just took delivery of '06 highlander,

I asked dealer these questions but not quite satisfied with answers.

Q1. Break in Period ?
Is there a break in period ? eg. drive easy for 5k ?

Q2. Transmission ?
There is a bit of a slight **clunk** when you shift into
Drive or Reverse etc from Park at idle , (i suppose as tranny
engages)
is this normal ? does it lessen after some miles ?
or do i get dealer to look at it ?

I do not remember other automatics doing
this noticeably unless they were a bit older cars

Q3. Fabric / Seat protection?
Any recommendation on fabric seat protection ? 3M Scotchguard ,
Nanocoat, etc
Good fitting set covers ?


Q4. Already looking to replace Stock/Base radio and speakers
(as reviews state, too Bassy/Boomy and treble to tinny no fine
adjustment)
any **recomendations** on replacement head unit ?

That is an easy swap out replacement ? and decent speakers or setup ?
Looking for Basic, so no 400w crossover sub-woofer stuff ?

Q5. Rear Spoiler ?
Any one know if there is a difference between the Factory installed
RFAT and
dealer CX90 option? (besides price)

Any problems from spoilers that people have ? noise ?


Q6. Interior Light Option ?
Is there an aftermarket version easy to install ?


Well there are more Q's but that is good start

Thanks for any helpful info
Rob

Rob B wrote:
Not trying to be a smartaleck but, most of your questions are answered in
your owner's manual. Read through it and you'll be more enlightened on your
wise choice of a Highlander. They got a "Most Reliable" rating for large
SUV's on Consumer Reports.
davidj92

"Rob B" <RobB (AT) where (DOT) on.net> wrote

It is not really necessary to drive easy. If you prefer to pamper your new
Highlander, then drive easy until the newness wears off.

This is normal, it does not lessen after some miles. If you are worried
about it, you can ask the dealer to show you another '06 Highlander for
comparison.

Scotchguard works well, as do good fitting seat covers.

I am not an audiophile, listen to news radio most of the time so I am not a
very good source for advice here.

The rear spoiler is more of a cosmetic accessory than a functional one
although on our Sequoia, I've noticed that the rear window does have a
slightly less dirty pattern that looks like an upside down windshield wiper
sweep.


What kind of interior light are you looking for? If you are looking for a
map light, auto parts stores sell ones with a gooseneck that plugs into the
12 volt socket.


--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 18:02:11 GMT, "Rob B" <RobB (AT) where (DOT) on.net> wrote:

Not really "Easy", just don't do your imitation of Mario Andretti.
You can floor it if you need to get out of the way of someone else or
get up to speed on the freeway, but don't flog it continuously.

And on longer trips with a new car, vary the speeds constantly every
few minutes, go hang out in the left lane at 75 for a few minutes,
then slow down in the right lanes for a while, then go take the
"Business Loop" surface street route through town and stop at the
signals.

Don't set the cruise control and have the engine holding exactly
2,100 RPM for hours on end as you cross the entire Texas flatlands -
that's bad for getting the rings to seat.

Normal to some degree on all cars. There has to be a little slop in
the drive train, or it binds up. The Clunk is just the slop being
taken up when you apply torque to the drivetrain, and you get another
Clunk when you shift into reverse.

There are slip splines so the driveshaft can lengthen as the
suspension travels that creates most of the Clunk, and a little slop
in the U-Joints and between the gears in the transmission, transfer
case, and rear axles. Sometimes curing the Clunk for a while is as
easy as giving the slip splines a shot of grease.

What you have to listen for is when that Clunk starts getting a lot
louder, most people get used to it through the years and don't notice
changes. It might be a sign of normal aging, but it can also be an
early sign of trouble that a mechanic should check out.

Anything you want - Scotchguard is good stuff, but buy a can and do
it yourself - they want WAY too much money for it at the stealership.

Don't let them butcher the dashboard or the existing truck wiring
harness installing the new radio - they have wiring adapters that plug
into the truck harness, and mounting kits that fit in the existing
dashboard hole.

If they cut up the car now, and you ever want to put it back to
stock later to sell it (and keep your good radio bits) you'll be
shocked at the price of interior panels and covers. You can spend $50
on a stupid radio surround trim, or several hundred on door panels.

You CAN find good speakers that will fit in the stock holes without
a lot of trouble. They just want to sell you what they already have
on the shelf and move the inventory. On the '84 truck the stock front
speakers looked really odd, but a regular 4" speaker fits right in
with a quick tin-snip snip to take off one mounting ear, and bending
another mounting ear up about 15 degrees.

And stay with a major brand headend, they have realistic power
ratings. If they start claiming 400 Watts in a dash mount headend,
they're lying - yeah, 400W at 25% distortion. Any THD rating over 1%
and you'll hear it, some people can hear far less. You want clean
sound first, volume second.

Go look around at Camping World or any local RV Supply shop, a lot
of what they have is 12-volt and very easily adaptable to cars and
trucks with a bit of planning on how to mount it without butchery to
your car's interior. And they have trained installers who can put
them in without a lot of fuss if you can't.

I took the two stock dome lights out of my LandCruiser and put in
triple units, each with a dome light and two bullet reading lights
with #194 lamps. (And I added a matching rocker switch on the side of
the front-seat light to cut off both dome lights like the stock units
had.) Or you can leave the stock dome light and put the reading
lights separate.

Make an aluminum or plywood mounting adapter plate so you can use
the existing screw mounting points for the old dome light - and make
reversal to the stock lights again easy without leaving holes in the
headliner. Again, you don't want to find out how much it costs to
have a replacement headliner installed...

Same goes with plugging tab crimp connectors into the existing stock
dome-light harness socket to connect the new reading lights, or using
"vampire tap" connectors, rather than chopping the socket off - you
might need it again someday to hook up a stock dome light. ( And
don't use over-long screws and go through the roof...)

If you want a light where there's nothing to mount it to, you can
always drop the headliner and epoxy a piece of plywood to the body
steel. Or make an aluminum strip stock bar that stretches across the
gap and screws to the roof ribs on either side. Or both.

On my old pickup, I left the stock dome light over the rear-view
mirror and mounted a double 15W Thin-Lite fluorescent over the back
window - Lots Of Light. But I had to leave it in when I sold the
truck because of the whole 'holes in the headliner' issue.

Need to do that on the Work Van, and no headliner to worry about...

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

"davidj92" <davidj92REMOVE (AT) sigecom (DOT) net> wrote


i may be more enlightened but 1 answer
out of 6 questions hardly qualifies as most

robb

"Ray O" <rokigawa (AT) tristarassociatesDOT (DOT) com> wrote

hot rodding and not over 60 on Hwy for 1 st 2500 miles, it
was difficult but i made up for it when i hit 2500 now at
197k

I plan to keep it a while so i just want to maximize it's
useful life
yea thats what i was thinking too
it does not seem as bad now, i think it's probably because i
drive a stick and i am not used to the auto tranny feel

Scotchguard is what i am familiar with, just realized can do
seat covers because i have the side seat airbags so seat
cover become a hazzard, though i would have probably gone
that route if i could

neither am i unless audiophile is alternate name for "picky
about your sound"

I just wnated to look cool or is it kool or maybe qewl
well thats how un-cool i am

i was thinking about the interior light factory option,
lights up floor board space when you open door or turn on
overhead or something like that for easier entry/exit and to
see what if anything you may have left on floor or dropped
etc.

it has been great so far

I highly recommend any one shopping for a car to rent/borrow
what you are seriously looking at a buy , for a
day/wknd/week, i probably would not have considered a
highlander if i had not rented one for week vacation and
liked it and have no remorse or surprises with this one (so
far)

"Rob B" <RobB (AT) where (DOT) on.net> wrote

I've driven well over a hundred new Toyotas as company cars, keeping 40 or
50 of them to 12,000 miles. Several friends and relatives bought those cars
from the dealerships I sold them to, and they had no problems with them.
One recently got rid of one of them, an '86 Celica with 350,000 miles.

I never did anything special to my new cars, just got in and drove. In
fact, every car is tested on a dyno at the assembly line. The first time
the engine is started after the car is complete, it is driven on to a dyno
and bout 15 or 20 seconds after it is first started, it is drivn to 75 MPH
for a couple of minutes. The factory would not be doing that if it was
detrimental to the car.

An automatic idles at higher RPM than a manual transmission so the "thunk"
is more pronounced.

I consider an audiophile as someone who is pick about sound. To me, the
problem with audio systems is that they tend to sound better as you spend
more money. If you are comparing systems, the sky is the limit. Your best
bet is to pick a price range and listen to several. Crutchfields has
adapter harnesses so you don't have to butcher the factory harness, which
can be close to a thousand dollars to replace.

In that case, the dealer-installed spoiler is probably good enough.

Bruce suggested a camper supply store for an inexpensive dome light. Auto
parts stores sell a hockey-puck size dome light that you can mount under the
dash if you are looking for an inexpensive alternative.
I have several friends with Highlanders, they are all pleased with them.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

"davidj92" <davidj92REMOVE (AT) sigecom (DOT) net> wrote

and thanks for feedback

you did get me to read the manual more quickly than i might have

robb

thanks for the replies, more below

"Ray O" <rokigawa (AT) tristarassociatesDOT (DOT) com> wrote

350 k with no major engine rebuild/replace and just usual standard
maintenence would be great and that longevity seems to be a selling point of
those japanese cars

i have a friend who is the "only buy US mfg cars" type, and in the 10 year i
had my honda they've been through 3 US mfg cars and now on 4th, maybe its
operator error but its hard to invest alot of money into a car i can not
rely on past 100-150k


[snip some]

thats what i will be looking for

thanks again for info and responses

robb

If your car has side curtain airbags you can't use seat covers unless they
are designed for the airbags.


"Bruce L. Bergman" <blPYTHONbergman (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote