amsandun

Since the aftermarket bracket was smaller and no aligning holes in the door my choices were limited. Either drill new hole or custom bracket was the option as far as I understood. But both of them would include drilling the door metal which I was not comfortable doing. I remember @iRage mentioning in an old thread, if you drill the holes, you better put some primer to prevent rust issues. Also finding a custom bracket would be much harder here. So, I was left with just one option. It was to put the factory mount back where it was, and fix the new speaker on top of that, which was the same suggested by a shop guy in the first place. Since I had no option after all this work I thought to just do it that way and be done with it. Now the factory speaker with mount was in my hand. I cut around and rip off the speaker and it's connections so I was left with the plastic mount. drilled and took out the socket which was there to insert new wire. I installed the plastic mount using 1/2" screws with bolt washers both side and a lock nut. Then installed the new speaker on that with the self tapping screws came with the speakers. This part was an easy task. Note that there was only about 1-2 mm meat in the mount to screws to go through. I just hope they will hold. Factory speaker wiring came in blue and green where blue is the positive wire and green is the negative wire. I connected my wiring with factory wiring matching the colors above, soldered them to hold the connection better and put insulation tapes around each connection and covered everything again with insulation tapes to look cleaner. As I was installing a one screw the thin plastic part broken in one place as you can see in above pic. Speaker is held by just 3 screws now, maybe it's ok but I thought of rotating the speaker a bit and put a screw there as well after installing the passenger side door speaker. Sound quality is great and I feel the improvement in one side. But I have to install the other one and feel the real difference. Going to do it tomorrow hopefully Although I couldn't do all sound proofing things due to these unexpected reasons I hope the job was done reasonably well. It's just a start and good experience, I got rear doors to attend too (Later of course) But for the other side there will be no drilling, just removing the factory speaker and insert new one. I hope it should be a one hour job. I will update here once it's done.

Yes you are correct 100%

It was time to put into practice what I've been learning online for a couple of weeks. Vitz KSP130 door panel is fixed by only 3 Philips screws and some clips as usual. One screw near the inner door handle and two screws visible once you remove the center console with a prying tool (Highlighted below image). That's the easiest part of this task. Then I had to detach the wire harness of the center console and this killed me. I tried so hard to pull it off by pressing the small plastic clip, tried every direction and position but failed. My fingers were aching so much, lost courage and gave up after about 2 hours of trying. I was so frustrated and felt like going to a shop and get it done. Then again I thought there must be a way, giving up won't give anything for me. I needed this experience. So it was next weekend I could try again. This time, after watching videos and reading more, I knew it could be harder but using a tool safely is an option. While pressing the small clip hard, I carefully pushed a plastic plug using a flathead screwdriver and I took time. Slowly it came out and I was so happy this time Then it was time to take out the panel carefully disconnecting clips and the 2 cables attached in the back for door lock and central lock. Just pull from the plastic piece carefully and you can safely pull it out after taking out the steel ball like part attached to the end of the cable and that part is mechanically attached to the black color plastic panel visible in the image. It's a simple task you will understand when you look at it. So here it is. As you can see they are riveted to the door using 3 rivets. I carefully drilled the rivets to remove them and I will put a video link where I got the inspiration for all this. It took some time but managed to finally remove the factory speaker. To my surprise though, factory speaker was actually a 4 ohms one with a reasonably big magnet if the size of that matters but not as big as the new ones I bought. In many videos and forums, it was mentioned and shown that factory speakers with a tiny magnet in the back. Screenshot from a video on YT ⬇️ Not that it matters now as I was going to put new good looking ones but when I got the aftermarket mount near the door to see if that fits without a fuss, the stars ⭐⭐⭐ started floating around my head. Yes it was much smaller and not aligning with the wholes available from the factory mount. But these were all lessons and experiences. Thinking like that I planned my next steps which I will post in the next entry. Sorry if I'm extending the blog but with the available time, I have to continue in another blog post. PS: Here's the link for the video I mentioned earlier.

Yes maybe that's the reason, plus it will include some drilling too. One guy said it'd cost extra to replace front speakers and I guess it's because of these reasons. But everybody likes a neat, quality and a lasting job right? I remember the guy who installed the head unit and reverse camera in my car, who was so professional that he did a nice job with all wiring and he took steps to enclose wires behind pillars and panels, and also to send wires through rubber grommets between doors and body for further safety. He said some people may cut in that grommet and insert the wires which could lead to water leak and rusting later. But another guy who did my father's car wasn't so concerned where he did exactly what my guy did not. In my case though there was just one wire harness connected to center console to be removed.

So, why I wanted to do this as a DIY? Answer: Most shop people and technicians are very reluctant to replace or remove factory fitted speaker from the front doors... I don't know what's the big deal with that is but they would rather keep them as it is and tend to put new ones in the rear. One guy told me that the most of sound is coming from the rear speakers once installed. He also said the bass sound will slightly be reduced if I were to remove factory speakers and put aftermarket ones. But that's not what I wanted. I wanted to put new ones in the front and maybe put older ones back if I feel like it or put new ones in the back too. Since I thought to do myself, I will first settle with 2 and later going to add rear speakers. Another shop technician was fine with removing factory speakers and his method was to cut around and rip off the speaker and it's content from the unit (speaker and mount come as a one unit) while keeping the base intact. Then installing the new speaker onto that factory mount with screws. I was ok with that first but after watching a YouTube video of a clean and neat installation, I was like wow! how pretty is that? I wanted to do like that. I will put the link below. But we can't always meet our own expectations 🥺 You will see why. So based on that video I started gathering required tools and accessories. I found speaker terminals (lugs) without the rubber cover, speaker wires and a wire stripper (it was indeed came in handy). Sadly, some accessories required for a clean install as in the video were not available to find. I already had prying tools and a soldering iron. I also tried to find some foam tape which was used to sound deadening/better quality output but not available. So instead I got a double tape , borrowed a drill from a friend and bought a 5/32" drill bit to drill out the rivets as indicated in a video. The night before the intended operation date, I prepared the speaker wires using the tools I got. Since there was no rubber cover on lugs, I attached the wire and crimped using the crimping section of the wire stripper and a pair of pliers. It would have been a nice job if I had a proper crimping tool. I put a solder dot just to be safe and covered using insulation tapes. And I was ready to start the job next morning To be continued...

Thanks @iRage, removing door panel was straightforward. Pried off the centre console and disconnected the wire harness (this was a bit tricky for me which I'm going to explain in upcoming entries) and just 3 Philips screws to take out. At the moment of writing this, I'm done installing driver side door speaker. I couldn't complete both doors in one day due to my lack of experience. (I was nervous of course) 😆tell me about it, actually it's not the speaker riveted to tray but mounting tray and speaker is one unit and that unit is riveted to the door itself. Had to drill out everything out with so much care not to damage the door metal. I will be explaining in detail in next entries. This is how it came out from factory. Toyota Wisdom causing more trouble for these simple upgrades.

I have always been a lover of music (though I never did music as a subject in my life). I listened and enjoyed music in many categories and languages since childhood. Also I wanted to listen to them in quality as I grew up. Hence, I have purchased many computer speakers, headphones, hand-free and later on decent earbuds and Bluetooth speakers from reputed brands whenever I could spare some money. And suddenly it occurred to me that after owning a car for 6+ years, I haven't upgraded it's speakers for more quality and crisp sound. But I did wanted to like several years back and I couldn't do it at that time(I even posted a question in AL forum about the topic). So I got the idea and started working on it. What size speakers my car got (Vitz 2016 KSP130), which brands and models would match, where to find, will they be original or fakes and so on...So far doing this myself as a DIY was not in my mind totally. Most famous brands in this part of the world came up like Pioneer, Kenwood (not many options available), JBL and Infinity. I called several highly rated shops and visited them. Almost all recommended to go with Infinity or JBL. After my own product research, I was also leaning more towards Infinity rather than JBL or Pioneer (where all 3 were Vietnam made as said by them) Infinity model available in every store was Infinity Reference series REF-6532ix 6-1/2" coaxial car speakers with 60W RMS and 180W Peak Power. Price tag were 27,500/- to 28,500/- per pair with installing at no extra cost. JBL were also the same range and pioneer were cheaper than that. I was ok with the price too as I believed Infinity would be the best choice but one attitude of every car audio guys here got me in to second thoughts that I may not get what I actually want by replacing speakers. I will explain in the next entry. Couple of weeks ago I went to Pettah electronic market area and started asking around. I know you are now like, "what? pettah? Isn't that the last place someone would look to buy genuine or original products?". I also knew this but also know that pettah, whether you like to believe or not, is the place where more than 50% of Sri Lankan imports are coming to (from rice, sugar, Big onion to everything). There will be good products as well as items you should avoid. Back to the speakers, in most of the shops in pettah, only China made pioneers were available. At a one shop, a guy asked me whether I want original products based on my preference of brand and he directed me to a another market. Only in this market, I could see JBL and Infinity brands. They also had other models of Infinity like Primus 6512is and more premium infinity Kappa Series (Can't remember the exact model) which no any other shop in Colombo had. As I checked closely, they were too Vietnam made and I'd swear that REF-6532ix were also the same as I saw in other car audio shops. Maybe I was wrong but my instincts said they were the same and went ahead with the buy. After a little negotiation, I bought the same Infinity model for 20,000/- Rupees. So, that ended the speaker hunt. By this time I had set my mind to do it myself and in the next entry, I will post why and how I planned to go about it. Hope so far so good as this is my first blog as well as DIY 😀 To be continued.

Hi all, Doing my first DIY on my car replacing front door speakers. After watching so many videos and extra info I started doing it but got stuck in early stages of removing door panel. Wire harness that connects to driver side door console is really hard to detach. As this is my first time, I am afraid to force it. Vehicle is Toyota Vitz KSP130. I will attach photos, Can someone give some tips to safely remove it please? I tried pushing the small button like piece and pulling but it won't come off. Also I would like your guide to pull the door panel out (dealing with plastic clips) Thank you.

Guys, sorry for bouncing up my own thread from 3 years ago. I couldn't go with the intended speaker upgrade for reasons I can't remember 😆. Now it's in my head again and visited several places with good reputation and inquired. Some people still with the idea that OEM speakers are good/ have good Bass and I might lose some bass if I were to remove OEMs etc. So annoyed with this thought now. They say keep them in front and put new ones to rear doors. But I feel like changing all 4 speakers. Got this one place where they talked positive about changing OEM speakers and removing them ain't an issue. Looking at above comments regarding having to drill the door metal and all I specially inquired that. He said he will cut around the OEM speaker to remove it and insert the new speaker into that hole. So no drilling needed. I couldn't ask details about the process but I found a photo in their google reviews which seems to be doing just that. Do you have any ideas about this?

For a fraction of a second, I thought that famous DFSK 580 thread just reincarnated 😄

Were you aware or had suspicions about this matter before buying the car? It's sad that people think low mileage cars demand better rather than taking good care, properly maintain and keep it genuine.

I hope you are at a reputed garage or at the agents with the car now. Zero oil -> there has to be a good (shitty actually) reason for this. @iRage has explained many possible reasons above 👆. You said you haven't seen any leakages (at least none that you can see). Can an engine burn all of it's oil? Share what your mechanic had to say.

Swift (Beetle) is a widely used car in SL but hardly see them now. I'm not sure whether Demio is a good spacious car. From what I've seen (I've not used one), it looks a little cramped. But it depends on your needs. And about other Hatchback options, the famous Vitz (2007/08) is there but being a Toyota, highly overpriced and could also be highly hacked. I saw some listed above 5 mil and some between 4.5 - 5 mil. Have you checked Japan Alto? If you are looking at Sedans as mentioned above, there maybe some options like Honda Civic ES5, ES8, Mitsubishi Lancer 2007/2008, but better find a car that is well taken care of. Toyotas being Toyotas in SL are highly overpriced such as the Yaris 2007/08 etc. Whatever it is, they are highly overpriced now and you will need some extra money for necessary repairs and touch-ups

I've experienced 8-10kmpl in traffic and 15-16 in outstation driving. Best was 18kmpl once, that was many years ago. But I haven't checked recently. This might differ from car to car depending on the condition of the vehicle. For safety features, I think you already have the answer above.

From what I feel and experience, it handles well and ride is smooth. They cope well with all the conditions and situations you are concerned above. Braking distance is short and stops firmly but comfortably. Never experienced any skidding.

Hi, actually I didn't go with the Falcons as that set was manufactured much earlier from the time I was looking at them. (maybe about one year or so). It wouldn't have mattered but I decided to go with a set of Hankook tyres (Korean made) with a recent date of manufacture. Now almost 25,000km done and no any complaints so far. Looks almost new. tread wear is minimal and so is the road noise. But I have no experience with many brands, just talking with the experience in this set. Bought at 14,000/- each (This was near the end of 2021 🙂).

this is correct, There was a website to check this for the cost of 10USD. I did it a couple of years back just to check what I would get 😉. It only gave what was already known to me from the Auction sheet.

There will be many options if you ask from any auto shop. Try TOYOTA 15601-87204

Got it replaced with a reconditioned one from a Delkanda Auto shop. Cost only 300/-. Pretty simple job indeed but I passed this time :D. Thank you everybody.

Hi all, I just observed a crack in the hose from coolant tank to radiator. There were little signs of leak too. Can you suggest me a reliable place around colombo (Nugegoda, Boralesgamuwa or anywhere) to get this replaced? Car is a Vitz 2016. Thanks in advance.

Check the battery. Most probably the battery lifetime is over.

oh! more than a year later... I fixed a Hella classic twin horn set from Motorcade last year. Does well for me.

I can't say for sure, almost all along the Katunayake Highway. It's not because of the 175 tyre, that I can say.

ha ha of course

Hi, in short, there's nothing to complain about. Plus, the car looks better too. No noticeable low fuel performance either except drains the wallet more due to increase in petrol price 😄. Feels like I got more grip. One other thing, I hear uncomfortable road noise only when driving on the highway. On the normal roads there's not. Not sure it maybe the car, tire or the road. But when I exceed 100 km/h on highway for a bit, that noise goes away.