Another round of small but important upgrades for our Sienna. This time it is all about protection, towing, data and a little glass repair, plus a set of new wheels already on its way.

Metal skid plate

The metal skid plate from our "Coming up next" list is now installed. It covers the engine and the gearbox, so gravel tracks and the odd rock on a forest road are a lot less stressful.

Tow hitch – inspection passed

The tow hitch is on, together with its wiring, and it has already passed the technical inspection. The Sienna is now ready for a trailer or a bike rack.

With the skid plate and the tow hitch we can now safely go further off the beaten track, far enough to pull Jeeps out of the mud!

Reading the car over OBDII

Our own displays now read live data from the car over OBDII: the current gear, engine oil temperature, transmission (ATF) temperature, coolant temperature and more. It is great to see when the oil and the gearbox are really warm, not only the coolant, before we ask more from the engine.

Windshield chip repaired

On the way back from our trip to Kielce a stone hit the windshield and left a chip. We had it repaired before it could turn into a crack.

New wheels and tyres ordered

As promised in the last update, the next step is wheels and tyres. We have ordered 17" rims with ET20 offset and a set of all-terrain tyres. More about them once they are on the car.

Meanwhile, in the Hub

A lot is happening behind the scenes too. Our Hub keeps growing: every device in the car, from the GPS and OBD gateway to the displays, is now set up from one place, and the screens are designed in a visual editor and sent to the car over the air.

Step by step, the Sienna is becoming our travel base.