[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

10K run 20 Lakhs worth vehicle has service charge of 2K rupees! This is wonderful. I have become more Toyota fan boy now. A real testimony for a Toyotas quality.

Manuuj,
If you compare the engine after 10K run and new one, do you feel differences? Has it opened up ?

Yes the Service cost was one of the first things i checked before buying the Fortuner. They had a chart and i found out that it will cost about the same as my Qualis to maintain.

It was a BIG plus point for me.

As far as the engine goes it has become smoother over time and as the brakes have improved greatly i have been able to go faster than ever before. This car gets better everyday!

Originally Posted by dilipkumar7278

wow...2k for 10k service. My swift costs more to service. By the way my fortuner might be the lowest clocked car in this forum. How about this...2400kms in 5 months...
Cheers
Dilip

Hahaha! Even my swift costed more on its first service! 2400 kms in 5 months is way too low Dilip, you are not doing justice to your Fortuner!

Trust me, it LOVES the open road!

..and by the way thanks for the tip on the Brakes replacement. As mentioned in my earlier posts, I got mine done last month and the brakes are really great now!

[Manuuj]

Hi all, here is an update on my Fortuner.

I have upgraded the Music System to the Pioneer P-4250DVD as shown in the pic.

The sound quality has improved a lot along with the added advantage of USB/iPod connectivity, Reversing Camera (added separately), Improved Cabin looks etc. It really looks great when driving at night and the touchscreen is almost feather touch.

My Original System was traded in for Rs.6500/- which was deducted from the 23,00/- for the system and 1000/- for the reverse camera.

I have not upgraded the speakers yet which i shall do in a few months. No hurry as the original speakers seem just fine.

The Fortuners Fuel Efficiency remains good. As long as one drives with a light foot, you can expect 11.5 to 12.5 in the city and 12.5 to 13.5 on the highway.

This drops by an average of 1 to 1.5 kmpl if driven hard, thereby returning 10.5 in the city and 11.5 to 12 kmpl on the highways.

I must add here that the highways around delhi are hardly highways at all at the moment as all the roads are under construction and road widening. This leads to frequent braking and being stuck in jams just like one would experience in the city.

I am sure that on a clear open highway like that between Ajmer and Kishengarh in Rajasthan it will give better results.

The Fuel Efficiency Indicator on the dashboard display is surprisingly accurate.

I have noticed that at speeds of around 70 to 80 kmph the Fortuner returns a fuel efficiency of 12.5 to 13/14 kmpl and at speeds of over 90 this falls to 11.5 kmpl on the highway.

Brakes are still performing well but i have noticed a marked increase in pedal play, which i shall have checked up in the 15,000 kms check-up in a few days time.

Apart from this all is well except for a malfunctioning rheostat for the instrument cluster which misses a step sometimes.

I find that after a few months use the Paint in our Pajero is more "hard wearing" than the paint on the Fortuner which seems to be prone to chips and light scratches due to road debris.

That said the Fortuner drives really very well and brings a smile to my face every time i drive it..it literally puts me in a good mood.

Here is a pic of the new music system

[Repsol]

@Manuuj : Congrats on the new ICE. Can you please post real life pics of the new HU with some WIP pics as well so that we can see how it looks after changing the OE HU. You see, there aren't any active fortuner ownership threads here..

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Hi all, here is an update on my Fortuner.
The Fortuners Fuel Efficiency remains good. As long as one drives with a light foot, you can expect 11.5 to 12.5 in the city and 12.5 to 13.5 on the highway.
This drops by an average of 1 to 1.5 kmpl if driven hard, thereby returning 10.5 in the city and 11.5 to 12 kmpl on the highways.

The Fuel Efficiency Indicator on the dashboard display is surprisingly accurate.

I have noticed that at speeds of around 70 to 80 kmph the Fortuner returns a fuel efficiency of 12.5 to 13/14 kmpl and at speeds of over 90 this falls to 11.5 kmpl on the highway.

Brakes are still performing well but i have noticed a marked increase in pedal play, which i shall have checked up in the 15,000 kms check-up in a few days time.

Apart from this all is well except for a malfunctioning rheostat for the instrument cluster which misses a step sometimes.

I find that after a few months use the Paint in our Pajero is more "hard wearing" than the paint on the Fortuner which seems to be prone to chips and light scratches due to road debris.

Thanks Manuuj for that delightful read. Glad to know that the Fortuner gives really commendable FE figures for a 170BHP engine and a 2 tonne weight.
What does that rheostat do/supposed to do and what is it doing now?

I believe you have the upgraded brakes. Do you feel that there has been brake fade off late or something else? Increase in the brake play AFAIK is caused either due to pad/lining wear or a drop in the fluid levels/line pressure/leakage.
I could be wrong though.

Easily scratched paint, now that rings bells in me as I m a bit touchy about scratches on my vehicle.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Repsol

@Manuuj : Congrats on the new ICE. Can you please post real life pics of the new HU with some WIP pics as well so that we can see how it looks after changing the OE HU. You see, there aren't any active fortuner ownership threads here..

Shall try to do that soon buddy but the problem is that i dropped my phone and the camera is taking really fuzzy pics now..all the pics in my thread have been taken with my E71 Nokia.

Will try to get it fixed soon and update the thread with new ICE pics..Cheers!

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Thanks Manuuj for that delightful read. Glad to know that the Fortuner gives really commendable....the fluid levels/line pressure/leakage.
I could be wrong though.
Easily scratched paint, now that rings bells in me as I m a bit touchy about scratches on my vehicle.

The Paint is not too easily scratched Dev, just that when compared to the Pajero Paint it seems a bit below par. Maybe the difference could be in the White Mica Paint of the the Fortuner and the Metallic Paint of the Pajero.

Maybe Metallic paints are more hard wearing?..

The problem with the Brakes is not to do with brake fade but more of increased Pedal Travel. Though if i pump the pedal once lightly the brakes are more fierce and pedal travel is reduced a lot..could be fluid levels i guess. Will have it checked when i send the Fortuner for the 15,000 kms checkup in the next couple of days.

The Rheostat controls the illumination of the Instrument gauges and seems to be missing out one level of illumination control when used. Its like a regulator for a ceiling fan that controls how fast you want the fan speed to be. It has 4 settings from Brightest, Mid, Mid-low and low..its the Mid function that it seems to be skipping at the moment. could be a problem with loose connections or the switch itself.

Shall post an update soon after the 15,000 kms service seeing that this thread is the only active Fortuner Ownership thread on our forum at the moment..wish there were more.

I had started another one titled "All Team BHP Fortuner Pics" but it was closed by the Moderators..i feel it would have been a much more active and interesting thread than this one as a lot more Fortuner owners would have participated with pics and interesting stories of their vehicles.

[SUV_offroading]

Manuuj,

Highly appreciate your updates on your White Fortuner; been a pleasure to read your entries, helps me in waiting for my Black Fortuner (hopefully should be delivered by end of next week)

Your new music system appears to be PIONEER AVH P4250 DVD, touch screen player. Please confirm, as I am planning to get the same installed in my car - your comments will be highly appreciated.

More details about the Pioneer model available here for other members - Pioneer

[nkrishnap]

Manuuj,

A well documented update. Mileage anything above 10 kmpl is great for the size and the power this vehicle offers more so with the AWD.

By the way since you changed the HU, are the steering controls for the audio still working?

Curious because one of the Altis threads has details about the head unit being upgraded to touch screen and the steering control were working perfectly fine.

A little curious here.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Manuuj,

A well documented update. Mileage anything above 10 kmpl is great for the size and the power this vehicle offers more so with the AWD.

By the way since you changed the HU, are the steering controls for the audio still working?

Curious because one of the Altis threads has details about the head unit being upgraded to touch screen and the steering control were working perfectly fine.

A little curious here.

Thanks I'm glad you liked the thread. The Steering controls for the Audio are still working as some kind of "adaptor" costing 2500/- was also installed along with the system so that the steering controls may be used. There was no cutting of OE wiring at any time so warranty is intact.

Hope that answers your question.

Originally Posted by SUV_offroading

Manuuj,

Highly appreciate your updates on your White Fortuner; been a pleasure to read your entries, helps me in waiting for my Black Fortuner (hopefully should be delivered by end of next week)

Your new music system appears to be PIONEER AVH P4250 DVD, touch screen player. Please confirm, as I am planning to get the same installed in my car - your comments will be highly appreciated.

More details about the Pioneer model available here for other members - Pioneer

Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your Fortuner. Im sure you shall have a great time driving it.

I know the wait has been a long one but trust me its well worth it. (i have been in your shoes!)

The head unit is the Pioneer AVH P4250DVD as i mentioned in an earlier post. You will need an "adaptor" that the person doing the installation will have costing around 250 incase you want the steering controls to work. The system is very good and really upgrades the sound quality and the look of the dashboard a great deal.

All the best! Cheers!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

I have upgraded the Music System to the Pioneer P-4250DVD as shown in the pic.

Congrats! I upgraded to the same HU in my Civic; it's an excellent unit. A+ screen, intuitive touch screen, loads of sound tuning options...very easy to use. Just remember to get original Pioneer cables when hooking your iPod up. Else, the response time will be painfully slow.

The Fortuners Fuel Efficiency remains good. As long as one drives with a light foot, you can expect 11.5 to 12.5 in the city and 12.5 to 13.5 on the highway.

Respectable figures. Most of the Fortuners in my circle don't manage over 9.xx in Mumbai city traffic. Best I've heard is 10.

Thank you for updating your Fortuner review so promptly. It'll greatly help other potential owners.

[Manuuj]

The Fortuner is back from its 15000 kms checkup..here is the update as promised..

The total cost of the checkup was 600/- which included a check up of all essential fluids levels and a top up if required, a complete body and interior cleaning including the under body, cleaning of the air filter and HVAC Filter.

I must mention that the Toyota Galaxy workshop uses Original 3M products for all interior and exterior cleaning and washing, including the tire shiners. These products are not cheap and the quality shows in the finished product. I'm happy the workshop is conscientious enough to use good quality 3M products when there are many cheaper products available in the market.

Brakes: The extra work required was the adjustment of the hand brake cable going to the rear wheels which also fixed the pedal play that i had had reported earlier..it took about 45 mins to do as they had to get the vehicle up on the lift, remove the wheels and drums and check the whole rear brake assembly.
In the end all that was required was adjusting the cable and everything was working well again. The good part is that i was not charged a single penny for the labor involved.

Rheostat: The rheostat was working fine and it was my mistake in the first place to think it was skipping a step as reported earlier.

"The Rheostat controls the illumination of the Instrument gauges and seems to be missing out one level of illumination control when used. Its like a regulator for a ceiling fan that controls how fast you want the fan speed to be. It has 4 settings from Brightest, Mid, Mid-low and low..its the Mid function that it seems to be skipping at the moment. could be a problem with loose connections or the switch itself."

It is designed to miss the mid when the parking lights/ headlights are off.

With the lights on the Rheostat controls the instrument panel illumination to all 4 levels specified. I checked this against other Fortuners standing there and found that to be the norm.

All in all it took about three hours and everything went of pretty smoothly.

I look forward to reviews from other Fortuner Owners also.

[n.devdath]

A 20 lac rupee vehicle coming out of the ASC by paying INR 600.00. Wow

And an ASC which uses genuine 3M products is another icing on the cake.

Real affordable upkeep costs so far. When is your oil change due now?

Looking forward to the so called "full service" costs at the ASC now.

And yes, what did the ICE cost you? Sorry if you have answered it elsewhere. Of course the pics are pending.

Thank you Mannuj for such a prompt update and keep them coming. Any trips to the hills planned?

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

A 20 lac rupee vehicle coming out of the ASC by paying INR 600.00. Wow

And an ASC which uses genuine 3M products is another icing on the cake.

Real affordable upkeep costs so far. When is your oil change due now?

Looking forward to the so called "full service" costs at the ASC now.

And yes, what did the ICE cost you? Sorry if you have answered it elsewhere. Of course the pics are pending.

Thank you Mannuj for such a prompt update and keep them coming. Any trips to the hills planned?

No hill trips planned for now buddy ..am itching to go though!

Maybe in October during the Conmanwealth Games as Delhi will be a bad place to be when the games are on!

Sorry about the lack of pics as my phone camera is still kaput and i have just not had time to have it fixed!

The Oil Change is due at 20,000 Kms along with other things like filters etc. Then i shall be charged for Labor also so the total cost will be in the range of around 3500 to 4000/- which is decent.

If you put things in perspective..my car shall complete 12 months on the 10th December which is three months away.

If i do need to service it by then (ie:- drive 5000 kms in the next 90 days) the Fortuners total cost of maintainence for the first year will be 1974+600+ 4000 =approx 6600/-

That is fantastic considering each 5000 kms service cost in my Diesel Opel Astra was about the same 10 years ago!!

The total cost on ugrading the ICE to the Pioneer P4250DVD was around 21500/- to 22,000/-

Music System............................................ .. 23000/- (grey market)
Rear Camera.. ..............................................1000/-
RC Lead for camera............................. 300 to 500/-
Interface for Steering controls...................... 2500/-
Misc ..(Labor, Wiring etc)................................ 500/-
Less for OE Fortuner System exchange........ 6000/-
Total= 21500/-

Cheers!

[salman_ferrari]

Hey Manuuj,

Congrats on your new system, hoping to get the same HU installed on my car soon. Would appreciate if you could post few pics. Thanks!

[Manuuj]

Hi all , Sorry for the delay in the pics, here they are..

[h@r$h@l]

hey Manuuj. I read your fortuner review today only. Have been reading since last hr. Excellent car and i must say you have some serious patience. 2005 onwards. wow. Also the dealer mess up was not a good start, but in the end you got what you liked and wanted. Congrats.

Can you please post some day light clear pics of the Music System. Hows the performance of the same?