[anirbanjoy]

Dear All,
I bought a Fortuner 2021 recently. Though the car's automotive performance has matched my expectation, I feel that there is more to be desired in the user-friendliness of the infotainment software.

Often a new upgraded firmware is released a few months after car release. However, I could not find any reliable website where I can download the latest firmware of the Fortuner 2021 (India version).

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Regards,
Anirban

[gadadhar]

Got my 4X4 AT Black Fortuner delivered on last Thursday. Did a 1100 km road trip on the long weekend covering Kollur and Murudeshwara. It is miles ahead of my earlier 2013 Fortuner AT in all respect, planning to write a detailed review after putting some more distance on the odometer.

I am doing bit of decroming by painting the door handles, door beadings, front and back grills and the alloys black. Ceramic coating is to follow the decroming. I am hoping to share the snaps after the changes

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by anirbanjoy

Often a new upgraded firmware is released a few months after car release. However, I could not find any reliable website where I can download the latest firmware of the Fortuner 2021 (India version).

Can anyone shed some light on this?

I doubt this is the case with Toyota. My Innova came 3 years back and I don't recall any firmware updates for infotainment so far. Its basic but has been working flawlessly. In same lines don't expect a FW update in Fortuner unless there is a widespread bug.

[manojas]

I did my 1000 Km service of my Fortuner 4x4 AT last week and I had a pathetic experience at that. It was a Sunday and the service center was over crowded. There were only one or two SAs available. The scheduled time was not honored and it was more like a first come first serve system. The person manning the reception refused to listen to me saying there are a lot of people waiting ahead of me even though I was right on time. I really got pissed of with it as I was expecting a totally different experience from the hype on the Toyota service.
However when I raised my voice, things suddenly got changed and I received a good service at the end.
At the end of it I was totally confused. I couldn't fathom this as the glorified Toyota service experience. So thought of asking fellow BHPians on your experience with Toyota service.
NB: This is my first Toyota vehicle and service experience.

[subbarp]

Originally Posted by manojas

At the end of it I was totally confused. I couldn't fathom this as the glorified Toyota service experience. So thought of asking fellow BHPians on your experience with Toyota service.
NB: This is my first Toyota vehicle and service experience.

These are difficult times, possibly lesser staff on Sunday caused a different experience. I wasn't aware the service centers were now open Sundays. Even so, my recommendation would be to avoid weekends. Do not be concerned too much with one not so great experience. I do not think that would be the norm.

I am with my Corolla for over 15 years and over the years, service experience has mostly been pleasant. Occasionally average/ above average but not negative. Work quality and parts quality has been good on a consistent basis. Have left the vehicle for service and trusted that it will be taken care of and issues resolved. Earlier always got back the vehicle same day, nowadays takes a day extra.
So much so that I lay a huge weightage to another Toyota vehicle as a replacement. I cannot comment on Fortuner service experience or a 4x4AT service experience.

However I do agree, invoicing and waiting could be longer than expected at times. But, more than the service experience attributes like these, I would focus on quality of technical work, workshop quality and service quality. Once you are out of the service center, you should be assured and comfortable everything is good.

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by manojas

I did my 1000 Km service of my Fortuner 4x4 AT last week and I had a pathetic experience at that. It was a Sunday and the service center was over crowded. There were only one or two SAs available. The scheduled time was not honored and it was more like a first come first serve system. The person manning the reception refused to listen to me saying there are a lot of people waiting ahead of me even though I was right on time.

Last Sunday was 15th August, so I believe majority of staff must have been on leave.

[getsurya]

Originally Posted by manojas

I did my 1000 Km service of my Fortuner 4x4 AT last week
NB: This is my first Toyota vehicle and service experience.

Firstly, many congratulations on your new acquisition. For the ASC visits, please avoid weekends if possible, as I have found that it is very crowded during the weekends. My experience with Harsha Toyota Hyderabad has always been pleasant and satisfying, for sure. The SA and the technician knows exactly what has to be done and there is no disconnect between their diagnosis, for any issues. Please invest time and build cordial relationships with the staff and believe me, you and your car will be well taken care of! (whether Toyota or a different one, as well).

I hope you are well versed with the car manual, which is important too.

Happy Motoring!!

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Got my 4X4 AT Black Fortuner delivered on last Thursday. Did a 1100 km road trip on the long weekend covering Kollur and Murudeshwara. It is miles ahead of my earlier 2013 Fortuner AT in all respect, planning to write a detailed review after putting some more distance on the odometer.

I am doing bit of decroming by painting the door handles, door beadings, front and back grills and the alloys black. Ceramic coating is to follow the decroming. I am hoping to share the snaps after the changes

Hi gadadhar, many congratulations on your new car! I just did the de-chroming project on my Don and it looks good without all the chrome. PM me, if you need any inputs on all the things you have mentioned above, as I did most of them recently on my 2021 Fortuner.

Agree with you that the car is miles ahead of AN150 or AN160 models. (2013 & 2016). Happy Motoring!

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by getsurya

Hi gadadhar, many congratulations on your new car! I just did the de-chroming project on my Don and it looks good without all the chrome. PM me, if you need any inputs on all the things you have mentioned above, as I did most of them recently on my 2021 Fortuner.

Agree with you that the car is miles ahead of AN150 or AN160 models. (2013 & 2016). Happy Motoring!

Thanks getsurya. If you don't mind, please share some snaps, and will PM you for any information.

My car has gone to the garage yesterday for the changes. I plan to leave the front and black Toyota logos, and the Fortuner writing on the bonnet and boot door in chrome. Also the front skid plate is planned to left alone, rest everything is planned to be painted black.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Got my 4X4 AT Black Fortuner delivered on last Thursday.

What was your waiting period after booking? My dealer is saying 3 months for the 4x4 AT.

For insurance, he mentioned 152k for the 4x4 AT. It is double the external quote. Did anybody ever manage to get the insurance from outside or get them to match an outside quote for Fortuner ?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

What was your waiting period after booking? My dealer is saying 3 months for the 4x4 AT.

For insurance, he mentioned 152k for the 4x4 AT. It is double the external quote. Did anybody ever manage to get the insurance from outside or get them to match an outside quote for Fortuner ?

4x2AT has maximum waiting period. If you are looking for color other than white or black, waiting period for any model can easily go beyond 2 months. For 4x4AT waiting period quoted is 2 months in general but you may get little earlier. I bought insurance from outside back in Jan. Insurance from dealer will atleast be 10-20K costlier than outside. That said insurance from dealer is always peace of mind.

[t2k4]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

For insurance, he mentioned 152k for the 4x4 AT. It is double the external quote. Did anybody ever manage to get the insurance from outside or get them to match an outside quote for Fortuner ?

For Fortuner, with Toyota dealers, it sucks. They hold you hostage. You CAN insist on bringing in outside insurance and deny the accessories, but there's no guarantee when they will deliver your car. The 3 months could become 5 or 6.

On the flip side, if you play Toyota's games, and buy the insurance and accessories from them, you could get the car inside a month.

The cost of getting a car sooner:

- About 80K hit on insurance (outside you can get in 70-80K, they will charge 150K)
- 70-100K in mostly useless & overpriced accessories

So, for a total of 150K-180K additional expense, they will get you a car sooner. One can think if this as a premium (or 'black', the street word) or however else you want to rationalize this. The sad part is that Toyota does not have any checks & balances on this process. When you book a Toyota car, especially Fortuner or Innova, they don't tell you anything in terms of your number in the queue. I have also seen instances where they don't even hand you the booking form and simply issue a receipt of the booking amount. They make good cars but Pre Sales experience sucks to the max.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

I bought insurance from outside back in Jan. Insurance from dealer will atleast be 10-20K costlier than outside. That said insurance from dealer is always peace of mind.

Thanks, I was looking for black. He mentioned that even though they say 3 months, it is possible to get it under that. I am fine with extra 20k, but this is extra 80k. My sister who works with New India can get this for me at 70k. The dealer is asking for 152 k. I was thinking , may be I can negotiate and bring that down to a fair premium over external quote.

Originally Posted by t2k4

For Fortuner, with Toyota dealers, it sucks. They hold you hostage. You CAN insist on bringing in outside insurance and deny the accessories, but there's no guarantee when they will deliver your car. The 3 months could become 5 or 6.

That is a scary situation. So I should try to get this from the dealer itself as much as possible.

[t2k4]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

That is a scary situation. So I should try to get this from the dealer itself as much as possible.

Fortuner, at the moment, is backlogged. As people have noted, 4x2 AT is the in-demand model. The factory also produces variants based on bookings/demand. Any non-regular color or engine configuration will probably take longer for them to manufacture and get to you.

Due to this and the fact that Toyota has a very opaque process of bookings/deliveries, the dealers hold the cards.

Keep it civil with your dealer. See if they will honor the market rate. If not, I don't believe, sadly, you have a lot of options here. Even if you can get away with paying more for the insurance and NOT have to buy accessories or extended warranty from the dealer, it's still a small win as glum as it may be.

The other angle is that Fortuner escaped a price increase in August (Innova didn't). I wouldn't be surprised if they increase the Fortuner price around the festival season or at the end of the year. So, a quicker delivery assumes importance from that perspective as well. Why pay more for the same hardware?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

Thanks, I was looking for black. He mentioned that even though they say 3 months, it is possible to get it under that. I am fine with extra 20k, but this is extra 80k. My sister who works with New India can get this for me at 70k. The dealer is asking for 152 k. I was thinking , may be I can negotiate and bring that down to a fair premium over external quote.
That is a scary situation. So I should try to get this from the dealer itself as much as possible.

I got my insurance from National at 70K. But Toyota insurance offers more benefits/Coverage and offer easy claim. They will certainly reduce premium but wont budge below 1L. Before paying any amount, confirm with Sales advisor/Management if you can buy insurance from outside. Some dealers are ok others are not.

Originally Posted by t2k4

Fortuner, at the moment, is backlogged. As people have noted, 4x2 AT is the in-demand model. The factory also produces variants based on bookings/demand. Any non-regular color or engine configuration will probably take longer for them to manufacture and get to you.

The other angle is that Fortuner escaped a price increase in August (Innova didn't). I wouldn't be surprised if they increase the Fortuner price around the festival season or at the end of the year. So, a quicker delivery assumes importance from that perspective as well. Why pay more for the same hardware?

This depends on dealers too, some are good and others are not. I booked my car on Jan 1st week and took delivery in 3rd week. I had good relationship with dealer and there was no objections for buying insurance outside and I was constantly updated on status of Fortuner, right from factory. A friend recently picked up a 4x4AT pearl white and waiting period was less than 2 months.

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by t2k4

The other angle is that Fortuner escaped a price increase in August (Innova didn't). I wouldn't be surprised if they increase the Fortuner price around the festival season or at the end of the year.

Actually, Toyota has realised they can’t increase the prices of the Fortuner just like that now. It’s already a bit overpriced and few lakhs more expensive than competitors with lesser features, so till the time a competitor doesn’t reach to Fortuner’s price level, Toyota can’t afford to increase the prices. It will backfire big time on them! Compared to Innova which has no competition so they can do anything they want with it because people buy it for it’s name.

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

What was your waiting period after booking? My dealer is saying 3 months for the 4x4 AT.

Even my dealer told me 3 months waiting for the 4X4 AT for all colours, except Super White (my preference was the new Black colour).