Obelix, the Invincible Toyota Fortuner! 3 years & 80,000 kms up

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Manuuj,
Once again a great set of snaps and a delightful t'logue. Heartwarming to see your Fortuner tackling anything you throw at it - effortlessly.
And loved the last chuck on the ever strengthening bond !

And yes - Congratulations, on graduating from the Initial Ownership section to LTOR section. First Fortuner here to graduate thus...Old Man River !

Have fun.

Thank you HG!! That the Fortuner shall soldier on for many years i have no doubt in. My only grouse was the harsh ride on this trip. The road was bad and my mom was really being thrown around on the back seat. The pajeros ride is way more pliant even though the design predates the Fortuner by a decade. Wonder why the Fortuner needs to have that stiff a ride.

More importantly ..is there some thing we can do to make it better?

Originally Posted by dkaile

Congratulations Mannuj, on being the first Fortuner on TBhp in the Long Term Ownership Review. As Herr' Generale' puts it, Toyota's are reliable to the point of being boring. I say, better boring than knocking on the A S S's. Your Fortuner looks spanking new as ever. Keep updating...

Toyota reliability is legendary. I would not risk taking my family and friends to these places if it wasn't for the TOYOTA Fortuner.

Thank you for your kind wishes also.

[Manuuj]

The summers have set in. One can see a haze and mirages on the road as the sun bakes the soil below us and the moisture within it evaporates. At a time like this the urge to pack a few things and head for the cooler climes of distant hills rises within.

Sadly no such development has taken place and work seems to have taken priority. The only hills and travels i see are the ones i cravingly read in the travelogues of my fellow members.

In the humdrum of life there is a bright spark. I have my Fortuner to keep me company on the long drives to the distant cement, textile, sugar and paper plants of my clients.

On one such drive i put in a dvd of "Sholay" on the Pioneer P4250 DVD system and enjoyed listening to the dialogues thoroughly while my associate watched the movie. At first i was scared that it may be a tad distracting but it wasn't at all.

I even got an opportunity to use the Air compressor on this trip to inflate on tyre that seemed i bit low on air.



We came across the new kid on the block also



Average for a long part of was very good due to a late afternoon appointment which resulted in some very sedate driving at 75-85 kmph.


On the 14th of May the Fortuner was taken for its routine 55,000 kms service at 55,192 kms on the clock.


Thorough under body wash with a brother for company..


Air filters and HVAC filter being cleaned. The vacuum extractor makes sure the dust and debris gets extracted and collected in a bag instead of polluting the air that the mechanics breathe. Kudos to Galaxy Toyota for installing and implementing this system.


Fluid levels checked and topped if necessary. Only washer fluid was needed.


Been taken via lift to the Engine and top body wash area below.


All fresh inside and outside. As i have said earlier Galaxy Motors uses 3M products which are of very good quality. You may notice the large cans stacked on the shelves on the left of the pic.


Tyre wear at 55,000 kms.


The total expense was Rs.713/- ...Not bad eh??

I really wanted the Toyota Original HID low beam that the facelifted Fortuner has and had a discussion with a senior technician on the matter. He informed me it would be impossible to do so.

The HID require 20,000 volts to be on and a special ECM is required for it that only comes with the full assembly. The wiring would have to be changed also and even the mounting for the bulb is different to the one on the low beam of my Fortuner. Each bulb by the way costs Rs.12,000/-

He advised me not to even try to do something like this. He said if i get relays installed i could put a higher wattage bulb inplace of the current one in the low beam. But this also would mean messing with the Original Wiring Harness which is something i am never keen on doing.

Ah well...idea dropped!

As i said earlier the summers have set in and as the North Indian plain transforms into a swirling hot dust bowl the urge and need make a trip to the hills will overtake any sense of responsibility i have towards work.

I feel it will be pretty soon that the Fortuner and i will be off to the hills..with maybe "Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi" playing to keep us entertained!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Average for a long part of was very good due to a late afternoon appointment which resulted in some very sedate driving at 75-85 kmph.

That is great FE Manuuj. Tell me, what is the average FE you get at say 110-120kmph which I believe is the standard highway cruising speed? What is the lowest FE at high speeds that you have so far achieved?

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The total expense was Rs.713/- ...Not bad eh??

A similar service on the Scorpio would have cost INR 900.00 and if the brakes would have been opened, cleaned and re fitted, it would have added another 900.00 to the bill. The Fortuner is quite economical to maintain.


Coming to improving the ride quality, I was casually speaking to the folks at Pete's Bangalore and they told me that installing Bilsteins or Ironman shock absorbers makes the ride quality better and a few vehicles here in Bangalore have done it. I have no direct experience though.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

That is great FE Manuuj. Tell me, what is the average FE you get at say 110-120kmph which I believe is the standard highway cruising speed? What is the lowest FE at high speeds that you have so far achieved?
The Fortuner is quite economical to maintain.
Coming to improving the ride quality, I was casually speaking to the folks at Pete's Bangalore and they told me that installing Bilsteins or Ironman shock absorbers makes the ride quality better and a few vehicles here in Bangalore have done it. I have no direct experience though.

That really was a great FE figure but that was largely due to the fact that it was taken when the vehicle was on the highway for a considerable time. The road from Delhi to Panipat is almost like a 6 lane expressway. If one is cantering along between 75-85 kmph with a light foot one doesnt really need to even brake much. There was sparse traffic. Not once did i go over the 90 kmph speed limit as this stretch is heavily checked by the Haryana Highway Police for over speeding also.

The worst FE i have got is 9.8 kmpl while driving hard at speeds that i cannot mention here, while on a trip to Rajasthan and also a similar figure when driving with a heavy load in the hills where i crossed Jalori Pass also.

The Fortuner surely is quite economical to maintain and does not pinch the pocket at all. A 5000 kms service is always around the Rs 700/- mark and the 10,000 kms services are usually between Rs.2000/- to Rs. 3500/-

You could say that you spend around Rs.4,000 every 10,000 kms which is acceptable.

Thank you for the info on the shockers and suspension.

I will be definitely doing something to ease the discomfort of rear seat passengers who tend to get thrown about especially on broken hill roads.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The summers have set in.
I feel it will be pretty soon that the Fortuner and i will be off to the hills..with maybe "Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi" playing to keep us entertained!

Hi Manuuj,
Again - a delightful review as ever. Congrats on cantering to 55K. Never mind the fact that due to your high mile munching proclivities you and your thread have been admitted to this geriatic ward (LTORs).
Yes, I totally agree with you about the fact (and along with other facts) that even on the most trying trips - the fact that one is with the Fortuner makes a huge difference. Ask me - one of the lousiest, non stop, grinding drive of 16.5 hours recently, in Kerala, was made extremely bearable by the ol' boy - not to mention that over the last two days have been zipping along the busiest parts of Mumbai in the peak hour traffic with not a worry in the world. Yesterday it was Kalbadevi/AR Rehman Street at noon time...can't get worse than that anytime.
About that FE of 15.1 KMPL - when the Dickens did you turn into a granny driver eh ?
Take the good Doc's advice - off to the hills you go with your trusted steed my friend !

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Manuuj,
Again - a delightful review as ever. Congrats on cantering to 55K. Never mind the fact that due to your high mile munching proclivities you and your thread have been admitted to this geriatic ward (LTORs).
Yes, I totally agree with you about the fact (and along with other facts) that even on the most trying trips - the fact that one is with the Fortuner makes a huge difference. Ask me - one of the lousiest, non stop, grinding drive of 16.5 hours recently, in Kerala, was made extremely bearable by the ol' boy - not to mention that over the last two days have been zipping along the busiest parts of Mumbai in the peak hour traffic with not a worry in the world. Yesterday it was Kalbadevi/AR Rehman Street at noon time...can't get worse than that anytime.
About that FE of 15.1 KMPL - when the Dickens did you turn into a granny driver eh ?
Take the good Doc's advice - off to the hills you go with your trusted steed my friend !

Guderian Saar, thank you very much saar for your good wishes saar! Its a good thing that my Fort is about 30,000 kms and one year ahead of yours. It will give you a fair idea of what to expect in the coming months and if anything is out of the ordinary.

Though experience and wisdom suggest that it will be plain sailing as usual. Good to read about Admirals exploits in our beautiful South.

The FE of 15.6 (not 15.1) was achieved on some leisurely, light footed and 'speed camera paranoia' inspired highway driving. This dropped to about 13.6 as the whole tank was used up as the drive extended to cities and foothills also over the next three days.

The Fortuner sure is a mile muncher and inspires confidence like its venerable ancestor - the Qualis.

At speeds of 80-85 kmph the engine is ticking over at 15-1600 rpm with no noise at all and a wonderful FE to boot. It sure is a very satisfying feeling.

The heat is getting worse and the call of the whispering pines far north is getting louder by the minute.

The Fort is chomping at its Bit.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The Fortuner sure is a mile muncher and inspires confidence like its venerable ancestor - the Qualis.

+1 to that. I still do not have the heart to dispose off my Qualis even though I get at least 1 offer per week for it. I have decided to keep it as a souvenir of rugged Toyota quality even though its hardly driven now a days with two new cars in the stable.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by dkaile

+1 to that. I still do not have the heart to dispose off my Qualis even though I get at least 1 offer per week for it. I have decided to keep it as a souvenir of rugged Toyota quality even though its hardly driven now a days with two new cars in the stable.

Mine is close to 1,90,000 kms and joined our family on 31st December 2003.
It hasn't had one breakdown in all these years and is extremely effortless to drive even today.

Here is a snap of it standing in the factory today..


Even i refuse to part with mine!

[kedarwalke]

Manuj a quick one,
I am in goa and went to a beach and comfortably drove in sand by engaging the HL gear,ideally where should i slot it??

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by kedarwalke

Manuj a quick one,
I am in goa and went to a beach and comfortably drove in sand by engaging the HL gear,ideally where should i slot it??

So sorry for the late reply i just saw your Q a minute ago! I would say HL is just fine but if you get wheels in the air if the vehicle gets bogged down then it may be a problem as the Fort does not have rear diff lock.

Then engaging LL and slowly rocking the car may help.

[Manuuj]

This week i had an opportunity to let the Fortuner stretch its legs. My parents had some work in Lucknow where we all lived for a considerable part of our lives. Some loose ends needed tying up and they were keen to go off on their own.

I offered to drive them down as it would be much more convenient to have a car there at their disposal and also i would not have to stress about their well being.

The day before we left was Saturday the 2nd of June and i decided to have all the tyres checked for punctures as they were all losing air at a very slow rate. As it turns out all 4 tyres had nails in them resulting in small amounts of air escaping from them. In all there were 7 punctures in the 4 tyres.




We left early the next day on Sunday the 3rd of June, at about 6 AM and were in Lucknow by 3 PM owing to the horrible day traffic around Faridabad and Palwal. A small stop was taken at Mathura and then it was non stop all the way to Kanpur.

The average FE was about 13.2 kmpl.

Movies played were Padosan and Rang Birangi on the way up and Kashmir Ki Kali and Sholay on the way back. I must stress here that it no way impeded my driving. I was happily enjoying the dialogues while my parents watched with great interest. It really made time fly and they were surprised at how little they felt the journey.


A couple of days were spent meeting old friends and finishing all the work that was needed to be done.

A view of the famous Hazaratganj. (sorry for the blurred pic..though it depicts my moist eyes at seeing ye olde hangout)


We had to leave under all circumstances on Tuesday as my Father had an early morning flight to Nepal on Wednesday.

By the time all the work was done on Tuesday it was 4:30 pm and after refueling and getting the air checked in all tyres (which was just one point low) we finally left at exactly 5:05 pm. After a brief halt for tea at Nawabganj, Kanpur was crossed at 7:05 pm and the huge flyover type byepass made things a breeze.

We reached Firozabad around 10:45 and it was looking like we would only get to Delhi in the wee hours around 3:30- 4 am.

At this point we saw the Yamuna Expressway On ramp about 12 kms before we hit Agra. There were signs that said the Expressway was closed and guards were manning the barriers. I had been informed in Lucknow that a friend had just traveled on it the night before.

I took a U turn at the next break in the divider about 100 meters from the on ramp and came to a halt at the barrier. I got of and went and spoke to the guards and requested them to let us through.

He refused right away when i said we did not have a pass from Jaypee.

I then saw him looking towards the White VIP looking Fortuner with its hazard lights on standing behind his barrier. I said "Jaano do bhai jee..sahab gaadi mein hain..ya aap unse hi baat kar lo aur khud mana kar do unhe" (Please let us pass brother..Sir is sitting in the car OR you can tell him yourself that you will not let him through)

At this he looked a bit perturbed and immediately asked "Kya rank, kaun department?" (What Rank and department?) to which i blurted out "Revenue"

He looked at the other guards and one of them nodded while saying "Jaane do abhi barah bhi nahi baje hain" (let them go as it is, its not even 12 yet)
They took the registration number and my name down on a register and instructed me not to stop at all anywhere along the way.

At exactly 11:05 pm we were on our way on the brand new Yamuna Expressway. It reminded me of the M1 in England. Beautifully lit with 4 wide lanes (including hard shoulder) well marked with cats eyes and reflective paint on the billiard table smooth cement.

The only surreal part was it was a ghost highway. Not one car was crossed in either direction and we crossed 4 toll booths whose staff took down my number and let me pass without paying anything.

The 180 odd kilometeres to Noida were dispatched in one hour and 20 minutes. I was constantly between 120 and 150 kmph.
ONE because the road was so so good. Beautifully lit and flat with not a single dog, bullock cart, tractor, motorcyle, car or anything in fact on it to slow us down and TWO because i just wanted to get the hell off this surreal deserted ghost highway as soon as i could.

I was home at exactly 1:05 AM. In 2 hours from before Agra to home in Delhi!! 2 to 3 hours were saved besides the hassle of not facing any perennially huge truck jams at the entrance to Delhi and at Ashram.

The only victim was the FE which fell to about 12.1 kmpl.

All in all a really good trip. Work was completed and I got to drive solo on a supreb Expressway!

Sadly there arent any Pics of that as it was night time and i was concentrating on driving.

An interesting point was that at one point near Etawah i had to go off the Road onto the soft mud shoulder of the road to byepass a kilometer and half long line of trucks waiting to pay toll. Due to the recent downpour this area had become slushy and very uneven with huge dips and craters. An Innova and Alto tried following me and promptly got stuck.

I engaged 4HL just to be safe and went through each dip and slush filled crater in first gear. There was no tantrum or drama as the Fortuner handled this mini OTR with aplomb. My dad was impressed. A few miles down the road i was happily cruising at 130 -150 kmph in the same vehicle on the Yamuna Expressway!!

I love the Fortuner!!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

As it turns out all 4 tyres had nails in them resulting in small amounts of air escaping from them. In all there were 7 punctures in the 4 tyres.

I faced the same situation last week when I had 3 of Hariya's tires checked for punctures. There were a total of 5 punctures in 3 tires. Tubeless tires are actually a boon.

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The average FE was about 13.2 kmpl.

At what speeds on the speedo?

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The 180 odd kilometeres to Noida were dispatched in one hour and 20 minutes. I was constantly between 120 and 150 kmph.
ONE because the road was so so good. Beautifully lit and flat with not a single dog, bullock cart, tractor, motorcyle, car or anything in fact on it to slow us down and TWO because i just wanted to get the hell off this surreal deserted ghost highway as soon as i could.
The only victim was the FE which fell to about 12.1 kmpl.
I love the Fortuner!!

So are you saying that at speeds between 120-150kmph, the Fortuner gave you 12 kmpl? Boy, this is amazingly fuel efficient. The other vehicles on the forum do not report such FE figures at all.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I faced the same situation last week when I had 3 of Hariya's tires checked for punctures. There were a total of 5 punctures in 3 tires. Tubeless tires are actually a boon.


At what speeds on the speedo?


So are you saying that at speeds between 120-150kmph, the Fortuner gave you 12 kmpl? Boy, this is amazingly fuel efficient. The other vehicles on the forum do not report such FE figures at all.

Tubeless Tyres sure do make life easier. To think i would have been stuck changing tyres on 7 different occasions if it wasn't for the tyres being tubeless.

The mileage of 13.2 was on at speeds of 80-90 kmph on a very congested highway on the way to Lucknow. There was a lot of braking and speeding up required due to mixed traffic. The 12.1 figure was the average not for the 180 odd kms of fast driving but the whole 560 kms from Lucknow to New Delhi. In the earlier part the average was around 13.5 due to 80 kmph 5th gear driving. This was because there was quite a bit of traffic and overtaking was very difficult.

The average dropped to 12 after the 180 km dash at high speeds but you must also recognize that this dash was devoid of much braking and sudden acceleration. I would go upto 140-150 kmph when i could and then ease back to about 120. Its only when there is constant heavy braking and pedal to the metal acceleration that you use a lot of gas. Cruising at a regular speed even if its high does not use as much fuel as long as you are in the correct gear.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

This week i had an opportunity to let the Fortuner stretch its legs.

I love the Fortuner!!

Hi Manuuj,
As ever - great write up ! With all the attendant chills and thrills.
Incidentally why do/did they close the expressway ?

And regarding the tyre punctures - how often were/do you checking/check the tyre pressure ? Weekly ?
What does it cost in Delhi to fix a single tubeless puncture ?

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Manuuj,
A. As ever - great write up ! With all the attendant chills and thrills.
B. Incidentally why do/did they close the expressway ?

C. And regarding the tyre punctures - how often were/do you checking/check the tyre pressure ? Weekly ?
D. What does it cost in Delhi to fix a single tubeless puncture ?

A. Thank you HG for your kind words. Good to see old friends here.

B. The expressway isn't closed. It is in fact hasn't yet been OPENED to the general public. This despite it being ready to the Tee. It really is world class. I think i read once in the paper that they are not opening it for Public Safety Issues..people over speeding and causing accidents and deaths.

I feel there is a larger political issue here that is causing the expressway to remain shut. This was the pet project of BSP leader Mayawati the past CM of UP. At the moment the party in power is of her rival and nemesis SP's Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav. Jaypee Infrastructure that constructed the Taj Corridor or Yamuna Expressway is /was a very close ally of Mayawati.

It has to open though sooner or later. Trust me the 190 km odd long expressway is a treat to drive on. The Bentley GT will be taken on it soon if we can get the required pass from Jaypee's Office.

C. Tyre pressure is checked once a week i guess..basically everytime I fill up fuel.

D. The going rate for fixing a puncture in Delhi NCR is Rs 50-60/- per puncture THAT IS if the puncture is fixed without taking the tyre off the rim.

I prefer having the tyre taken off COMPLETELY and the puncture fixed from inside properly after removing the nail, grinding, applying adhesive and a patch. This cost about 100/- per puncture and is a more thorough method in my view than the "inserting a needle and rubber strip from top" method.

The cost break up was such:

Tyre 1: Rear Right: 1 puncture--Actual Cost:100/- Charged: Rs.100/-
Tyre 2: Front Right: 3 punctures--Actual Cost:300/- Charged: Rs.200/-
Tyre 3: Rear Left: 2 punctures--Actual Cost:200/- Charged: Rs.150/-
Tyre 4: Front Left: 1 puncture--Actual Cost:100/- Charged: Rs.100/-

Basically i was charged 100/- for opening the tyre and fixing one puncture and an Rs. 50/- for any additional puncture in the same tyre.

Time taken was one and a half hours.

Additionally since all tyres were taken off the rims i had them "reversed" also so that the side which was on the inside of the rim now faced the outside. This leads to an even wear and longer tyre life.

Hope this helps