[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Today I visited Sonak Toyota located beside Pune - Bangalore highway to checkout the Hycross Vx (O). As per the sales guy, waiting period is 2 years. Is this the same in other states?

8 months is what’s being quoted as the waiting period for the VX(O) at Mumbai Dealerships.

[Abhijeetsinha]

Hi, has anyone got his insurance renewed. I had opted for Toyota protect for first year but found it very expensive. It’s time for renewal. Want to get views on it.

[Manuuj]

Minor Mods to my Hycross carried out today. I did not like the plain black area around the window switches.

Found a pretty good product on Amazon. Felt a bit expensive but costs were same as Hydrodipping without the hassle.

They product comes with 3M tape installed and also a primer that should be used on the surface before application of the ABS plastic covers.

There were various finishes available like glossy wood, glossy carbon finish etc but i chose the satin black wood as i prefer this look.

All in all am quite happy with the final look.

[Cresterk]

10k kms service and warranty update

It's been 8 months since we bought the Hycross ZX(O) and it has taken us to a lot of places with no drama. Took the car in for it's 10k service last week.

It has been your average stress free toyota ownership experience. Still, I'm very meticulous when it comes to our cars so I had made a little list of things I had noticed and wanted to get looked at.



We booked the service at the dealership we bought the car from, which is about an hour away. I had built a rappart there and their service techs had proven to be competent. We dropped the car off, had a coffee, took the fresh faced new hire around the car and showed him the issues I was facing and asked for a wheel alignment in addition to the jobs covered in the service package. He managed to rope me into doing wheel balancing and tyre rotation along with the alignment. I normally don't bother but sure, why not, it's just 500 extra. Also had a friendly chat with the salesperson who sold us the car and the senior service advisor who had taken care of my 1000 kms service.

I took an auto to the nearby mall since it would take a few hours for them to complete the job; they do some testing and jot down readings from the hybrid battery since it's a newly launched product. While wandering around aimlessly, I get a call from the senior service advisor telling me that there is something wrong with the rear brakes.

Advisor: "You had mentioned a noise from the rear brakes, right?"
Me : "Yeah, I think it is just from the rust buildup since the brakes aren't used much in a hybrid. Figured I would mention it anyway just in case"

Advisor: "Well we opened it up as part of the inspection and your rear brake pad is broken"

Me: "What do you mean by broken?"

Advisor: "It's actually quite strange, it's cracked and we can't even remove it from the caliper. I have never seen anything like this before. We would like to keep the car to collect details to send to Toyota and learn more"

Me: "Ahhh but I have to attend a wedding with my family tomorrow. Can I take the car home and drop it off again on Monday?"

Advisor: "Oh no, it really shouldn't be driven in this condition at all"

Me, thinking back to 2 hours ago when I was doing triple digit speeds on the highway: "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm "

"Can I get a loaner car?"

Advisor: "Yeah, let me check what's available."



I decide it's time to go back to the dealership so I hop in an auto and head back.


I meet the senior service advisor and ask him for more details. "Okay, so it's your left side rear brake pad that is damaged. Have you noticed anything while driving?"

Me: "No, but I have noticed the electronic parking brake rusting stuck when parked overnight after driving in the rain or after washing. It makes a jarring noise and the car jerks for a moment the next morning. But after that the brakes work fine"

Advisor: "So we went through our database and there is only one similar case. It happened to a Lexus sedan with electronic parking brakes.
I'm guessing it has something to do with the electronic parking brake since the motors can squeeze the brakes way harder than a human could"

Well that made sense to me, since I knew the Hycross uses a caliper integrated electronic parking brake. There are 2 actuators, one for each rear brake caliper. They squeeze the rear brake pads when activated and is the source of the mechanical whirring noise you hear when you pull the parking button. The personnel at this dealership has been really professional so far so I didn't bother asking to see the brakes. A luxury you can seldom afford these days.

Advisor: "But you didn't notice anything while driving or while braking? No changes in handling or feelings of losing control?"

Me, having sudden flashbacks to the night before when I was driving on the highway with 6 people at night during heavy rains, completely confident in my new car's handling and braking:



"Ah so uhhhh.... let's just talk about how we can fix this"

Advisor: "Alright so normally brake pads are not covered under warranty since it's a wear and tear item. However, the wear here is well within limits so it is not due to usage. It will take a few days to get the parts and for toyota to approve the claim so you will get your car in 3 days."

Me: "Ah that's alright. Now what loaner car do you have for me?"

Advisor: "We can give you a diesel Crysta as that's all we have available now"

None of us were very happy with the thought of taking a white Crysta to a wedding at the Hyatt. I didn't want to look like I was driving a taxi and tried my best to sweet talk our way into a Fortuner.

It didn't work, but hey, no harm in trying

Anyway, I was lead to a white Crysta Z automatic. It was 2 years old and had run 35k kms. It was in surprisingly good condition and was neat and clean. I was also offered a base model Hycross petrol which was one of their test drive cars.
I thought about it, and I chose the Crysta since I figured it would be interesting to see what the cult favourite would be like after getting accustomed to my Hycross ZX(O).



I had written a lot about how the Crysta was but this post is getting too long so I deleted it. It took a few days longer than expected to get the parts so I ended up driving the Crysta for a whole week. It was a very interesting experience and I will share it if people are interested.



Skip forward to a week and the Hycross is ready for delivery.


The defective brake pad was changed under warranty and didn't cost me anything.
Since I had the Toyota Smiles service package till 20k kms, it only cost me 2k overall for the 10k service. Around 1.5k for the wheel alignment since I had requested it and 500 rs for the tyre rotation/balancing

I'm attaching the receipts below.










Before taking delivery of the car, I noticed that they hadn't fixed the wheel cladding or side moulding. The wheel cladding was explained away as being not glued on the ZXO but clipped on so apparently they are somewhat loose as is.

The side moulding are still slightly detached at the ends. Figured I would just get it fixed myself.





Sadly, the insect in the tail light was also left as is since it would involve removing the entire tail light assembly.








The steering trim creaking and the center console creaking was explained away as being normal for the Hycross sadly. I'm guessing it's due to the poor material quality of the plastic used.

The fuel level indicator changing when parked on inclines issue has been fixed thankfully.

As I was driving home, I realised the tyres were refilled to 35 psi except the front right tyre which was filled to 38 psi according to the TPMS system. No worries, I keep a tyre pressure gauge handy just for this. I stopped before entering the highway and just deflated the tyre with the gauge down to 35 psi to match the rest.

The ride home was uneventful. I was happy to notice that the engine noise has reduced after the oil change. It was the first oil change since I bought the car since OEMs don't do the 1k kms oil change anymore after break-in period.

Personally I believe the first oil change is the most important to get rid of all the metal shavings and what not from a new engine. I would recommend doing the first oil change at your own cost at around 2-3k kms and then following the normal 10k intervals. I didn't do it this time because I was unsure if it was needed for a hybrid since the engine isn't running all the time + I wasn't sure how it would work with the annual maintenance contract.

I also feel that the car has gotten slightly peppier but this might just be my imagination since the noise has gone down and the engine sounds less stressed. Or maybe they tweaked the hybrid system response in the system update.

The next morning I deflated all 4 tyres to the 33 psi as mentioned in the owner's manual as well as the sticker on the side of the car.

Noticed that all 4 rims now had slight scratches or pock marks from being poked by tools. The pock marks might look small but they are actually deep when you run your fingers over it. These rims were ceramic coated too










Oh well, I will try get it fixed at the next visit to the detailers. Won't be doing wheel rotation/balancing from the dealership again.

Another thing I noticed is that now I can pair phone/select carplay when stopped in Drive or driving at crawling speeds. Earlier that option was greyed out unless the car was in park. ADAS, specifically the lane keep assist and pre-collision warning seems to be more intrusive now and I have turned down the setting in MID from normal to low.


Thanks for reading, until next time.

[manofinfinity]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

10k kms service and warranty update

It's been 8 months since we bought the Hycross ZX(O) and it has taken us to a lot of places with no drama. Took the car in for it's 10k service last week.
Thanks for reading, until next time.

What a surprise what happened to Toyota’s QDR, did the SA mention it as an issue with Electronic parking brake tuning or was it a hardware issue?
I think Toyota should take some steps like a recall if it’s a defect with EPB Software tuning or if it is related to the defective brake parts.
And also would like you to share your experience with crysta, we also have crysta in our family and I have driven and travelled in it extensively and frankly would rate it a superior product in terms of build quality and longevity compared to Hycross.
Hycross has a lot to live up to and only time will tell, We would have strongly considered Crysta if the diesel automatic GX trim was available.

[Rajjaiswal92]

I’m absolutely done with the headlights of this car. I have driven it close to 11,000 Km in around 40 days and i had a narrow escape today, the throw of the light just isn’t there. I have asked the service centre if I can upgrade them they just say you will void the warranty, I have taken this up with Toyota no response from them. How is it possible that so many complaints have been made and they are doing absolutely nothing about it.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I had written a lot about how the Crysta was but this post is getting too long so I deleted it. It took a few days longer than expected to get the parts so I ended up driving the Crysta for a whole week. It was a very interesting experience and I will share it if people are interested.

I would love to hear your opinion on the Crysta Vs the Hycross, as currently my situation is:

[sleepyk]

Hi all

Got delivery of my Blackish Ageha ZX(O) Hycross last week.
Have clocked around 400 kms, so still in the early days, getting accustomed to the new car.
At this point most of what can be said about this car has already been said by prior posters. So I'll keep my post confined to some of the smaller things that get drowned in the rose tinted romanticism of that feeling of getting a car with a huge waiting period.

• The level of fit and finish across the car is markedly improved. Engine insulation could be improved though, as engine noise does creep through on hard revs.
• The head unit is good... Android Auto and CarPlay are present and wired android auto works well, however, no screen brightness controls, lack of wireless android auto and lack of any inbuilt navigation are pretty significant misses. I have not tried CarPlay yet. Just want to say that you will need a USB A to USB C or USB A to Lightning cable to use AndroidAuto/Carplay. A shift to USB C would have been appreciated.
• Reversing camera and 360 cameras are present... however the resolution is atrocious. The camera on my 2017 Innova probably has the same resolution, and it looked outdated when I bought that car. Not expected from any car in 2024, let alone one that costs 35L on road.
• Many of the buttons on the side panels, like the lock/unlock button and most of the window switches are not backlit.
• Another favorite niggle of mine from the 2017 Innova has been carried forward... A hard plastic panel on the left side that is very easy for the driver's knee to keep hitting into. Will be affixing some high density foam here as usual.
• Coming from a 2017 Innova with a 2.8 Diesel AT, the 2.0 hybrid in the Hycross feels markedly anemic. One does get the feeling that this is definitely a car built for cruising around 90-110kmph. Hard overtakes on the expressway are very much possible but they will need some change to my driving style I guess.
• I don't really bother monitoring the fuel efficiency of my cars, but the MID says I will get an average of about 15km/l for those who are interested in these numbers.
• There is an EV mode button next to the gear selector. In my opinion it is a token inclusion on this drivetrain. EV mode can only work at speeds under 40 km/hr, and it disables by itself if you press the accelerator too hard. Let me just say that it was very, very, very easy to press the accelerator too hard. Guess we'll use this button more in future PHEVs. But it might as well be taped over for now.
• The headlights are a huge weak point of this car. I habitually drive on low beam with the fog lamps on, but I noticed that on low beam the lights failed to illuminate the reflectors of many goods carriers on the highway. Switching to high beam did not provide a marked improvement either. Headlight throw in both low and high beam is also poor, with a distinct dark patch of road seen in both modes. I am planning to take photos of road and parking lot illumination of the stock 2017 Innova headlights vs the stock 2024 Hycross headlights. Will post the same here so that others can also compare and suggest what can be done.
• Not aware if the window glasses are laser cut, but they do let in quite a bit of heat. The sun roof is tinted and it seems fine. Will be getting Garware film applied on the window glasses.
• Toyota sells the car without mats from the factory, which was a surprise for me... My 2023 Honda City by contrast came with 2 sets of mats courtesy of the dealer.
  Bought the rubber mats from Toyota for the moment and ordered the OEM 3D mats (which were not in stock when I took delivery) as well.
• Toyota also sells a dashcam with both front and rear recording facility. Have asked the dealer to order one of those, and will get it fitted as and when it is delivered.

[sleepyk]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

I would love to hear your opinion on the Crysta Vs the Hycross, as currently my situation is:

Both are vastly different cars imo.
The Crysta is an old school rear wheel drive, body on frame, diesel.
The Hycross is a front wheel drive, monocoque, petrol hybrid.
If we were talking Mahindras a similar comparison would have been ScorpioN vs XUV700.

Prices are also different I think. If you need a rough and tough car... I would still say go for a Crysta or ScorpioN, though I am not aware of how things have changed with the introduction of the BS6 engines.
The Hycross on first impressions seems more like a Corolla (which it is) than an Innova.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by manofinfinity

What a surprise what happened to Toyota’s QDR, did the SA mention it as an issue with Electronic parking brake tuning or was it a hardware issue?

I don't think it is an issue with the parking brake tuning since that would mean every Hycross would have this issue. Brake pads are manufactured by a 3rd party and I'm guessing mine had some minor defect that caused it to crack after the EPB engaged.

Either way, I profusely thanked the service advisor for even bringing it up. In India, the usual practice is to either claim there is nothing wrong or to blame the customer.

[manofinfinity]

Originally Posted by sleepyk

Hi all

Got delivery of my Blackish Ageha ZX(O) Hycross last week.
Have clocked around 400 kms, so still in the early days, getting accustomed to the new car.
At this point most of what can be said about this car has already been said by prior posters. So I'll keep my post confined to some of the smaller things that get drowned in the rose tinted romanticism of that feeling of getting a car with a huge waiting period.

• The level of fit and finish across the car is markedly improved. Engine insulation could be improved though, as engine noise does creep through on hard revs.

Congratulations, on your acquisition.
What are you comparing interior quality fit and finish to the older innova and the crysta, what is your point of reference for comparison?
In my opinion, the interior quality of the earlier innova and the crysta was much superior compared to Hycross.

[sleepyk]

Originally Posted by manofinfinity

Congratulations, on your acquisition.
What are you comparing interior quality fit and finish to the older innova and the crysta, what is your point of reference for comparison?
In my opinion, the interior quality of the earlier innova and the crysta was much superior compared to Hycross.

Thanks.
Small things - doors are now two stage (or is it three stage?) instead of the good old Crysta ones. The plastics feel nicer overall but the seats are still sameish. Seat mechanisms are automatic but ill-thought-out and feel like Band-Aid implementations rather than something designed from the ground up.

No matter how critical my posts might sound, I am still enjoying my new car at the end of the day. I guess you can call it a sidegrade at best.

[car_guy1998]

It's been 6 months (bought at the end of Jul 2023) since we bought our Hycross VX Hybrid.

The car has run 17k Kms till date and we couldn't be happier.

Since I'm not in the country now, couldn't comment much on FE but when I had a convo with our chauffeur today, he said that the car is giving around 15-17 Kmpl depending on the conditions, and when I insisted him show the odometer to which I was surprised to see the figures, which was 19.4 Kmpl.

Overall, my dad is happy with the car due to the FE it offers as well as the comfort.

But, I'll be getting to see the car when I visit India during summer vacation.

[manofinfinity]

Originally Posted by sleepyk

Thanks.

No matter how critical my posts might sound, I am still enjoying my new car at the end of the day.
I guess you can call it an sidegrade at best.

You summed it up perfectly just enjoy your car, sometimes we ruin the experience or moment just by thinking too much about Everything, even the things that we can’t control.

[anilsequeira]

Hi BHPians, I am getting a mileage of 15.2 Km/L on the MID which is also the same that i get in the full tank method. Usually drive within the city. Driven around 3k+ within the city mostly. Got my car in September'23. I believe the ARAI rating is around 23 KM/L. I am generally very soft on the accelerator pedal and drive in normal/auto mode all the time. I have been to a couple of trips outside the city- BLR to Goa and Yelagiri. Not sure if the driving style is not correct or something else. I also see the fuel guage suddenly going down when I start driving compared to the start of the last drive. It keeps varying sometime at the start of the drive. Any inputs on this will help. Thanks.