Question 1

The windows in my 2014 Toyota HiLux won't go back up

Accepted Answer

The first thing to check would be the fuse or relay that protects the power-windows’ electrical circuit. Designed to protect wiring from an electrical spike or short-circuit, these fuses and relays can also fail for no apparent reason apart from old age. If one window went south on its own, you’d be looking for a problem specific to that door, but since they all went out at the same time, you need to look for a fault a little deeper into the wiring. Which is where a blown fuse or dud relay comes into the reckoning. The first job is to find the fuse or relay in question. The owner’s manual (which should still be living in the glove-box) will have a chapter that shows the location(s) of the fuse boxes in the vehicle. You might find there’s one under the dashboard near the steering column, and another under the bonnet. The same chapter in the handbook should also identify which fuse and relay does what, but this info should also be printed on the inside of the fuse-box cover. Once you’ve identified the fuse or relay, you can check the fuse visually, or have an auto electrician check the relay for proper operation. If that component is the problem, a quick, simple and cheap replacement will restore the windows to full health. If that doesn’t work, then an auto electrician is probably your next stop, as you could be searching for a broken wire or a failed switch-block or some other obscure fault.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

My 2001 Toyota HiLux has been overheating when I use the air-conditioner

Accepted Answer

Air-conditioning can really add another layer of stress to an engine. Since the air-con compressor is driven off the engine (via a belt) it's just another thing for the engine to deal with. And since the engine has to make more power to run the air-con and travel at the same speed, it uses more fuel. And more fuel burned equals more heat, it's pretty basic physics to that point. Any vehicle with a cooling system that is already a bit marginal can easily be made to overheat by switching on the air-conditioning. So the first thing to do is make sure there are no leaks in the cooling system, the radiator is not clogged internally or covered externally in dead bugs, the radiator hoses are not collapsing when you rev the engine, the water pump is working efficiently and the radiator cap is holding pressure (the boiling point of the coolant rises as you pressurise the system. Again, basic physics: Water boils at 100 degrees-C at sea level, but at the summit of Mount Everest, if you set up your camping stove, you'd boil water at just 68 degrees-C due to the lower atmospheric pressure). The other thing to check is the condition of the cooling fans. The engine will have its own fan, but cars with air-conditioning usually have a second cooling fan that starts up when the air-con is switched on. You can tell if this second fan starts up by listening for it when you hit the A/C switch. If it isn't coming on (or the engine's fan is broken, slipping or doesn't have the correct shroud fitted) than this can easily lead to overheating.

Question 4

Problems with a 2015 Toyota HiLux speedometer

Accepted Answer

It sounds like the needle has physically moved on its shaft to exhibit this problem. The question is how. Did you hit a huge pothole or bump off-road? Has any part of the dashboard been adjusted or pulled apart for another reason? Has the vehicle been operated in really dusty conditions (sufficient to have jammed up the smooth movement of the speedo needle)? Unlike older vehicles, the modern HiLux doesn’t use a simple mechanical cable to power the speedo. Instead, it uses a vehicle speed sensor as part of the transmission to inform the body computer of the vehicle’s speed which then transfers an electrical signal to the speedo in the dashboard. If anything goes wrong with that chain of electronic command, then the speedo can be affected.

Question 5

What is the process for selling a car that has had non-compliance fines?

Accepted Answer

The fines are a separate matter as to what you eventually do with the vehicle. They need to be paid, regardless of what else you decide to do. As you say, you can return the vehicle to standard condition or have it engineered for the modifications you want and then have the defects cleared by having the car inspected. But if you decide to sell the vehicle, it can't be sold with current defects and while still registered. You can clear the defects and sell the vehicle with registration, or cancel the registration and then sell the car. In any case, there's no way you could obtain a roadworthy certificate with the defects you've listed so the simplest way to get rid of the car would be to cancel the registration and then sell the car.

Question 6

Which five-speed gearbox models are compatible with my Toyota Hilux's 2Y engine?

Accepted Answer

Swapping a five-speed gearbox into an older car or ute is a pretty well-trodden path, partly because it makes all sorts of sense. While older four-speed gearboxes generally have a fourth gear ratio of 1:1, a five-speed is will have an overdriven fifth gear which makes for more relaxed highway-speed driving and, potentially, a fuel saving as the engine won’t be working as hard or turning as fast. The Toyota 2Y engine is, I believe, a more or less bolt-up fitment to the 2Y engine in your vehicle. Commonly found in early, rear-drive Celicas, the W50 is definitely strong enough for your application since the 2Y engine in your car probably struggles to make its full 58kW these days. The only catch you might run into is that if you’re running bigger wheels and tyres or your regularly tow a trailer or the vehicle is way down on power, the engine might struggle to pull that taller gearing. At best you might find yourself shifting back and forth pretty regularly in hilly country or when encountering a headwind. But if you do go through with the swap, you’ll find that the W50 has a fifth gear ratio of 0.853:1 which should reduce your engine speed for the same road speed by about 15 per cent. Beyond the Toyota E50 gearbox, there’s really no limit to what you can fit if you have the time and money to have the engineering sorted out. That said, anything beefier than the W50 is almost certainly overkill.

Question 7

What's the better buy, Pajero Sport Exceed or Toyota Fortuner Crusade?

Accepted Answer

These two vehicles share a lot of traits both in terms of their engineering and their target market. Both are aimed at the high-end of the mid-sized off-road station-wagon market and both do a pretty good job of offering lots of off-road ability along with the sort of luxury and convenience that many families want. In the case of design and engineering they are both based on utilities (the Mitsubishi Triton and Toyota HiLux respectively) and share the drivelines and front structure with those utes. To make them work as passenger rather than load-carrying vehicles, both the Pajero Sport and Fortuner do away with the utilities’ leaf-sprung rear axle and replace it a coil-sprung unit for greatly enhanced comfort. Both vehicles have had their niggling reliability problems, mainly to do with DPF and some EGR problems, but overall, they’re both now old enough for the majority of the bugs to have been ironed out. Perhaps the biggest packaging difference is that the Pajero Sport is a good deal narrower across the cabin than the Toyota, and that matters for families with bigger kids. Both vehicles were facelifted late last year with new tech and mechanical and performance improvements. Both also have seven seats as standard. The Mitsubishi is about $4000 cheaper based on RRP than the Toyota, but the final price can vary from dealer to dealer and what state you live in. The best advice is to try each one on for size and maybe even throw in contenders like the Ford Everest as a direct comparison.

Question 8

What 4WD should I buy for towing?

Accepted Answer

To get a vehicle with meaningful (as opposed to a theoretical) towing ability of 2.5 tonnes, you really need to shop for a relatively late-model dual-cab 4X4 ute. The reason for that is that many vehicles that claim a 2.5-tonne limit in the brochure fail to explain that there’s also a Gross Vehicle Combination Mass in play and, by the time you’ve added passengers, gear and a full tank of fuel to the towing vehicle, there might not be much of that GCM to devote to a towed load. Going for a vehicle with 3000kg or even 35000kg towing capacity in the first place is a good way to ensure you do accidentally start driving around in an overloaded vehicle with all the legal and insurance connotations that involves. A lot of the current shape dual-cab utes fall within your budget on a second-hand basis, but there are caveats. Make sure you only buy a ute with a full service history. Some of these vehicles were worked hard by their original owners, so be very careful before handing over the cash. Avoid ex-mine fleet vehicles and don’t be afraid to buy a base-model vehicle if it offers better value. Even a single-cab version of these utes will be a lot cheaper than the dual-cab and, if you don’t need the rear seat, are often a more practical solution. Makes and models include the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Mazda BT50, Mitsubishi Triton and Isuzu D-Max. For real value for money, vehicles like the Ssangyong Musso can tow 3.5 tonnes, are well equipped and can be had for less than $35,000 drive-away, brand-new. That also gets you a seven-year factory warranty. All of these options are available with the automatic transmission you want and, indeed, this is the best option for a tow vehicle.

Question 9

Has Toyota rectified the diesel DPF issues for their 2021 vehicles?

Accepted Answer

When Toyota launched the facelifted HiLux late last year, much was made of the fact that consumer concerns had been noted and that the DPF problems experienced by many owners had been addressed. The problem is that until these new versions of the HiLux have done their share of kilometres, we won’t be in a position to know for sure whether Toyota has, indeed, cured the problem. Meantime, it remains that unless your driving habits include a 30-minute drive at highway speeds every two or three weeks, a modern turbo-diesel with a DPF may not be the best choice. It is worth noting, though, that HiLuxes (and Prados and Fortuners) built after June 2018 have been fitted with a manual regeneration function for the DPF which means the driver can manually force a DPF burn-off without waiting for the car to do so itself. Toyota has also announced that the worst affected versions of the HiLux will now be covered by an extended, 10-year warranty on any DPF issues going forward. More information can be found here.

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