11/16Aurion 12Kluger

I had a 10 y/o v6 camry with the original factory battery in it and it was still good when i sold it. Some cars are lucky for the battery to last 2 years!!

Re price... do your research and find your "happy" price or in your case with a trade in "happy changeover" price. Know what spec, colour & accessories you want in your deal. Shopping for a deal is best done at anytime and MOST importantly, only when you are ready to buy right now. Dont take in printouts of other deals or try to force them by saying I can get it cheaper down the road.. i'm going, etc, etc.. :-( That is what a kid would do ... sorry. Dealers get dozens of people in their showroom every day and every one is in a different state of decisiveness or preparedness. Most don't even have a clue what they really want and no idea of the real price of the vehicle they will have forced onto them. Sometimes they pay $10,000 more than they have to but are so oblivious they have no idea they have been ripped off to the hilt. I knew my "happy changeover price" before I went to strike a deal. They knew I was not a tyre kicker or a time waster and hit me with their best deal straight off which was much better than my happy changeover. Being the hard nose dealer I am I added a towbar, nudge bar, l&r weathershields, full tank and mats to their offer. I expected it to be laughed at but after a short while they returned and we shook on the deal. You cannot go in and say my friend got one at this price so i want one with the same deal. They do not have to honor anyones previous deal, at all, ever. There is no law for car dealers to have to do that. They only have to see what they can do to meet your offer when you disclose it to them when you are ready to buy. Probing for deals and tyre kicking only wastes their time and yours. As for the best time... it is any day of the year. You can get a special deal for many different reasons. Do your homework and good luck. BTW... don't get talked into a deal or car you don't want. They may try.

I'm surprised that you found that the cost of rebonding was less than new. I would get a price elsewhere.

Depends on what you want your new car to do and have in it Stephen. I've had my new Kluger 2wd for almost a year now and still can't stop wanting to drive it... a magnificent motor vehicle for me. Figure out what you would like then take a look around the dealerships at what is on offer. There are some pretty good suvs out there at the moment (some not so good also so be warned). Boot space??.... Go have a look at one, it is free. While there lift up the rear compartment cover and discover just how much storage space there really is in there.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome Dennis. A good lesson for anyone buying a used car... take no notice of the log books!! Someone who knows the game can pick a car that has not been serviced correctly quick smart. It is a wonder that the dealer did not realise this was the case when they acquired it??? Or maybe they did... which makes it even worse. As for the term "Toyota sludge" ??? Sludge or build up can happen in any motor that does not have regular oil & filter changes. Modern motors perform and last longer than those of long ago but they are very dependant on a couple of little things... oil & filter changes and more importantly cooling system servicing.

I thought they operated purely by light, or the lack of light, received at the sensor?? Having it operate by a time based mechanism would be out of sync most of the time when you consider seasons and daylight saving changes. Has the OP checked the sensor and it's connections?? Do the reset as mentioned above and see if that helps. Do you have a dash mat covering the sensor??

My 2012 KXR with basic audio plays music via bluetooth automatically. (Android phone though.) Just have to select bluetooth and it finds the music folder and starts to play. I would imagine the S version and higher would do the same.

I saw somewhere that someone called theirs Jumbo..... because of how the big mirrors stood out (look like ears). No name for mine yet as I might call it out in moments of passion... luv it!!! :D :D :P :P B)

Odd as that is where I got the guide to set mine up (got 4 in there now). The guide starts at page 32 in the radio manual.

""My local Toyota dealership cannot suggest what it might be""", any help is appreciated! Why am I not surprised?? Keep an eye on your oil & coolant level and also any signs of rough idling or overheating... they are some of the common signs of head gasket problems. I think you most likely have common condensation issues. More likely if the vehicle is parked outside. Check your PCV valve... clean it out or replace it if it is not sealing or operating correctly. They can let small amounts of oil through if faulty and give the symptom you are reporting. A little movie of it on cold startup would be a big help. Just had a look through some of the posts in the Aurion forum as it is the same motor but no mention that i could see. Take a look at the US toyota owners club also... its known as a highlander over there and is a great source for tips & tricks.

Steve if your local Toyota dealer is friendly enough he might give you a pair of covers as they would have plenty from cars that they have fitted bars to. They left my covers in the glove box of my new car.

Sounds like you have made a good deal there Oms. Now to get the Kluger smile :-) Check out after market sensors if you really need them. There are good ones out there and for heaps less than the ones carrying the Toyota brand. Jonathan... I did a trip up to Brisbane & return just recently in my Kluger... fuel economy was brilliant as was the comfort of driving long distance in the Kluger. The only problem you will have is you will want to keep driving... :-)

Agree David... they are out to shaft you when you are buying the car and at every service after that. They rant on with a whole lot of crap when you take delivery.... I never thought my salesman was going to shut up... showing you how to open the door and how to start it.... omg, yawwnnn. I wanted to know what oil they use when they service it... both brand and viscosity... but I never bothered because it would have been one of 2 answers... either I dont know or if otherwise it would have been bulls**t.... :-( It is sad these ****ers are this way ... as I said b4, bring on new car purchasing without the saleman crap :-)

40psi here too. Tried 36 & 38 but not quite as good all round. 40 was recommended by the dealer also.

With the Grande @ $70,000 + just add up what you get for your extra $35,000 over the base model. I could not see the $35k in it personally but we all have different wants and likes. One thing I did not like was the lower profile tyres which would be more prone to damage.

To get the best price on a new car show up in person. Very rarely will any dealer enter into a game of phone calls and emails as they are just wasting their time with tyre kickers most of the time. Usually they will only do that special deal when you are ready to commit there and then. Even face to face they can be total drop kicks... I already had a good quote and popped into another dealer just out of curiosity. They were so focused on being the "deal fast closer" that they totally screwed up on the exact model Kluger I wanted. ie: a KX-R. They quoted on a KX-S price even though they had KX-R written on their quote form. When I said their price was $10,000 more than what I already had they said the others must have made a mistake. LOLLLL Guess who made the stuff up and I was not going to tell them. Car salesmen are just people who cannot get a real job. Remember that and you will understand why they are the way they are. One day we will be able to buy new cars without going anywhere near a dealership or their insulting incompetent car salemen.. Bring it onnnnnn !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to agree with Rice Racing here. If you want your car serviced with "care" and with parts of a known quality then do it yourself, if you have the capability of doing so. I have owned many new cars during my 60+ years and the number of times services were not done correctly greatly outnumber the few that were. Add to that damage to the car whist being serviced by the caring individuals ranging from oil stained seats & mats, steering wheel, door handles through to body scratches and dents. If you are extra lucky your car will get to be driven for a 60k plus "test drive" by the extra caring service personnel as well. If you dare to complain about any of this you will first be accused of being a liar and then will be hit with a myriad of other well rehe****d explanations that they use to cover such circumstances in the past. A person friend is a service manager at a dealership, not Toyota, and he openly laughs at the game they play with their victims. You may get your moneys worth with your dealership service but the odds are against you. Read up and do it yourself, not just for the savings. I have a new Kluger... I must take it to Toyota to have it serviced by a young apprentice who could not give a frig and who knows what oil they will use??... most likely the 20-50 that they can get at bagain rates?? I have to do this so my cars warranty will still cover items protected by that "careless" servicing. What a bloody joke and a rip off. Are you aware that in the USA Toyota owners can service their own cars without having any affect on their warranty??? Why do Toyota Australia not trust their customers in the same way?? RIP - OFF

Re ignited a 2 year old thread???

From what you posted on another forum I think the place to start would be to work out which car you want first... I think you had 3 or 4 makes in mind? From there work on the deal of the chosen car. Good luck... let us know how you get on. One final tip... get some real costs on servicings for the car you decide on ... some are very expensive.

Toyota was offering fixed price servicing recently and I think it was up to 60k @ $170 per service for Kluger? My dealer is doing it for $150 for oldies (seniors card lol).

If you are unsure how to do it without damaging the car then ask the dealer to remove it. A lot of people do not like having dealer stickers on their cars and you will not be the first to ask to have them removed. They should ask before they put stickers all over the car you have paid for... it is outright rude, but that is car dealers for you.

Following the instructions from the manual with the radio?? I wasn't :-( lol.

What are you basing your "ha ha ha" on?? School yard gossip? The car in question was a 2000 V6 Camry and talking to several people in the motor trade it is N O T unusual at all with Toyotas and also some other Jap/Korean makes to still have good battery life after that amount of time. Holdens, Fords and the like are more demanding on batteries for whatever reason. I can attest to this as I have been driving and fiddling with cars of many makes for almost 50 years and have had to replace batteries on many occasions, some after 2 years. I would say without a doubt that by the way you express yourself you are not so experienced. It is not so much the amount of gadgets fitted to a car but the design and engineering quality that goes into it that can result in prolonged battery life. Quality batteries and alternators do make a difference also and this is where some manufacturers penny pinch. For example a car that is always parked outside in all weather will have a shorter battery life than one that is garaged... and many other things affect battery life as well. If the acid level in a "modern" battery is disipating under normal use indicates a fault unless there has been abnormal use such as lights left on, high powered amplifiers and spotlights. An electrical stystem that is maintained in a modern vehicle will rarely use acid. They are not like windscreen washer bottles.

They are a lovely car and a pleasure to drive hope you have lots of happy k's in it. Sooo close to the price of a brand new one... but oh well... btw... Towed a 15' caravan 160k with mine recently and had to constantly keep remembering that I was towing a caravan, never knew it was there most of the time.