DJKOR

Hopefully you chose one with the ability to be removed with a special tool. Otherwise, if you got a one way screw (ie. one with a head that sheers off)... they are built not to be removed. That said, I have some nifty tools that can attack some of them.

160,000km at the maximum. Every 100,000km would be ideal and safe, but it comes down to how much time/patience... or money you have.

Even with maintenance like that, I'm sure I could chew em up faster I think I'm a special case.

That's what I'm thinking. It seems to be coming from the upper part of the block. It's similar to the sound of that intake control valve closing, but more metallic. It just has me stumped. Maybe it really is the VVT-i mechanism. When you see a video animation of it working, you can kind of picture how it can generate a knock/rattle sound if it doesn't have appropriate oil pressure in it. The mechanism is like this for those that don't know: Please wait a few seconds for Video to Load!Having a quick look at the service manual, maybe it ties in with the so called 'lock pin':

I'm not that experienced with turbocharging, but from everything I have learnt about it, your ideas seems to be the go.

I personally change all tires at once. But this works out better for me because I rotate my tires properly so that they wear evenly. I just prefer the feeling of having all 4 tires travel the exact same distances together. When it comes to reviews of tires (or anything for that matter), I usually take them with a grain of salt. The best reviews I find are through friends. Considering tires, there are quite a few recommendations made here on the forum. I would consider reading personal reviews like this over something published in a magazine like Choice. It's all personal opinions in the end and which way you can be swayed. Everyone has different needs and budgets, and this will affect their own choices. As you can see, there are quite a few recommendations: Need New Tyres And if you think of a tire you might like, try searching the name of it in the following forum. You may find some personal reviews of it: Wheels & Tyres

My oh so perfect Aurion has now developed this cold start up rattle. Previously I would only experience it like once every few months, but now nearly every third time I start the engine when cold, I get a rattle. Best way to describe it is like a marble in a corrugated tin can. I'm going to have my 75,000km service tomorrow and I really hope it's just something like David said above:

Take it easy to moderate on them for the next 1000km or so, then take your Rolla out for a spirited drive and you'll see how good your choice was.

As Hiro suggested, this diagram shows the critical information as to whether or not your chip can be repaired: If it can be repaired, it's critical to get it done as soon as you can. I once got a stone chip on morning that looked pretty harmless. Went to work and left it for the day. Got back in the car, still the same size. On the drive home, hit a pothole and noticed a crack develop from the chip. Over the 10km drive home, it started to get bigger and bigger. By the time I drove the car out the next day, the crack was about 20cm long in a 'U' shape.

Good stuff. Starting to bring back memories of BONDIE

Try something like this: Instead of slowing to 30km/h though, I usually slow down to about 15km/h then accelerate back up to speed as quick as I can, then repeat. That's just me though. Seems to work for me.

The way the back seat is held down is quite shocking. In most cars you have a tab you can pull on to release it, but unfortunately on the Aurion/Camry it is just a matter of pulling the seat up with some force. There are two 'clips' that hold the seat down and it is best to squeeze your hand as close to the clip as possible and pull up. If you have larger hands, you can use a long screwdriver to lever it up. It's kind of hard to explain; but if you use a torch and look under the front end of the seat while trying to raise it, you will see what I mean. Once that is out, you can remove the back rest portion of the seat by removing two bolts that are located near the bottom of the seat belts. In addition, there are step-by-step instructions in the appropriate service manual: http://www.camrystuff.com/manuals/Gen6/2GR-FE/Seat.pdf (page 47) Just remember, it takes a bit of force. DO NOT stand outside the car, lean in, and use both hands to pull up on the seat. Many times I have done this and the seat takes that much force to unhook that all the upward momentum is enough to get my back to hit the arch of the door. Is not friendly. Either use one hand to hold onto something else or do it from inside the car.

That is correct. The Intelligent Tester will give you an exact reading of the temperature of the ATF which is critical to getting the level just right. Toyota specifies that it needs to be between 40 to 45 degrees Celsius to obtain a proper fill level. However, they have made a way you can do it without the Intelligent Tester. In post number 28 towards the top of this page, you can see the steps required.

The calculator can make things a little confusing. It gets me as well. When it says it shows 2% fast, it means that if the speedo says you are doing 100km/h, you are actually doing 98km/h. Your OP kind of has two opposite scenarios. The first is where you mention that when you believe you are on the speed limit, other people are on your tail. This would be a case of your speedo being fast... which would be correct given your new tire size. From factory, the Toyota speedo usually has an error like this, then when you change your tires as above, you make this error even larger. But that said, in your OP you also mentioned you got a speeding ticket despite being careful. This would lead me to think your speedo is actually showing a speed slower than what you are actually doing... which goes completely against what has been calculated as I mentioned above. As I said, it's a little confusing but hopefully you can get it. So if your speedo is out as per the second paragraph above, then this would be correct and mainly comes down to your new tire/wheel combo.

With a 235/45R19 tire, your speedo will read approximately 2.175% faster than what it was reading on the stock 215/55R17's. Strange considering from the sounds of things, your speedo is inaccurate in the opposite direction. You can use the calculator here to obtain those figures: 1010 Tires - Tire Size Calculator

What size are your tires? Remember that a factory Toyota speedo is going to be out a little to start with and then changing your wheels/tires is going to affect this positively or negatively. Every car will be out by a different amount. At least with your tire size, we can calculate which way it is swaying now. If you have a GPS, this will be useful for obtaining your close to actual speed so you can then determine what is actual speed versus what is shown on the dash. Toyota themselves won't recalibrate it. The best they will do is replace it if they can be shown that it is more than their 'allowable' 10% error. Otherwise, if you are game, you can build this kit up and install it: SPEEDO CORRECTOR MKII KIT I just don't use my speedo

The funny thing is, when I saw it, the first thing I saw was XR8 TED. I think it's just cause I'm used to hearing XR8 etc. Then I said it out loud and was like 'ohhh' <slaps forehead>. I think it was intentional judging from the fact that this V8 sounded like it had some work done to it. Was cruising next to him just to hear the rumble.

My next bit of advice is usually to go on a hard mountain run or something like that to get them to really settle in. I've never really come across an issue just as you describe it. Trying an aftermarket pad does seem like something I would do as well, but then that involves more cost.

Give it another few days to a week of driving. Let everything settle/bed in first. Some brakes can be like that. As long as it's not a loud squeal or grinding sound, you should be alright. Alternatively, you can bed them in like you would with any new pads. That will speed things up.

I haven't really had any issues with whatever Toyota has as their OEM WS ATF. It is doing a good job for me and the car still holds up to the driving I give it. It's not really something that I desperately need to change brands on. That said though, the Amsoil ATL is looking promising... who in Australia would actually stock it?

I would disagree with that statement. A 2.25 inch system on a 1.8 litre 1ZZ is more than enough.

Because I will be going to QR this weekend, I would like to get my transmission fluid replaced afterwards since my car has been though quite a lot as it is. When I booked in for my 75,000km service today, I asked how much it would cost to change the ATF. I was quoted $190. Personally, I'm starting to really consider changing it myself. They WS ATF comes in 4 litre tins at about $56 each from their spare parts counter. The procedure is just a little crazy, but it hopefully shouldn't be too bad.

Bit of a revival, but it's the Club Lounge, so meh. It may be on a Ford ute, but I must say, I did LOL in a good way:

Window tint has a little flexibility in it, but it doesn't stretch like the film for tail light tinting does.

Yeah, it really really sucks. I got a puncture in the sidewall of my ~1000km old RE001 the other month. That was a $280 waste of a tire.