Faults:

10 reasons to consider if you want to purchase a Toyota Hilux 2.5 Double Cab 2.5 AT.

Just want to share my driving and ownership experience after evaluating the performance of my four months old new Hilux, bought in April 2010. If you are thinking of owning one, please read the following experiences and product performance evaluation, based on the unit owned by me. Please bear in mind that I am one of the owners who is timely and routinely sending it to the “Toyota Service Centre” for regular service for every 5,000 km, bearing the Merit membership V386000376.

1. First, you must be able or mentally prepared to tolerate, and be patient with, the situation of under-powered performance: Based on my regular highway usage and after-service centre inspection, I can’t achieve the maximum speed of more than 110km/hour or 3.0 (x1000) RPM, if traveled on slanting or hilly road conditions, especially in the Ipoh part of highway. Please don’t waste your diesel; even if you press the accelerator to the maximum, it just can’t go as would I expect it for a 2500cc vehicle. On the normal highway, 140km/hr or 3 (x1000) RPM is the maximum I can go!

2. Accept the fact that old vehicles of the same model, or maybe other brand old vehicles will easily exceed your new car's performance when you travel on the highway. Just like my experience, other older 4 wheel cars, which bear the number plate of WPH of other brands, can easily overtake my unit bearing plate number WTT, while traveling on PLUS highway. Maybe there are some extra hidden security features installed in my Hilux unit to encourage me not to speed on the highway!!!

3. Thirdly, be prepared to spend more of your time to send it to the service centre for problem inspection, due to the service centre that is equipped with qualified personal to attend to it. As in my experience, they will ask you to send it back for a whole day car inspection after I had complained, but the end result is the same with the under-performing condition. Am told that my Hilux is in normal condition, and the rest of their other units are the same performance as mine, so asked me to accept the fact of that!!! My second checks are rescheduled in a different city; can you imagine that they had put my vehicle in idle for 2 hours unattended, and the very reason given was that they don’t have enough staff or technician to check my vehicle. What a ridiculous excuse!!!

4. Don’t expect any product explanation on the car's features, because you are expected to read the given car manual thoroughly on your own. For example, as in my experience, I was not even guided or instructed on the feature of the 4-wheel gear usage during purchase, delivery or after-sales service. Even if you asked the servicing technician… they can’t scantly tell me the actual application.

5. Don’t stick to one fixed Toyota service centre, even though it may be inconvenient sending it to another location. In my situation, due to my working location, I have to send it to the nearest service centre for regular services, but after the third 10,000km service, I found that my vehicle can’t perform as the condition of before-service; instead it was deteriorating! Now I have to send my car to another city for checking and maybe re-servicing to find out what's wrong with this under-powered performance, even though I have a hectic time table.

6. Before you buy, you must go for a test drive! My previous ownership of a Toyota Vios told me that the Toyota brand carried much weight in terms of reliability and trust-worthiness in product performance satisfaction. That is the reason why I trusted and bought this Hilux without a test drive. But now, the situation is unpredictable, I deeply regret that!!!

7. Don’t trust fully what the advertisements depict. “2500cc with D-4D technology features a common-rail injection system that delivers atomized diesel at high pressure for a cleaner, more powerful combustion, for that extra punch in performance when you need it. This technology results in greater fuel, economy, smoother power and cleaner exhaust emissions”. Based on my experience, I don’t buy it anymore!

8. Pride of ownership = Shame of ownership. I can’t feel any pride or satisfaction of owning it due to all the above situations. A small family car with less that 1000cc can easily exceed my Hilux's maximum speed.

9. Be prepared for the extra budget of disposing of it if they can’t fix the problem. I am very disheartened and disturbed now, because my work requires me to travel extensively, and the transport I have been eagerly wanting, it can’t deliver, and eventually it was affecting my work performance. Now I have to find the best way to dispose or get rid of it; incurring additional costs or expenses to replace it with other brand of 4-wheel car.

10. Think twice! Think thrice, don’t get regrets like me… if want to own it!!!

General Comments:

Regret owning it!