[mooza]

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

While the body panels are weak, the chassis is not.

@Buffetfan, this is an interesting observation.

Maybe the entire body is designed to act as a crumple zone in the event of an accident, thereby reducing impact transfer to the passengers, backed up by the strong chassis.


That's a nice shimmering pic of your Innova, Raj. Wishing you many more happy miles in it !

We are contemplating an Innova as a replacement for our Ford Escort in the coming few months. We are looking at the Innova Petrol models since our usage is about 800 kms a month, on an average.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by joshguy

Hi raj,

I never knew that innova had problems with the weak body panels.i have traveled a lot in them and even last week i traveled 350 kms in it,seemed rock solid with no vibrations at all.

it has comfort of AC,adjustable 2nd row seats ect which i like a lot,even my family member like it a lot.

BTW what will be the average 10k service bill for it?

yes, the only grouse i have with my innova is the engine & the body panels.

engine-
after many months, made a trip to pune in my innova. at 110 kmph, the tacho was at 3100 rpm! the redline is at 4200 rpm. its a diesel engine, so that means at such high rpm close to the redline, there is hardly any juice left. at 110 kmph, the engine is also noisy, sounds boomy & very strained. also, we filled in diesel from HP & the car was emitting thick black smoke at anything over 120 kmph, so we had to stick to 110 kmph.

body panels-
if you lean on it, its clicks inside! throw a stone, you dent it! press it hard, again a dent. less said about the paint quality, the better. my 6 yr old cousin was sitting on the bonnet & playing & her finger nails caused deep ugly scratch marks on the bonnet.

Service bills -

4-6k for every service. Oil is replaced every 5k kms. Toyota A.S.S is good & when questioned, they showed me the replaced old oil. it becomes thick & black in 5k kms & has to be replaced.

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

Body Panels of Innova are weaker than many a cars, including my Baleno. I am scared to lean on the doors for the fear of causing a dent.

+10 to that.

While the body panels are weak, the chasis is not. In fact it is one of the stiffer ones around and there is no noticable flex in it. This along with moderately stiff suspension makes the Innova feel rock solid at highway speeds.

I disagree. Sadly i was disappointed with innova's high speed manners.

As said above, anything above 100 kmph means the engine is roaring. coupled to that, at the express highway, the innova does not inspire confidence at anything above 120 kmph. it feels floaty. i felt its a flaw in my car & have done wheel alignment + balancing numerous times. Finally my uncle bought a new innova & i drove that & it feels the same. I even changed the tyres to Yokohamas but nothing has changed.

compared to this, scorpio & safari feels much more stable at higher speeds in a straight line. try cornering & the innova has an upper hand, i agree.

Originally Posted by mooza

Maybe the entire body is designed to act as a crumple zone in the event of an accident, thereby reducing impact transfer to the passengers, backed up by the strong chassis.

For me, if the panel cant withstand an impact from a small stone, how will it survive a collision with a 10 ton bus?

That's a nice shimmering pic of your Innova, Raj. Wishing you many more happy miles in it !

We are contemplating an Innova as a replacement for our Ford Escort in the coming few months. We are looking at the Innova Petrol models since our usage is about 800 kms a month, on an average.

thanks buddy.

Go for the innova, apart from these grouses, there is nothing else i can complain about this car.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

yes, the only grouse i have with my innova is the engine & the body panels.

engine-
after many months, made a trip to pune in my innova. at 110 kmph, the tacho was at 3100 rpm! the redline is at 4200 rpm. its a diesel engine, so that means at such high rpm close to the redline, there is hardly any juice left. at 110 kmph, the engine is also noisy, sounds boomy & very strained. also, we filled in diesel from HP & the car was emitting thick black smoke at anything over 120 kmph, so we had to stick to 110 kmph.

Maybe the clutch in your car was a bit warn out. I havent driven my Innova in a while but what I remember was that at 100kmph the tacho was at 2600rpm. So 3100rpm is weird at just 110kmph. And my Innova used to reach 150kmph easily, but then again mine is Pete'd.

[Buffetfan]

Also Raj, the Innova redline is 4400 rpm and not 4200. My Innova that is not peted, reaches 150kmph, and there is definitely juice left at 120kmph. In fact 120 to 140 kmph comes up rather quickly. Highest speed I have seen in my Innova is a speedo indicated 158 kmph or so - maybe winds were favourable that day .

About High Speed manners of Innova, Innova is more stable than a Scorpio. It is the only MUV that comes close to cars for handling and stability.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Maybe the clutch in your car was a bit warn out. I havent driven my Innova in a while but what I remember was that at 100kmph the tacho was at 2600rpm. So 3100rpm is weird at just 110kmph. And my Innova used to reach 150kmph easily, but then again mine is Pete'd.

Yes, thats possible. I did ask the A.S.S to change the clutch at 75k service if required but they said it still has life left. my driver is a great chap!

Since your's is PETE'd, performance cannot be compared.

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

Also Raj, the Innova redline is 4400 rpm and not 4200. My Innova that is not peted, reaches 150kmph, and there is definitely juice left at 120kmph. In fact 120 to 140 kmph comes up rather quickly. Highest speed I have seen in my Innova is a speedo indicated 158 kmph or so - maybe winds were favourable that day .

About High Speed manners of Innova, Innova is more stable than a Scorpio. It is the only MUV that comes close to cars for handling and stability.

Sorry, its 4400 rpm but being a diesel engine, its pointless revving it so close to the redline.

Can you tell me at what rpm your innova reaches 100-110 kmph?

regarding high speed manners, my personal opinion is that i dint like it much. innova is much more stable in tight corners but in a straight line, i find the scorpio & safari to be better.

[raj_5004]

Such incidents are spoiling the good ownership of toyota.

I was already upset about the weak body panels of the innova & the frequent body damage. Now the Airbag indicator started glowing. Took it to the A.S.S. & they say the 'airbag cable' has gone kaput. it costs Rs. 9500!

Almost 10k for a damn cable? To add insult to the injury, i enquired about the repairing of the 2 small dents shown here. they quoted a whopping Rs. 18,000!

So a total of 30,000 including taxes...

[Akshay1234]

Ive read about this airbag cable thing on Tbhp itself. Please ask them to replace it under goodwill warranty, as this is not something that should go bad.

Also for the dents, the bonnet one is very tiny, a touchup should be fine and as for the side one, get it repaired outside.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Ive read about this airbag cable thing on Tbhp itself. Please ask them to replace it under goodwill warranty, as this is not something that should go bad.

We asked for discount, they refused.

Also for the dents, the bonnet one is very tiny, a touchup should be fine and as for the side one, get it repaired outside.

We generally stay away from local workshops, we are scared of shoddy work & treatment. We like our cars to be spic & span & thats the reason, the bonnet mark, even though its tiny, we want to get it repaired.

Did you notice that the chrome strip over the grill dislodged on impact? just a new strip costs Rs. 3500!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

We asked for discount, they refused.

I think you should escalate it further. Send a message to Toyota customer care. You shouldnt need to pay for this.

[raj_5004]

My car is out of warranty long back. We have already paid since we needed the car back urgently.

[raj_5004]

My innova has crossed 85k kms now. No major issues as of now. However, servicing costs have increased lately, often being more than 10k. Many parts are needing replacement now.

One issue which I would like to point out is that my car is emitting a lot of black smoke from the exhaust. And we dont even revv the engine that much. Even in normal city driving, we can continuously see puffs of black smoke. We have tried changing the diesel & even changing the oil, filter, etc... but to no avail.

Toyota A.S.S. says this is normal for innovas! However, we are not willing to accept it. The A.S.S says they will try to rectify it & has quoted an amount of Rs. 8000 for it!

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

My innova has crossed 85k kms now. No major issues as of now. However, servicing costs have increased lately, often being more than 10k. Many parts are needing replacement now.

One issue which I would like to point out is that my car is emitting a lot of black smoke from the exhaust. And we dont even revv the engine that much. Even in normal city driving, we can continuously see puffs of black smoke. We have tried changing the diesel & even changing the oil, filter, etc... but to no avail.

Toyota A.S.S. says this is normal for innovas! However, we are not willing to accept it. The A.S.S says they will try to rectify it & has quoted an amount of Rs. 8000 for it!

Raj, ask them to check the Turbo......do you experience loss in power upon sudden acceleration or a prolonged turbo lag?

[raj_5004]

No, we are not experiencing any turbo lag or loss in power as such.

[Akshay1234]

Raj try getting this thing done called an exhaust flush. I don't remember what they do but it cured my smoking issues for a while.

[raj_5004]

We are giving the car to the A.S.S. this next week. Lets see what they do with the car.