain stop and have a look at the road area in question. The car does not have Low Gear range, while it will get up most respectable steep grades, if it has to climb over rocks an extremely steep inclines, it will fail. The tyres as already commented on, are road tyres, so do not expect miracles in mud. But crossing some slushy terrain will not be a problem. Also diff locks are not available so if you get one side of the car bogged (both left wheels or both right wheels) you will not be able to drive straight out.

I took mine on a round Australia trip last year and got into the Bungle Bungles where the only challenges were 7 creek crossing with about 50cm of water which the Kluger did without any difficulties at all. We got into Palm Valley near Alice Springs without any difficulty at all. We also drove on a beach with average sand dunes and wheel ruts without a problems (by letting the tyre pressure down). We also toured many national parks were the tracks I would have graded from easy to challenging. Most people would be surprised were even a 2 wheel drive, let alone a AWD will go. I find that with a small amount of common sense the driver's limitation are surpassed before the vehicle's limitation.

Enjoy your trip and do not worry to much about the Kluger's capabilities.

Hi, We went on a short trip last weekend with our caravan and wanted to share some findings about fuel consumption and gear selection.

We have a Dec 09 KX-S AWD only 5000km on the clock, trip was only 400km round trip. Van is 1650kg. As I'm still new to the Kluger I thought I would try a few things towing. I decided to use 4th gear in S mode going to Berri in S.A. Fuel read 21L/100 km. No wind really at all. Speed was 100km/hr .I thought we're not going to get far on a full tank at this rate.

On the way home I used 4th gear on the very steep hills only, then decided to leave it in 5th and go easy on the pedal, we had a slight tail wind. Fuel consumption was 16.2 L/100km. Using 5th gear in S-mode. It doesn't take much of a road rise and it jumps back a gear.(or should say 1/2 agear??) only went back to 4th when I had to push it harder to get up a steep hill. maybe it goes back to 4th overdrive or something??

Anyway, 5th gear is ok on the flat road. I must say, the Kluger is much better than the Commodore towing the van. Kluger does it easily and you feel a lot safer.

Does anyone know of any gearbox issues with towing in 5th gear?

cheers

Geoff :)

Hi, I towed an 1750Kg caravan around Australia last year (21,000K). The manual does say that you should tow in 4th gear. However I usually place the transmission in manual select mode and put it into 4th on hilly or headwind situations, but on flat roads, I select 5th manually and like you found that I can get about 16L/100K in this mode. The Kluger had no problem, nor did the transmission seem to suffer. I think the reason the manual says to tow in 4th is because it drops out of overdrive on all but flat roads and the transmission "hunts" up and down gears all the time. Which is probably more harmful than leaving it in 4th gear. I must admit that I did not have the same consumption variations as you experienced between 4 th and 5th. My variation between the two was more like 1-2 L/100K.

The best consumption I got was 15L/100K and the worst, fighting a gale headwind from Port Hedland to Broome, was 21.5L/100K.

Hi everyone,

new to this forum, we have just run in a Silver KXS AWD so far so good. I'm wanting to know if mudflaps for the front can be bought seperately. We somehow have mudflaps on the rear but none on the front. Is this normal for new Klugers or did we get stung? trying to stop the mud and stones from hitting the side of the Kluger. An suggestions?

Klugers come standard with only rear mudflaps. If you buy the 4 mudflap accessories option, they replace the short rear mudflaps with longer ones and add two mud flaps at the front. I am not sure that the Toyota mudflaps are worth the money you might be better off with some after-market ones.

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone knows where I can get insect screen installed on my Kluger ?

TOYOTA website indicates that they have insect screens for purchase but I was told by many dealers here that they don't do it.

I am in Perth BTW.

Thanks

I made my own from window fly-screen material. I cut it larger than the Nudge-bar opening and got my wife to sew in a piece of round plastic ribbing around the edge and placed slots in each corner to run some valcro straps and use these to secure around the nudge bar.

Worked well on my trip around Australia. Only need to take it off every few days and shake the insects off. I have not seen any for sale that why I went to the trouble of making my own.

I have an appointment to go in on 17 Dec to have the hose replaced. The thing is that I am going on a week's trip from Melbourne to Lakes Entrance and Merimbula on Dec 19. What do you guys think - should I get the hose replaced only after I come back from the trip, or get it replaced 2 days before my trip? My Kluger only has done about 13000kms. My concern is what if the service centre does a shoddy job of replacing the hose which causes a problem during my trip?

Thanks in advance.

I would let it go till after you return. Most problems appear to occur after 50,000 mile (80,000K) so you would be very unlucky to experience the problem at 13000K.

I just got the following reply via e-mail from Toyota regarding the replacement part and it reaffirms that they a replacing the faulty part with a different one that is in the current Kluger. I have responded that I am not happy with this approach and wish to take it further.

________________________________________________________________________________

______

Dear Mr Fodero

Thank you for contacting Toyota Customer Experience Centre.

We assure you Toyota Motor Corporation Australia takes safety of its vehicles as a number one priority and we understand the high expectations our customers have of their vehicle and our products & services.

Toyota Australia have developed a replacement part for your vehicle with more durable material, approved by our engineers. Any variation outside this Customer Service Exercise would need to be discussed with the Service Manager at your Preferred Toyota Dealership.

All Toyota genuine parts have a 12 month warranty. Warranty assess each claim they receive on a case by case basis, taking into account the age of the vehicle, kilometres travelled and service history.

Please be advised that this is a Customer Service Exercise and not a safety recall.

Thank you for contacting Toyota and giving us the opportunity to respond.

Kind Regards

Jessica Bosden

Customer Experience Consultant

Customer Experience Centre

Toyota Motor Corporation Australia

Ph: 1800252097

Email to Toyota Australia customer service. Think others need to make some noise about this as well!!!

http://www.toyota.com.au/email-toyota

Dear Sir/Madam,

I today received a recall notice for my 2007 Toyota Kluger. This recall is in relation to a possibly defective engine oil pipe (and effects other models using the 3.5 engine). Apparently the rubber pipe can crack causing severe engine oil loss and engine damage.

I am about to book my car in for this to be looked at. My concern relates to many reports that are now appearing on the internet and in the media that this pipe is being replaced with a cheap rubber version, and not a metal pipe as fitted to newer model Klugers etc?

Is this true? Surely this cannot be correct from Australias number one vehicle seller. Would reputation be risked for the sake of a few dollars?

If so I find this treatment of early buyers, and the penny pinching involved almost unbelievable from a company I have held in such high regard for many years. Surely if it is deemed appropriate to fit a metal pipe to newer models, then a cheap rubber replacement for earlier buyers is highly questionable? Will Toyota look after buyers years down the track if this rubber replacement pipe also fails?

I look forward to your response, and reassurance that these disturbing reports are false.

Regards

I believe that all Kluger owners should either copy the above e-mail and updated it with their details or write a similar e-mail to Toyota. It seems pretty ridiculous that they are replacing a faulty component with one of similar design when they have upgraded it to a full metal pipe for the current Klugers. Strong response by Kluger owners may actually get Toyota to rethink their direction.

As a last resort I may agree to pay the difference in cost (which cannot be much) to have mine replaced with full metal pipe.

Also there are no rated recovery points on the Kluger if you get stuck. I investigated fitting some, and basically would've had to get them engineered, fabricated and fitted specifically for the kluger.

What is wrong with the tow bar and the "I" bolt supplied by Toyota for the front point ??

One of the small things I miss from my Discovery 2a is the shopping bag hook in the left of the centre console. One or two plastic shopping bags or takeaway Chinese food in a plastic bag hung in the passenger floor well nicely without sliding around the floor.

The hooks in the very back of the Kluger are not high enough to hang normal shopping bags - the bag handles are taller than the hooks and they just slide around the rear area spilling their contents out when you go around corners.

The hooks are really designed for the OEM envelope cargo net they sell in the USA.

See pic below:

With this system opening just the rear window to put shopping bags in makes sense.

Does anyone have one of these?

The part number for Gen 1 Klugers is PT347-48041 (I think they need the top hooks to install)

The part number for Gen 2 Klugers is PT347-48080

Also can we get these in Australia?

You can get them on USA eBay - but the shipping is as much as the cargo net.

eBay Cargo Net

I was hoping there was something like this avaiable in AU. In my dads Captiva, hes got the Holden OEM one, and its great. If you have any luck sourcing one in AU, let me know!

Repco and Super Cheap Auto have a non geniune one that I use in my Kluger, probably not as deep as the OEM one but very effective. Only cost about $15.

Hi I will be towing a caravan which has electric brakes. I was going to get a prodigy electric brake controller to install in the Kluger.

I've been told some vehicles already have the wiring harness to plug into , Does anyone know if the Kluger has a connector under the dash or somewhere.

Or will it have to be wired in to the fusebox etc ?

As far as I know there are no existing wiring for a brake controller. I wired my Prodigy unit in. I installed it under the dash on the RHS making sure that it did not interfere with the Knee Protection Air Bag. You need to run two wires through the RHS Mudguard to the battery and one to the rear of the vehicle. I use the reversing light pin on a seven pin plug but you can wire in a separate Anderson Plug. There is a thread ( (about April 2008) with some pictures on this site about installing a Prodigy brake control that I put up about 12 months ago.

If you are not familiar with wiring things in, I suggest you use and auto-electrician. It is quite and involved job particularly running the wire to the rear as you have to thread it through door-sills and the rear plastic panel.

Yes I did some off-roading please see "Round Australia Tour" thread.

Yesterday was the first time I attached a small single axle trailer on to the new KX-r 2WD,

when I started off there were no issues, but 5 min down the road the screen started flashing Brakes malfunction , Check ABS, pull over immediately and get it checked by the dealer.

off course I did not do it as I was on a Hwy.if the Mrs would have been driving she would have pulled over in the middle of the HWY. It looked like there was something seriously wrong with the brakes.

but the brakes on the car were working fine so kept on driving.

after I unhoked the trailer everything was back to normal.

I would guess it has something to do with the trailer brakes not having ABS.

Would'nt think this is normal while pulling a trailer, can someone tell me how to get around this or should I take it to the dealer for some tweaking

I assume that since it was a single axle trailer it does not have its own electric brakes. Not that this should matter, as I suspect there is something wrong with you trailer plug wiring. I tow a 1570 Kg Caravan with electric brakes and a single axle trailer regularly and have no problem with any warning messages on the Kluger. I would have your trailer wiring checked out by and auto-electrician.

Thanks. Good story ... which reaffirms all the good reasons why I chose Kluger KX-S (even the same colour).

BTW, you wouldn't be from Canberra per chance. I saw a merlot Grande on the road in Canberra the same day I took delivery of my merlot KX-S in December, but haven't seen it for some months.

See attached photos unfortunately these were not the worst situations and I was to busy getting through stuff to take pictures.

Yes the range towing a caravan is not great (380-450K) therefore I usually travel with a 20L gerry can attached to the caravan. However on its own its quite adequate. I recently drove from Melbourne to Adelaide on one tank.

I am not a big fan of diesel engines, they have their strengths, but I hate noisy rattly engines that sound like a "bucket of bolts". There is an insignificant difference in running costs with diesel because although you get more fuel economy, the cost of diesel in the country is significantly higher, based on my observation while touring. The cost in remote areas was up to 20c per litre more ( I cannot explain this except the petrol companies exploiting the location by the type of fuel dominant). When you add that to the fact that the Kluger does pretty well in the fuel department, then add the extra cost of a diesel engine (Toyota charge $10,000 for the diesel in the Land Cruiser), I do not believe the finances would stack up. True they have more low down torque for towing and you do not have to be too concerned about electric in a water crossing. So based on the above, I would not buy a diesel if it was offered.

Thanks. Good story ... which reaffirms all the good reasons why I chose Kluger KX-S (even the same colour).

BTW, you wouldn't be from Canberra per chance. I saw a merlot Grande on the road in Canberra the same day I took delivery of my merlot KX-S in December, but haven't seen it for some months.

See attached photos unfortunately these were not the worst situations and I was to busy getting through stuff to take pictures.

Yes the range towing a caravan is not great (380-450K) therefore I usually travel with a 20L gerry can attached to the caravan. However on its own its quite adequate. I recently drove from Melbourne to Adelaide on one tank.

Thanks. Good story ... which reaffirms all the good reasons why I chose Kluger KX-S (even the same colour).

BTW, you wouldn't be from Canberra per chance. I saw a merlot Grande on the road in Canberra the same day I took delivery of my merlot KX-S in December, but haven't seen it for some months.

See attached photos unfortunately these were not the worst situations and I was to busy getting through stuff to take pictures.

Ho did it go on real 4wd tracks, did you get stuck, turn traction off? did it go better with it off or on?

No never had any problems whether it was in mud, sand on water. I just let the tyres down about 10PSI on the serious sandy bits. The mud was not deep mire it was just fire tracks that had a fair amount of mud/water on them.

I just got back from a 4 month trip around Australia (21,000K) with the Kluger pulling a 1800Kg caravan. The Kluger was brilliant both in towing and going off-road. We left the van and did a few day trips into Cape Leveque, Bungle Bungles and a lot of unmade tracks around Tom Price. We also visited most of the national parks on our trip and toured through them extensively. Unmade tracks usually most pretty good but a few shockers!

Cape Leveque was 120K of very sandy roads with deep ruts. Bungle Bungles was very rough stony terrain with 6 water crossings on the way in and the same number on the way out. The water was knee deep. The Kluger took it all into its stride and never missed a beat. The dusts sealing was excellent in the cabin although a lot of dust get trapped in the seal cavities of the rear hatch.

The best petrol consumption per tank was 14.5 L/100K with a slight tail wind, the worst was 21.6L/100K fighting a directly opposing gale from Port Hedland to Broome.

Nothing broke or fell off the Kluger on the whole trip.

Tyre wear was good, the car has done 45,000K now and the tyres are wearing fairly evenly and have probably 15000K left on them. Considering 28,000K were done pulling the caravan, I am reasonable happy with wear.

No I am from Melbourne.

I just got back from a 4 month trip around Australia (21,000K) with the Kluger pulling a 1800Kg caravan. The Kluger was brilliant both in towing and going off-road. We left the van and did a few day trips into Cape Leveque, Bungle Bungles and a lot of unmade tracks around Tom Price. We also visited most of the national parks on our trip and toured through them extensively. Unmade tracks usually most pretty good but a few shockers!

Cape Leveque was 120K of very sandy roads with deep ruts. Bungle Bungles was very rough stony terrain with 6 water crossings on the way in and the same number on the way out. The water was knee deep. The Kluger took it all into its stride and never missed a beat. The dusts sealing was excellent in the cabin although a lot of dust get trapped in the seal cavities of the rear hatch.

The best petrol consumption per tank was 14.5 L/100K with a slight tail wind, the worst was 21.6L/100K fighting a directly opposing gale from Port Hedland to Broome.

Nothing broke or fell off the Kluger on the whole trip.

Tyre wear was good, the car has done 45,000K now and the tyres are wearing fairly evenly and have probably 15000K left on them. Considering 28,000K were done pulling the caravan, I am reasonable happy with wear.