Why I'm holding onto my Hycross booking, despite losing trust in Toyota

Been a Toyota fan for 2 decades and even own a decade-old Fortuner which has been bulletproof to date.

BHPian CEF_Beasts recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The latest issue on the Hycross, the media car’s fuel gauge stopped working and showed the tank as full even though it had reached the E mark and they ran out of fuel.

The hybrid battery and down-slope from Lonavla came to the media person’s help.

Honestly, the issues with HyCross to date are giving a very bad vibe about the longevity of this car.

I’ll mention the various issues (QC, Mechanical & Electrical) that I have seen or heard till now:

1. Cases on brand new cars where the Hybrid system malfunctioned.
2. ORVM Camera malfunctioned and stopped working - Replaced under warranty.
3. Fuel Gauge stopped working on a 13k km run Press Car.
4. The fuel gauge and DTE show conflicting values when the car is parked on a slight incline. Fuel Gauge rushes to the F mark when the car is parked on an incline.
5. Rattles and Creaks from different places of the car, are heard by many.
6. Frequent wireless AA / AC disconnections.
7. A few cases where the Touchscreen system stopped responding completely.
8. The brake pad broke inside the caliper, an extremely rare case but yes it happened.
9. Bug inside the taillight
10. The most pathetic reflector-based LED headlights, worse than a candle, on a 30-40 Lakh car.
11. Excessive engine noise and NVH on a brand new car, the issue was pin-pointed on a failed Hydraulic Engine Mount - Replaced FOC.
12. Rats and Dogs love the car and create havoc, chewing through wires.
13. Poor and pathetic quality of plastics used throughout the cabin.

Being a massive Toyota Fan for the last 2 decades for their QDR principles and building bulletproof vehicles, this car has single-handedly destroyed my trust in the brand Toyota.

I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that people are not raising a hue and cry about it even now! For a Toyota car and a ground-up one built on their platform (TNGA-C), these are some serious issues.

I’ve booked a Hycross and trust me day-by-day I’m losing my faith in this car. Every day a new issue is popping up on the forum / social media. My current decade-old Fortuner has been bulletproof so far, apart from the already-known fuel gauge issue.

Either Toyota can’t handle the latest technology going into their new-gen cars or the people building this particular car on the assembly line are incompetent, especially the ones where the extra shift has come into the picture to increase production. It’s quite clear that this being a SE-Asia-specific car they made mumbo-jumbo of parts available from their global parts bin and built this cheap copy of the Highlander/Kluger for developing markets in a hurry.

One should indeed wait at least a year or two till a new car has settled down in the market and all issues have been ironed out. This was something that held for Mahindras and Tatas, but Toyota entering the same league is not something I would imagine.

There is a big reason I still suggest the current-gen Fortuner to anyone and everyone in the 50 Lakh budget, even though it is over-priced for what it offers! Bulletproof-ness and Reliability are priceless and are far more important than features / a god-damn sunroof, which everyone so desperately wants.

Next-Gen Fortuner buyers B-E-W-A-R-E, the new-gen 2025/26 Fortuner is going to be jam-packed with features.

Even the new 3.4L Twin-Turbo Petrol in the First of Tundras was not spared, with its Turbo failing on multiple vehicles. The only respite being parts were/are being made available with the necessary changes incorporated quickly.

There are only TWO reasons I’m still holding onto my booking:

1. The space and comfort on offer, (can’t find any other MPV/SUV with as much space as the HyCross in the current market scenario), and
2. The Hybrid powertrain which will make my garage future-proof.

My dealership’s high-handedness in the post-booking stage is a story for another time, mind you this is the same dealership from which I have purchased two cars in the past 2 decades, this being the third one.

All in all, I’m losing faith in Toyota India. Well, I’m just a dot in their long order book, who they wouldn’t mind losing. At this point, I’m just happy that my dealership has quoted me a 12-18 month estimated delivery time so that at least some issues can be eliminated. But Toyota being Toyota, extremely slow at what they do, I’m sure they won’t do it till the facelift is out. In my books, this car is a massive blow to the reputation that the household brand name ‘INNOVA’ had built and is known for in India.

PS: Fellow HyCross owners please add the other issues which I may have missed in the above list.

PPS: The day writing emails to Toyota India started getting re-directed by them to dealerships was the day when this mess started.

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