2018 Toyota Avensis Business Edition

Thread starter SB1500
Start date Aug 9, 2023

My second non-FIAT car.

Overview Modifications Updates (9) Gallery Discussion

Introduction

Having sold my last Panda for a DS3, then been without it getting major repairs for over two months, I decided it was time to get it off my hands before I was out of warranty and in bigger trouble with it. I had become accustomed to a large saloon as a courtesy car and struggled to go back to the DS3. I was also thinking solely about reliability at the time so decided to buy a Toyota. Originally I was aiming for an Auris but saw this Avensis at a lower price with most of the features I was seeking. Still no heated seats or auto gearbox though....

It's a nice big, comfortable and well built car as far as I'm concerned. But I later found out this generation uses nasty BMW diesel engines taking away a lot of the 'Toyota' soul of the car. I also found that this model was pretty long in the tooth, prior to being discontinued altogether by Toyota - meaning it's not as up to par with its late competition having been a third revision facelift.

Reactions: ben

Click to expand...

August 2022 - Ambient Lighting Fitted

Aug 9, 2023

Inspired by my time with a CLA 220, for the grand price of around £55, these didn't turn out too badly. Ordered from AliExpress (don't hold your breath on the shipping times). 22 pieces - strips for the dashboard, door cards, spotlights for the door handles, door bins and all four footwells. Wired into the electric window motor live and neutral. Wirelessly coded sub control units that communicate with a main unit behind the glove box. There are no exposed wires at all and I must admit it came out looking very well. Your success will depend on electric windows in the back doors and the size / length / placement of panel gaps for your particular car.

Note, this is not perfect. If I could go back, I'd certainly not bother. The number of strips that have faded or stopped working - and control boxes - is a rail pain in the ass. Although the seller has kindly sent these to me as needed at no cost, it only takes one light malfunctioning for them to look lousy or incomplete. Though you do get used to them and miss them when they're gone at night.

Nothing beats the factory. The Mercedes I had had changing ambient lights based on drive mode. It could respond to the lights being on or off, dimming them at night. It even changed blue or red as your adjusted the heat in the car. This doesn't come close to that experience, but on the surface looks as cool. I'm glad to see that even new, base model Toyota's and other cars are getting ambient lighting as standard. Seems to be a trend that we will all enjoy one day without needing a fancy car or to go through the hassle I did!

Genuine - and nothing less.

Aug 9, 2023

Since I've owned the Avensis, absolutely nothing other than genuine parts have went into it. A cracked indicator lens, a blown bulb, oil filters, air filters, cabin filters - you name it, it came from Toyota. Even the oil is the overpriced, Toyota stamped bottles from the local dealer. What I've found it, Toyota's dealers are on par with all specialist websites and online sites (sometimes online is a few £ cheaper, but inevitable shipping to NI adds enough to make it ultimately cost more).

Interestingly, in the owners manual for the Avensis it states the oil grade for both petrol and diesel. Beside petrol it states 'use Toyota XYZ or any other suitable grade'. Beside diesel it says 'Only to be replaced with genuine Toyota XYX for 1WW / 2WW engines'. Sure enough, Toyota has a diesel oil part for most of its diesels if not all. Only the BMW engines known as the 1WW / 2WW use this 'special' stuff. and I have to wonder if there's some kind of additive in this that keeps the unreliable, chain prone to snapping parts happy. That's why I use it. It's about £90 for 6L including VAT. Double what you can buy any other credible oil brand for, but we'll see how my engine ages compared to others who already have some horror stories about BMW engines barely topping 100k in their Toyotas.

As for accessories, I've bought the genuine rubber mats recently - handy to clean compared to carpet and less likely to harbour bad smells. And then last year the mud flaps which were something like £36 on the Toyota Amazon store. They fit well, though have had a fair few run ins with the road but still in tact!!!

BMW and its love for plastic engine components

Aug 9, 2023

Last year amidst a service I replaced the diesel filter. It's quite out of the way and hard to get to. You need to remove a pipe in order to reach it. No worries... The pipe is designed to compress together to pop off and on again every so often... That's the kind of naive BMW thinking that unfortunately I've been burdened with in a Toyota!!! A wolf in sheep's clothing... if that's valid here.

The plastic doesn't take long to harden and become brittle with the heat. Therefore the necessary force / twice to pop this off each end was all it took to crumble and snap at one end. It's a verified BMW part number part. When I rang the dealer, he knew exactly the pipe I meant before I could describe it to him or quote the part number, saying it's common on these cars.

£41 later I had the new part, and surprise surprise, it's flexible and easy to work with when new. Thankfully the diesel filter doesn't need replaced too often... but I might as well consider this part of the expense.

We made a makeshift part from some spare pipe with the original ends. it probably would have held forever, but my unhealthy obsession with keeping it all genuine cost me to get it back to original / with a fresh part. I always listened to Scotty Kilmer rail on about BMW and their plastic engine parts and now I have personal experience! The joys.

A useless system redeems itself

Aug 9, 2023

The Toyota touch screen probably wasn't an award winner back in 2015 either, but it definitely shows its age now. It's actually - initially, unbearably slow and unresponsive. Having come from the new MBUX system to this was a shock. Even the DS3 had a responsive if not basic system. I'll admit though, the best system ever was the 2017 Panda's little iPhone holder and all the apps with car modes that worked beautifully on it. Future proofing and smart thinking at its finest, as we'd expect from a true Fiat.

This system does its job and that's all. But it has one redeemable quality. It can show you fuel prices and car parking space and the weather. And it's maintained well enough to actually be supported here in rural Northern Ireland. The weather I thought was a little gimmicky on a car, but then I saw it will show you the weather at your destination - which is handy mid drive when you can't pick up your phone but wonder if the other side of the country is as sunny or dull.

The big-big bonus of this is live traffic. It will show live updates on delays as well as how long this will set you back, and I've found it to be actually quite spot-on too. It's helped me work out which way to take into town numerous times.

This cost something like £26 to get for one year. £60 for 3 years. However - and it lets me down again - this year, I found they no longer offered it without a map update meaning £110 for map updates including this for one year. I already updated my map from a questionable eBay seller who was able to give me an activation code... justifying that so soon just isn't worth it until next year. So I no longer benefit from these features until it's time to update the maps.

From using a relatives new Corolla GR Sport, the new system is a step in the right direction but still doesn't touch the new Mercedes system - or the 2011 onwards Panda's ultimate system of using your smartphone.

With a little help from my friends...

Aug 9, 2023

When did you last see a Ford Orion on the road? Here is a 1990 diesel Ford Orion bringing my super-reliable-Japanese-car back to life. Last July when I had Covid and didn't drive for a few days I found my dash cam had drained the battery. The battery hung on until this January when the snow started and twice in a row it let me down. Halfords tested it and gave it a big thumbs up, but the next day it wouldn't start again after a long drive. £250 later I had a new battery, a Varta with as high a spec as I could confirm would work with the car - and the intention that it wouldn't be phased as much by the ambient lights and dashcam which the cars management computer doesn't realise is using its energy (I think).

Made for an interesting photo of the Orion justifying its very long existence. It's before my time, but I can see why it took a while for people to get onboard with diesels in a car...

Avoid Autoglass

Aug 9, 2023

Modern cars... when they work they're the best thing in the world and we feel smug about our expensive shiny toys. When they don't work, at least with me, I reminisce about a much simpler time as a Fiat owner. I had Autoglass fix the windscreen on my Panda a few times - repairs then replacements. And either I didn't know to look, or it was never right, or maybe they just did a better job those times - I had no issue. Last year on the way back from Liverpool a van changed lane and a big stone hit my glass, cracking it right in the view of the road.

It needed fixed as soon as possible as I didn't fancy not being able to drive the car. It got larger and larger over the weeks. I asked AXA to get me a Pilkington and/or Toyota panel. They said that was fine but would take a little bit longer. A week later I called up just for an update and nobody seemed to be aware of that request, nor be able to update me on it. I gave up and agreed to just have it replaced as soon as possible. It was with Autoglass locally. Because of the whole radar / sign detection / city braking function it couldn't be done on the street but at a local centre.

What I got back was some dodgy mass produced waste of sand which was poorly fitted - you could see and feel the top edge of the glass was about a centimetre too high. There was also terrible road noise, and the little lane warning feature would beep and annoy me when I was close to but not on the line. They had screwed up that entire job. Another thing I noticed was that there was a distortion when looking through the windscreen, it was very clear during the day on fast / smooth / consistent roads like motorways.

I complained to Autoglass who offered £20 back and for it to be re-done. Best offer (not that there was much discussion). They then hung up and sent me an email confirming how I had agreed to the resolution, which I did not.

Autoglass policy is if you don't take the part-refund on your excess, they will ignore you from that point on and refer you to the Financial Ombudsman. Now, it wasn't clear to me until this saga, but the Financial Ombudsman can only assist when you have an issue, with a financial organisation. NOT any other kind such as a car repair firm. When you attempt to submit a form on their website, you answer a few questions and one of them clarifies this and forbids you from leaving a request. How can such a big name like Autoglass get away with this? Their policy is nonsensical.

I had to go in-person to Axa where a great representative had taken ownership of the issue much to my surprise. She noted the request for proper glass to be used (Pilkington and or Toyota stamped) and was able to communicate with Autoglass and have them source and re-fit the windscreen properly. The first attempt was in September, it was November before I got it sorted properly.

The second time around, they did a stellar job. That's surely because they knew they were being evaluated this time and should a third attempt be required, someone at Autoglass would wake up and do their job.

Got it back, quality Pilkington glass panel, with the right sound insulation, clear glass with no distortion and a perfect fit for the car. No issues with the radar / cameras / sensors. All aligned perfectly. How it should have been the first time frankly.

I was more grateful for Axa really. Next time I will opt for the other local no-name windscreen repair shop. And I'll go into Axa and ensure I have someone aligned to the case so that they can't conveniently forget parts of the claim. I can confirm they also didn't make up for it in this years insurance price.

Check out the photos.

Ouch...

Aug 9, 2023

Last year around August I hit a concrete post at the car park on my way to work... Had my seat slightly lower than usual and had to lean forward to see right. I turned a split second too soon and the back of the car hit an unrelenting concrete support column. The result was a mess of a rear wheel arch...

I had this repaired out of pocket for £600 locally. I went to a reputable / insurance approved big (at least NI big) name company as opposed to some DIY guy who might not be aware of things like overspray or have the best facilities when repairing something to the standard I'd expect.

In terms of pulling out the damage they did a stellar job. You'd not know to look at it and all the little detailed folds within the door / corner section that they were all smashed in at one point. I had a word with the guy who ran the place upfront just to say in advance that I'd be expecting it to be near perfect and had asked him if that was realistic to expect. He assured me they'd make it perfect.

They had the car for a week. When I picked it up and inspected it with him, I told him the rear door looked a little off point. He said "We didn't have that door off so that couldn't have been us, but I'll get it straightened now for you if you want?" I said "No, no, no, if it's not your fault I wouldn't expect that but thanks".

Not long after I noticed a huge difference in the colour between the rear door and front. This bothered me for months and I lost a bit of pride in the car to be honest. It was night and day from some angles. My car would look - to any car enthusiast or DIY repairer - like it was pulled out of a scrap yard and thrown together. It's not quite at the age where I'm happy to live with that yet! (Not at least until it's paid off).

I took a look at the dashcam footage - it's hard wired into the car and will come on even when the car is off if it's moved. I picked up most of the repair. They did in fact have the rear door off, it was in plain view of the camera!

I noticed a buffer trail in the clear coat at the back and it'd be in my face every week when I washed the car. And having discovered that he'd lied to me about the rear door, I took it down and complained about both. They straightened the door and got rid of the buffer trail. The idiots were bad mouthing me on the camera joking about making me wait an hour for it etc, didn't they realise from me telling them that the camera on the car would record?! They also ranted at how I had 'some nerve' to come down to them with small issues as those.

Then early this year, I decided that it was time to get them to rectify the paint issue. It was really obvious and the car isn't an old banger yet and I had paid a decent sum to them. It would be reasonable that I get the car back - from a car body shop - even better than it went in there. After a back and forth discussion with the owner they agreed to fix it for £100 and sorted the paint issue. They re-sprayed the whole side of the car and took care to blend it correctly. I've had no such issues since.

What I did discover is, every single silver Avensis has the same issue. The doors are mismatched, though you'd need an eagles eye to spot it. I reckon it's from the dual production between the Auris and Avensis but I'll never know if that's true. Every single one on the road is like that. Their repair had made it worse initially, but since they sorted it, it's probably now the only Avensis without the mismatch. Of course, the other side has the factory mismatch but it's tolerable.

He had tried to say "I don't see why we should fix it when you've acknowledged that the cars are made that way". I told him that was between me and Toyota, and that their repair and my problem with that side was between me and them.

Anyways, eventually it was sorted. I'd probably have to go back to them as they're the only other big name in repairs here. Already - unavoidably - burnt my bridges with the other big repair shop here who had destroyed my DS3 so badly that DS paid for two new complete doors, bumper and alloys to put it right.... :') My luck.. or their mistake to do a half assed job?

Toyota's Warranty is good.

Aug 16, 2023

Had an issue this year of a hairline crack on the climate control unit screen lens. It's been getting wider and wider and more have popped up, even on the other side of the unit. Initially the dealer said it looks clearly hit and damaged (which I understood as his first reaction). I raised a case with Toyota directly, explained the issue. They had it booked in properly for an assessment. This time I had prepared a booklet of the unit since last year when I bought the car (I had a whole library of images of the interior and other data on the screen from over the months such as a before and after of cleaning, or taking a photo of fuel prices for a friend) and this meant I had a timeline of the crack worsening and the finish deteriorating. This showed that it was not a one off damage incident caused by me, it had started as a tiny pencil dot spec from the inside. I also looked at all 68 used Avensis models from 2016-2018 on AutoTrader and over half of them had an identical issue. This proved that it was a faulty part and observable across a considerable number of other similar production run cars. Not a one off or a wear and tear issue as some did in fact have perfectly fine units too.

End result, they agreed to replace it - free of charge - next week. £1,189 better off. I have faith that if you can prove your point (and it's just by chance I had the photos) and do the research they can't and won't attempt to argue with it. Very happy with them. Even the attitude of having to look at it twice, having to go back on their initial assessment - no attitude, no 'can't be bothered'-ness, just actual honest decent customer service.

Fiat were just as good with the warranty in 2019 in terms of covering things - though the dealership there very much couldn't be bothered.
DS - eventually - were generous with replacing things but it took about 3 attempts and some of that stuff shouldn't have needed to be replaced so often

Heated Seats - finally!

Sep 1, 2023

For years I’ve dreamt of having a car with heated seats. And then proceeded to buy three of em’ without them. Last weekend I finally put them into the Avensis. £30 well spent. Toyota used plastic V clips instead of tedious hog rings but that made the pad cutting and refitting process much easier. Very happy with the results. They heat very strong and fast. Let’s see how long they last with the el cheapo Chinese parts. But I’m looking forward to winter now.