[mints21]

I had purchased an Innova Crysta in May 2016 after a wait of almost three years and I have been very keenly following all the threads and reports pertaining to this vehicle.

However, my idea to write a comprehensive ownership review received a major set back when I personally encountered issues with my car and then read many posts by members complaining about one thing or the other like misaligned tyres, brake rotor issues, engine malfunction light glowing abruptly to name a few.

This is when I decided to start a detailed thread on all the issues pertaining to Innova Crysta.

I would first start with the issues faced by me, After two months of buying the car and with less than 1800kms on the Odometer the AC of my car stopped cooling. The problem was identified as gas leakage and the car was returned to me after refilling the AC gas with a remark "Vehicle is under observation at Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM)".

Two months later we were on our way to Jaipur and we noticed that the cooling of the AC is gradually decreasing and its not reaching the optimum level. We immediately took the car to "OM Toyota" the only authorised Toyota dealer in Jaipur. They diagnosed the problem as "Gas Leakage" and discussed this issue with Toyota. The car was returned to us after refilling the AC gas.

The car was then again sent back for comprehensive check up as this incident has really left us shocked and our trust on the reliability of Innova was shaken.

After examining the following parts were replaced under warranty;

1. Evaporator Sub Assembly R&R
2. Oil Compressor
3. Valve extension
4. O-Ring
5. Gas Refilling

Its been a fortnight now that these items were replaced but I am not sure if they won't come up again.

Adding to my woes is another issue, One fine day while driving a screw fell from under the dash board on my left foot. Called up the service advisor (SA) and he said that they will have to open up the dashboard to examine and locate the area from where such a tiny screw has come out. I really have no idea on how to handle this issue now. Opening of dashboard to solve such an issue is warranted or not, I am unable to decide.

Now lets look at some of the other problems faced by fellow Bhpians.

1. Samabhi

A] I experienced a strange issue with my Crysta on two different occasions. When sudden braking at moderate high speeds ( ~ 80KMPH), I heard a strange sound from the driver side brakes. It was as if there are no brake pads present and the metal holding the pads is directly rubbing against the disc. It does slow down the vehicle as expected, but this strange sound got me worried. This is only when I do sudden/panic braking, but otherwise they function normally

B] Was returning back from Hyd on 14th night and encountered a deep pothole on Bangalore ORR. It was just at the exit of Kalyan Nagar underpass with no lighting at all. Even though I was doing low speeds, I couldn't avoid it as I noticed it at the last minute and both the passenger side front and rear tyres went over it. Immediately noticed the vehicle was pulling to the left and stopped by the side. Both the tyres have gone flat as there is a small cut on the side walls.

2. dezrskb

I faced another issue after driving about 500Kms. I noticed a vibration from somewhere in front which appeared to be from dashboard and occurred always when vehicle slowed down to just below 1000 rpm with no relation to road quality. It was becoming somewhat noticeable day by day and especially when the engine gets so silent when u slow down. I called dealership regarding this and what I appreciate is they asked me to get the vehicle, patiently sat with me when I test drove few kms with service technician and service advisor and demonstrated the problem. They agreed there was a vibration. Retrospectively I now appreciate they didn't argue it wasn't there or claim Toyota has very high standards of quality or anything like that. Nor did I lose patience because it wasn't going to help anyone. I just told them politely that everything else about the vehicle was amazing except this minor niggle. There was a small problem indeed and I knew it wouldn't affect the vehicle seriously. My concern was about them needing to open the dashboard. Fortunately problem was localised to the Cowl plate (Im no expert in vehicles but I do know how to google things). They said it was loosely fitted and they changed something there. My worry was something else. If it was loose that means someone at Toyota Innova assembly line hadn’t done his job perfectly. I expected better quality control from a company like Toyota. But anyway issue is solved and I have rated quality of the job 10/10 during their feedback call as response was prompt and identification of problem was done and solved quickly. However this is my first new car among 4 in last 11 years that had to go back to service so soon after delivery because of a manufacturing defect however small it is.

3. Pratiksinhal

A] On Toyota Genuine Accessory: I am hugely disappointed with toyota's rear bumper protector which is an add on accessory which I had purchased with the car. It costs about ₹10899. This rear guard is very good looking and is made of plastic. Yesterday a tata ace came and hit the rear of the car when I was stuck in a signal. The guard broke in one small impact. I had the aluminium one in my old Innova which lasted a good 7 years after getting so many hits. This one didn't even go for 7 days.
This looks fancy but is not a protector at all. I would recommend anyone going for a rear bumper protector to go for the aluminium one rather than the fancy plastic one. The aluminium one is about half the price at about ₹5500.

B] I was driving my Crysta 2.8 Z last evening and suddenly after going through a small pothole , the left rear wheel burst. I spoke to Toyota service and they told me that they have been advised by Toyota to change the 17 inch wheels on the Z trims with 16 inches and which will be done as a replacement by the company. Apparently a lot of customers have complained of the same problem.

4. methecupid

It's been more than three months and close to the service time of 5000 kms in my 2.4 Gx, and I have an unusual problem. I have had experiences in sitting in Innovas that have run thousands of kms, but my rather new car gives out weird rattling noises whenever they go over a rough patch of road.

Blessed with 'holes' of both kinds on the streets of Mumbai, the pot-holes seem to have unnerved the Innova to a large extent. Needless to say, I don't like this one bit. I had a similar observance in during my test drive, but that was just a test drive vehicle. I need to know if others here have had similar issues as mine.

I plan to have it checked during my upcoming service interval, however fearing very less can be done about it.

5. Shankar

A] Brake Judder
There is one issue I faced with the Crysta while i did the Tvm - Blore - Tvm trip. As everyone who has the Crysta knows this vehicle will reach silly speeds in no time and it is really really easy maintaining those speeds as the engine is at just 2200RPM while cruising at 140KPH. Braking from very high speeds the vehicle feels very confident and the bite is strong.

The problem is as the brake discs heat up after couple of high speed braking events I get a judder on the steering wheel each time i brake from above 120KPH. This is ONLY after the brake discs heat up, because after a 30 minute break there is no judder on the steering wheel while braking from higher speeds. But AGAIN once the brake heats up the judder returns. There is no judder if i am not applying the brakes.

I am at a loss explaining this to Toyota service here, i told them the problem, we took a test drive but the roads does not allow to replicate the problem.

In short:
1) No steering judder when not braking
2) No steering judder when braking from upto 120KPH
3) No steering judder when braking for first couple times from higher speeds.
4) Judder increases gradually as number of braking instances increase from higher speeds for slowing down.
5) Judder ceases when brakes are cooled down like while taking a 30min food stop.
6) Judder returns when brakes are hot again.

So brake discs are becoming warped when being hot? I.e., brake discs are expanding unevenly while hot?

B] Bad day! Front windshield cracked by a stone while on the highway today.
Im not sure whether the glass is partial thickness, but it sure doesnt look durable enough in the light of my recent experience.

C] New issue to report on my Crysta AT. The PRND lights on the dashboard does not work neither does the reverse lights. When the transmission is put into R there is a slight delay in engagement and it engages roughly with a jerk. Otherwise there is no other issue in D mode and while driving.

D]misaligned steering wheel. Next day after delivery. It was late last evening to correct it when i noticed it.

Not what i wanted to do the first thing after taking delivery Vehicle is good. I like it.

6. krishtk

I have done 860 kms on the new Crysta and gave it for first service, I noticed a thumping noise with vibration while starting the engine in the last few days and so immediately gave the car for first service. The technician says the noise is from the engine mounting, and assured that it will get rectified its not a concern area. Looks like it needs more torquing or tightening. Surpeised though to hear this and how it escaped Toyota's attention.

7. Mail dropped to GTO by Tri Mulyantono

Link: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...review-35.html (Toyota Innova Crysta : Official Review)

8. sridhu

I had given my Crysta for the 5k service (update on the ownership thread) and thought a quick warning is in order. Please check if the driver side power window button cluster auto lowers AND raises all the windows (Obviously applicable only to Vx & above). In mine, the front passenger window would not come up auto.

The SA told that it is a known problem and a lot of warranty claims have been filed on that.

9. vkochar

Did close to 650 kms today and arrived at my destination but not without drama !

The rear left tyre messed up and had a massive cut and crack on it. I was driving and my driver was sitting next to me and I could feel something was wrong and I stopped in few seconds. No damage to the alloy.

However the tyre is not useable to say the least.

I spoke to Toyota about this and they have asked me to bring it to their showroom on Monday when I get first service done.

10. miharbe

Mine has a slightly misalinged steering wheel as well as a pull to the left if I let go of the steering on a flat surface.

11. Sridhu & drive_angry

Hi

Not sure if this is the right thread for this query or the ICE one is, but here goes:

I have my iPod connected to the car all the time.

The problem is, whenever I start the car after longish break (5-8 hours), the ICE does not 'see' the iPod for 5-10 minutes. Does not seem to be a charge issue - there is at least 50% charge in the iPod when it does start playing.

Also, it does not play the 'current song' after reviving. Does not matter if you hit pause/play multiple times. If you go forward on the playlist, it plays the next song but if you try to come back to the song that was playing when you last stopped it does not find it.

It is not an iPod issue as the same iPod works just fine on my Duster. And both my iPods have this issue on the Crysta.


Any clues/ opinions on what is happening? How do we fix it?

Methinks that the Crysta needs a minimum of 50% charge in the ipod to recognize it & that is why the charge is 50% when it starts playing.

Apart from the above, I would like to mention that there is no doubt that the service centres of Toyota are world class in customer handling. Even in Jaipur, we were made to feel comfortable and the technical Head Amarjeet Singh went all out to ensure that we are at ease and offered us the best in class service experience.

Having dealt with Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda, Mercedes, I would rate my service experience with Toyota the best among all of them.

Last but not the least I agree with the member dezrskb when he writes,

Moral of the story is no car is perfect. Its more important to me how a company responds when it realises that it has delivered a new vehicle in less than perfect condition - whether it refuses to confess that there is a problem or whether it acknowledges and tries to rectify that problem at the earliest

[Jaggu]

Mod note: Thanks for sharing and compiling this thread. Moving out to technical section from Assembly Line Section (More Information about this sub-forum). .

[GTO]

What on earth is happening? First, Honda had build issues with the City and now the hallmark of reliability - the Innova! These are among the most powerful 'car' brands in India.

I'm not worried about the tyre problems as they're the simplest to fix. At the time of reviewing the Innova, I'd mentioned to Toyota that 17 inchers on a people mover is a terrible idea (should be 15 or 16 with tall sidewall tyres). Nor am I worried about the touchscreen ICE.

But what really gets my goat are the frequent air-con issues in your car, so many parts replaced, brake issues, premature rattles & vibrations. Toyota had better get its quality control in order. The Innova Crysta is a very expensive MPV and the only reason that 7,000+ customers a month are paying the premium is reliability & durability. Clearly Toyota has slipped up in quality and that's honestly unpardonable.

Sankar's Innova was back in the shop last week:

Originally Posted by Sankar

As I was just leaving the Service Center after booking a slot on Monday for detailed inspection both the CEL and ! lit up on the console. I called CRM and he got the vehicle in for checkup. The light did not pop up earlier so now with the error logged in the ECU they can do the diagnosis. The vehicle is with them now. Preliminary diagnosis based on the error code points to transmission range switch as mentioned in the threads below.

And this is how his brake discs looked in less than a year of usage:

[Axe77]

Toyota is charging a HUGE premium for basically reliability, low service cost AND low service hassles. While I respect a brand for honoring warranties, its still a pain (and in a sense time & cost) to have your vehicle frequently visit a service station.

Toyota better resolve this ASAP. A solid reputation takes years to build but relatively less time to undo.

At this price (ZX A/T), there's a very capable endeavour 2.2 Trend A/T within nodding distance price. And from all I hear, they're taking a lot of care on the A.S.S. front as well.

Good idea for the OP to make an independent thread (not to mention that a "niggles and issues" thread with the rock solid Innova brand is in itself quite something.

[aniketi]

This is terrible. Can't imagine Toyota going wrong in quality department and reliability has really gone for toss looking at above issues. It's really bad that global giants are compromising on the quality. People should sue them in court for such issues and they should be penalized heavily like it happens in US and Europe.

[Rajeevraj]

Quite strange and weird to see a thread that has 'Toyota' and 'Niggles/Issues' in once sentence. That too with arguably their top product in India-The Innova Crysta.

When the Crysta came out, one common comment was that it was unlike Toyota to provide the long list of features that it did. Hope in the process of doing that, they have not compromised anything that can lead to them moving away from their top core value of Quality in addition to bulletproof reliability and ease of maintenance.

From GTO's Company's and Core Values thread (Why car companies shouldn't move away from their core values)

Toyota = Quality. Innova for 25 lakhs? We'll lap them up. Toyota knows quality is what drives it and has various campaigns around the alphabet 'Q' (Q service, Q promise etc.).

On the plus side, good to see that the service centers are responsive. Hope the issues and niggles are quickly and permanently resolved and this thread does not end up running into pages and pages.

[rrsteer]

Almost saw this thread coming after going through the Crysta thread last week. This is unexpected and totally unpardonable. Infact, these are not just India specific issues. Indonesian customers are also reporting problems with Crysta.

If you take quality, reliability and dependability out of Toyota vehicles, then, in my mind I am very clear:

Hexa> Crysta
Endeavour> Fortuner
Sonata >Corolla
Superb>Camry

[SmartCat]

After reading this thread, I'm afraid many people would be as content as a cat that just had a bowl of warm milk.

[centaur]

Never thought I did live to see this thread ever and it's actually surprising to see that its not just one owner facing the issues, but different owners and different issues. It's now somewhat consoling for me that we got hold of the previous Gen innova last year, rather than wait for the new one, which apparently is niggle free or at least, did not have an entire thread to its name for the niggles.

[himanshugoswami]

Now if the Marketing team at Tata Motors had any sense, they would "somehow" use this to demolish the Toyota Aura.

Coming back to topic, Innova and Fortuner have always been overpriced in India and our herd metality has meant that Toyota is laughing all the way to the bank. One drive in the Crysta had me convinced that the car is not worth the money being charged. A similar ball park amount gets you an endeavour. One just needs to compare the stark difference in quality between the two to know that Toyota is really taking Indian consumers for a royal ride.

[PrideRed]

Surprised to see Innova getting associated with niggles and issues. I am pretty sure that Toyota would resolve the issues and upcoming batches of Innova should be niggle free. With updated features, I expected Crysta to have its own share of issues/niggles, but what surprised me are the kind of issues reported. Niggles w.r.to basics like brake,AC, Engine was least expected from Toyota.

My 2 cents on Toyota's reliability:Earlier Toyota's, be it Innova, Fortuner, Etios were bare basic with limited set of features. This led Toyota to focus more on basics, which has probably helped the reliability. With the current crop of cars(which are feature-loaded), it is clear that Toyota is no different from other manufacturers.

[sidzzone]

Originally Posted by mints21

However, my idea to write a comprehensive ownership review received a major set back when I personally encountered issues with my car and then read many posts by members complaining about one thing or the other like misaligned tyres, brake rotor issues, engine malfunction light glowing abruptly to name a few.

I feel bad for you and many others who have gone ahead and purchased a Toyota vehicle for its main USP - reliability and experienced something like this. I really hope that Toyota redeems itself here and your problems with your car are resolved as quickly as possible.

This has been said enough number of times, especially on Team BHP - "Hyundai is the new Honda". 10-15 years ago, if I had said this I would've been called a fool.

Maybe a few years down the line, it will be time for some other manufacturer to take the mantle from Toyota for reliability. Any takers?

[samabhi]

I had three options before zeroing in on the Crysta AT. Go for BRV-CVT or XUV 500 W6 AT or Innova Crysta GX AT. I felt its not worth paying 15L for a BRV-CVT, and dropped XUV 500 due to its never ending niggles even after 5 years of launch. That left me only with the Crysta and had to pay close to 20.5L On Road price in Bangalore. Knowing the previous gen Innova's bullet proof reliability and since I also wanted to buy a vehicle that can last for atleast 10 years, I didnt think too much and just went ahead with it. It was the heart vs mind decision, as most of us would always struggle with.

Now after three months of ownership experience and experiencing the worst of the niggles reported so far (tyre bursts, Brake discs change), owning the so called (or perceived as the) indestructible Toyota Innova Crysta, do I feel my money is well spent. May be not. But am I happy with my vehicle? Oh YES. And is my family happy with it? Double YES. And will I buy the Crysta again if I have to? Yes and this time I will buy the 2.8 ZX.

Agree, it has its share of issues so early, but as I mentioned elsewhere on the Official Review thread, the comfort levels in the Innova Crysta are far more superior that these niggles didnt bother me much. And add to that, the Service experience has been very good so far.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

My 2 cents on Toyota's reliability:Earlier Toyota's, be it Innova, Fortuner, Etios were bare basic with limited set of features. This led Toyota to focus more on basics, which has probably helped the reliability. With the current crop of cars(Which is feature loaded), It is clear that Toyota is no different from other manufacturers.

Mine is GX AT with bare minimum features in it. But the issues I faced are very basic ones. May be its the AT thats the new one here with the Crysta. So the safe bet would be go with a GX 2.4?

[Dani7766]

I'm not surprised. My sister owned a corolla for six years. We got it around 2008. The car was good to drive. But had an issue, which if I'm correct, was present in corolla's in other parts of the world. The issue was the vehicle would continue to accelerate even after taking foot of the accelerator. Not that it happened every time, but it happened three times in total and unfortunately on highway runs. My brother in law, informed and wrote a letter to Toyota, but the claim was dismissed. I think there was a recall in other parts of the world. Not sure if they silently repaired it, because problems stopped appearing after that. Also the bumper was the worst. The paint in the bumper would just chip off and the vehicle was ugly because of that. They didn't acknowledge even the poor paint quality of the bumper. I always smile when people tell about Toyota reliability. Our experience was quite bad.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by mints21

I would first start with the issues faced by me, After two months of buying the car and with less than 1800kms on the Odometer the AC of my car stopped cooling. The problem was identified as gas leakage and the car was returned to me after refilling the AC gas with a remark "Vehicle is under observation at Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM)".

Two months later we were on our way to Jaipur and we noticed that the cooling of the AC is gradually decreasing and its not reaching the optimum level. We immediately took the car to "OM Toyota" the only authorised Toyota dealer in Jaipur. They diagnosed the problem as "Gas Leakage" and discussed this issue with Toyota. The car was returned to us after refilling the AC gas.

The car was then again sent back for comprehensive check up as this incident has really left us shocked and our trust on the reliability of Innova was shaken.

After examining the following parts were replaced under warranty;

1. Evaporator Sub Assembly R&R
2. Oil Compressor
3. Valve extension
4. O-Ring
5. Gas Refilling

Its been a fortnight now that these items were replaced but I am not sure if they won't come up again.

Shocked to say the least!

Originally Posted by mints21

Apart from the above, I would like to mention that there is no doubt that the service centres of Toyota are world class in customer handling. Even in Jaipur, we were made to feel comfortable and the technical Head Amarjeet Singh went all out to ensure that we are at ease and offered us the best in class service experience.

Having dealt with Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda, Mercedes, I would rate my service experience with Toyota the best among all of them.

I agree.

I have dealt with Hyundai (i10), Maruti (AStar, Swift VXI & VDI), VW (GT TDI and Vento), Skoda (Octavia vRS), Toyota (Crysta) personally. Among these dealer service centers I would rate Toyota @ Enchakal, TVM and VW @ Cheraneloor, EKM as good. Maybe its how I gel with the people here but my experience has been good. Maruti is OK Popular at TVM has fixed my car to my satisfaction but i had to involve Maruti in the loop to make that happen. I would rate Hyundai on par with Maruti here. Marikar Skoda unsurprisingly is at the very bottom.

Originally Posted by mints21

5. Shankar

A] Brake Judder

B] Bad day! Front windshield cracked by a stone while on the highway today.
Im not sure whether the glass is partial thickness, but it sure doesnt look durable enough in the light of my recent experience.

C] New issue to report on my Crysta AT. The PRND lights on the dashboard does not work neither does the reverse lights. When the transmission is put into R there is a slight delay in engagement and it engages roughly with a jerk. Otherwise there is no other issue in D mode and while driving.

D]misaligned steering wheel. Next day after delivery. It was late last evening to correct it when i noticed it.

In the correct chronological order:

D] This was noticed the same day when i took the delivery of brand new vehicle. It was fixed the next day.

Niggle? Yes

A] Noticed during high speeds on my first long drive in the crysta. The brake rotor was skimmed under warranty and it mitigated the issue. The picture I posted was of the brake disc after skimming. Slight vibrations returned on the second long trip after rotor skimming and the discs were replaced under warranty.

Niggle? Yes

B] The windshield cracked (outer layer only) after a stone struck the glass on a broken section of the road. I got the glass replaced at Toyota. Can't really call it a niggle because it was accidental damage. Though I feel the glass is not durable I have no means to measure the durability. If more Crystas break their glasses it can be called a niggle.

Niggle? No. Stone strike.

C] This happened soon after a stereo install, Changed the headunit from dealer provided Kenwood DDX415BT to Pioneer AVHX8890BT. It was diagnosed as a blown fuse which they changed and problem was rectified. Though i was not shown which fuse was blown.

Niggle? No. Don't think so.

All of these issues from A to D were taken care of satisfactorily.
Will i buy another Toyota? Sure.