Questions For Fortuner Owners

[nikster]

I still have not got my english manual, and there are several things that I want to know. If you have any opinion on these let me know.

This is a Fortuner Diesel 3.0L Exclusive edition (white)

1) Turning the Air-con off before switching off the engine. My wife insists we need to do this (and she knows best of course, never would I doubt anything she says ). Is that really neccessary? When turning on the engine, there is a sufficient delay so that the Air-con would be turned on about 2 seconds after the engine is on. Also - I would think they have figured this thing out by now...

2) Leaving the car running for 30 seconds after a long trip to cool down the turbo charger. Some people in another thread claimed that that's required. Again, I don't think anybody does this, and I think they might have figured out a way around that by now; for example there are many car models where the fans stay on for a while after the car has stopped. Did they just forget about this in the Fortuner, or is it unneeded?

3) Waiting until the diesel-pre-heat light goes off before starting. I know this is needed for Diesel engines but on the Fortuner the light goes off so quick that I can't tell whether it's just the lights-check or whether there's an actual delay. Or maybe it's so quick because this country is so warm? Do I need to wait for that light when starting?

4) Going into Neutral when stopped at a red light. When I was driving in the U.S., I never did that. In Thailand, Thais seem to agree it's a good thing. Is it really? I am always thinking the wear and tear we put in the transmission when stopped at a red light is negligible and also switching from N to D is wear and tear as well, so it probably comes out even. I never had trouble with the automatic in the U.S., and I was driving some shitty old cars there (amongst them a '72 Cadillac DeVille and a 1980 Ford Fairmont and believe me nearly everything else broke on these cars, but not the transmission). This might actually be a question of belief, since both ways work and neither has a measurable effect...

Thanks for any info!

[Meerkat]

1) I can't remember if the manual explicitly recommends turning the A/C off or not, but I've fallen into the pattern of doing it anyway. The delay doesn't always seem to occur between turning the key and it switching back on.

2) I wrote about this in the other thread. The manual does specifically recommend 30secs cooling down after sustained 80km/h driving, and 1 minute after sustained 120km/h driving. Not needed for stop/start city driving. Unlike many cars, the fan will not turn on automatically after engine shutdown. As it's in the manual, I'd say do it. I'll be getting around to fitting a turbo-timer some time myself.

3) As you state, it's only ever on for a split second anyway. Before the Fortuner, I hadn't driven a diesel in years, and only in the UK, so I'm thinking maybe a combination of warmer climate and more efficient glowplugs nowadays. You're supposed to wait, and it's only really a case of half a second, so I'd just continue to do it.

4) Hmm...not sure what the real recommendation is for this one. I always switch it to N if I'm at lights. My (non-mechanical) thinking being that it's not good to have the (albeit small) strain on the transmission pushing against the brakes. Would be interested to hear other views as I never regularly drove autos before the Toyota.

[LoveDaBlues]

I still have not got my english manual, and there are several things that I want to know. If you have any opinion on these let me know.

This is a Fortuner Diesel 3.0L Exclusive edition (white)

1) Turning the Air-con off before switching off the engine. My wife insists we need to do this (and she knows best of course, never would I doubt anything she says ). Is that really neccessary? When turning on the engine, there is a sufficient delay so that the Air-con would be turned on about 2 seconds after the engine is on. Also - I would think they have figured this thing out by now...

2) Leaving the car running for 30 seconds after a long trip to cool down the turbo charger. Some people in another thread claimed that that's required. Again, I don't think anybody does this, and I think they might have figured out a way around that by now; for example there are many car models where the fans stay on for a while after the car has stopped. Did they just forget about this in the Fortuner, or is it unneeded?

3) Waiting until the diesel-pre-heat light goes off before starting. I know this is needed for Diesel engines but on the Fortuner the light goes off so quick that I can't tell whether it's just the lights-check or whether there's an actual delay. Or maybe it's so quick because this country is so warm? Do I need to wait for that light when starting?

4) Going into Neutral when stopped at a red light. When I was driving in the U.S., I never did that. In Thailand, Thais seem to agree it's a good thing. Is it really? I am always thinking the wear and tear we put in the transmission when stopped at a red light is negligible and also switching from N to D is wear and tear as well, so it probably comes out even. I never had trouble with the automatic in the U.S., and I was driving some shitty old cars there (amongst them a '72 Cadillac DeVille and a 1980 Ford Fairmont and believe me nearly everything else broke on these cars, but not the transmission). This might actually be a question of belief, since both ways work and neither has a measurable effect...

Thanks for any info!

(1) rubbish. just leave the A/C on.

(2) high speeds and many kilometers I would let the car idle for 60 seconds before turn off. Still I don't think this will extend the life of the turbo for any significant amount if you don't want to do this.

(3) you don't need to wait for anything before starting. the computer is smarter than you; would not let you turn the engine over if something was out of spec.

(4) lol....the Thai's also believe in ghosts and driving against traffic.......leave the car in drive at the red light.

Note: here is something I see a lot of Thai's do when driving automatics and it can hurt over the long haul. They will be backing up and put the car in 'drive' and take off before coming to a COMPLETE stop while backing. This is not good thing.

ps - I have a silver Tuner......I'm not into white but here with the heat probably a good choice. I have 60% window tint and recommend that.

[Mobi]

(1) rubbish. just leave the A/C on.

(2) high speeds and many kilometers I would let the car idle for 60 seconds before turn off. Still I don't think this will extend the life of the turbo for any significant amount if you don't want to do this.

(3) you don't need to wait for anything before starting. the computer is smarter than you; would not let you turn the engine over if something was out of spec.

(4) lol....the Thai's also believe in ghosts and driving against traffic.......leave the car in drive at the red light.

Note: here is something I see a lot of Thai's do when driving automatics and it can hurt over the long haul. They will be backing up and put the car in 'drive' and take off before coming to a COMPLETE stop while backing. This is not good thing.

ps - I have a silver Tuner......I'm not into white but here with the heat probably a good choice. I have 60% window tint and recommend that.

Thanks for setting my mind at rest - I was just about to get out my handbook as the OP had me a bit worried.

It did occur to me that they must make these things idiot proof as a vast majotity of Thais who buy them wouldn't even dream of following most of the OP's recommendations

I've been driving automatics for decades and I've always idled in 'drive' in traffic. I know nothing about cars, but the only possible drawback I can think off is wear on the brake pads as you have to keep the brake pedal pressed to avoid going forward. Not something that's going to bother me though.

[LoveDaBlues]

the torque converter lets very little 'energy' or 'torque' pass thru at idle; this is why you only need a light press on the brake to keep the car stopped. Actually no additional wear on the brakes once the car is fully stopped.

[PETERTHEEATER]

the torque converter lets very little 'energy' or 'torque' pass thru at idle; this is why you only need a light press on the brake to keep the car stopped. Actually no additional wear on the brakes once the car is fully stopped.

If you have to stop at traffic lights it is good practice to put the auto selector into 'N' other than for short periods. If it is kept in drive, the transmission torque converter is effectively 'stalled'. This generates heat and wastes fuel. The vehicle can be held on the foot brake or the parking brake.

Many auto drivers do not set the parking brake when they shut-down but just set the selector into Park. This engages a pawl which mechanically locks the transmission. If the vehicle is moved (or someone tries to move it) this can cause damage to the pawl and pinion. Setting the parking brake applies the rear drum brakes which helps protect the transmission against damage when it is in Park. Secondly and importantly, applying the parking brake automatically adjust the rear brakes and compensates for wear of the brake shoes in use. If you never set the parking brake then the rear brakes will never be adjusted and could become less effective.

[LoveDaBlues]

the torque converter lets very little 'energy' or 'torque' pass thru at idle; this is why you only need a light press on the brake to keep the car stopped. Actually no additional wear on the brakes once the car is fully stopped.

If you have to stop at traffic lights it is good practice to put the auto selector into 'N' other than for short periods. If it is kept in drive, the transmission torque converter is effectively 'stalled'. This generates heat and wastes fuel. The vehicle can be held on the foot brake or the parking brake.

Many auto drivers do not set the parking brake when they shut-down but just set the selector into Park. This engages a pawl which mechanically locks the transmission. If the vehicle is moved (or someone tries to move it) this can cause damage to the pawl and pinion. Setting the parking brake applies the rear drum brakes which helps protect the transmission against damage when it is in Park. Secondly and importantly, applying the parking brake automatically adjust the rear brakes and compensates for wear of the brake shoes in use. If you never set the parking brake then the rear brakes will never be adjusted and could become less effective.

Less fluid is pumped into the turbine of a torque converter at idle. It works

this way by design.

IMHO it's a wasted effort to shift out of 'drive' at a red light. I drove a

1973 Pontiac Grand Am with a 400 ci engine and 4-speed auto tranny for 125,000 miles.

Sold it to my brother. He put another 40,000 or so on it until his wife wrecked it....never a tranny problem. My mom also drove an 8 cylinder automatic American beast until the body started to fall apart lol. Never a tranny problem. None of us would shift out of drive at a redlight.

As far as the parking brake automatically adjusting the rear brakes I have heard this. However,

on all the cars I ever worked on the rear brakes were automatically adjusted by applying

the brakes as you backed up. I'm not sure how the adjusters work on the Fortuner; it's a moot

point for me as I use the parking brake and also brake backing up.

[teej]

I also thought that putting the car into neutral was ridiculous when I first moved here, It's just not something Americans ever do. Now however, after experiencing 180second + red lights, I often just shove it into "N" in my automatic... just to rest my foot, I guess I'm lazy. Yes I understand that this increases the risks of running into the car in front of me if I get rear-ended, but frankly I can't be bothered.

In my manual tranny cars, of course I shift into N when at lights, if I had to press the clutch and the brake for 3 minutes, I'd probably go insane, esp since my cluch takes some effort to depress.

Re: the other things, I agree with the posted that mentioned that Toyota has probably made their cars idiot-proof considering their buyers, no offense to Toyota owners here but you get my point.

[kasi]

Shifting into neutral at stoplights is unnecessary but if it makes your wify happy it's a lot cheaper than buying jewelry!

Idling a turbo diesel before shutdown is SOP!

Now all you have to do is avoid thinking you're driving a Ferrari or a Porsche like 95% of the fortuner drivers out there.

[nikster]

I've been driving automatics for decades and I've always idled in 'drive' in traffic. I know nothing about cars, but the only possible drawback I can think off is wear on the brake pads as you have to keep the brake pedal pressed to avoid going forward. Not something that's going to bother me though.

This may be a bit like the blind leading the blind but... I know enough about physics to tell you that you don't need to worry about the brake pads. There's no wear and tear if the wheels aren't moving, no matter how hard you push the brakes.

There might be some wear and tear on the Auto transmission, but then again, these things have been designed for that quite normal occurrence, so - doesn't matter, either.

[nikster]

Thanks for all your responses - very informative! I generally believe that a car would be designed with the stupides imaginable user in mind. And that seems to be true for most of my questions, with the possible exception of the turbo-cooldown-period.

I did some additional research on the web, so I am now going to post what I believe are the answers to my questions:

1) Leave A/C on. Computer takes care of startup.

2) Yes, you should let the turbo cool down. It's probably a wear-and-tear question though and Toyota knows full well that most people will either not read the manual or if they do forget to do this. So I don't think it's super-important. You probably won't know the difference in 10 years.

3) You can start up as quickly as you want, it's all computer-controlled and fool-proof.

4) The good answer is no, you don't have to do it. That's also safer as you can be mobile when needed. It's a wear-and-tear question and my own experience and other's has been that it doesn't do any harm but it's not required.

It is true that there is some wear and tear from both remaining in D and from shifting into N and back, but the transmission is designed with this wear and tear in mind. It''s irrelevant in practice. You won't notice the difference in 20 years.

I read an amusing report of auto transmission testing at GM on one website:

Perhaps I should mention that automatic transmissions are actually designed to be pretty tough, standing up to wear and tear FAR beyond idling in drive. When I was a test driver at GM they sometimes did abusive tests that involved putting the car in neutral, running the engine to red-line, dropping it in drive, spinning the wheels until you reached a line about 6' down the pavement, slamming it into reverse, back into drive, and repeating the cycle anywhere from 6 to 50 times. It was a good way to make a big cloud of tire smoke.

I think I am much more likely to damage my automatic transmission by not coming to a full stop when reversing before setting it to D. That's definitely not good but it does sometimes happen to me.

Believe it or not, us Fortuner owners that are cutting tight corners at 60 kph are reminded that this is not a Porsche every time we do it. And we want to keep reminding ourselves... just kidding, but I was just driving that thing over the mountains and it sure was a LOT of fun of course, I do know that there's always the odd truck speeding around the corner in my lane, so I kept it civil for the most part...

[LoveDaBlues]

I scare the TW to death driving around sweeping turns......I don't really go fast just don't slow down. She has never gone WOT or braked hard; no idea of what a modern car can do even something like the Tuner.

[teej]

Fortuners driving too fast... grrrrrrrr

[Thairish]

Fortuners driving too fast... grrrrrrrr

Indeed I found this picture on the net..

Hmmm

[nikster]

3) You can start up as quickly as you want, it's all computer-controlled and fool-proof.

I finally got my manual - a xerox copy! But whatever, it does the job.

The manual states very clearly that one must wait for the pre-heating indicator light to go off on the diesel engine. This is very fast, something like 2 seconds. But still...

It's also very clear on the cooldown time for the Turbocharger. I have no idea how I can remind myself to do this but I will try

[HDRIDER]

I am buying a fortuner soon,,, and i will drive it fast

so you guys there dont like fortuner drivers, stay indoor...

[taxexile]

I am buying a fortuner soon,,, and i will drive it fast

so you guys there dont like fortuner drivers, stay indoor

thank you for sharing your thoughtful and relevant views on motoring with us.