Toyota Kluger Problems

It all depends on how you define long and bulky. But no seven-seater is going to be exactly small, is it? That’s because, to accommodate the third row of seats necessary to seat seven a vehicle physically has to be a certain length and there’s just no getting around that.

But I take your point; a lot of the seven-seat SUVs out there do seem pretty big. Again, however, that’s not a bad thing if you plan to fill all three rows of seats and still have some room left for luggage. The smaller seven-seaters aren’t all that good at this as the third row gobbles up the luggage space, making these cars best for those who only need seven seats on an occasional basis. If that’s your situation there are lots of mid-sized seven seaters around, but they’re pretty much all SUVs.

And while it goes against your preference for a smaller vehicle, the very best seven-seaters aren’t SUVs. They’re usually people-mover vans such as the Ford Tourneo, Kia Carnival and VW ID. Buzz. In fact, some of these even seat eight. They’re also a lot better for accessing the rearmost row of seats and they’ll still have lots of luggage space even with all seats occupied. And, yes, they look big, but that’s physics for you.

In the meantime, you could look at slightly less bulky options including the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-80 and Toyota Kluger. There’s also been speculation recently that Subaru’s seven-seat Tribeca might make a return to the Australian market.

Toyota and other car-makers had a terrible patch of quality problems with paint finishes around this time. White cars seemed to be the worst, but some other colours also started peeling for no apparent reason. When it happens, the paint can come adrift in huge sheets.

I believe the problem was eventually traced to a problem in the chemistry of the paint applied at the factory, so it would be worth checking with Toyota to see if your car was one of the affected one.

If an automatic car-wash has caused this damage, then the operator of the car-wash is the body you need to be talking to. If you’re not happy with the response form Toyota or anybody else, you can have the car independently inspected to determine whether your car has bad paint or has been somehow damaged.

On the surface of it, you have multiple problems across multiple systems and components. But the root problem could be as simple as a poor earth or other electrical connection.

Modern, computer-controlled cars absolutely do not like an incorrect voltage across their electrical systems, so the problem could also be something like a battery in poor health which is forcing the alternator to work too hard and for other systems to go haywire due to incorrect voltage.

A close check of the car’s entire electrical system is probably a good place to start.

Believe it or not, 17 litres is on the high side of things, but not out of the question in a Kluger that is driven exclusively in stop-start urban traffic. I know the official fuel consumption figure for the car is 11L/100km, but there are a few things to keep in mind with that. The first is that this is a combined urban/highway figure, so it will always be lower than the urban number. Also, this figure is achieved on a test that actually bears very little relationship with driving in the real world.

You need to keep in mind that this is a relatively large petrol engine, hauling a hefty (1900kg-plus) car around. If your Kluger is the all-wheel-drive version, there’s also a fair bit of driveline friction to overcome. Even when cruising down a highway, this will never be a frugal vehicle as the aerodynamics mean it’s moving an awful lot of air at 100km/h. Don’t forget, either, that driving style has a huge effect on how much fuel you use.

If you’re concerned, have the car tuned and serviced. Fresh spark plugs and clean filters might make a difference to your fuel use.

It’s a tough one isn’t it? But in the first instance, the filter replacement could simply have been overlooked on the job card when the mechanic was allotted to your vehicle. That said, I certainly hope you took the vehicle back and pointed out that you’d been charged for something you didn’t get. From the dealer’s reaction at the point, you might get a reasonable idea of how seriously this was taken at management level.

As for proof of oil changes, there’s a couple of things you can do. You can ask to see the old oil before it’s poured into the recycling drum, or you could even ask for a photo to be taken of the differentials and transfer-cases with their drain plugs removed to prove that the old oil was at least removed.

In the past, some car owners have even resorted to placing secret marks on various fasteners to make sure they’ve been undone by the mechanic. The trouble with that starts when the mechanic spots the mark they weren’t supposed to see. That’s when the customer-mechanic war really escalates.

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.

The 2022 Kluger does have Android Auto (and Apple CarPlay) but there’s a catch. While the Kluger’s Apple CarPlay will pair with a phone via Bluetooth, the Android Auto system needs the phone to be tethered to the car via USB cable. Try it again with a cable and you should have success. But it’s far from being as convenient as a Bluetooth set-up.