Auris 3 Door D4d Log (w/pics)

[beowulf]

Hello all, ordered my Toyota Auris 1.4 D4D 3 door in December and got it in 12 Jan 2008, about a week ago.

Here are a few pics of my turkish japanese in Portugal. Sorry for the possibly lame english and metric units, but I live in Lisbon.

No extras except for the TPA800 parking sensor kit (4 front+4 rear) (512 Euros)

Total cost = 23.490 Euros (Yes, for the 1.4 D4D, taxes in Portugal are nasty)

I currenty have about 500km on it, and here are a few comments:

-The TPA800 parking kit has been assembled incorrectly. The rear sensors work normally but they screwed up connecting the front gear.

The sensors appear to be working ok and are well placed but there is an On/Off button with a LED (near to the VSC button, you can see it in the last photo). They placed the button but it doesn't appear to be connected at all and does nothing! Also, the sensors should only activate below 10 Km/h (parking speeds) but they are always active... that means that if I'm on the highway and a noisy bike passes by me they will beep. They also beep when I use the horn or when there are loud noises. It's fun. Not.

I have to go back to the dealer to complain and have it connected properly. This was the only extra that was assembled here at the dealer and they got it wrong. I have the user manual and installation guide for the TPA800 and the car on it is an Auris, so I'm sure it is fully compatible and works well when properly connected.

What I found positive:

-No interior noises. I've only made 500km so far but tried two demo Auris (one with 9000km and the other with 15.000km) and both were quiet even in lousy roads.

-A bit of break squealing at low speed but not much and it doesn't make it often. Maybe I won't have the brake issue, but only time will tell.

-Comfortable and quiet. Really like the gearshift position.

-Rain/light sensors and the auto rearview mirror are working nicely.

What I dislike:

-A bit too tall. Maybe I'll think about installing some springs.

-No doublelock. I don't know if it can be activated in the ECU.

-No door autolock over a certain speed.

-Interior details aren't consistent. Some are great but others are puzzling for a car that costs this much (no lights in the window controls for instance)

-Radio firmware issues: Controls on the wheel don't allow track fast forward, only track skipping. Also, when in random mode, if you press "Next" or "Previous" on the wheel controls, the radio will play the next track in alphabetical order instead of randomizing again (when using the controls on the dashboard it behaves correctly).

-The manual states than when the headlights are in Auto mode, the Auris will turn them off when you remove the key from the ignition. Mine doesn't do that... it keeps the headlights on while parked, I remove the key and it only turns them off when I open the door. If I just want to stop the car for a bit I have to either open the door or change the control to "Off". The manual is wrong, or the car isn't behaving correctly.

-Shouldn't it have a storage tray under the driver's seat? Mine doesn't have any I can find.

[mbrennan29]

Hi Beowulf,

Nice car!!

Don't know if this is of any help to you or not but i have auto lights on my Auris. They too stay on when i switch off the engine and only go off when i open the door. I have keyless ignition though so dont know if this makes any difference as there is no key to take out.

Mark

[Grippen]

Hi I'm also in Portugal :) and I have a 3 door gray Auris just like you ehehehe

About your questions yes I know the manual says that they should go off if you place the key in the off position but maybe its a bad translation truth is they only go off with the door opened. About the auto lock this feature is not available I contacted customer support from Toyota europe and they clarified me on this. You can either install and alarm that has such feature or install the Toyota Alarm system. I have an alarm from Tecnimaster a bonus from my dealer but this one doesn't have such option because it integrates with the car remote. The other TM has needs a another remote. But as I said if you want install the Toyota alarm and one of the available options is the auto lock by putting the car on or off. Dead locks are also not available in ours I think and they cannot be enabled on the ECU. Any new feature you find that can be done via programming let me know.

Thanks :) and good luck with your car mine has almost 20 000 km oh and the brake noise they fixed mine so if they don't know what to do tell them to contact Toyota service shop in Alfragide because they fixed at first try there.

[konakid]

underseat tray is passenger side only !!! safety reason i was told...

nice pictures, car so clean you can see you and your girlfriend / partner in the reflections !! lol.. car is too high your right !!

[beowulf]

nice pictures, car so clean you can see you and your girlfriend / partner in the reflections !! lol.. car is too high your right !!

Yes it was very clean, the shots were taken after a 30 min drive only after I picked it up. It's a lot dirtier now. :)

So it seems the AUTO headlight issue is normal, in that case the manual is wrong.

I can't think of why you'd want to keep the lights on after putting the ignition in ACC mode or removing the key... puzzling.

I have almost 1000km on it now and it hasn't been squealing much from the breaks so perhaps I'm lucky and won't need the fix. Other than that my only complain so far is how weak the radio LCD backlight is... with sunlight during the day it's not easy to read the text and the small icons.

[beowulf]

Thanks :) and good luck with your car mine has almost 20 000 km oh and the brake noise they fixed mine so if they don't know what to do tell them to contact Toyota service shop in Alfragide because they fixed at first try there.

Thanks, I might try that since I wasn't impressed with the service at the Prior Velho shop. With their electricians at least. My front sensors's button is completely unplugged and doesn't work at all... plus the beeping issue since it's not limited to <10 kmph.

I have to get that fixed under warranty but most shops don't seem to have much experience with the front sensors (TPA 800 kit).