Hi,

I recently bought my first car, a 2003 Magna VRX TL. I bought it from a dealer for $1800 and it has 225km. I don't know much about cars but I'm quite eager to learn lately (especially from these forums). Below is a list of concerns I have and any advice will be much appreciated. Sorry if I say the wrong names for parts, again I'm quite new to cars. I do not have the log book or any info on more services.



Which fuel should I be using? I currently use 91. (the yellow one)

TCL off and check engine light come on intermittently. I read other threads regarding this and I plan to change the TCL solenoids and see what happens from there.

We had a look at the power steering belt and it looks very worn out and will apparently "snap any minute". I plan to get that replaced however, I have another issue which Ill state in the next point.

The timing belt status is unknown as we have no logbooks. Apparently these should be changed every 100kms and the car has 226km. Does the belt need changing just to be sure or is there any way to check this?

For the first five or so minutes the car jerks occasionally when driving. I usually drive in automatic, but I swapped to drive the car in manual when this was happening and we saw that the car only jerked while moving from 2nd to 3rd gear. We checked transmission fluid and it clearly needs replacing as it was brown. Will that solve the issue or is there anything else I need to look at as well?

I also have a part time job delivering pizzas. This involves a lot of stop/starts. Will this cause any problems or is there anything I need to do to prevent any damage etc?

How much will all this cost? What can I replace/repair by myself (with decent help)?


Besides all this the car drives really well and I think I made a great choice with this car. Thanks to anyone who shares their beautiful knowledge.

Thanks,
Nick

Hi,

I recently bought my first car, a 2003 Magna VRX TL. I bought it from a dealer for $1800 and it has 225km. I don't know much about cars but I'm quite eager to learn lately (especially from these forums). Below is a list of concerns I have and any advice will be much appreciated. Sorry if I say the wrong names for parts, again I'm quite new to cars. I do not have the log book or any info on more services.



Which fuel should I be using? I currently use 91. (the yellow one)

TCL off and check engine light come on intermittently. I read other threads regarding this and I plan to change the TCL solenoids and see what happens from there.

We had a look at the power steering belt and it looks very worn out and will apparently "snap any minute". I plan to get that replaced however, I have another issue which Ill state in the next point.

The timing belt status is unknown as we have no logbooks. Apparently these should be changed every 100kms and the car has 226km. Does the belt need changing just to be sure or is there any way to check this?

For the first five or so minutes the car jerks occasionally when driving. I usually drive in automatic, but I swapped to drive the car in manual when this was happening and we saw that the car only jerked while moving from 2nd to 3rd gear. We checked transmission fluid and it clearly needs replacing as it was brown. Will that solve the issue or is there anything else I need to look at as well?

I also have a part time job delivering pizzas. This involves a lot of stop/starts. Will this cause any problems or is there anything I need to do to prevent any damage etc?

How much will all this cost? What can I replace/repair by myself (with decent help)?


Besides all this the car drives really well and I think I made a great choice with this car. Thanks to anyone who shares their beautiful knowledge.

Thanks,
Nick

Hi Nick, sounds like a cheap car for that price. 91 fuel is fine, the 3rd gen Magna's don't have a knock sensor so you wont get more power from using premium fuel. I have recently had that problem with the TCL off light and engine symbol coming on in my KJ Verada, I swapped the TCL solenoids from my KH Verada and all is good now, funny thing is the warning lights aren't coming on in the KH Verada either. To replace the power steering belt its easier to jack the front of the car up and put chassis stands under it, remove the drivers side front wheel and plastic shield behind the wheel, then you can access the belt and tensioner pulley much easier then trying to do in from under the car. Hope this is some help to you, cheers and all the best with your new car

91RON or above

If doing the PS belt, check the main drive belt too. If it looks tired or any signs of cracks in the ribbed side you might as well do that too as it has to come off to get to the PS belt.
Check the idler/tensioner pulleys too. Any signs of roughness in the bearing or sideways movement replace. i just did mine with 170 000 + Ks. bearing was getting dry and sideways losseness which was causing a resonant rattle.

For the timing belt, unknown age is always a problem because these are interference engines meaning a snapped belt will most likely mean collision between valves and pistons.
then you have the other question marks. idler, tensioner pulleys, hydraulic tensioner, cam and crank seals and at this age and mileage waterpump if getting in there to do a belt all these would be adviseable to do too at the same time since the work involved requires the timing belt off anyway. Will add up to some decent dollars.
You could take a cam cover off to get an idea, if done on time it should still look pretty new, no cracking on the toothed side but when I looked at mine after 110 000 it still looked pretty good so it's still going to be a bit of a guess i think.

jerking, you'd have to describe in more detail. lunging in gear like a late / delayed sudden shift? Shift flare?

trans fluid flush would be a good idea, can improve shift quality, watch out for metal fragments on the drain or stuck to the magnetic plug. A drain and refill will leave close to half the old fluid in the box.

I've done mine a couple of times, drain the box, replace the fluid then disconnect the return line and run that into a bucket/pan, start it up and the box will pump the new fluid from the sump through and flush the old fluid out, once it starts to push air out, shut it down, fill the sump again , repeat until it's nice and clean, stop, connect return hose up, top up to required level. theres been a number of threads on it . level is checked hot, running and in neutral (not park).

not a fun job, maybe not a beginners job either if you have no idea.

Thanks for the tips guys, really appreciate it. I plan to get started on it through the week.

Hi Mate, welcome to the club.....

Ill respond with my own magna knowledge hehe



Hi,

I recently bought my first car, a 2003 Magna VRX TL. I bought it from a dealer for $1800 and it has 225km. I don't know much about cars but I'm quite eager to learn lately (especially from these forums). Below is a list of concerns I have and any advice will be much appreciated. Sorry if I say the wrong names for parts, again I'm quite new to cars. I do not have the log book or any info on more services.



Which fuel should I be using? I currently use 91. (the yellow one)
Ive always used 98 in cars, Id suggest 95 i don't touch 91 anymore...

TCL off and check engine light come on intermittently. I read other threads regarding this and I plan to change the TCL solenoids and see what happens from there.
Ive had this happen to a few magnas and i just left them....they dont cause any damage just annoying seeing the lights come up, in my first VRX in a few weeks it actually dissapeared...

We had a look at the power steering belt and it looks very worn out and will apparently "snap any minute". I plan to get that replaced however, I have another issue which Ill state in the next point.
Replace all belts if they are unknown, will probably set you back around $1000 to do a major service and timing belt etc.... much cheaper than a second hand motor..... also atleast then you know it will last another 100 000kms or 5 years ( im pretty sure thats what they're rated) make sure ONLY Genuine parts in this are also....

The timing belt status is unknown as we have no logbooks. Apparently these should be changed every 100kms and the car has 226km. Does the belt need changing just to be sure or is there any way to check this?
as above hehe

For the first five or so minutes the car jerks occasionally when driving. I usually drive in automatic, but I swapped to drive the car in manual when this was happening and we saw that the car only jerked while moving from 2nd to 3rd gear. We checked transmission fluid and it clearly needs replacing as it was brown. Will that solve the issue or is there anything else I need to look at as well?
A car i recently bought and sold had the same problem, i flushed it at home, disconnected a hose drained fluid out and repeated twice, the difference was night and day ! again ONLY use genuine MITSU Fluid here, thats the biggest factor.

I also have a part time job delivering pizzas. This involves a lot of stop/starts. Will this cause any problems or is there anything I need to do to prevent any damage etc?
For delivering Pizzas you wouldnt need to do anything :P maybe if you were to track it you could do some upgrades but wouldnt be neeeded at all, maybe when your due for disks and pads you could replace with better ones, i use T3 DBA disks in all my cars and they have been perfect from day 1

How much will all this cost? What can I replace/repair by myself (with decent help)?
In parts a $1000 budget you would have your belts all done, gearbox and engine oil and filters done , you could replace pads and probably even disks if needed..... replace as you go i always say

Goodluck ;)



Besides all this the car drives really well and I think I made a great choice with this car. Thanks to anyone who shares their beautiful knowledge.

Thanks,
Nick

About the pizza delivery, I guess turning the car on and off again will put excessive wear and tear on the starter motor. Turning the key from off to on and pushing it in/taking it out a lot more often then normal will (eventually) cause the key and key barrel to wear out, meaning a replacement. Caused by the continuous friction between key and barrel, will eventually round off the barrel. I've seen it done to work utes at the company I work at (Falcons)

Generally Asian made cars are more reliable, less things to break compared to the commodore or falcon .... i wouldn't be worried at all

The Magna is Australian, not Asian, made.

That is one of the reasons why I purchased my TL AWD.

The Magna is Australian, not Asian, made.

That is one of the reasons why I purchased my TL AWD.

Yes and no. A great deal of local engineering went into widening the original Japanese design for the Australian market and there was significant engineering of the interior to offer a more basic (read: cheaper) car for the Australian market. The Japanese market vehicles were fitted with every electronic goody you could find. Even the models equivalent to our TS had TC, ABS, EBD, drift control...etc...etc... In Australia you'd be lucky to find a TS with airbags and ABS!

The reality is that these cars were largely Japanese in design and heritage with engineering to make them tougher (with better dust sealing) for our roads. So whilst it is true that they are "Australian cars" it is equally true that they are Japanese. Just like any Camry you can buy today. Japanese design, engine and engineering...some Australian engineering input and full (not for long, sadly) Australian assembly.

Some hints for your "new" car. Keep it serviced regularly. Check the fluids on a regular basis. Keep the tyres properly inflated. Make sure you change the drive and timing belts at the recommended times and distances. When you do the timing belt change the tensioner and the water pump at the same time.

A properly-serviced Magna will last a long time...probably longer than a Commodore or Falcon of the same age.

Good luck and good motoring! :)

I ment the parts that are put in, all asian developed atleast , compared to the australian (american) parts out of a Commodore or falcon....