[aviorp]

A pic at K-Top, to start an ownership thread. It can't get any better. Brilliant review and fantastic pictures to go with it. Congratulations Columbus. Wish you miles of happiness.

[Ace F355]

Wonderfully informative thread, Columbus! Loved each and every bit of the review, and beautiful pics too!

Looking forward to long term ownership review and I hope you keep us all updated about Maximus.

Wish you thousands of happy and soulful miles on your T-Fort!

[columbus]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

As you said, all T's are indeed same, they are built to last like battle tanks, they take abuse but still fire a 120mm shell and can send shivers down the spine. Happy miles.

Thanks AlphaKilo. Loved the above statement . In fact recently had a real life experience of seeing the Bofors guns in action in Ladakh. Certainly sends shivers down the spine when the shells are fired. Will post a pic of it very soon.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Congrats Columbus on the buy.

Hope you have many more vacations with your family in this tank and may this tank behave like a T90 instead of an arjun with russian spares.

One request. Can i have interior pictures? Is it beige or do we get an option of black in it? Big fan of black interiors but no idea why but indian market loves the beigge and fake wood and chrome!!

....T90 instead of an Arjun with russian spares... .

Interior Pics. To be very frank the Togo Channel has some very detailed interior and underbody pics of the Fort, that i did'nt bother to click even a single interior pic ! Give me a day or two and I shall post some.
Yes the Interiors are Beige and are a Pain in A** to maintain. My euphoria with the beige interiors has already died. Compared to it my NHC's two tone grey interiors look spanking new with just one wipe of the cloth.

Originally Posted by aviorp

A pic at K-Top, to start an ownership thread. It can't get any better. Brilliant review and fantastic pictures to go with it. Congratulations Columbus. Wish you miles of happiness.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Wonderfully informative thread, Columbus! Loved each and every bit of the review, and beautiful pics too!

Looking forward to long term ownership review and I hope you keep us all updated about Maximus.

Wish you thousands of happy and soulful miles on your T-Fort!

Thanks guys. Will be updating the thread regularly. There is lot more from where this comes from...

[999]

Great thread buddy. Have a great time with the fort. rated 5 stars

[_raVan_]

Excellent writeup friend! Rated the thread 5 stars.

Sorry to hear about the niggling rattling issues that you faced, but I think its the first time I ever heard this kind of issue from any Toyota car. You should have it thoroughly checked with the ASC again.

[DKG]

Wow what a treat !! Congrats to you and the family and a special salute to your home minister for indulging you !! Its sentiments like these that make an experience so much more special.

Your issues with the car are quite alarming. More than anything else Toyota's legendary reputation has been built on its build quality, and so many niggling issues is quite unlike a Toyota product. I hope you have written to Toyota directly as this is really not something the company should pass over lightly.

Like most of us I can see your better judgement has prevailed to not endlessly tinker with the car especially when its brand new and you have tried to focus more on its positives and carry on enjoying an otherwise fabulous machine.

Getting back to your travels, what a start to your new car ownership !! Those shots of the Fortuner in that setting are brochure material. Great pictures !!

Happy motoring !!

[Guderian]

Hi Columbus,
Just completed reading the great details of the initial experience.
First thing that I did was to rate the thread 5*s !
Great going and would look forward for regular updates here.

Was delighted to realise that there are others too who are slightly touched up there, as far as feeling for ones automobile is concerned. Considering them as extension oneself indeed.

Coming to your experiences with the various 'kach khachar khack's, 'khat kat khats' and sundry noises.
My experience has been - give it time and it'll settle down by itself. And you did well by not allowing the grease monkeys to run all over the place and messing it up further.
And now let me explain:

- Admiral too had a front right wheel side rattling sound when drive over rough patches which the ASC guys poked and prodded and examined and whatelse not. Over a period of time I note that it has vanished. I had made a mention of that in my thread.

- Creaking and groaning from the dash - AC vents/MID top was there initially especially when you are at low RPMs or at wrong RPMs. That too seems to have vanished. Luckily for me the faux wood inserts are not creaking.

- Admiral doesn't go 'cheep-cheep' from the brake pedal when driven over but goes 'squelch - squelch' when the brakes are applied. This attributed to the booster noise. And is true. Checked other TForts in the ASC and heard the same or worse.

- Don't have the window 'khachar'. Suggest you have them to look at the beading for snug fit and at some point have them the open up the window winder assembly and check whether the window glasses are sitting snugly in the aluminium/metal holder which raises and lowers the pane. If not then some packing would be required. That should take care of it. Painful - but no other way.

- About the roof noise not very sure - could be a AC roof duct related noise or could be a loose nut/screw left back from the assembly line. Or could be a design related issue where the roof liner has not been firmly fixed in place. Just check those plastic button fastners you see on the roof and see of they are broken. Also check if the liner is fastened firm all around the roof - especially above the middle row.

I think like with any other autoco the ASC skills in a non metro location would be suspect. So in case you are coming down to Mumbai (or gives you a reason to at least !), lets get it checked out by the ASCs here or the one that I go to. If not for anything else - would love to see their eyes go large and round with shock, when they see me drive in - in another TFort and with an owner who is equally belligerent.
I suppose the only thought that will flash in their minds would be - Not only are the fellows individually a pain, now they are forming a union as well !

[columbus]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

they take abuse but still fire a 120mm shell and can send shivers down the spine.

Somewhere in Ladakh.... Guns of Navarone

Originally Posted by 999

Great thread buddy. Have a great time with the fort. rated 5 stars

Thanks 999.

Originally Posted by _raVan_

Excellent writeup friend! Rated the thread 5 stars.

Thanks raVan.

Originally Posted by DKG

Wow what a treat !! Congrats to you and the family and a special salute to your home minister for indulging you !! Its sentiments like these that make an experience so much more special.

Your issues with the car are quite alarming. More than anything else Toyota's legendary reputation has been built on its build quality, and so many niggling issues is quite unlike a Toyota product. I hope you have written to Toyota directly as this is really not something the company should pass over lightly.

Like most of us I can see your better judgement has prevailed to not endlessly tinker with the car especially when its brand new and you have tried to focus more on its positives and carry on enjoying an otherwise fabulous machine.

Getting back to your travels, what a start to your new car ownership !! Those shots of the Fortuner in that setting are brochure material. Great pictures !!

Happy motoring !!

Great to have you here sir.

The home minister is also very happy now zipping on the roads in a City. Says I can't imagine driving and Estillo now...

Yes i do plan to write a small mail to Toyota but as you have rightly said after Fort's stellar performance in the Ladakh trip I have moved on.

Thanks for liking the pics. There will be many more in Maximus in Ladakh section of the review.

Hope to experience the "Heaven on a Harley" one day .

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by columbus

Somewhere in Ladakh.... Guns of Navarone

Attachment 582532

Fantastic! Are you by any chance in related to services? These 110mm Arty are my personal favourite along with the Arjun MBT 120 turrets, no one stands a chance. When compared with the TForte, the powerful D-4D engine is like diesel engine of the Arjun and a 4x4 system that can launch this Tforte literally anywhere! and the Tfort's braking is as slippery as it can get in a MBT . The gearing is very similar to them too. Happy miles and eager to see more travelogues from you sir.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

These 110mm Arty are my personal favourite along with the Arjun MBT 120 turrets, no one stands a chance.

OT:

AlphaKilo - come in.
Sorry to butt in here but as per me -Indian Arty doesn't have 110mm howitzers.
The nearest in caliber they have is the 105mm Indian Field Gun and the 105mm Light Field Gun.
These, I think, look like the M48s (76mm Mountain Guns) or 75 mm Mountain Howitzers ? D-30s 122 mm Howitzers ?

[columbus]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Columbus,
Just completed reading the great details of the initial experience.
First thing that I did was to rate the thread 5*s !
Great going and would look forward for regular updates here.

Was delighted to realise that there are others too who are slightly touched up there, as far as feeling for ones automobile is concerned. Considering them as extension oneself indeed.

Coming to your experiences with the various 'kach khachar khack's, 'khat kat khats' and sundry noises.
My experience has been - give it time and it'll settle down by itself. And you did well by not allowing the grease monkeys to run all over the place and messing it up further.

I think like with any other autoco the ASC skills in a non metro location would be suspect. So in case you are coming down to Mumbai (or gives you a reason to at least !), lets get it checked out by the ASCs here or the one that I go to. If not for anything else - would love to see their eyes go large and round with shock, when they see me drive in - in another TFort and with an owner who is equally belligerent.
I suppose the only thought that will flash in their minds would be - Not only are the fellows individually a pain, now they are forming a union as well !

Thank you very much General Saab for the kind words. Your Togo channel and the personal discussions with you on phone have always been very entertaining and informative.

After the Ladakh trip the AC vents and the faux wood insert have become lot quiter. May be dust has gone into the small gaps and coupled with moisture it has formed a nice packing.

My experiences with ASCs of Honda and Maruti in Bhopal have been excellent. The skill level at Maruti and the professionalism at Honda have just fantastic. Its only Toyota's ASC experience which did not meet my expectations.
As i said earlier i have moved on. I am extremely happy with the way vehicle performed as it should in a terrain for which it was designed for.

Maximus in Mumbai is a great idea. Together with his brother Admiral and we two will be quite a handfull for the Mumbai ASC.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Guderian

OT:

AlphaKilo - come in.
Sorry to butt in here but as per me -Indian Arty doesn't have 110mm howitzers.
The nearest in caliber they have is the 105mm Indian Field Gun and the 105mm Light Field Gun.
These, I think, look like the M-46s or the 130 MMs.

Affirmative! Thats copied General!
OT: Looked up but then it was too late to edit! Didnt want to create back to back post and land up with a court martial from the Mods, so left it that way. Infact, the pics are 105mm light Field guns(turret tip matches with that of 105mm light arty). Just looked up in Bharatrakshak. The other heavy arty is 155mm Bofors self propelled, the 130mm M-46 arty field guns.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-F...4/0212_001.jpg

Eagerly awaiting to see the two military heros meet! The Maximus and The Admiral! I am sure the greasy monkeys will be running for cover when they are going to see such top ranked officials together at the same time

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Guderian

OT:

AlphaKilo - come in.
Sorry to butt in here but as per me -Indian Arty doesn't have 110mm howitzers.
The nearest in caliber they have is the 105mm Indian Field Gun and the 105mm Light Field Gun.
These, I think, look like the M48s (76mm Mountain Guns) or 75 mm Mountain Howitzers ? D-30s 122 mm Howitzers ?

OT (Yet again !) : I think these are indeed the 105mm Indian Field Gun or the 105mm Light Field Gun. Unlikely to be the 122mms which are being introduced.

PS: Sorry Columbus, about this arty exchange - just couldn't resist shelling !

[nilanjanray]

Welcome Maximus and Columbus! Wonderful review and pictures...great to see a fellow wandering soul with the same beast.

Pity you have been having so much trouble with otherwise a 'no-headache' vehicle - these niggles are not normal. As Guderian suggested, you should bring your vehicle to Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore and get it checked thoroughly once. And as others have recommended, please write a strong letter to Toyota - usually they respond fast. There is also a Facebook Fortuner page that you can post on.

Leh is on my 'to do' list. Will call you up someday and take some inputs. Can you post a more detailed note on how Maximus performed? I know it can handle those roads easily, but what about the altitude and temperature? Any change in power, or any starting issues in the morning? Did you take any special precautions?

Incidentally, I call my Toy 'Bison' - she is christened after the Bos Gaurus of the Nilgiri Hills.

[Samurai]

Congrats... since you own Maximus, I guess we'll have to call you Proximo.

Note from Support Team: Keep in mind that this is an ownership thread, keep the focus on ownership issues of the vehicle. This thread should become a valuable resource for people looking for Fortuner ownership experience. Don't turn this into travelogue or daily blog or other chit chat.