[coolmel]

Sen Da wanted to ask you about the engine oil. Have you switched over to Synthetic or still running on Mineral? Any idea what oils do Toyota offer when we give the cars for service?

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by coolmel

Sen Da wanted to ask you about the engine oil. Have you switched over to Synthetic or still running on Mineral? Any idea what oils do Toyota offer when we give the cars for service?

@Coolmel: I am running on mineral. That's what TASS offer normally. I don't plan to keep my car for more than five years and with my driving routine I don't see myself doing than 1 lakh kilometer in these years. I see no reason why I would be changing to synthetic oil. Most of the Toyota service people are pretty confident that a properly maintained Toyota car will not have any engine issues before 2 lakh kilometer if it runs on mineral oil.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by subratasenn

@Coolmel: I am running on mineral. That's what TASS offer normally. I don't plan to keep my car for more than five years and with my driving routine I don't see myself doing than 1 lakh kilometer in these years. I see no reason why I would be changing to synthetic oil. Most of the Toyota service people are pretty confident that a properly maintained Toyota car will not have any engine issues before 2 lakh kilometer if it runs on mineral oil.

Same here but does switching to synthetic make it more fuel efficient? Hence the query.

[mroptimist]

Originally Posted by coolmel

Same here but does switching to synthetic make it more fuel efficient? Hence the query.

As far as my understanding goes engine oil has nothing to do with F.E but with engine life. Engine's longevity can surely be prolonged by using synthetic engine oil and Team-BHP also recommend the same.

Thanks.

[subratasenn]

My Etios Liva Diesel Completes 20K in fourteen months and gets its 3rd free service

Nothing much to report besides the heading, Liva is such a boring car!!!
The routine 20K servicing done at 19680 km on the odo. The car runs fine, without any fuss. Opted for renewal of my Smile package, which costed me Rs 5443/- for 20K and 30K servicing plus consumables. Will be doing the tyre alignment, balancing and rotating from outside as their balancing unit was malfunctioning on that day.

Well, I also got a free "interior enhancement" for free on renewal of the Smile package. The car interior looks like new yet again.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by subratasenn

My Etios Liva Diesel Completes 20K in fourteen months and gets its 3rd free service

Nothing much to report besides the heading, Liva is such a boring car!!!
The routine 20K servicing done at 19680 km on the odo. The car runs fine, without any fuss. Opted for renewal of my Smile package, which costed me Rs 5443/- for 20K and 30K servicing plus consumables. Will be doing the tyre alignment, balancing and rotating from outside as their balancing unit was malfunctioning on that day.

Well, I also got a free "interior enhancement" for free on renewal of the Smile package. The car interior looks like new yet again.

Haha! Come on Subrata. How can you call it boring when it is giving you the joys of umpteen trouble free miles?!

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by coolmel

Haha! Come on Subrata. How can you call it boring when it is giving you the joys of umpteen trouble free miles?!

Yes, it's an uneventful boring car. Such an uneventful 20K kilometre, and it still runs like new.
Suits my sedate lifestyle though, and I love the city mileage of 17+ km to a litre. I never expected this as Toyota Liva does not advertise much on mileage front.
By the way, checked the new Liva GD exclusive, which was there at the showroom. The car now looks even better with dual tone interior, the music system. The new blue-coloured speedo looks great.
I met a person who had come in for his first servicing of his Liva GD. He has just shifted from his Swift Diesel to this car. I asked him about the NVH level in the new Liva as compared to his Swift. He claims that the new Liva GD has a quieter cabin than the Swift VD. Well, in that case Liva has scored on all points. And actually, I am seeing more and more Liva on Kolkata roads. I don't know about other cities though!

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by subratasenn

Yes, it's an uneventful boring car. Such an uneventful 20K kilometre, and it still runs like new.
Suits my sedate lifestyle though, and I love the city mileage of 17+ km to a litre. I never expected this as Toyota Liva does not advertise much on mileage front.
By the way, checked the new Liva GD exclusive, which was there at the showroom. The car now looks even better with dual tone interior, the music system. The new blue-coloured speedo looks great.
I met a person who had come in for his first servicing of his Liva GD. He has just shifted from his Swift Diesel to this car. I asked him about the NVH level in the new Liva as compared to his Swift. He claims that the new Liva GD has a quieter cabin than the Swift VD. Well, in that case Liva has scored on all points. And actually, I am seeing more and more Liva on Kolkata roads. I don't know about other cities though!

The new Liva has improved on the NVH levels but do not know how it fares against the competition. But yes, it gets all the bits and pieces which we all miss...tachymeter,alloys etc etc. If Toyota really sink their teeth into this, it can be an even better car.

Time being, yes the journey continues like you, in fact I try to cook up some event. Best bit is driving without the AC. It just flies, butter smooth power delivery all the way.

[milu2fast]

Uneventful exactly the right word. I have crossed 50k. I guess efficiency is at par but have you tried any long trips?? It should come above 20-21kmpl. Is your liva the upgraded model?? If so, Have you driven the old one?? Nice thread and I know how difficult it is to keep a thread updated about an uneventful car like liva. Which among your after market updates would you recommend as needed??

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by milu2fast

Uneventful exactly the right word. I have crossed 50k. I guess efficiency is at par but have you tried any long trips?? It should come above 20-21kmpl. Is your liva the upgraded model?? If so, Have you driven the old one?? Nice thread and I know how difficult it is to keep a thread updated about an uneventful car like liva. Which among your after market updates would you recommend as needed??

Yes a few long trips here and there. About 250 kms up and down. On each occasion I have got 22 km/l mileage. Mine is the old model. The new model came four months after my purchase.
My only after-market inclusion in the car are the Alloy wheels, besides the Pioneer 2-din stereo and rear speakers. I didn't upsize on the wheel. Oh, and a MapmyIndia navigator also.

[subratasenn]

My car is about to strike 30K kilometres is a few days. So, with the odo on 28,990K I decided to go for a weekend drive -- from Kolkata to Shantiniketan. 172 km each way, taking the NH2 and NH2B (Burdwan to Shantiniketan via Gushkara).

I must say, driving in NH2 and NH2B was like a breeze. I could maintain a speed between 100 to 120 kmph through most of the stretch. The road and the car were both helpful to maintain this speed. Because of the "speed masking" that you have in Liva, the car never felt over-stretched while driving at 120 and never did I feel that I was over speeding. Crossing 120 kmph could have been possible, but I chose not to do that and stopped at 120 kmph.

I know 120 kmph on Indian roads is not that easy and should not be attempted in most of the times. But, on this particular trip I felt comfortable because of the beautiful road conditions. Also, traffic was minimal because of scorching summer sun and roads were empty.

The entire stretch of road was beautiful, excepting for the underway near Bhedia, where there is a traffic diversion through Bhedia town. It took me 3 hours 15 minutes each way (from 2nd Hooghly bridge to Shantiniketan Tourist Lodge) with 15 minutes of tea break at Shaktigarh.

I was travelling light, with only me and my wife on board and just one piece of luggage. Obviously, AC was on throughout the journey. The car gave a mileage of 20.8 km to a litre.

Just before the 30K servicing, I wanted to give my Liva a long highway run, as for the past 20K kilometres it has been driven around in city conditions only.

The car drives superbly on highways, is very balanced, even with OEM tyres. However, there is a noticeable turbo lag in 5th gear when you have to bring down the speed to around 70 kmph and then accelerate again from there.

The 30K servicing of my car has been booked this Saturday and will post my 30K update after that.

[driving_smartly]

Originally Posted by subratasenn

I could maintain a speed between 100 to 120 kmph through most of the stretch. The road and the car were both helpful to maintain this speed. Because of the "speed masking" that you have in Liva, the car never felt over-stretched while driving at 120 and never did I feel that I was over speeding.

The car gave a mileage of 20.8 km to a litre.

However, there is a noticeable turbo lag in 5th gear when you have to bring down the speed to around 70 kmph and then accelerate again from there.

The 30K servicing of my car has been booked this Saturday and will post my 30K update after that.

1. I completely agree with you driving Liva @120 one can cruise all day. On my recent trip did 328 Kms both-ways on Mumbai-Pune Expressway tried 120 or 3-4 minutes and again back to 80-100 where i am much more comfortable.

2. What is speed masking in Liva i heard it for the first time ?

3. Even i get mileage over 20 on highway trips

4. In 5th gear when speed is reduced the engine is lugging, i shift to 4th gear to gain the momentum and shift to 5th thereafter.

5. I am eagerly waiting for your 30K service report

Did you opt for synthetic oil in any of the earlier service's ?

Should i stick to 10k service internals ? is the factory filled mineral oil provided by Toyota good enough for 10k ?

Post 3.5k kms the engine has become smooth and at speeds between 80-100 one can hardly make out if its a diesel, the cabin remains silent.

Liva is not my daily commute all i drive is on weekends and have manage to cover 4955 Kms in 6 months of ownership. My Santro use to hardly cross 2k Kms in 6 months. So once you buy diesel your running increases

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by driving_smartly

Did you opt for synthetic oil in any of the earlier service's ?

Should i stick to 10k service internals ? is the factory filled mineral oil provided by Toyota good enough for 10k ?

Post 3.5k kms the engine has become smooth and at speeds between 80-100 one can hardly make out if its a diesel, the cabin remains silent.

Liva is not my daily commute all i drive is on weekends and have manage to cover 4955 Kms in 6 months of ownership. My Santro use to hardly cross 2k Kms in 6 months. So once you buy diesel your running increases

If you are driving about 5000 km in six months, that's an insult to a diesel car.

Just check with your manual (I can't find mine right now) regarding the service interval. As far as I remember the manual says service period is 10K kilometres or one year, whichever is earlier. If the recommended interval is six months, you have to go for early service even if you have not covered 10K km.

I have always used the mineral oil provided by Toyota service and never went for synthetic. Even with mineral oil a Toyota engine's average life before an overhaul is about 2.5 lakh kilometre. With about 15 to 18 thousand kilometres per year, mineral oil will last me for at least 10 years. That should be enough for me.

Mine is 1st generation Liva, so I am not as fortunate as you regarding NVH. The engine has settled to a "purr", which is quite audible inside the cabin. Somewhat like the sound that you get in an Innova, maybe slightly more. I am used to it now and frankly doesn't bother me much. I know that the new Livas have immensely controlled NVH and many of my friends claim that the cabin is more silent than a diesel Swift.

Officially, there is nothing called speed masking. This is a term we often use to describe how efficiently a Liva disguises its cruising speed. At 60 kmph you feel that your car is driving is only at 40 kmph. The engine is surprisingly relaxed even at high speeds which gives this sense of masking the actual speed of the car.

[driving_smartly]

If you are driving about 5000 km in six months, that's an insult to a diesel car.

Yes , i wish i could travel to my work place with liva, but traffic and parking space are major constraints were i work and railway connectivity is very good which is my daily commute for work. Also the running is shared between Liva and Santro.

Just check with your manual (I can't find mine right now) regarding the service interval. As far as I remember the manual says service period is 10K kilometres or one year, whichever is earlier. If the recommended interval is six months, you have to go for early service even if you have not covered 10K km.

The service interval is 1 year or 10k kms whichever is earlier, so i am sure now, that 10k kms or 1 year would be ideal for service.

I know that the new Livas have immensely controlled NVH and many of my friends claim that the cabin is more silent than a diesel Swift.

Yes i have driven my cousins swift and swift desire, liva's scores in space, silent cabin and no rattles

Officially, there is nothing called speed masking. This is a term we often use to describe how efficiently a Liva disguises its cruising speed. At 60 kmph you feel that your car is driving is only at 40 kmph. The engine is surprisingly relaxed even at high speeds which gives this sense of masking the actual speed of the car.

One can hardly make out speeds at which we are traveling plus the city and highway drive-ability is very good

[subratasenn]

30,000 km update

Mods, can you amend the name of the thread accordingly?

My Liva GD completed 30,000 km last week and went for the 30K service last weekend.
I have lived with this car for the past 22 months and I am happy with my buying decision. I did not make a mistake and took the right decision.

Mine is a first generation Liva and despite many talks of this car being not up to the mark, I am very happy and satisfied with my ownership. This car is niggle-free and Toyota service is a breeze.

Here are my points:

The known cons

1. Higher NVH than other cars (this has been corrected in the later models).
2. Centrally mounted console (an eyesore for many, but I am quite used to it and kind of like it).
3. Lack of a tachometre in the GD model.

Pros (lots of them)
1. Trouble-free. There are no niggles which can constantly bother you. Completely rattle free.
2. Mileage is 17-18 km/l in city conditions. I've never seen the mileage going down below this point.
3. Toyota Service is top-notch
4. Toyota service is unbelievably cheap. My total spending on three service so far is: Rs 6600/- (including normal oil, filters changes etc.) + Rs 225/- (changing of air-filter at 30K service), + Rs 1265/- (changing right tail lamp assembly) + Rs 800/- (changing the right OVRM cover). I opted for the Toyota Smile scheme which made the spares 15 to 25% cheaper, besides getting interior enhancement and external body polish free with each renewal of the Smile scheme.

Toyota changed the original front shock absorbers for free for a noise-free ride.
This time Toyota changed a gear assembly part for free which has made the gear slotting (specially the reverse gear) smoother.

The most important thing about this car is I have my peace of mind.