[krish3]

Knowing you do a lot of trips on bad roads, this is quite reassuring. I would go for tire rotation at every service though, which is around 10k.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by Samba

I get the rotation done at every 20,000 km.

After rotation, if i feel there is no pull towards any side or there is no steering vibration at any speed, i do not go for alignment and balancing.

I too follow almost the same pattern after switching to Toyota 7 years back. It was also influenced by the attitude of service centre personnel in Nippon Toyota, kalamassery. They suggest to do alignment only when required. And the checks you have mentioned makes sense in most cases.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by Samba

I will suggest you to get the following parts checked by a trusted & experienced mechanic from a FNG. If he agree's for the same, then get it changed at Toyota.

The problem for me is, I do not know any FNG.
Update:
I went to Nandi Toyota today and spoke to the Technician directly. I asked him why I have been asked to change the Tensioner Pulley when I did not notice any noise as such. Then he opened the hood and asked the SA to start the car with headlights on. There was a slight noise, but definitely nothing noticeable as such. At that time, he said nothing to worry as of now. But just asked me to keep an eye on this.
And as far as other two parts, I asked them to replace both after talking to technician. As everyone knows, labour costs sucks in these service centers. Part cost was around 800, but the labour quoted was around 2300. I talked to senior advisor and asked them to reduce that cost. Finally they agreed it for Rs1400. I know it is still too high compared to FNG, but as I don't know any FNG and did not want to try out, I just said okay.
Still waiting for my car to be delivered.

[kotirajendra]

Folks - Quick question. Have you done any kind of preventive AC maintenance on your Etios? AC flush etc?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by kotirajendra

Folks - Quick question. Have you done any kind of preventive AC maintenance on your Etios? AC flush etc?

Not yet. During the last service at 90,000 km mark, Toyota certified the cooling to be perfect and i felt the same. Apart from changing the AC filter at every 30,000 km, nothing has been done with the AC.

[xcentrk]

@Samba: Quick question. Bought an used Etios Petrol 2013 which run 43k. Been observing the FE and getting only 10-11 in city and about 15 in highway. Please note I stay in Tier-II city and traffic in not dense like Chennai/Bangalore and B2B traffic is not very common.

Let me know how do I approach this issue? What are the items I need to check before I take this up with A.S.S? The tyres are worn out and planned to replace by this month and scheduled service is still months away. Any help or thoughts from members is appreciated! Sorry for posting this question here as I don't find any other Etios Petrol related discussion here.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by xcentrk

@Samba: Quick question. Bought an used Etios Petrol 2013 which run 43k. Been observing the FE and getting only 10-11 in city and about 15 in highway. Please note I stay in Tier-II city and traffic in not dense like Chennai/Bangalore and B2B traffic is not very common.

Congrats on your new acquisition.

The mileage you are getting is the same, what most of the Etios petrol owners get!

To extract mileage from Etios, shift early and be light on the accelerator. Use the torque and drive it more like a diesel!

2nd gear at 15 km/hr
3rd gear at 25-30 km/hr
4th gear at 35-40 km/hr
5th gear at 45-50 km/hr

Following the above driving style will extract you around 12-13 km/L with AC on in city. To extract more, that will depend on your driving style, like leave the accelerator much before, less braking, less gear changing etc etc. You will get these fine tunes adjusted with the car after driving the car for few thousand kilometers.

In highways stick below 100 km/hr in 5th gear, Etios should return around 16-17 km/L with AC on.

This is what i wrote in the 2nd post of my ownership review back in 2013-

Originally Posted by Samba

Mileage-

One of the most important things one considers while buying a petrol car.

Maximum Mileage: 20 kmpl (With windows rolled up, AC off, at speeds around 60-80 on highway with the top gear on)

Minimum Mileage: 8 kmpl (Stuck in city traffic for around 3 hours with constant AC on and car moving on 1st or 2nd gear)

Average mileage in city with AC off: 13-14 kmpl.

Average mileage in city with AC on: 10-14 kmpl.

Mileage in highway at speeds within 100 kmph with AC off: 16-18 kmpl.

Mileage in highway at speeds within 100 kmph with AC on: 14-16 kmpl.

Mileage in highway at speeds above 120 kmph with AC off: 14-15 kmpl.

Mileage in highway at speeds above 120 kmph with AC on: 13-14 kmpl

So with fair usage of AC and proper driving, one can expect 12-14 kmpl in city and 15-18 kmpl on highways.

One tip from my side to extract better mileage from Etios:
As the car has got 132nm of torque, shift early. You don’t have to take the car to more speeds to shift to the next gear.

Today nearly after 8 years and with more than 90,000 km in the odometer, i get the same mileage as before.

[xcentrk]

Originally Posted by Samba

Congrats on your new acquisition.
The mileage you are getting is the same, what most of the Etios petrol owners get!

Thanks for the detailed reply, Samba. I own an Xcent S petrol and it returns almost the same mileage. Around 11-13 in city, 15-17 in highways. Being a bigger displacement engine, I though Etios would fare better as it has good low end and that is why I wanted to check with you here. Glad to know this is not an issue and this is regular affair.

[hmansari]

Originally Posted by sidharth_j

1) The brake pad wear is at 0.8mm, the service manual says we need to worry about the pad thickness only at 0.1mm - what is the braking effectiveness if the pad wears down so much?

Hi sidharth_j,
I know I'm quoting you on a pretty old post but would you be able to hook me up with the service manual for Etios? I am planning to try my hand on a few DIYs and a service manual would be great to refer to.
Alternatively, could you guide me on sourcing one?
Thanks,
hmansari

@Samba,
It has already been said multiple times by others, but it would be unfair of me to post here without mentioning the painstakingly detailed work you have done with this thread. It has really turned out to be a benchmark for Etios owners.
I too drive a 2011 Etios G, though nowhere nearly as impeccably maintained as yours.
Cheers,
hmansari

[Samba]

Etios turns 8 with 90,500 km on the odo

My favorite car turns 8. It has been a wonderful journey with the car since 15th June 2011. We have loads of memories together.

In the last one year, Etios has covered only 5,000 km. It's the least this car has covered in a year till now. The main reason for this is, our Duster is going for the long trips since we bought it last year.

The main usage of this car is now citycentric with occasional highway drives. Going by this rate, i hope the 100,000 km mark will come up on it's 10th year.

Finally on it's 8th year, ICICI Lombard refused to offer us a bumper to bumper, nil depreciation insurance. So after a 8 years relation with ICICI Lombard, this year we shifted to Tata AIG comprehensive insurance. The main reason to shift was, i got a cheaper rate outside than what Toyota offered. Thanks to Bhpian Sayata for the help.

No complaints on ICICI Lombard, infact we were very happy that they offered us bumper to bumper insurance till the 7th year which is actually excellent.

Regarding the car, its running as smooth as ever. No fuss or niggles to be reported. The 'fill it, shut it and forget it' saga continues.
While driving this car on the highway, i always have a smile plastered on my face.

Senior member sharing his experiences with the juniors!



Sharing a couple of pics of the birthday car!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Samba

Etios turns 8 with 90,500 km on the odo

Happy Birthday!

The best part about clean designs is that they age well. She is looking very good. And even by current standards, the Etios is damn fun to drive. I love its flat handling.

[kotirajendra]

Need some advice, I probably know the answer but still taking a general consensus.
Due to the sole Toyota Dealer in Pune folding up, I had to service my Etios outstation earlier than the specified time/kms.

Because of this -
Service milestone of 30K was at 26K
12 month interval was supposed to be in Dec but service happened in Oct.
So I am running 4K and 3 months earlier than the specified milestones/intervals.

Due to 2 long drives this year, my car already ran 9.5K kms and by the 10K interval rule it will be up for service within 2 months. 40K service has brake oil and spark plug replacement.

So what should I do?
a. Honor the 10K rule even if it will always be 4K earlier?
b. Delay a bit, like by 1K kms every year?
c. Change the engine oil as per the 10K rule (within next 2 months) and the other replacements (brake oil/spark plug) by the 4 year rule?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by GTO

Happy Birthday!

The best part about clean designs is that they age well. She is looking very good. And even by current standards, the Etios is damn fun to drive. I love its flat handling.

Thanks for the wish. In the first post of my ownership review in 2013, i wrote this-

Originally Posted by Samba

Then again Team Bhp stopped me from doing so. A thread came up with scoop pics of the Toyota Etios. My dad likes the brand Toyota so he asked to wait for the Etios to come up. So we waited the whole November. Now came December and GTO wrote the awesome comprehensive review on the Etios petrol. The next day we were at the Toyota showroom and there was an Etios in display but no car for the test drive. I had full faith on GTO and the standard of Team Bhp. Without test driving the car we booked the Etios.

Originally Posted by kotirajendra

So what should I do?
a. Honor the 10K rule even if it will always be 4K earlier?
b. Delay a bit, like by 1K kms every year?
c. Change the engine oil as per the 10K rule (within next 2 months) and the other replacements (brake oil/spark plug) by the 4 year rule?

Ans for A-
The engine oil should definitely be changed at the 10k interval.
So i will suggest, as you will give the car for the service get everything done at a time, else again after 4k km, you have to visit the service center and get these done.

Ans for B-
Go for full synthetic oil. In that case you can delay the oil change from 10,000 km to 11,000 km, though not recommended.

Ans for C-
You can always opt for this option.

[Sreesh1009]

Originally Posted by kavensri

The problem for me is, I do not know any FNG.
Update:
I went to Nandi Toyota today and spoke to the Technician directly. I asked him why I have been asked to change the Tensioner Pulley when I did not notice any noise as such. Then he opened the hood and asked the SA to start the car with headlights on. There was a slight noise, but definitely nothing noticeable as such. At that time, he said nothing to worry as of now. But just asked me to keep an eye on this.
And as far as other two parts, I asked them to replace both after talking to technician. As everyone knows, labour costs sucks in these service centers. Part cost was around 800, but the labour quoted was around 2300. I talked to senior advisor and asked them to reduce that cost. Finally they agreed it for Rs1400. I know it is still too high compared to FNG, but as I don't know any FNG and did not want to try out, I just said okay.
Still waiting for my car to be delivered.

Sir, please PM me. I know some really good FNG's in Bangalore.

[Samba]

93,000 km update

Nothing to update! Its running absolutely niggle free. The fill it, shut it & forget it saga continues.
Even at 93,000 km mark with stock clutch, this car is an absolute delight to drive, be it in city or on highways.

Whenever i switch to our Duster AWD from the Etios, it takes 5 mins to adjust, but when i switch back to Etios from Duster, i do not require any adjustment. The ergonomics and the ease of driving this car are just spot-on.

The upcoming expenditure will be, to buy four new tyres. Will most probably buy in October.

The current set of Yokohama Earth 1's have covered 50,000 km in 4 years.

A review on the Earth 1's-

Do not consider Earth1 to be a performance tyre.

It's good for Indian conditions with more than enough longevity and tough sidewall. These tyres can withstand some abuse. I have driven to Sikkim, Spiti, Ladakh, Bhutan & few places in North Bengal with these Earth 1's. They have never let me down with any sidewall rupture or even an untimely puncture! Over the span of 50,000 km at most, i have not faced more than 5-6 punctures.

The Earth 1's hold up well upto 35,000 km. From then, tyre noise starts to creep in and the grip starts to reduce. Using these tyres after 50,000 km is not recommended. On close inspection, I can see many small cracks near the tread. Though apparently the tyre rubber & tread looks okay from outside.

If anyone is looking for a plush or more performance oriented tyre, then the XM2 should be a better option.

With my kind of usage, i may again opt for the Earth 1.

Sharing few recent pics-