[Samba]

Etios turns 12 with 113,000 km on it's odo.

We brought her home on 15th June 2011. In these 12 years this car was like a constant in our family! During this period we sold 3 cars, and bought 3 cars, but we never thought of parting with the Etios!

This car literally supported us through everything (be it the good times or the bad times)-
Be it a family function.
Be it a medical emergency.
Be it carrying over 250 kg of load in it's boot!
Be it a long holiday trip.
Be it driving through a water logged street where I can literally see the water over it's bonnet!
Or be it the weekend fun drives or the Team-Bhp meets!

This car has never ever let us down.

This is how time changes.

In 2011.



At the same place in 2023!

[amalji]

Originally Posted by Samba

Etios turns 12 with 113,000 km on it's odo.

We brought her home on 15th June 2011. In these 12 years this car was like a constant in our family! During this period we sold 3 cars, and bought 3 cars, but we never thought of parting with the Etios!

Can very well relate to this. We were looking for a car for my wife recently. Both of us agreed that if Etios has an automatic which is being sold or even in the used cars, we would have straight away went and bought it ( even in today's market with a lot many options ).

My parents still use the Liva diesel which should be around 11 years old now. Whenever they come up with EV buying options today, when I ask him "are you planning to exchange the Liva?", The answer is a big NO always. The car still drives like new.

[som9729]

Originally Posted by Samba

Etios turns 12 with 113,000 km on it's odo.

Attachment 2464090

At the same place in 2023!

Attachment 2464100

Hi there!

As a fellow Liva owner, I can relate.
My car turns 9 this year, and works as good as a new one.

Infact, anyone sitting in it considers it to be a 2-3 yr old car.
Nobody even considers the fact that it could be 9 year old!

An amazing car indeed. Pity that its been discontinued.
I'd have bought another one without thinking twice.

Kudos to you!

[cefiljoseph]

Hi,

Etios is a great car especially the diesels. When it was sold new, I dismissed it as a boring Toyota. However, recently noticed that many of the cabs that came were Etioses and they usually had insanely high miles on the odo. It's not uncommon to see some cars which have crossed a few lakh kms. This impressed me along with the economy of these machines. Some of the cars have their fair bit of rattles and squeaks after such high mileage but still impressive it holds up. While I expected such reliability or Land Cruisers, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Toyota made their normal cars like these to those same high standards as well. Also, I saw a video recently where Toyota was studying the Indian market during the development of Etios and found that a lot of car washed used soap water to clean the interior. Because of this, they designed a lot of components inside the Etios to be water-resistant. Truly amazing market research and eye for detail by Toyota engineers.

Wishing you a million miles with this beauty

[Shrikanth G]

I can relate to your story completely. I had an Etios GD bought new in 2015 but had to let it go to get the big daddy Innova into the family I had that itch of the etios on me for years until came 2021 where after a lot of bad car ownership experience from my dad I suggested him to go for an ETIOS 2011 70k driven second owner car. The decision was made almost immediately by my dad and we went for the purchase only to know at a later point of time got to know through my contacts at Toyota that the mileage was rigged. The actual kms was 1,20,000. What surprised more was the service advisor gave a clean chit stating there is absolutely no issue with the car and we got the clutch, suspension and injectors with a general service which made the car brand new. We are totally in love with the car now. With the new tyres in it just runs like as if it's come out of 3rd service interval. No squeaks no noise absolutely perfect.
The petrol engine is another breeze to drive while the diesel one was on a more calmer side. Lovely cars but sad to see them exit 😢.

[BMK]

With 80K on the odo our May/2011 still runs like a new one out of oven. Love the peppy butter smooth petrol engine.

- Zero rattles, touch wood never broke down till date.
- Only clutch and brake pads have been replaced till date other than regular consumables.
- Planning to get some minor body work (battle scars of driving in Bangalore) done and deep clean the interiors and give it a new lease of life for at least another 5 years.

Don't see any reason to sell such a reliable car which does its duty be it in city or on highway in great comfort for 5 and devouring any amount of bags you throw at it. Other than wanting to burn some money or itch for gizmos, don't see a reason why someone will ever want to do away with this.

[iampulo]

Originally Posted by Samba

Etios turns 12 with 113,000 km on it's odo.

This car literally supported us through everything (be it the good times or the bad times)-
Be it a family function.
Be it a medical emergency.
Be it carrying over 250 kg of load in it's boot!
Be it a long holiday trip.
Be it driving through a water logged street where I can literally see the water over it's bonnet!
Or be it the weekend fun drives or the Team-Bhp meets!

This car has never ever let us down.

This is how time changes.

Apart from taxi and cab drivers, due credit to be given to you for documenting the reliability journey of this car. For you are a part of making its story a legend.
I purchased a used 2017 Etios (25k driven petrol) in June 2022 from Cars24, at a much higher price. I did not hesitate to pay a hefty amount considering its a time &track tested machine. Having driven 15k till date, I can truly say it's like that obedient servant who serves his master unconditionally. Even now, I don't hesitate to spend a bit of extra money on fancy stuff during service (like mech care, gloss care, deep clean, blah blah) knowing well that it won't ever demand any major service cost.

Adding to this, I have one of my higher management at my office who has a 2014/15 Etios Cross driving the same everyday . It showed up everyday without fail. Pure Consistency. And I have heard he has taken trips from Panipat to Native hometown Maharashtra countless times. Couldnt had the courage to speak up though .
Now he has a Ertiga, but I see him occasionally driving the Etios back to office.

I think Etios/Liva/Cross is that car, from which one cant get enough of it!


I think our beloved captain, MSD explained it perfectly:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YTRHhGXuJmU?feature=share

[kika]

We too own a 2013 etios and I can relate to your feelings. We have completed 1.8 lakh kms and it still runs like it was 10yrs back. Never encountered any sort of problems till now.

[dileep]

Originally Posted by Samba

Since yours is a 2016 model, the default tyre size should be 185/60/R15.
If you upgrade to 195/60/R15, this will roughly give you an increase of 6mm in GC.

Just check the wheel-well space after upgrading the tyres by turning the steering from end to end, whether the tyres are touching anywhere or not. If it touches, you need to go back to the default size.

With this increased GC, you can install Rogerab, which will further reduce the suspension travel & make the ride a bit stiffer, so the car will bottom out even lesser.

These two are the most easy upgrades you can go for tackling the bad roads.

What are the downsides to these upgrades.

1. With the Rogerab or other coil spring adjusters - what could be the possible problems - how will it affect tyre wear and tear; or any other issue

2. Tyre upgrade - what possible aftereffects in driving; braking; turning, FE, etc. Any preferable brand?

Thanks

[Samba]

Originally Posted by dileep

What are the downsides to these upgrades.

1. With the Rogerab or other coil spring adjusters - what could be the possible problems - how will it affect tyre wear and tear; or any other issue

Everything should be fine. It will just reduce the travel of your shock-absorbers, and prevent it from bottoming out. To be on the safer side, just get an alignment done after installing it.
The only negative will be- The slow speed ride quality will be a bit more on the stiffer side.

Originally Posted by dileep

2. Tyre upgrade - what possible aftereffects in driving; braking; turning, FE, etc. Any preferable brand?

Braking will improve.
Turning radius will increase by a very slight margin.
FE will come down by about 1 km/L.
The speedo error will reduce.
The cornering ability will improve.
Due to the increased GC, at triple digit speeds you will feel the car to be a bit lighter due to the more air ingress beneath the car. After driving for 500-1000 km you will get used to it.
You may find the speedo indicated top speed to come down by 2-3 km/hr, but in reality, it wont, as with the upgraded tyres the speedo error will reduce, and show more close to the actual speed.
You will find a better steering feedback with the upgraded tyres.

As you drive more on rough roads, I will suggest you the Yokohama Earth1. This tyre do have a tough side wall and the grip and braking level is also decent.

[Samba]

Odo reads 114,500 km and some interesting updates-

In the 2nd week of October, I got a call from Topsel Toyota Kolkata, that engineers from Japan came to India to do a rust survey on their old cars.
I was asked, if I was interested to bring my car for three hours, and they will take a small interview to understand how the car was used and maintained.
I agreed, and visited Topsel Toyota on time. They promptly took my car and started the survey after doing a thorough wash.
They took it up on the hydraulic lift and checked whether there was any rust or not, how the metal thickness is after 12 years and they had few more parameters for their internal data which I am not aware of.

I was asked questions like-
In which condition I use the car?
How I clean the car in regular basis?
How the car is holding up after 12 years?
How frequently I visit seasides?
Do I drive through water logged roads?
How would I like the future Toyota cars to be, and many more...It was nearly a 40 mins session.

I am really impressed on how they still care about their discontinued cars and still make a survey to make things better. There is a reason why people still trust Toyota among the competition.

After the survey, Topsel Toyota did give me some freebies for giving my time and effort to bring the car.

Regarding the car, it is running without any trouble.
Before the Durga Puja, I gave the Etios for an underbelly coating, and a thorough exterior polish with cleaning the interiors and the engine bay at Topsel Toyota. Total damage to Pocket- Rs 9,000.

Pics after the polish and cleaning.

[ads295]

Originally Posted by Samba

Odo reads 114,500 km and some interesting updates-

In the 2nd week of October, I got a call from Topsel Toyota Kolkata, that engineers from Japan came to India to do a rust survey on their old cars.

Posts like these really add value to the tBHP experience. One can't get this sort of insight anywhere.
Thanks for sharing!

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by ads295

Posts like these really add value to the tBHP experience. One can't get this sort of insight anywhere.

Sums up the sentiments of each reader of this thread. Whenever I feel I need to upgrade my current steed, I come back to threads like these to keep myself away from the inevitable

Originally Posted by Samba

Odo reads 114,500 km and some interesting updates-

Excellent update Samba. Few questions, if you could answer.

1. Have you done any audio upgrade in the car?
2. Any cosmetic upgrades done in exteriors and interiors?
3. Do you sometimes feel bored of the car? And what do you do to keep going on with the car?
4. Though 1L is nothing for a Toyota Engine, have you set a target of certain KMs and Age before you look for a replacement?

[Samba]

Thanks.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

1. Have you done any audio upgrade in the car?

Nope, It's stock, and still holding up pretty well. I still use the CD player and it works flawlessly.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

2. Any cosmetic upgrades done in exteriors and interiors?

Nothing in exterior, for the interior it's only the good quality seat covers which I installed back in 2011. They still look good without any signs of wear and tear. You can see the pics in the first page of this thread.

The chrome of the old gear knob was giving up, so replaced it with a new one, a month back. Got it from Boodmo for Rs 1400. There was no stock available at Toyota.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

3. Do you sometimes feel bored of the car? And what do you do to keep going on with the car?

All Toyotas are boring.
The car runs without any problem, so I never think of changing this car, & now we have too many memories together. Plus selling this car will hardly fetch a couple of lacs. So it's better to retain and enjoy this fun to drive yet reliable car. Buying a car which will give me the same level of comfort and fun in today's date will cost me north of 10Lacs.
I have done nothing out of the way to get the car going. I just get the routine yearly services done on time from Toyota.
I am a bit paranoid about cars. If I notice an early wear and tear on any parts, I straight away replace them with an OEM part. I do the same for all my cars.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

4. Though 1L is nothing for a Toyota Engine, have you set a target of certain KMs and Age before you look for a replacement?

As of now there are no plans to sell this car. In the last 12 years we sold three cars & bought three cars, but this car remained as a constant.
If our govt allows us to run old cars beyond 15 years, I will retain the car.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by Samba

As of now there are no plans to sell this car. In the last 12 years we sold three cars & bought three cars, but this car remained as a constant.
If our govt allows us to run old cars beyond 15 years, I will retain the car.

Govt, hopefully, will not immediately ban >15 year old personal vehicles, at least in WB. Got the CF, (Certificate of Fitness), done for my Gen-1 Swift. Chatted up the RTO folks & what I could infer was that the crackdown will be more on the commercial plate guys. Personal plates will be allowed to run; subject to periodic CF, of course. However, we owners of Oldies, may have to shell out additional "green tax" etc. Also the time period between CF inspection and renewal, may be reduced from the existing 5 years to 3 years.

Photobombing your thread with pics of my geriatric Japanese lass.