[turbospooler]

Great thread.
I wish to share 2 anecdotes which summarize the Toyota Innova's longevity which I heard in Chandigarh during 2010.

1) One fleet owner of the Toyota had been so busy with his new Innova, he forgot to get the vehicle serviced for 1 year. The engine was running on stock engine oil, for a year and still was running smoothly.

2) The Toyota management were asking for scope of improvement in their vehicles, specifically to fleet owners. One gentleman commented the lack of engine bay light. The management noted this feedback and asked a follow-up question, "Did your vehicle cause troubles at night and you had to pop open the hood to check it?". The gentleman got the message. (Though I find it a smack talk, as you never know where you end up)

[WhiteSierra]

Another great write up for a legendary car, Vigsom.

I reckon Toyota Innova is the most reliable Indian car ever made after Toyota Qualis. I hardly see any old Innovas breaking down due to mechanical issues which were heavily abused and with 2 lakh + kms, which is almost the end of life cycle for many cars. If we compare cars of similar segment of similar vintage (Tata Aria, Tata Sumo Victa, Gold, Grande, Tata Safari 3.0 & 2.2, Chevrolet Tavera, Mahindra Xylo, Mahindra Scorpio), most of the cars of that vintage would be off roads, either waiting for repairs or even worse, scrapped. My point here is not to belittle and degrade other car brands, there are well maintained examples of those cars by enthusiasts too, but most of the mechanical and electrical parts by Toyota and Denso are built to last life time, while other OEMs have frequent mechanical and electrical issues.(personal experience with Tatas, Mahindras and VAGs )

Originally Posted by vigsom

Oil vapours leaking from Crankcase ventilation tube after a few years

I always wondered why there are oil deposits on the turbo air intake tube, and if my car had an issue, but after repeated trips to Toyota service centers and FNGs, they told this issue is common, I need not worry and can drive as it is without any issues. The oil deposits / vapors reduced to appear on engine block, turbo inlet pipe after changing the valve cover gasket.


Here is our 2008 Toyota Innova GX with 180K+ kms on the odo, still running like new.















Our Harry likes Innova the most







With its elder sibling, Toyota Qualis








Got the AC serviced last month (complete cleaning of evaporator / cooling coil, condenser coil and R134a gas filled. It now throws spine chilling 6.3 degrees Celsius at tip.

[mohitchalla]

A great write-up! My family owns a 2010 Innova 2.5 V, which has clocked a little over 675,000 kms. This car has seen many drivers and I have driven it extensively myself too.

While there are extensive discussions about the positives and negatives (very few though) about this car, I would like to add one more which I have not seen being discussed much.

There was a desperate need of having a 6th gear. Cruising at 100 km/h or higher in the 5th gear has always been very loud and harsh. An additional gear would have made this wonderful car even better.

[CJP]

Thank you for the great write up, Vigsom.

We have an Innova GX 8 seater version, bought in late Oct'09 still going strong, the only car in the family and we've driven over 2,50,000 km in Bangalore and some long drives in South India.

Shod always with Yokohama Earth tyres on non OEM rims, fed with synthetic oils and Shell diesel, the old girl has never once troubled us other than for regular wear and tear type replacements and repairs. Everything else is OEM, with the exception of the ICE and wheels/tyres. Legendary Toyota reliability, Innova's seat comfort even on the longest of drives. Both our kids have literally grown up in the car, as they shuttled to school, later on to college and now to work.

We haven't even thought of an upgrade because any reasonable upgrade is several orders of magnitude in terms of a financial outlay and perhaps doesn't make any sense given Bangalore's traffic and road conditions.

However, to end the story, we are now thinking of a change - perhaps an EV or as we approach retirement age, indulge in some German luxury, hmmm very tempting. But for now, our Innova continues going about her duties with a reassuring growl from her diesel heart.

Many thanks Vigsom!

[KebabBoi]

This thread hit me right in the feels.

For a guy just entering the early stages of adult life, I often feel somewhat alienated that my heart reaches out for this car over any other 'gadget' in the market as of today and I know the reason - she played as good a role in my childhood as my parents.

The way she looked - clean, contained, beautiful.
The way the gear lever shook as she roared to life.
The way dust and debris flew out from underneath her as she growled upon revving.
The way she cradled me inside as she tore through the roads.
The way she never complained or quit.

This car is an emotion. Unfortunately, she had to head to a new home solely because of the 10 year ban on diesels. I wasn't even informed of her departure out of fear of how I would react. I was naive to believe she had just gone for a highway run.

That is how much I loved her, still do.
Here she is, in all her glory:

[R2D2]

Another fantastic review Vigsom. Thanks so much. It's a pleasure reading your posts but more so the ones on the older Toyotas and Mitsubishi cars that have stood the test of time. Your posts are getting to be a Wiki of sorts.

[shrinz.vivek]

Originally Posted by KebabBoi

This thread hit me right in the feels.

For a guy just entering the early stages of adult life, I often feel somewhat alienated that my heart reaches out for this car over any other 'gadget' in the market as of today and I know the reason - she played as good a role in my childhood as my parents.

The way she looked - clean, contained, beautiful.
The way the gear lever shook as she roared to life.
The way dust and debris flew out from underneath her as she growled upon revving.
The way she cradled me inside as she tore through the roads.
The way she never complained or quit.

This car is an emotion. :

I have the same feeling towards the Innova. It is definitely an emotion. I still wagely remember staring at hoarding of Aamir Khan promoting the Innova somewhere near Richmond circle in Bangalore.
Inspite of experiencing the fast turbo petrols of VW and the eager torque of the Mahindra mHawks; I still could not resist the itch to own an Innova once in my life. The fact that diesels could become obsolete in the near future made me desperate day by day.

Finally 2 weeks back, I mustered the courage to sell my modern car, take some hand loan from my wife and go by the Japanese legend.

This is my pre-owned 2012 Innova, purchased yesterday.



It may be a few steps back; but a giant leap emotionally.

[AYP]

Hi Vigsom,

I really like these threads of yours. They feature cars which maybe old but are still new enough that I can associate with them. I do have a request. Do you have more pics of the E variant of the Innova, especially the OG 2005 one?

While you have shared a few pics but I'd really like to see how the Innova's base variants looked like in all its glory, especially the E variant with its 2 spoke Qualis steering. I did search for some pics online but couldn't find much. While I would like like to see the E variants' interior, I'd be more than happy to see some G variants as well, especially the G1.

Thanks.

[ritedhawan]

Great thread. I have previously stated in another thread that the brand Toyota exudes reliability, durability due to its product offerings. The MPV's that this car maker churns out are reliable, durable, provide ample space, niggle free, checks all the boxes in terms of their intended owners requirements, long lasting and its owners usually find it hard to let go off.

Innova was one such product offered by Toyota which set the benchmark in terms of reliability, durability which its competitors found it difficult to equal or excel. I may not have owned Innova and my experience with it is limited to the short drives I had with the Innova's run by taxi segment, fleet operators. However, I never found any driver who had something bad to say about Innova that may besmirch the image of this product. Every single driver I came across would brag about the 6 digit mileage he has been able to accumulate on the Toyota Innova. They were in unison about the following: that all this vehicle requires is timely service along with infrequent visits to a mechanic for any offbeat issues. If this doesn't lend the image of reliability , durability to Toyota Innova, I don't know what else can!

The taxi \ fleet operator wouldn't like his fleet of Innova's sitting still, the more bookings come across his way the better for him to align those booking upon his drivers who would drive those Innova's. These operators require a vehicle that can continue running, under the hood of their vehicles lies an engine that should be long lasting and doesn't require expensive and time consuming job's like engine OH for first few years of the ownership, provide comfort to the passengers, and should be fuss free, ..etc. The Toyota Innova did all that and excelled on such parameters. No wonder, the fleet operators loved it all the way.