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If they're that picky, I'm amazed that they don't insist on OE standard when replacing tyres and not allow cheap or second hand tyres to be fitted.

Thanks for the info, bought this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/371315703554 Works perfectly in Finnish 2009 Auris, 2.0 diesel. I only had to drill the hole for the switch and plug it in.

Ok, first off I must apollogise for my memory failing me :o It is not a bolt that is the cause of the rust streak, it appears to be the captive nut within the hatch handle/button release. A few simple steps to get to it.... First remove the interior trim panel from inside the hatch, it just pulls off, here is the back view to give an idea as to where the trim clips are. Undo the electrical connector to the lock mechanism, and remove the the three bolts securing it in place. With the lock removed you can see the back of the handle/button release. Undo the electrical connector and remove the bolt (no need to undo the screw at this point) This is the handle/button release. Now you can undo the screw. This is the bare handle, the bottom hole is the captive nut that seems to cause the streak. Last time I had this apart I copper-greased the nut and bolt and have not had the streak appear as much. There is no gasket or seal fitted between the handle/button release and bodywork, which did surprise me . Hope this is of use to someone.

It didn't take more than a few goes to work out how it worked and I like how it works. If you want on/off that is present in the transmission "Park" button, but I would hate for that to be my only option. Each to their own I guess. Exactly that. The better name for the Prius foot brake is a parking brake. Effectively leave it well alone unless parking. The Prius has a hill start/hold function for steep hills meaning there is no need for the traditional hand brake for hill starts. It sounds like the car the OP test drove was not right. There is no gradual hold on my parking brake. Press it to the floor and it holds hard. Even if I never used it, the automatic Park function would hold it on the steepest of hills. I guess it's a marmite thing. I used the foot brakes on Mercs before but hated that silly lever to release. The Prius foot brake is great in that it opens up other options for the gap between the two front seats. No more catching your coat on the handbrake lever when getting out the car and no expensive bills when an electronic handbrake eventually fails.

Ensure the contacts are saved on the phones memory and not the sim as the system cannot access the sim, otherwise the transfer should be automatic: On an Iphone straight after pairing On Android wait after pairing as there will be two prompts that need action on the phone select "Allow" and tick "don't ask again" for both prompts.

Are you kidding? The foot operated parking brake is one of the best features! It gives something for the left foot to do and leaves both hands free to drive with. I guess some people do not like change.

Plenty I agree with in this long running thread. Having owned a Carina e 1.8 and now an Avensis 1.8 GS both 7AFE lean burn I think there is little to pick one over the other. There are odd details that spring to mind. The feel of the gear change in my Carina felt better to me than my Avensis does. In the Carina e the gear selection was more positive but a bit heavier to engage gears, the gear change in my Avensis baulks and feels more fragile. I will probably think of the odd other detail so may well add to this later.

I will say this and so far I've found it to be true. Or at least since 2012 when I got my first Avensis and became aware of them for the first time (well, i knew they existed but like the Carina E itself I never gave one a 2nd look). In fact, I was saying the very same thing to my old man this morning when i ran into him n he was telling me about his brake binding on the Rav4.When do you, and I can say this with confidence for the last 3 years but when do. you ever see an Avensis in the scrapyard. You don't have to look hard to find a Mondeo or Passat, nor much harder to come across a 406 or Primera for that matter. Ok there were no doubt a significant number more Mondeos and Passats on the road to than our T22s but I've yet to see one and I'm often in there looking for something for someones car i'm working on or. simply to see what's on offer lol. Also I should day my first one, the 1.8GS with the 7A-FE motor was 12 years old at the time I bought it, the same as my present vvti is now but the big difference is I've just topped 90,000 miles this week where as the GS had well. over 150,000 when i got it, that's 150,000 taxi. miles I should add and it was clear it had been a working car. So perhaps my scepticism of the 7A is based in an engine that wasn't exactly past it, not at all but maybe tiring lol. It handled ok, drove fine, was 100% the entire time I owned her it was just the lack of liveliness or spark in the engine I bemoan.In all honesty, I'm basing my ooinion on a pool of one car. Not exactly good science lol. In fact the car it most reminded me of was the 1.8 zetec mondeo. my mate had a few years back. Good, very competant but a little dull compared to the 2.0 ecotec Cavalier SRi 16v I had which funnily enough reminds me of my vvti in the way the engine preforms. Unfortunately neither Avensis or Mondeo handled with the ability of the Cavalier but then I have to keep. reminded myself this isn't a sports car or a hot hatch, it wasn't designed to be so I shouldn't judge it on those standards. There's a reason you don't see a lot. of modified Avensis and that's because that's simply not the market it's aimed at. Though like. I say that's exactly why I want to modify mine by incremental, subtlr but effective steps. Like Konrad's. mine is straight, solid but with those annoying little dents amd ripples that I can't help but notice yet again same as K,if I haven't time to polish it I won't sash it till I have the time. I think our Avensis stacks up well. against all it's rivals and.is almost peerless when it comes to. reliability and ease of maintenance and running costs. The old early vvti thing has taken on the status of urban myth almost. Everyone has heard of the issue but probably their knowledge came from the guy down the pub more that anywhere else. It's just like the fabled porous heads that will forever be associated with the Vauxhall redtop engine. It was a batch of Cocast heads that weren't up to scratch being made. from cheaper alloy but if you listen to the 'knowing' petrol heads you'd think it was every second redtop that left the factory.Even then not all cocast heads were bad, like not all vvti's will drink oil for fun. I think konrads right, a. lot of it was the Carina and 7A Avensis with peerless reliability that made the situation seem so stark in comparison. If it had been Ford instead we'd see it as just another amusing quirk from the Blue Oval but cos it wad Toyota it's taken on legendary proportions :)