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Toyota Problems

Are you having problems with your Toyota? Let our team of motoring experts keep you up to date with all of the latest Toyota issues & faults. We have gathered all of the most frequently asked questions and problems relating to the Toyota in one spot to help you decide if it's a smart buy.

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Should I buy a 2012 Toyota Crown? Are they much more expensive to service than a Camry or Corolla?

The Crown is a popular grey (private) import and there are plenty of them getting around in Australia these days. Mechanically, they share a lot of components with other Toyotas and some Lexus models, including the hybrid variants. Technically speaking, because the latter-day Crown was never officially imported here (earlier versions were) a Toyota dealership may or may not wish to take on the maintenance. But you should have no trouble finding a workshop that knows its way around these cars and perhaps even specialises in them.

Mechanical parts should not be too hard to get hold of, but body parts and trim pieces might be another matter as they will be Crown-specific and not shared across other models. As with any car, the price you’ll pay will depend on availability and whether you want brand-new or are prepared to accept second-hand parts.

Can I use RON 95 or ethanol blend fuel in a 2022 Toyota Camry hybrid engine?

Even though your car has a hybrid driveline, the bit that runs on petrol uses the same technology as any other Toyota petrol engine. So E10 is fine according to Toyota, although it also says 10 per cent (hence E10) is the highest percentage of ethanol you should consider using. Likewise, 95 RON petrol presents no problems.

What tow vehicle or hybrid camper should I consider for after retirement?

The last decade of dual-cab four-wheel-drive utes have emerged as the tow-vehicles of choice, and you see them everywhere filling roles exactly like the one you have planned. Popular models include the Ford Ranger you’ve nominated, Toyota HiLux, Mazda BT-50, VW Amarok, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Isuzu D-Max. But there are also cheaper alternatives including makes like the South-Korean made Ssangyong and various Chinese brands like LDV and Great Wall.

Just make sure you know exactly how much you need to tow before making a decision as some of the cheaper models don’t have the same outright towing capacity and even if they do, some of them don’t have the engine performance to make towing as easy as it should be. For parts availability, the Toyota would be king in really remote areas, but any of the major brands are pretty well covered in Australia.

Meantime, don’t rule out ute-based wagons such as the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuna. These offer better ride comfort when unladen thanks to more sophisticated rear suspensions and most have as much or almost as much towing capacity as their ute brethren.

My 2012 Toyota RAV4 rumbles at 60km/h

A noise or vibration that is engine speed dependent is usually associated with the driveline, while a similar problem that occurs at a particular road speed is more often a problem with a wheel or suspension component. The main exception to that is the differential which is part of the driveline but determines the vehicle’s speed, so can contribute a speed-dependent noise or vibration, too.

Beyond that, you could be looking at a fault with a wheel bearing, a deformed tyre, bent rim, worn suspension bush, bent axle or suspension arm or pretty much anything else. A rolling-road dynamometer (kind of like a treadmill for cars) might be one way of achieving the problem speed while a mechanic looks and listens on.

My 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser is slow to start

The petrol V6 engine in an FJ Cruiser is a fairly conventional piece of equipment and shouldn’t represent too much of a problem for a mechanic with decent experience. Poor starting can be caused by any number of things but will usually come down to a fault with either the ignition or fuel system.

An engine that takes two attempts to start can often be suffering from poor fuel pressure, so a check of the pump and filters would be a good place to start. But a slack ignition system can also cause the same symptoms. If the problem is a relatively new one, it’s possible that you might have unwittingly bought a tankful of old or contaminated fuel. Start with the basics, including a mechanic that knows their way around this engine.

My 2013 Toyota Corolla won't go over 40km/h

If the car won’t accelerate beyond 40km/h, it could be because it has gone into limp-home mode in order to protect itself from further damage. If so, that’s possibly because there’s a major problem somewhere in the driveline. But the chainsaw noise is pretty worrying, too, and suggests that something is rubbing on something else that shouldn’t be.

The best advice is to not drive the car any farther until it’s been checked by a mechanic. Continuing to drive it risks doing more damage to whatever is already wrong with it.

My 2018 Toyota Corolla has a broken camshaft despite being well serviced

The Corolla of this vintage has a fine reputation as a vehicle unlikely to fail in such a spectacular way. Assuming, as you say, the servicing has been by the book and the car has not been abused, used to tow massive loads, or operated as a rally car, then the suspicion is that the crankshaft of this particular example may have contained a casting or material fault from day one. This wouldn’t be visible to the people who assembled the engine, but could lead to such a failure after a period of time.

I’d be inclined to talk to Toyota Australia’s customer service department to see if there’s any financial or mechanical help on offer to repair your vehicle. Even though your vehicle is out of warranty, you might find Toyota will be as horrified as you at such a major failure at such low kilometres and will do something about it. Assuming that a manufacturing flaw is, indeed, the cause of the failure.

If you don’t get anywhere but wish to pursue it, an independent examination by an appropriate engineer might be able to pin-point the cause of the failure, at which point you might have another bargaining chip. Certainly a broken crankshaft at 62,000km is neither normal nor acceptable.

My 1998 Toyota LandCruiser is stalling when shifting into gear

Torque converters have been known to seize and, if that’s the case, it could stall the engine because there’s no slip to allow the engine to idle while the car is stationary. You need to have this checked by a transmission specialist who may have seen this very thing before. Either way, the vehicle won’t be going anywhere under its own power.

Even if the gearbox itself had frozen solid, the torque converter should still allow enough slip to let the engine idle. So that’s definitely where to start the investigation.

The gears in my 2023 Toyota Kluger are not changing smoothly

The absolute best advice here is to not drive the vehicle any farther and take it straight to the Toyota dealership from which you bought it. This could be anything from a minor to a major problem, but any brand-new car that is not shifting gears smoothly and silently is a cause for concern.

The mechanics might try to convince you that this is something all Klugers do, but don’t be afraid to question that. In fact, since it’s a dealership, get them to take you for a ride in another Kluger of the same specification to see if it makes the same noises. If you’re still not happy and not getting anywhere at dealer level, try Toyota Australia’s customer service department.

The eight-speed automatic in the Kluger is a well known quantity and doesn’t seem to have any inherent weaknesses. Which means anything odd like a vibration or noise needs to be checked out before any further damage is done.

How can I find a door handle for a Toyota Avalon Conquest?

Even though the Toyota Avalon wasn’t particularly big seller, there were still plenty of them made, so second-hand parts shouldn’t be a problem. The best bet is probably to take the broken handle to a parts recycler (we used to call them wrecking yards) and find an Avalon that is being broken up and recycled. That way, you’ll have a pretty good chance of finding a replacement handle that actually fits as well as one in the correct colour to match the rest of your car’s interior.

There are specialist Toyota wreckers (sorry, recyclers) in Perth and surrounds, but even generic wrecking yards are likely to have the odd Avalon lying around ready to donate its door handle. Toyota was also very good at sharing parts between models. So while you’re scratching around the wrecking yard, check to see if the inside door handle from, say, a Toyota Camry or Aurion or similar is interchangeable with your broken one.

Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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