[dot]

Originally Posted by Guderian

So Uncle Toyota - can you relook and change your policy ? Please ?
And actually there is no need to visit the ASC upto 10K KMs. Or at best one visit for a check.

True, two visits before the real deal is one too many. Then they tell you nowadays to pay a visit to the center every three months (Honda that is). Is Toyota also telling similar things? Honda Toyota bhai bhai?

Originally Posted by Guderian

Zero charges and they weren't accepting that on credit card, I guess.

LOL.

Originally Posted by Guderian

Ahhh...truly a day well spent.

It always is, isnt it. I also like the customer lounge concept. It is a good thing to step into once in a while when taking a break from standing around the shop floor. It is indeed very difficult to stay away from your beloved vehicle.

Originally Posted by Guderian

I quite like Dali and his eccentricities. For some reason his work The Persistence of Memory is a favourite and have a book on his works lying somewhere around.

Pity about that Museum of Art in Philly. Did the entry fee sort of keep you starving for a couple of days and hence the annoyance ?!!

At the risk of going severely off topic let me digress.
The exhibition was arranged in a chronological manner. I liked Dali's early works. There was fabulous piece on a bowl of fruits. The middle era pieces where the experiments with surreal begins are also worth pondering on. But later ones, specially where he tries to portray his father were painful. Could not digest. I felt it was a portrayal of a tormented (and twisted) mind. My personal take was that I was not ready to accept it. Maybe when all my hair is grey and my son is older, I might be able to understand.

The entry was paid by my uncle. He had also taken me to Barnes Foundation before which was much a worthier visit.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dot

1. True, two visits before the real deal is one too many. Then they tell you nowadays to pay a visit to the center every three months (Honda that is). Is Toyota also telling similar things? Honda Toyota bhai bhai?

2.It always is, isnt it. I also like the customer lounge concept. It is a good thing to step into once in a while when taking a break from standing around the shop floor. It is indeed very difficult to stay away from your beloved vehicle.



3. At the risk of going severely off topic let me digress.
The exhibition was arranged in a chronological manner. I liked Dali's early works. There was fabulous piece on a bowl of fruits. The middle era pieces where the experiments with surreal begins are also worth pondering on. But later ones, specially where he tries to portray his father were painful. Could not digest. I felt it was a portrayal of a tormented (and twisted) mind. My personal take was that I was not ready to accept it. Maybe when all my hair is grey and my son is older, I might be able to understand.

4. The entry was paid by my uncle. He had also taken me to Barnes Foundation before which was much a worthier visit.

Hi Dot,

1. It is almost as though these Japanese companies are quite irritated with the Indian/US/European practice of 3 free services after the purchase of the vehicle. And they want to somehow get over them. To reduce costs there is nothing adviced in the first two free 'services'. Or else if the real service from 10/20/30 K KMs onwards becomes free, then a lot of labour charges come in free and the company/dealer has to bear that burden. Pity that really ! And hence the appeal to Uncle Toyota. Not that the change in thinking will help me - but those who following me will benefit ! See what a self sacrificing chap I am ?

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today."

2. I am quite paranoid about my vehicle when it is under the scalpel. I couldn't care less about the lounge - don't move out even for a minute from the shop floor. Remember the M&M ASC days when the grease monkeys used to go for lunch I used to still stand around and check the work that was already done or go underneath the hoist and check out things which I couldn't normally check on Sundays and make notes. I had a reputation of being a 'certain Mr Crazy'. And I am sure gathering such compliments from Toyota ASC too after the first two visits. But let me tell you folks, there is no substitute to this practice if you truly love your vehicle. Firstly there are a hundred things you can recheck on and set right even with the slightest of a technical mind (meaning one doesn't have to be an automobile engineer - just carry a large bag of common sense). Secondly I learn a huge amount of things about the vehicle. I learnt everything about Guderian the Scorp by just standing out there. No time ? Find time if you truly love your vehicle. With longer and longer service gaps in the modern autos I am sure a day or half a day investment every six months is truly possible for your beloved piece of metal. And your vehicle would also love it as it extends its life.
And your eyes would pop out if one were to recollect the number of major/minor goof ups one has corrected on ones vehicle on the ASC's shop floor. And these are shoddy offerings from reputed brands !

3. Dot - Love these digressions. Please do continue as you please. For one cannot view auto passion in isolation. And all systems around us are, per me, open systems. Influenced by the other and vice versa. Autos could be/are the sum distillate of many other streams of thinking - arts, science, politics, life sciences etc !

4. Very nice indeed. Say, would you happen to have the number of your uncle at hand ? Must remember to pay him a visit next time I traipse round those parts. Oh yes, do inform him that he has yet another nephew who recently crawled out of the woodwork !

[Guderian]

The Day After or Sunday Ramblings... April 10, 2011

Well, for quite some time since I have been taking my vehicles for service the day after the service or at least the 'morning after' like all mornings after is very traumatic and a busy time for me.

Traumatic, because that is the time when I go over the vehicle with fine toothcomb for all kinds of bugs and evidence of shoddy work done. And discover many, to my annoyance and deep worry !
Busy, because that is when I get the vehicle back to shape to my liking.
And normally Sunday mornings are generally the mornings after 'cause Saturday being the day of service, by and large.

And this day too, I went down with certain amount of trepidation. But I needn't have worried really as there was no major work done at the ASC during the II service and also that overall the quality of work was largely better.
But then some observations and notes do come up, yes ? After all life is not perfect, right ? And a perfect life is one which has imperfections !

But I ramble. Let me have let the snaps do the talking again.

The engine bay looked very neat and polished:


All squeaky clean:


This was because I had stood on 'their' heads and ensure that they air blow out the droplets of chemicals and water they use in the engine bay area. This has a stickish property and collects lot of dust and grime down the line. Especially on the lung box:

As well as the fuel filter & pump area which also collects a lot of muck:


And my 'inspection' of the underbody areas for the quality of anti rust Wurths application followed.

Front left wheel well:

Front right wheel well:


General underbody view:


Front right suspension wishbone:


Rear left wheel well and portion of ladder:


Rear right wheel well and portion of ladder:


Rear differential:


Forward section showing ladder cross members or rungs:


F'd differential and member:


Rear sections:



And a general view forwards:



Not that some unintended parts didn't get a dose of Wurths !
Here is one:

The underside of the bonnet. So that is fine !

Here is another, here is another ! I found I wouldn't rust in a hurry either. Had liberal spray of Wurths on me as well after yesterday's supervisory actions:

And they are not warts or moles please.

No wonder a few of my grey hair also disappeared. And I thought I was another curious case of Benjamin Button ! Till I realised that Wurth had reduced my worth !

A few minor cock ups:

1. Couple of spots inside not clean and a seat left soiled. Tolerable.

2. Not tolerable is:

A ball pen streak left on front passenger seat. No it is not because the grease monkeys sit with pens stuck in the rear pockets. That was a constant annoyance with grease primates at M&M ASC.
This particular streak from Toyota ASC was basically when a particular grease monkey completed his act he picks up the job card from the dash and what does he do? Instead of going to the work table he places the job card on the seat and starts to write his piece of action and how he supports Anna Hazare ! Invariably some of his script remains on Admiral's leather seat.
Next time its eagle eye on this aspect as well !

3. Some spots show shoddy work.

The bonnet underside damper left dirty:


The radiator vanes not flushed with water. Remains dirty. Water is to be forced from the grill side. This keeps AC super fine. I need to do it next Sunday then...and next time at the ASC need to force 'them' to force water to force the muck to be forced out of...etc !


Overall then a fairly satisfactory state of affairs as of now. Not as horrendous on the morning after like with the earlier services elsewhere.

Now one thing wanted to understand and puzzles me. Why are there so many pen and colour code markings in the engine bay and components ?
See below:




And there are millions of other markings around. I can understand for positioning and fitments etc.
But why in the world should a simple paper label, on the timer belt cover - giving engine number etc, have as many as a zillion markings ? That complicated ?

Anyway there are still some mysteries unsolved on Earth. And thank God for that - it makes life that much more interesting.

And meanwhile seeing my exertions, a Honda Civic looks on bemused from the neighbouring parking bay, with its hands folded:


And with that ends my rambling/s, as a trilogy, on my first set of service experience/s with Toyota.

And with that the Fleet Admiral is all ready to face the ravages of time and weather and the monsoons round the corner !

[dot]

The last picture is of your next car? Super choice!!

About the sunday ramblings: They say god is found in details.

[Vid6639]

I'm surprised the Fortuner has shorter intervals than the Altis.

Altis also has 3 free services, first is 1month/1000kms a mere formality and wash.

Second one is 1year/10,000kms which has oil/filter change. 3rd is 2years/20,000kms again with oil and filter change.

[danny25]

Originally Posted by Guderian

And there are millions of other markings around. I can understand for positioning and fitments etc.
But why in the world should a simple paper label, on the timer belt cover - giving engine number etc, have as many as a zillion markings ? That complicated ?
Attachment 529224
Anyway there are still some mysteries unsolved on Earth. And thank God for that - it makes life that much more interesting.

I feel as the car must be moving on the assembly line, towards completion there must be certain steps and checks that have to be performed. Though they can make a note of them on the log sheet that should be moving with the car, I think these are permanent markings made at strategic spots, uniform on all cars and which should be visible after delivery too, incase something doesn't go as planned later on.

I base this theory on a thread on Tbhp I read regarding the recall of 57K Honda city's where the SA has to ensure that a yellow paint mark is applied on a certain spot of the car signifying that the part has been replaced during the recall.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dot

The last picture is of your next car? Super choice!!

About the sunday ramblings: They say god is found in details.

Hey Dot, The last picture now is of my current ride...super choice yes ! Last but one - yours...again a great choice !

Originally Posted by vid6639

I'm surprised the Fortuner has shorter intervals than the Altis.

Altis also has 3 free services, first is 1month/1000kms a mere formality and wash.

Second one is 1year/10,000kms which has oil/filter change. 3rd is 2years/20,000kms again with oil and filter change.

Hi Vid, True. For the TFort the assumption may have been rougher usage in all kinds of conditions and assumed willing higher spend on maintenance by the TFort owner compared to the Altis ? And so the 10K KMs interval calls for the TFort is also for regular oil/filter change etc. But the in between 15/25/35 etc K KMs calls would be for...well...inspect, wash and please pay cash visits ? What are the intervals of its cousins ? The Prado and TLC ? Anyone aware of it ?

Originally Posted by danny25

I feel as the car must be moving on the assembly line, towards completion there must be certain steps and checks that have to be performed. Though they can make a note of them on the log sheet that should be moving with the car, I think these are permanent markings made at strategic spots, uniform on all cars and which should be visible after delivery too, incase something doesn't go as planned later on.

I base this theory on a thread on Tbhp I read regarding the recall of 57K Honda city's where the SA has to ensure that a yellow paint mark is applied on a certain spot of the car signifying that the part has been replaced during the recall.

True Danny. But having seen other engine bays and having seen some auto manufacturing lines - haven't seen so many markings in them. This could possibly mean higher number of process steps at Toyota and/or stricter and more quality checks.
Fine and nice but again a simple label with so many marks looks very amusing !

[noopster]

Your thread as always is enthralling, especially with the latest set of pics. The engine bay looks so pristine now- I would say the "free services" are wrth it only to see them that way!

On the subject of free services, as a former Hyundai & Suzuki owner the European notion of a service only after a year/15,000 km always seemed strange to me. But now that I have jumped the fence, it makes sense. Who wants to have those grease monkeys fiddling with my baby's innards unless absolutely necessary!

Keep posting!

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by noopster

Your thread as always is enthralling, especially with the latest set of pics. The engine bay looks so pristine now- I would say the "free services" are wrth it only to see them that way!

On the subject of free services, as a former Hyundai & Suzuki owner the European notion of a service only after a year/15,000 km always seemed strange to me. But now that I have jumped the fence, it makes sense. Who wants to have those grease monkeys fiddling with my baby's innards unless absolutely necessary!

Keep posting!

Thanks Noopster.
Frankly I am quite petrified each time I have to visit the ASC.

From past experiences this has been the case since my first car. Firstly - 90% of the chaps in all those outfits have no idea about vehicles and much less possess any passion for them - even the senior most chap in the outfit - possibly the prop him/herself. Secondly they have this habit of treating the customer like an idiot who has no idea of his vehicle. Which is true for 90 % of the owners to be fair ! And thirdly the driver factor.

Fourthly is the amount of rework/shoddy work/carelessnes that one needs to be careful about, which means a great vehicle can be ruined by the ASCs if one is not careful. And this I am talking about company authorised service centers ! Not FNGs - Friendly Neighbourhood Garages.

And the terrible shop floor skills, poor tooling and diagnostic skills even of the so called specialists of the ASCs.

Some of the horror stories of ASCs accumulated over the years are quite a legion !

No wonder the mention of a ASC visit and I break into a cold sweat.

So greater the service interval - the better.
How's something like 60k KMs or 3 years which ever is later. Sweet music to me at least !

Or maybe it's time for a relook with the new brand I find myself with !

[Guderian]

With the Admiral and me getting on in age, Admiral in days & KMs and me in years (!) - have edited the title again (thanks to GTO) to reflect that age. Will continue to pour in my experiences and hope to see all of you, your responses and experiences also here !

Suddenly both of us feel old. Yet, when I slip into the Admiral's seat my olfactory senses still pick up the new vehicle smell and it is very heady indeed.
Comes the news that there is a spray available somewhere that captures that smell. Anyone know anything about it ? Would love to lay my hands on it !

Thanks for being around.

Till the next time...Aloha !

[amitwlele]

General it has been a pleasure going through this thread. Would be waiting for further updates as soon as they come. Its my daily dose of humour. Don't misunderstand me here. Amidst all the techincal stuff what makes your post interesting to read is the generous dose of humour.

Wishing you a very long and happy ownership.

[dot]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Suddenly both of us feel old. Yet, when I slip into the Admiral's seat my olfactory senses still pick up the new vehicle smell and it is very heady indeed.
Comes the news that there is a spray available somewhere that captures that smell. Anyone know anything about it ? Would love to lay my hands on it !

I had once bought a set of car freshener hangers claiming to have "new" car smell. You know those tree like things that one can hang around the RVM. Unfortunately the smell was nowhere near a "new" car. Sorry to be a bringer of bad/useless news. Hopefully there are better products.

On a different context; Automotive OEMs are obsessed to get a good new car smell. Customers love new car smell, as we all know. Analysis of new car smell is done by many chemical companies. The findings are not always pleasant. The stuff from which the smell comes from is actually not all that nice.

[mikon]

Sire!
After reading your whole thread, I've got a hazy picture of what my next affordable-dream car should be . Silently following your thread.

I've seen some fortuners with yellowish HID kits. Do they come in stock?

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by dot

I had once bought a set of car freshener hangers claiming to have "new" car smell. You know those tree like things that one can hang around the RVM. Unfortunately the smell was nowhere near a "new" car. Sorry to be a bringer of bad/useless news. Hopefully there are better products.

On a different context; Automotive OEMs are obsessed to get a good new car smell. Customers love new car smell, as we all know. Analysis of new car smell is done by many chemical companies. The findings are not always pleasant. The stuff from which the smell comes from is actually not all that nice.

Would love to bottle up some of that new car smell too. Unfortunately have come to realise that this just isn't possible.
I agree with @dot here that the stuff from where the smell comes isn't actually nice. Infact i had read somewhere that new cars actually can affect your health. It seems they emit a lot of toxins when new. I am speaking of the interiors here. But i don't think that is ever going to stop us from buying a new car now, is it?
Buy New! Drive Safe!

[quadra]

@Guderian: I got a similar underbody treatment done from 3M in blr. Wondering why that shop didnt mask the door panels, brakes.
.

.
Here are the pics of underbody coating