57fritz

I wonder if that is true? I was thinking of getting some, I also think that the high beam is not that great, but perhaps that is because of the height of the lights and less reflection off things on the side of the road? Did you get yours from toyota or aftermarket? The Kluger has decent standard lights for low & highbeam. If you think they are bad, drive an X-trail. As suggested, invest in some blue light globes. Headlight protectors need to be regularly cleaned & even when clean, yes they will decrease the amount of light emitted.

Bridgestone have shut down their Australian factory (in South Australia) late last year and also their production facility in New Zealand. Australia is in the wonderful position of not having a major tyre factory in the country. Grandtreks are mainly designed for on-road use. A sensible option from Toyota would be to allow the customer to specify what tyre they want, either country (A/T) or city, as Ford do with the Territory. I have used both Bridgestone & Goodyear A/T through work, either come highly recommended.

the vibration is normal, it would have been present in the car you test drove. Normal? On which scale of normal. I'd suggest if it had been present, it would have been discussed. I've test driven a few cars over the years and walked away from deals because they didn't feel right. from my understanding... the Small vibration you are noticing is the torque converter under load while you are on the brake/ebrake. just about every automatic vehicle does this to some degree.Makes sense but the impression is that it isn't normal. The posters need to supply a little more detailed info. these cars are so over tested its not funny. During development sure, it would be not every car that comes off the assembly line. Occasionally, things get missed or ignored. if toyota deemed the small vibration in your 50k POS to be un satisfactory they would have rectified it. You have got to be kidding, are you a Toyota employee planted in this forum? Read some of the other threads about problems and lack of satisfactory resolution, usually at the dealer level. I know some people can be difficult to please but consider this, a motor vehicle is usually the 2nd most expensive thing the average person buys, the 1st is the family home. I don't care what some corporate person thinks, $40000+ is a lot of money and you want to be satisfied with your purchase. i sense buyers remorse. if you are that unhappy, yes, sell the car. buy your korean cheapy, and be done with it. Nothing like a constructive discussion This is normal? <_< I think some of you need to get a grip. I had no such issue with my car, I had a couple of other issues but not this vibration. It could be that the pre-delivery was not done properly, if at all. They charge a fortune for it so make sure it done properly. Go back to the dealer and complain. If not satisfied, go and see your State's Dept of Fair Trading. Toyota had a reputation for excellence, over the last few years its not as good as it has been but is still better than most.

Same thing happened to me but I changed oil type as well, and put it down to that. Just put new tyres on my KXR and it went from 10.3 to 11.3. Not quite sure why, maybe the oil-pipe? :P

This is why I love this forum, we share our experiences good / bad / indifferent and we all benefit from them. I have not yet booked in my car as it will be due for a 50K service. However, after my last experience where the dealer stuffed up the wheel alignment and then would not wear any responsibility I'll just get the pipe replaced and have my car serviced by a real mechanic. Maintain the rage! B)

Maybe not in Victoria, in NSW they have up to 28 days to issue a ticket!

Just received a notice from Toyota today advising that early model Generation 2 Klugers built (no build date specified) sometimes develop a crack in an engine oil supply pipe on the left hand cylinder bank. It causes oil pressure drop and reading between the lines, a possible engine failure. The fix is free of charge. My car is 2007 build so if your own is of a similar age, be prepared for a letter. At least they are being proactive unlike other manufacturers. B)

Toyota will reluctantly admit that the Stereo bluetooth for reasons unknown is not compatable with certain model phones. This topic has been extensively covered already, you just need to find the thread in the forum. I've had my stereo replaced with no chance in result. For some reason, most Dopod (HTC), Sony Erricson phones work fine but Nokia is hit & miss, as is Blackberry & ZTE (Telstra) I've just bought a new Nokia 5730, so far okay but unsure about the tunnel effect on voice level.

While the 22" gives lots of 'bling', you comprimise comfort and you have a lot less rubber between the wheel & road. Unless you are metro only, I don't think its a great idea. You don't advise what your Kluger is ie: KXR with 17" or KXS / Grande with 19". There would be little difference or advantage between 19 & 20" wheeels, apart from appearance. Go through the forum because the one common thing is that Klugers seem to have a bit of a wheel alignment issue which only become apparent after about 25000kms (when the suspensions starts to settle down and loosen up a little), which may be made worse by bigger wheels. Could also compromise a warranty claim on suspension etc. Hasten slowly as the expression goes. Maybe look at the Highlander (American Kluger) forum in the US.

My manual A/C fan switch did some strange things the other day as well, going to full blast by itself on a couple of occasions. It was the 42 degree day in Sydney, whether that affected it I'm not sure. It will get a mention at my next service.

Depends where you live, which we have no idea of. In Sydney metro, you should be able to drive away $39900 or probably better. It pays to shop around a fair bit.

I ordered end of last month, got a phonecall on Tuesday that the shipment has been delayed and maybe I'll get some on the 24/11. <_<

Cheers Fritz, I'm reading through all those threads you mentioned. It's a pity all of the posters don't specify if they have a 4WD/AWD or 2WD/FWD model Kluger under their "Toyota Model". That would make things a bit easier to follow. ("FWD" initially confused me, I naively thought that stood for "Four Wheel Drive". What are the accepted descriptions that are supposed to be used for the 2 variants on the forums?) Good question - if you look under the Avatar (picture) on the left with the user names, often they describe their vehicle in their. FWD = Front Wheel Drive, AWD = All Wheel Drive (which is what the Kluger is considered) & 4WD = the bush bashing 'real' off-roaders. Most of the thirstier cars mentioned appear to be AWDs in metropolitan areas. Remember that 11 litres per 100km is the overall average including both country & metro so don't be surprised at higher readings from those stuck in peak hour traffic. The type of fuel you use in my experience makes little difference, yes 98 will give you slightly better consumption but at 15cents per litre extra it is not worth it. E10 - jury is still out on that one but it would appear to use slightly more (my experience about 0.5litre per 100km). In NSW next year, we won't have much choice because the State is legislating that all standard unleaded will be the E10.

Mate, there are other threads in this forum that talk about fuel consumption. Driving styles, traffic, etc all combine to impact what you actually get. My driving is outer urban, metro main roads, freeways, highways & my overall average for 45000km has been 10.4. I would suggest an AWD would be a little thirstier because of the extra weight & running gear. The split is 50:50, if you can afford it (it was $5000 extra when I bought my car hence why I didn't) get it. B)

I bought a new KX-R 2WD 7 seater back in Nov. 07. Its been a great car, great fuel economy and reliable. IF I get another, I would get the KX-S for the leather & other bits. I strongly suggest the following factory options: - rubber floor mat for cargo area; - carpet mats for front & rear (these fit very well and protect the carpet). I do recommend the reverse parking sensors, with switch fitted so that you can turn it off while towing. Even with the camera, I find them very useful. I had the dealer fitted ones and have not had a problem. Headlight protectors - don't know if you can get them after market. Bonnet protector - might stop those annoying stone chips. Nudge bar - personal choice, not necessary, same with driving lights but you probably won't need them in the metro area as the standard highbeam is pretty good. DO NOT buy the weathershields as they are next to useless. The only time they come in handy is if you park it with the window down a centimetre. DO NOT upgrade the stereo to the 6 stacker with bluetooth - GO aftermarket and get one that works. Worst $800 I spent. DO keep a close eye on wheel alignment, especially around the 25000 mark as everything starts to loosen up. I had a bad experience with my Toyota dealer who managed to not fix the issue and scrubbed out a pair of tyres but then refused to accept responsibility. The Kluger is a ripper car, you won't be disappointed.