[vigsom]

Introduction

In this age of extended warranty, there exists a brute that can go on and on without a warranty policy. That’s because its very name stands guarantee.

This is an account of my encounter with Toyota Fortuners, showcasing some finer points of a 2014 Toyota Fortuner AT. I have been monitoring this car over the last 3 years, but never got involved in maintenance. Reason? The Fortuner barely needs any maintenance.

The intent behind these posts is to showcase the virtues of this car, the legendary Toyota quality and also to help readers appreciate how an ageing 2014 Toyota Fortuner AT looks like – Hi handsome !

[vigsom]

My encounters with Toyota Fortuners this far

My first encounter with a Toyota Fortuner was in late 2014 when I test drove a 2012 Fortuner 4x2 4-speed AT that was Toyota’s test drive vehicle. The prospective owner wanted an automatic but surprisingly, the 5 speed AT wasn’t available to test. The test drive was a revelation – smooth as silk steering and dead easy to drive even through some narrow lanes

Next, in early 2016, I test drove a 2009 black Fortuner that had approx. 1,40,000km on the odo. This was supposed to be a potential replacement to a 2007 Camry, but I dissuaded my friend from going ahead because I was only half satisfied with the car, plus his not-so-great driving skills and eyesight might have proved to be too much for him with this car.

2009 Black Fortuner (sample pic)


Sometime later the same year, I test drove a pre-owned 2012 beige Fortuner 4x2 AT that had over 1,50,000km on the odo. This was being evaluated for someone known to me. The car was good, prima facie, but the leather seats were masked with art-leather seat covers, and the tyres were creating a huge racket. The car was priced fairly competitively at approx. INR 14 lacs, due to the defects, but the deal eventually didn't take off.

2012 Beige Fortuner AT




Then, in end-2017, came a 2010 Fortuner Anniversary edition finished in Pearl White that a known martial arts expert was considering buying. This was ravishing to look at and performed quite well for the 89,000km on the odo. Two faults – the power retractable features on both mirrors weren’t working, driver seat edge leather had come off, but the car drove brilliantly. I also took this vehicle on a 750 km round trip in Jan-2018, and on that trip, got to realise the goods and the bads in a Fortuner.

2010 Anniversary Edition Fortuner in Pearl White - one of just 250 units built


In Jul-2019, I rode in the middle row in a 2012 Fortuner 4x2 MT. Good ride but the underthigh support showed its true colours after 30 minutes, when I began to feel really uncomfortable !

[vigsom]

Initial impressions on driving a 2010 Fortuner over 750km

The Great

• Easily navigable through dense traffic
• Driver(me) felt like a boss
• Precise but long throws of the gears
• Cosy front seats
• Chiller of an Aircon
• Simple, yet functional dash
• Parking in a tight indoor slot was a breeze – unbelievable
• Denso stock horns sound sweet, yet warn road users that a Toyota is coming. These horns go on and on and on

The Bad

• Pathetic brakes – the calipers had been upgraded to a larger size but the brakes still proved absolutely inadequate for this behemoth. On several occasions, I misjudged the stopping distance to vehicle rumbles, and as a result, passengers bore the brunt
• Bumpy ride on non-highway type roads
• High floor = uncomfortable seating for second and third row passengers

Fortuner tucked away in a tight parking without fuss



Here is a video clip of my drive while on my return to Chennai. I love the way those tyres would glide over those gaps on the bridge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teFjjORxhNc

[vigsom]

Encountering a 2014 Fortuner AT

I got to see this brilliantly kept and sparingly used Dec-2014 Toyota Fortuner AT almost everyday since mid-2018. This is owned by an acquaintance, and I could only admire the way she was pampered. The car had a mere 24,000km on the odo in 2018, and as we speak, the car's done just a shade over 32,000km.

The Automatic transmission

The 2013-2016 Toyota Fortuner AT came with a 5 speed automatic transmission with a provision to slot the unit into 4, 3, 2 or L based on requirements. The unit would come with Toyota's T-IV transmission fluid (JWS3309 specs.) which doesn't need replacement for life. Some owners would play it safe and replace the fluid at approx 1,50,000km while others would re-define the word "life" and keep going, going and going.

First non-routine maintenance

The car underwent her first “major” maintenance last week when the owner complained of poor braking, and thus replacement of the brake pads, skimming of the rotors, change of brake fluid plus a routine service were all scheduled. Please savour the pictures that follow and appreciate how the car has (not) aged.

Imposing front


The unit that you see on the left end of the firewall is the injector driver


View of the hoodliner


View from the driver door


The driver's seat - in pristine condition



Front left door - love the dark wood finish mated to the beige panel


Dash


Steering - zero damage to the silver inserts and leather. Also note the cruise control stalk


Unbelievably low odo reading


View from the right rear door - note the high floor pan

[vigsom]

The mechanical and control bits

Right side brake pads - being replaced just-in-time


Brake pads - top view - made by Sumitomo


Dual brake pistons - right side. The corrosion is because the vehicle was driven through water a few times


Left brake pads - in better shape than the right


Right rotor before skimming


Right suspension - in decent shape


Left suspension - in decent shape too !


Left side of the engine bay - Fuel filter assembly and the EGR Valve#2 actuator can be seen


PS fluid, coolant intact. Toyota uses super long life HOAT pink coolant that requires replacement only at 1,60,000km


Rear left alloy wheel


Close-up shot of the stock tyre - Dunlop Grandtrek AT20


The ECU and a few other control modules - one of these modules is called the Turbo motor driver

[vigsom]

Interior - Rear

Second row


Note the information label - any car in which the seat material has been changed from original will not have this label


Rear left door


View from the rear left door


View from the rear right door


Cushions on the rear seat - still undamaged




Printing on the rear left window

[vigsom]

More pictures of the stock exterior

View from the rear left


View from the rear right


View of the rear


Maintenance History

Skimming of the brake rotors and replacement of the brake pads was the first non-routine expense that the owner had incurred. With just 32,000 km on the odo, this machine has over 90% life left.

Closing Comments

This car goes to show how a well kept Toyota can withstand the test of time; no corrosion anywhere except a few surface corrosion spots in the sub-frame. For a car this pristine, it will be a shame if the 10 year diesel rule kicks in and spoils the owner’s party. Hopefully, that won’t happen in a Class B city.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Great review man! Thanks for sharing. Will go to our homepage later this week .

Ageless rockstar indeed. I have a feeling that even 20 years from now, we'll be seeing 1st-gen Fortuners plying on our roads (just as we see some Qualis today). Toyota body-on-frame diesel UVs are simply indestructible and have the capability to outlast their owners, with lesser maintenance than a brand-new German & service costs comparable to Maruti Dzires . That's why the fan following & crazy resale values.

Vigsom, which all are the different ways in which you would improve the bumpy ride? That to me is the biggest deal-breaker with this generation.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by GTO

which all are the different ways in which you would improve the bumpy ride?

Thank You GTO. My experience on suspensions is limited but I'll answer that based on my experiences with some other SUVs and MUVs

1. The easiest step forward is to reduce the tyre pressure from the recommended 30psi to, say, 26psi if one is driving the car solo or with 1 or 2 more on board. I've noticed that these Body-on-Frame creatures are very sensitive to every step change in tyre pressure. The Pajero Sport, for example, behaves way way better at 26psi than at 29psi.

2. I've experienced the huge shift that an Old Man EMU suspension set up did to the ride quality in a bhpian's Grand Vitara; am sure the set up will work wonders here too.

3. On the next shortcoming viz. pathetic brakes, I'd just try to do a drum to disc changeover for the rear and try to replicate the 2016 Fortuner's brake set up on the older gen. Fortuner. Yes, easier said than done, but an idea is thus generated.

4. To improve the underthigh support issue in the second row, I'd lift the seat assembly up, and use a 1.5-2 inch spacer between the floorpan and the seat bottom frame. That, plus some bolstering would suffice in my view.

5. The third row, however can't be helped, unless one tries to retrofit the third row seat from the Xylo - the only UV that seats people comfortably in the third row.

Some of the above might sound crazy but they are doable !

[CEF_Beasts]

I must say this, the Fortuner has it’s biggest deal breaker that is ride quality but otherwise back then and even today in the pre-owned market it will easily outlast it’s owner combined with cheap maintenance. It’s that well built rather solidly put together!

My Fortuner is at 89000km in 7 years (last 1 year didn’t see much running) and still there are absolutely no rattles whatsoever!

1st Gen Fortuner’s seats have a habit of wearing out early in it’s life depending on the usage especially the driver’s seat. I have seen a lot of Fortuner’s with the driver’s seat worn out or torn, in the used market.

What I still like about the 1st Gen Fortuner is the torque build up, any gear any speed press the pedal slightly (I have the manual gearbox) and the car is always ready to leap forward!

Lots of people say that in these cars people move out of your way, in Mumbai you can’t beat Autorickshaws and bikes who will always want to squeeze in front of you

Also I find the space in the Fortuner excellent! I remember an incident where my friends and I were going to Lonavala and one of the 3rd row seat was folded to accommodate our luggage. We were 7 including my driver and first some of my friends were sceptical of going to the 3rd row seat that was up (yes 4 people sat comfortably in the 2nd row), finally one of them decided to sit there. And once the 2nd row was adjusted and 3rd row seat reclined at an angle my friend later told me this is the best 3rd row he has sat in till date in-terms of space, I smiled and agreed as well. Now many will say Innova was better but being an Innova owner before the Fortuner, the 3rd row space is exactly the same other than the slightly higher floor of the Fortuner (Xylo obviously has the best 3rd row but not many people know about it). I am 5’8 and I still fit perfectly in the 3rd row. I find the latest Gen Fortuner’s 3rd row tighter in headroom due to slightly lower overall height of the vehicle and the protruding housing of the 3rd row boot light!

A little bit of trivia:
When the Fortuner was launched in 2012 the dashboard, steering and doors had a lighter grey and beige combo, 2014 onwards it became dark grey (almost black) and beige. I don’t think many people noticed this difference which is pretty stark!

2012 Fortuner:


2014 Fortuner:


As seen 2014 onwards the Fortuner got a darker grey colour and the console where the buttons for traction control, rear cooler, USB port and cigarette lighter are present, it’s colour changed from beige to this dark grey!

Initially when I had got my car I was almost on the verge of contacting Toyota India asking them why does my car only get this console in dark grey whereas all other Fortuners I had seen had it in beige. Later I realised all 2014 later models had it the same way and this was done in 2014 itself in anticipation of the minor facelift the Fortuner received in 2015.

This is a good idea of identifying a pre-2014 and post-2014 Fortuner in case some used car dealer is trying to fool you.


My Fortuner still standing tall , it’s the very rare Silky Gold Mica Metallic colour which I hardly get to see in the sea of white Fortuners in Mumbai.

[PrideRed]

This model of Fortuner is indeed timeless. I did not quite like looks of first gen Fortuner, it was bulbous and did not look appealing. With facelift desirability quotient shot up 100 times. Even now a clean well maintained Fortuner of this vintage will attract lot of attention. More than the ride quality, to me the biggest drawback of this Fortuner is its brakes. For the kind of power it generated, brakes are sub par!
I agree on tire pressure, the cars of this caliber are super sensitive to tire pressure. Even in new Fortuner, a tire pressure of 25-26 makes a huge difference and ride actually gets good. Interestingly, when I recently went to fill air to my Endeavour's tire, I got busy elsewhere and attendant filled indicated 34 on all tires. The ride got so bumpy that forget Fortuner, even my Thar felt more comfortable. On reaching home reduced to 29, what a relief!

[SnS_12]

Qualis, Innova and Fortuner have become a household name over the years and really created a segment for themselves.

Back in 2006-07 when I was working with a Toyota dealership in Mumbai our clients used to ask when Toyota plans to launch the Fortuner in India and it was a model which Toyota loyalist were expecting since long and when it was launched in 2009 the Japanese management expected to sell only 5k to 8k cars in the first year and they actually got more bookings in the first month itself and the rest as they say is history

[Ice]

This is mine. Col.Hathi. 1.6L km. My best friend.

[mugen_pinaki27]

A beast of a machine! I'm yet to sit in a Fortuner but the sheer road presence of this car turns my head every time. My experience with other Toyotas like the Corolla, Qualis and the Innova have been absolutely amazing so much so that I'm considering to buy one as my first car. The durability and reliability of Toyota is world renowned. I pray with the inevitable onset of electric vehicles, it remains the same.