[vigsom]

The automatic transmission on the Toyota Fortuner is a robust unit, requiring no maintenance. Even the fluid needn't be changed for life under normal driving conditions. Replacement of the AT fluid would however be required at 80,000km under severe load conditions like driving with a carrier or a camper OR driving the vehicle at high speed (80% of the vehicle's max. speed).

The attached picture is from the 2010 Altis manual but similar guidelines apply to the Fortuner too (if someone can post from the Fortuner manual, I'd be enlightened).

[FortunerTRD]

I would like to share my experience with my Fortuner AT, 4 speed, 2012 model.

The total kilometres done so far are 2,96,000. I got the vehicle from someone who had maintained the vehicle with the company. So all records are clear.

The vehicle runs like new. The servicing cost last time came to Rs. 5600.
The gears run smooth and there is no sluggishness.

I tried using Shell power diesel earlier because the engine being a well-run unit wanted to give it every bit of extra help in power.

Have tried regular diesel in my last fill from IOC pump. But added Iftex SystemD additive. The engine is quiet now and smoother. With the Shell power diesel the engine felt more aggressive and raring to go. The main problem with power diesel was that it was turning out bit expensive for a fuel tankfill of around 70 plus litres each time.

The other thing I’ve done with the engine oil is that I’ve used Liqui Moily oil additive. That has also helped in the overall smoothness.

Anyone thinking of buying a high mileage Toyota Fortuner in my opinion shouldn’t even think about it. As long as it’s company maintained you can go for it.

I know a person first-hand who sold his Innova after running it for 6 lakh plus kilometres. There was no problem with the car. They just wanted a new car.

I used to own a Scorpio earlier which I loved too but comparatively the Fortuner is turning out cheaper to maintain 😊.

[vredesbyrd]

Very nice review, Sir.
Had an opportunity to ride in one of these on Christmas eve. A friend was kind enough to drop me to my accommodation in a silver 2013 4x2 AT.

I was in the 2nd row and I've not felt this safe and cocooned before in a car.
Smooth roads, bad roads, potholes, we absolutely flew over all of it at 80km/h and didn't feel a thing. Yes, it is bumpy compared to Vento and XUV500 but not unbearable as people say.

Shifts were imperceptible and it stayed below 2200 rpm all the time. The low beam HIDs were fantastic and the raised 2nd row felt like a throne.
If off-roading is not a priority, then the 4x2 AT can be an amazing long distance cruiser.

If not an Endeavour, then will probably have to manage with one of these when the time comes. I look forward to it.

[swami69]

Firstly thanks @vigsom for this thread and all the needed tips on a Fortuner. I had a Second hand Innova Crysta Z MT, and due to increasing congestion on my home-office-home route of total 50 kms, I wanted to move to the Automatic. I had in fact made a pre-booking for the ScorpioN and was also checking out some Z AT Crysta in parallel from Toyota UTrust.

Right on the day of ScorpioN unveil, I had a look at a Jan 2016 Manufactured Toyota Fortuner, run 90K Kms, Single Owner, Clean service records, No body shop work etc., Since I had to Spend only 5L more (exchange deal) rather than paying around 11L if I go for a Scorpio N 2WD AT (guessing the price at 26L OTR), I decided on the Toyota Fortuner.

When I keep introspecting this decision again and again, on one side, ScorpioN would have been the ideal deal (new car, more features etc.,), but looking at the finance outflow, Toyota Fortuner was fine for me (reliability, less maintenance and longevity), with a nice airy cabin and can seat 6 people at ease (if required). Hopefully I will take delivery from Toyota UTrust Tomorrow.

90000K Kms service done
Many little issues, all addressed by them
6 months warranty
Interior and Exterior cleaning, polishing etc.,
New Battery

Only need to change all 4 tyres as it is still running on the OE Dunlops which came with the car ! - I will probably change them to Yokohama Geolander

Now, This Particular thread, and Vigsom's tips on various aspects (small things like the badge on the seat), wrinkles, cracks and all those stuff were checked, there were absolutely no damage to any of those.

Will post a picture or two once I take delivery. Ordered for LTD stickers from TBHP

This is the 2016 Old Butch version, 2WD AT in Pearl White.
I am just imagining my garage with the White Toyota Fortuner and my first Gen Black Thar Crde.

Thanks once again for all who have contributed in this thread

Swami

[Restart]

Originally Posted by swami69

Firstly thanks @vigsom for this thread and all the needed tips on a Fortuner. I had a Second hand Innova Crysta Z MT, and due to increasing congestion on my home-office-home route of total 50 kms, I wanted to move to the Automatic. I had in fact made a pre-booking for the ScorpioN and was also checking out some Z AT Crysta in parallel from Toyota UTrust.

Right on the day of ScorpioN unveil, I had a look at a Jan 2016 Manufactured Toyota Fortuner, run 90K Kms, Single Owner, Clean service records, No body shop work etc., Since I had to Spend only 5L more (exchange deal) rather than paying around 11L if I go for a Scorpio N 2WD AT (guessing the price at 26L OTR), I decided on the Toyota Fortuner.

When I keep introspecting this decision again and again, on one side, ScorpioN would have been the ideal deal (new car, more features etc.,), but looking at the finance outflow, Toyota Fortuner was fine for me (reliability, less maintenance and longevity), with a nice airy cabin and can seat 6 people at ease (if required). Hopefully I will take delivery from Toyota UTrust Tomorrow.

90000K Kms service done
Many little issues, all addressed by them
6 months warranty
Interior and Exterior cleaning, polishing etc.,
New Battery

Only need to change all 4 tyres as it is still running on the OE Dunlops which came with the car ! - I will probably change them to Yokohama Geolander

Now, This Particular thread, and Vigsom's tips on various aspects (small things like the badge on the seat), wrinkles, cracks and all those stuff were checked, there were absolutely no damage to any of those.

Will post a picture or two once I take delivery. Ordered for LTD stickers from TBHP

This is the 2016 Old Butch version, 2WD AT in Pearl White.
I am just imagining my garage with the White Toyota Fortuner and my first Gen Black Thar Crde.

Thanks once again for all who have contributed in this thread

Swami

You should probably get your ATF changed as well, especially for Toyota automatic 6-speed transmissions starting from 2016, the gearboxes are starting to fail at 1L-1.2L KMS, mainly starting with raised idling rpms leading to jerks while shifting gears and then totally collapsing in another 20-30k KMS.

And Toyota recommends replacing whole gearbox replacement if any problem occurs, they won't repair it due to repairs not working out properly.

It costs 6-7L for whole gearbox replacement.

I recommend changing ATF every 50-60k KMS.

This is from my experience in Automotive Repair Industry.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by vigsom

5. The 2013 AT comes with 5 speed gears while the 2012 AT comes with 4 speed

The 2012 AT came with 4-speed gearbox, 2013-15 with 5 speed GB and 2016 with 6 speed GB. What are the major character differences between these, ans how is the fuel efficiency? Unable to find the gear ratios online.

Also is there a traction control button in all the versions?

As far as feature list goes, all the versions from 2012 to 2016 seem to be the same, except for the gear box changes and change in the audio head unit.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

The 2012 AT came with 4-speed gearbox, 2013-15 with 5 speed GB and 2016 with 6 speed GB.

Also is there a traction control button in all the versions?

As far as feature list goes, all the versions from 2012 to 2016 seem to be the same, except for the gear box changes and change in the audio head unit.

1.The 2013-16 old shape Fortuner came with a 5 speed AT while the next gen 2016 and later came with the 6 speed AT. The 2016 and later is more fuel efficient than its 3.0L elder bro.

2. As far as I know, Traction Control was available only on the 2012 to 2016 4x4 MT and on the 2015-16 4x4 AT

3. The 2015 and 2016 old gen Fortuners had black interiors, smoked faux wood inserts and grey alloys to distinguish them from the 2012-14 Fortuners.

The key difference AFAIK in the transmission oil for the Fortuner AT is that the 2012-16 old shape ones used the Toyota T-IV fluid while the 2016 and later new Gen Fortuners used Toyota WS (World Standard) fluid. From what I understand, WS and T-IV are incompatible.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by vigsom

1.The 2013-16 old shape Fortuner came with a 5 speed AT while the next gen 2016 and later came with the 6 speed AT. The 2016 and later is more fuel efficient than its 3.0L elder bro.

How is the 4 speed compared to the 5 speed gearbox? Reliability and fuel efficiency.

I drove a 2012 and a 2014 AT models. The 2012 seemed smooth but lacking in power. The 2014 was very eager and holding to much higher revs. The gear changes were very obvious in the 5 speed. Both were short drives and at city speeds only.

[FortunerTRD]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

How is the 4 speed compared to the 5 speed gearbox? Reliability and fuel efficiency.

I drove a 2012 and a 2014 AT models. The 2012 seemed smooth but lacking in power. The 2014 was very eager and holding to much higher revs. The gear changes were very obvious in the 5 speed. Both were short drives and at city speeds only.

I drive a February 2012 4 speed AT. Though I haven’t ever driven the later version 5 speed, but never found this lacking in power, especially while going uphill.

The mileage is around 10 in the city with level 1 AC.
On the highway got a pleasant surprise on my trip back from Goa.
But first….Generally I use Shell Power diesel and the highest kmpl it has shown was 16.
But because of the almost ₹20 price difference between regular shell diesel and power stopped filling this up.
So recently started using Iftex system D with Bharat Petroleum diesel. I got around 10 kmpl in the city and 12.5 kmpl on the highway.
I found a Reliance pump on the highway when my tank was half empty and filled it there while adding the system D to it as per mixing ratio.

Now, surprise surprise… the highest that the display showed was 17.6 kmpl. Over time it went down to 16.6 (that’s when I took a picture) and the acceleration seemed improved.
When I got the 17.6 kmpl my average speed was 80 kmph. When I starting speeding up at 110 kmph because it was evening the mileage average dropped down to lowest of 15 by the time I reached home.

So coming back to your question of 4 speed Fortuner AT they’re as good as we treat them I guess. I changed the ATF sometime back and used Addinol as per my FNG mechanics suggestion. I guess if I stick with Toyota service it will be still cheaper to maintain.

Total kms done so far are over 3 lakh.

Just my experience on the 4 speed. From 2012 to 2016 they all look same on the outside except the Sportivo TRD.

[lawdgawd]

And this here confuses me again, when it comes to purchasing my next car. What is most important for me is reliability and minimal service center visits and niggles. Whenever I consider any of the new cars, I always come back to this.

The new Fortuner is absolutely too expensive for me, but how big a risk is it to buy a 1 Lakh km run 2015-2016 Fortuner these days? I am limited in figuring out which car is in better shape, but perhaps just pick a certified one from cardekho, Spinny or Cars24?

Will it give me 5-10 years of mental peace?

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

[swami69]

Originally Posted by lawdgawd

And this here confuses me again, when it comes to purchasing my next car. What is most important for me is reliability and minimal service center visits and niggles. Whenever I consider any of the new cars, I always come back to this.

The new Fortuner is absolutely too expensive for me, but how big a risk is it to buy a 1 Lakh km run 2015-2016 Fortuner these days? I am limited in figuring out which car is in better shape, but perhaps just pick a certified one from cardekho, Spinny or Cars24?

Will it give me 5-10 years of mental peace?

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

1Lakh kms is not a big deal for Toyota Fortuner
But, you need to get a genuine mileage one and that can possibly be obtained from a reliable source like Toyota UTrust - A thorough service history check, ODO progress, work done in the past services etc., and obviously, your judgement on the look, feel of the vehicle both inside out.

If you can spot one, you can go for it and it will sure serve you for a long time with limited maintenance expense.

As mentioned earlier, I recently picked up a 2WD AT 2016 older version Fortuner and it is a great car - I bought it from Toyota Utrust

Swami

[Sherabchopel]

Recently bought mine, after reading all the reviews and suggestions from Team BHP forum, the dilemma of buying a new car vs an old type 2 fortuner, watching all the videos on YouTube, searching the perfect car, finally she is here and it was all worth it, thanks to everyone who helped to directly and indirectly. That’s me with her!

[voiddoge]

@vigsom Need your valuable inputs on a potential purchase... Please send me a pm, I can't as my account is still not eligible.

[CEF_Beasts]

Sent my car for its 110k km service day before yesterday. Sent it urgently and before the service due date, because my bootlid lock had stopped working. Even after locking the car, the boot would still remain open, and since the bootlid was not closing it would open over almost every speedbreaker.

The bootlid lock was checked and even after opening it and trying to fix it, it didn’t work out. The replacement part (Part No: A-69350-0K280) was ordered from Bangalore since it was not in stock with any ASC in Mumbai. The part cost is ₹12.7k including taxes which was more expensive than my servicing cost of ₹9k (which includes WA, WB and interior washing as well). For an almost 10 year old car (9 years and 2 months to be precise), service cost at <₹10k is something only a Toyota can do.

This is the part in question that had failed:


With my friend’s (also a BHPian) 2010 Grey Fortuner:




The itch to upgrade to one of the newer Toyotas keeps coming to bite me, can’t decide exactly what to do since they do not make cars likes these any longer! The DPF system and filling AdBlue after every few thousand kilometres (short interval in the Fortuner compared to example Diesel Mahindras) scares me as well. The manual gearbox continues to be fun, and the clutch is still stock after driving in Mumbai traffic almost regularly. Although sometimes an Automatic is really missed in Mumbai’s peak traffic times.

[CEF_Beasts]

With the monsoon finally hitting Mumbai, a drive to Marine Drive to experience the wind in your face is irresistible. The BMW was resting at home for this trip and the Fortuner was the weapon of choice. The Creta would’ve been a more comfier and relaxing choice but the brakes on it are absolutely crap, with wet roads they are simply pathetic to say the least.

Left from Powai at 11:30AM and it was gloomy with rain spells hitting us at regular intervals. The route taken was the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) via the Eastern Freeway. With less traffic for 11:30AM for a Sunday the Freeway was a joy to drive on! 68kms to-and-fro in total.

The Fortuner (mine being the MT) is at absolute ease cruising at 80kmph @ 4th gear. Being in 4th gear meant I could slow down to 50kmph when needed and then when the turbo spools up at 1400rpm and the 343Nm torque wave comes in (sounds particularly nice as well !!) , the car is sitting at 80kmph in no time! This is not possible in 5th gear without lugging the engine. The old-gen Innova and old-gen Fortuner are often ridiculed for their MT boxes, where I feel other than the long clutch travel, the truck-like gear lever is slotting perfectly always.

The Eastern Freeway had very less traffic for 12PM on a Sunday, but what was appalling was the poor drainage system especially on the right lanes on both sides. There were massive puddles every few metres down the road, of course no trouble for the Fortuner, it took all of them in its stride, splashing through them. The inner child comes out while splashing through puddles !

I didn’t push the car anywhere because it’s important to note that the car only has ABS and 2 airbags. No ESP or Traction Control to correct the car’s path if anything goes sideways.

Like I have mentioned in my previous post, the Manual can be cumbersome in start-stop traffic, here on the open road with less traffic the MT is a pleasure to operate. The 3.0L D-4D engine may be noisy for most but I just love the sound it emits at different RPMs and the lusty torque always at its disposal.

The rain lashing down as we started:


The Fortuner enjoying the sea-side in the next set of photos:








This generation of the Fortuner may have several weak points in today’s day and age but a very spacious cabin, mighty engine and of course the gangster-looks with the chest-high bonnet are what re-kindles the love for a car like this, as the saying goes “Old is Gold.” And the colour of my car is Golden as well .