[vigsom]

test drove a friend's brand new Etios VX Silver today and the overall experience was fantastic.

Pics always seemed to suggest to me that the interiors were cheap,but I had a pleasant surprise when I checked the unit out first hand

1. The interiors were good and practical(no beige which would be a pain to maintain after prolonged usage in our conditions)
2. the ac vents with chrome surrounds look good
3. visibility is excellent
4. seating position is good
5. engine is super smooth with good driveability
6. suspension is tops
7. interior and boot space is great
8. paint finish is top class.
9. only one wiper blade is a good feature
10. loads of room in the engine bay ; no other modern car offers this.

My overall impression is that this is the best VFM sedan for India.

Some nitpicking - please excuse

1. The first sign of cost cutting was evident when I grabbed the seat belt - was approximately half as thick as the one in my Corolla
2. The DVD HU seemed too basic.
3. all four speakers are up-front ; makes the fader useless
4. spare wheel is a steel wheel - no alloy
5. no seals around the front strut aprons
6. the engine oil dipstick seems to have free sideways travel - hold the dipstick ring between your index and middle fingers and shake it - ting ting ting

This friend got a great deal on this 2011 unit which had no bleimishes

[toyota_fan_boy]

Dear Friends,

I am new to team bhp so a big hello to all of you.
I own a May 2011 Toyota Etios G version, and i have completed 9,500 km on it. Although i love it for the space and comfort it offers, along with an excellent mileage, i am just wary of the fact if its going to last long.

I don't know much about cars and i feel i am in the right place to discuss my problems with my etios. Although my car is perfectly fine right now, there was an incident which happened in January 2012 which i would like to discuss, only because it was a mystery to both Toyota and me, but maybe experts here come to know the real problem.

In the month of January 2012, my car suddenly got stranded in the middle of the road. The problem? The clutch. It just won't push all the way to the floor. I tried to press it, but it would just travel half way, get stuck and come back. There was a big traffic jam and the traffic police man asked me to switch off the engine, floor the clutch when the engine is off, and then switch on the car, while continue to keep the clutch pressed. I did it and it worked. i could shift into gears and come home safely.

As soon as i reached home, my clutch got stuck again. Thankfully, my car was parked. My father also tried to press clutch but it would just go half way. I called up Toyota 24x7 and they arrived with a truck on which they would load my car and drop to my service station. I tried to start the car but it just wont move into any gear, as the clutch did not floor to the ground. Finally after 10 minutes of trying hard, it floored and i could move it to first gear to get the car on the truck. Surprisingly, i had to floor the accelerator all the way to the floor to even more my car an inch. The truck driver told me that it looked that my clutch has failed.

The next morning i got a call from toyota service station that my car is perfect and they could not figure out any problem. But since they acknowledge the fact, that the car has been towed to them, and no human in a rational mind would do it by mistake, they decided to keep the car under observation.

They kept it for one week. A team of engineers arrived from Bangalore (Mr Ganesh Rathore was the one who inspected my vehicle). According to them, mine was the first Etios in India to report a breakdown. (i believe them). They inspected the clutch and found nothing wrong. They checked my car inside out, but found no problem. They released my car on observation for 2 weeks and asked me to report the problem if any.

I drove and i found stiffness in gears. I had to use all my force to change the gears. I went back to the service station and they made some adjustments to the cable clutch. It did not solve my problem. They reported the case back to Bangalore head office and they authorized my service station to change the entire gear assembly of my car. I remember seeing an invoice saying the item word "transaxle" costing INR 49,000.

I was a bit surprised as to why they changed my gear assembly and not the clutch, when the main problem had started with my clutch. They told me that my clutch has been inspected and is in perfect running condition and they could not check the gear assembly, so they decided to change the gear assembly. They also changed the cable which runs all the way from the gear box to the engine bay. I don't know what it is called, but according to them, it was bend and damaged, and that happened due to my gear lock (I had got a gear lock installed from outside).

Till date, i am using the same clutch as i was using the day it failed. My fuel economy is very good (which also rules out the chances of a defective clutch according to Toyota). I am getting my car to run in the range of 650kms to 700kms regularly in 40 litres of petrol in city, on a tank-to-tankful basis. (We do not use AC due to my father problems of knee pains but drive with windows down). I get 16kmpl in city and 20kmpl on highway. My car is never occupied by more than 2 occupants and i never drove above 70kmph.

I am happy the way Toyota has taken up my case and changed almost everything they could, but i am also upset that till now i have not found why my clutch failed that day, and it gives me goosebumps that it might happen again. It has been a crazy year, but i like my car for its space comfort and mileage. I am just wary about the 3 year warranty period and hope i don't land up in a soup once its over.

Can experts here share, on what could have gone wrong in my car. Toyota were left scratching their heads and whoever i have discussed my case with, has found no answer as well.

Car: Etios G 2011 (petrol)
Place: New Delhi
Dealer: Espirit Toyota

[Upgrade]

Originally Posted by toyota_fan_boy

Dear Friends,



In the month of January 2012, my car suddenly got stranded in the middle of the road. The problem? The clutch. It just won't push all the way to the floor. I tried to press it, but it would just travel half way, get stuck and come back. There was a big traffic jam and the traffic police man asked me to switch off the engine, floor the clutch when the engine is off, and then switch on the car, while continue to keep the clutch pressed. I did it and it worked. i could shift into gears and come home safely.

As soon as i reached home, my clutch got stuck again. Thankfully, my car was parked. My father also tried to press clutch but it would just go half way. I called up Toyota 24x7 and they arrived with a truck on which they would load my car and drop to my service station. I tried to start the car but it just wont move into any gear, as the clutch did not floor to the ground. Finally after 10 minutes of trying hard, it floored and i could move it to first gear to get the car on the truck. Surprisingly, i had to floor the accelerator all the way to the floor to even more my car an inch. The truck driver told me that it looked that my clutch has failed.

The next morning i got a call from toyota service station that my car is perfect and they could not figure out any problem. But since they acknowledge the fact, that the car has been towed to them, and no human in a rational mind would do it by mistake, they decided to keep the car under observation.

They kept it for one week. A team of engineers arrived from Bangalore (Mr Ganesh Rathore was the one who inspected my vehicle). According to them, mine was the first Etios in India to report a breakdown. (i believe them). They inspected the clutch and found nothing wrong. They checked my car inside out, but found no problem. They released my car on observation for 2 weeks and asked me to report the problem if any.

I drove and i found stiffness in gears. I had to use all my force to change the gears. I went back to the service station and they made some adjustments to the cable clutch. It did not solve my problem. They reported the case back to Bangalore head office and they authorized my service station to change the entire gear assembly of my car. I remember seeing an invoice saying the item word "transaxle" costing INR 49,000.

I was a bit surprised as to why they changed my gear assembly and not the clutch, when the main problem had started with my clutch. They told me that my clutch has been inspected and is in perfect running condition and they could not check the gear assembly, so they decided to change the gear assembly. They also changed the cable which runs all the way from the gear box to the engine bay. I don't know what it is called, but according to them, it was bend and damaged, and that happened due to my gear lock (I had got a gear lock installed from outside).

Difficult to answer. But I guess from googling it is a throw-out bearing issue. They might have simply replaced it and my guess is you would not face this issue again.

[rangarx]

Astonishing to know the mileage is 15 kmpl in city. My 800 KMS old GSP delivers 8-9 in city (full AC) and I am yet to test it in highway. The car is in the dealership for the last 10 days for failing battery and burnt out cooling fan motor.

When I complained about this shockingly less FE (post first service), I was told 'Sir, 8,9 and 10 kmpl in city are common in Etios. You may get 12 kmpl in highway'. It was like a stinker to me since I was used to my 18kmpl in city alto.

Any further views on mileage please?

[Upgrade]

I completed around 17,000 km and it has been a year since my last service. I took for the regular free service. Total cost was 2,411. This is mainly for oil change, spark plug change and wheel alignment. Wheel balancing is free, but I am not sure if they did as nothing was charged for the weights.

Car is going smooth without any issue. It keeps getting minor scratches that are not in my control (while parked). Puncture is another major issue - 4 punctures and 1 side wall cut so far. Stock Goodyear is useless, but the current tyre prices stops me from replacing them now.

[Sridutt]

Originally Posted by Upgrade

I completed around 17,000 km and it has been a year since my last service. I took for the regular free service. Total cost was 2,411. This is mainly for oil change, spark plug change and wheel alignment. Wheel balancing is free, but I am not sure if they did as nothing was charged for the weights.

Car is going smooth without any issue. It keeps getting minor scratches that are not in my control (while parked). Puncture is another major issue - 4 punctures and 1 side wall cut so far. Stock Goodyear is useless, but the current tyre prices stops me from replacing them now.

Howdy there.. just curious -

• Is the car handling well? engine wise? since you drove the way I would during the running in period, I am guessing yeah, but still..
  
• How's the FE coming along?
  
• Any regrets over the buying decision?
  
• Have you been able to TD the new Etios? if yes, any comparison on where its improved, and where its worse off - in comparison to your model?

[Upgrade]

Originally Posted by Sridutt

Howdy there.. just curious -

• Is the car handling well? engine wise? since you drove the way I would during the running in period, I am guessing yeah, but still..

Have done 23,000 km so far. Handling is excellent. Engine seems to be becoming better day after day... Lot more silent and smooth. The build is very good and better than my expectation. I never thought the car would stay completely intact even after 2.5 years without a single new rattle considering it is a "cheap and lightweight" car.

Originally Posted by Sridutt

• How's the FE coming along?

Absolutely no change - ~10.5 with full AC and 11.5 without AC in city. Long should be around 15

Originally Posted by Sridutt

• Any regrets over the buying decision?

Some times yes when you see the FE and petrol price. I used to think that I should have gone for diesel. Otherwise nothing.

Originally Posted by Sridutt

• Have you been able to TD the new Etios? if yes, any comparison on where its improved, and where its worse off - in comparison to your model?

No I didn't. If I am right, the changes are cosmetic and stiffened suspension should really help as I have lot of issues when I go over humps. The front suspension goes down fully that the feeling will be like an adventure ride in theme park (when you are "dropped"down). But the soft suspension helps to absorb the undulations in the poor roads. Overall it should be definitely better than my model/version.

[TheIndian]

Originally Posted by Upgrade

I completed around 17,000 km and it has been a year since my last service. I took for the regular free service. Total cost was 2,411. This is mainly for oil change, spark plug change and wheel alignment. Wheel balancing is free, but I am not sure if they did as nothing was charged for the weights.

That's damn low maintenance cost.

How much is your total maintenance spends on the car till now (except fuel and accesories)?

[amalji]

Originally Posted by TheIndian

That's damn low maintenance cost.

How much is your total maintenance spends on the car till now (except fuel and accesories)?

Expect around
2000 for 10,000 kms,
2400 for 20,000 kms service.
Then onwards, it will be around 3,400 per 10,000 kms.
It's almost the same cost for even the Diesel Etios.

The only spike will be when you change the brake pads ( normally lasts 30,000 kms to 60,000 kms depending on your driving style ). The brake pad replacement will cost you around 2500 additional. That's it.

The Etios is one of the cheapest cars to maintain. Even cheaper than an Alto.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by amalji

The Etios is one of the cheapest cars to maintain. Even cheaper than an Alto.

, up North, Santro Xing is cheaper to maintain than an Alto, we have verified this in our family (same location).

[TheIndian]

Originally Posted by amalji

Expect around
2000 for 10,000 kms,
===============
The Etios is one of the cheapest cars to maintain. Even cheaper than an Alto.

Thanks for the details. It's super-low

Apart from regular services, did you have to replace any part under warranty or on paid-basis?

[amalji]

Originally Posted by TheIndian

Thanks for the details. It's super-low

Apart from regular services, did you have to replace any part under warranty or on paid-basis?

Nothing on paid. Toyota proactively did a few replacements as part of their recall campaign whenever they find and fix a bug with the design.

1) The 2011 Etios had a bug in its suspensions. When you take a hump at a moderate speed, during the expansion of the springs, you hear a thud sound. Toyota changed the design from last quarter of 2012 onwards. The new design suspensions were fitted on my Etios free of charge under warranty. The high speed stability and freedom to glide over humps with those excellent suspensions improved the overall feeling of drive a lot.

2) The gear oil drain plug was replaced ( again due to design change on newer Etios models where they added a spring loaded plug).

3) The first variants of Etios ( early 2011 ) had an issue with the fuel pipe. ( My vehicle's was already having the new design ). So, for vehicles which didn't have it, they replaced this part as well.

In addition, I landed my car inside a big pot hole, with a sharp rock inside it.
2 tyres' ( FL and RL ) sidewall tore, 1 alloy broke. Toyota replaced everything under insurance. Total cost from my pocket - 500. The tyres had run 15,000 kms already. So, it was kind of a bonus for me. The experience was completely hassle free.

Future replacement that I expect

The engine guard under the car ( for Diesel Etios ) currently is fitted with rocket plugs ( It's the same with most vehicles in this class ). Toyota might change that to fixed screws because there is a possibility that if we speed in knee deep water, the rocket plug could give up and direct the water splash upwards and straight into the air filter that can damage the engine.

[Upgrade]

Sorry for the delayed update. There are 3 updates that I want to give:

1. 3rd year service:

I did my 3rd year service after driving 24,200 km during 1st week of January 2014. The Bill came to 3683 including wheel alignment and balancing. I had one major complaint about front suspension being too soft with the car bottom hitting the humps frequently and the sinking feeling that I got whenever I went over humps. SA confirmed that the front suspensions had to be replaced due to oil leakage. It was covered under the warranty. The only issue was it was not in stock anywhere at that time including TKM. They asked me to contact after 10 days.

2. Accident:

Meanwhile I rammed the car into a lorry in the peak hour traffic. It was my fault as I lost focus for a brief moment of time not realising the lorry had stopped. It was a low speed (10-15 kmph) impact and the lorry driver didn't even realize it. But since the lorry was a heavier vehicle and the lorry's rear horizontal bar didn't face any resistance form the car until it went and hit critical parts. I first took it to Ravindu first and in the final moment based on my friend's advice took the vehicle to Nandi. This is because Ravindu doesn't have cashless with Tata-AIG and I was advised against going for reimbursement particularly for zero depreciation policy. Total bill was around 74,500 and insurance paid 70,000 and I paid 4,500. They did a decent job (everything was replacement).

3. Warranty replacement
I took the car to Ravindu again for suspension replacement. They took a day. After the replacement, many of the old issues related to front suspension including the thud noise I mentioned in my post 3 years ago had vanished.

I lost NBC and I renewed the policy this time with Royal Sundaram, again zero depreciation for 14,150.

After the accident I realized how fragile this car is. While there are horizontal bars in the front that can protect against any vertical object, it doesn't have any vertical bar that can protect against horizontal objects. I am not sure if all the cars are like this. I also have noises from the door hinges which Ravindu SA informed could not be fixed. He advised me to replace the hinges. I felt it was ridiculous to replace hinges in 3 years. My Santro never had this problem in the 7 years I had. Somehow I have a much better opinion about Hyundai service than Toyota service (any may be quality too). I may be wrong, but this is based on my experience.

[TheIndian]

^^^
Even the service cost @24K kms is super-low