It's about time to go for another round of servicing. This time, as usual, I brought it to Eneos Car Center in 1 Utama for servicing, and instead of the semi-synthetic, I opted for the Performance synthetic 5W-40 engine oil. It costs me about RM 190 for the engine oil plus the oil filter.
The 5W-40 does improves the car performance, for I could feel that the acceleration is better than before either my Isis is in full load or off load.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Punctured Tyre - A Terrible yet Managable Disaster
One of the fearful things for me when it comes to driving is to have a punctured tyre. My Isis got a screw nail stuck inside one of it's rear wheel. I didn't notice it until I wind down the window on 1 of the occasions where I could hear a constant 'tin' sound coming from the back, while I was sending my friends back home after a basket ball game. It shows how well the sound insulation developed by Toyota that you couldn't even hear such sound.
It was a very long nail. In my past experience, while I was driving my ex-fiancee's Proton Wira and the Peugeot 405, I have to change a pair of tyre whenever there was a punctured tyre either front or rear, because the tyre will always be damaged beyond repair. Thank God for this one because I noticed it early, so all I need to do is to patch it.
I brought it to Lim Tayar located outside of Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. They gave a pretty good service there. The patching plus the alignments cost me about RM 100.00 after discount with Jusco card.
Now, Isis comes with a 'doughnut' half-size spare tyre. Although it was smaller, but yet it still able to let you drive from point a to point b without problem. But, I wouldn't dare to drive faster while my Isis is fixed with this wheel, although I heard that there are people who drive 120KM/h on the KL-Seremban highway, in a Toyota Harrier, with 1 rear tyre replaced with a 'doughnut' tyre.
It was a very long nail. In my past experience, while I was driving my ex-fiancee's Proton Wira and the Peugeot 405, I have to change a pair of tyre whenever there was a punctured tyre either front or rear, because the tyre will always be damaged beyond repair. Thank God for this one because I noticed it early, so all I need to do is to patch it.
I brought it to Lim Tayar located outside of Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. They gave a pretty good service there. The patching plus the alignments cost me about RM 100.00 after discount with Jusco card.
Now, Isis comes with a 'doughnut' half-size spare tyre. Although it was smaller, but yet it still able to let you drive from point a to point b without problem. But, I wouldn't dare to drive faster while my Isis is fixed with this wheel, although I heard that there are people who drive 120KM/h on the KL-Seremban highway, in a Toyota Harrier, with 1 rear tyre replaced with a 'doughnut' tyre.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Second service
I took the car to the Eneos service center in 1 Utama on Monday morning for a regular service and a car wash too. Both together cost me about RM 140. This time, I opted for the synthetic blended oil with grade of 5W-30 instead of the fully synthetic oil that I opted previously.
Wait a minute, fully synthetic engine oil? Isn't those would last for about 10,000Km? So why am I took it to service after only about 5,000 Km? Yup, I was told by my friends who's into car that fully synthetic engine oil could actually lasted for 10,000 Km. But the technician from Eneos told me it's not recommended to do so, so I just took that advice.
1 thing I did observed after driving for more than 5,000 Km with the fully synthetic oil; I found that the car started to response badly - more shaky when it's idle with D engaged, and could feel power is not delivered. Then I checked the engine oil and it started to turn pretty dark, so I opted to take it to refresh it's engine oil.
I wonder, what would determine whether a car with a fully synthetic oil could drive for at least 10,000 Km? Does it includes calculation such as driving up hill most of the time that would require more engine power? Would those actually effect the mileage? I wonder...
Wait a minute, fully synthetic engine oil? Isn't those would last for about 10,000Km? So why am I took it to service after only about 5,000 Km? Yup, I was told by my friends who's into car that fully synthetic engine oil could actually lasted for 10,000 Km. But the technician from Eneos told me it's not recommended to do so, so I just took that advice.
1 thing I did observed after driving for more than 5,000 Km with the fully synthetic oil; I found that the car started to response badly - more shaky when it's idle with D engaged, and could feel power is not delivered. Then I checked the engine oil and it started to turn pretty dark, so I opted to take it to refresh it's engine oil.
I wonder, what would determine whether a car with a fully synthetic oil could drive for at least 10,000 Km? Does it includes calculation such as driving up hill most of the time that would require more engine power? Would those actually effect the mileage? I wonder...
Monday, February 25, 2008
Maintenance - First oil change
I took my Isis for a service in Eneos Car Center located in One Utama shopping complex. I was told by my friend who sold me the car to visit this place called Utama Tire in Damansara Heights. I knew the place, but I don't really want to go there if I was awake like 10 in the morning because although the shop was a corner unit, the place was extremely crowded.
At first, I was a bit skeptical because I hardly seen any Isis on the road near Petaling Jaya, so I was not sure whether the mechanic would know how to fix it. I didn't want to bring it back to Vision in Bangsar because they charged pretty high. Thankfully that everything turns out alright. They did a checkup on the oil filter for the Isis 1.8 1ZZ-FE engine, and their people told them to use the same oil filter for the Toyota Wish, which I've did some research that both Isis 1.8 & Wish 1.8 shared the same engine in Japan, but not sure about the Malaysia version of Wish. Well, if it works, then I don't really mind.
I took the RM 175 package that comes with 5W-50 synthetic engine oil (Eneos Pro Racing), oil filter, car battery checkup (of no use because my Isis is using maintenance free battery), and fill the tires with nitrogen gas. I bet it's a good price for such package, because I would expect to pay more than RM 200 for synthetic motor oil. The disappointment that I had was that I was told by my friend that synthetic engine oil normally could last for about 10,000 KM. It will be good for me because I travel a lot. But the sticker still written and asking me to come back after 5,000 KM, so I was really not satisfied with it, and asking one of the staff regarding this matter. The staff told me that they would recommend people to come back at 5,000 KM because if driving more than 5,000 KM, the engine oil would vaporized and become lesser. Well, I just accept it as the guy said.
Some interesting things about the description that I found, written in Japanese, under the hood of my Isis. I could read and understand some simple Japanese writing. Here's what it said:
1. Oil change - every 10,000 KM or every 3 months
2. Oil filter change - every 15,000 KM
Of course, the above is achievable only if I'm using the recommended grade of engine oil written with the information above.
At first, I was a bit skeptical because I hardly seen any Isis on the road near Petaling Jaya, so I was not sure whether the mechanic would know how to fix it. I didn't want to bring it back to Vision in Bangsar because they charged pretty high. Thankfully that everything turns out alright. They did a checkup on the oil filter for the Isis 1.8 1ZZ-FE engine, and their people told them to use the same oil filter for the Toyota Wish, which I've did some research that both Isis 1.8 & Wish 1.8 shared the same engine in Japan, but not sure about the Malaysia version of Wish. Well, if it works, then I don't really mind.
I took the RM 175 package that comes with 5W-50 synthetic engine oil (Eneos Pro Racing), oil filter, car battery checkup (of no use because my Isis is using maintenance free battery), and fill the tires with nitrogen gas. I bet it's a good price for such package, because I would expect to pay more than RM 200 for synthetic motor oil. The disappointment that I had was that I was told by my friend that synthetic engine oil normally could last for about 10,000 KM. It will be good for me because I travel a lot. But the sticker still written and asking me to come back after 5,000 KM, so I was really not satisfied with it, and asking one of the staff regarding this matter. The staff told me that they would recommend people to come back at 5,000 KM because if driving more than 5,000 KM, the engine oil would vaporized and become lesser. Well, I just accept it as the guy said.
Some interesting things about the description that I found, written in Japanese, under the hood of my Isis. I could read and understand some simple Japanese writing. Here's what it said:
1. Oil change - every 10,000 KM or every 3 months
2. Oil filter change - every 15,000 KM
Of course, the above is achievable only if I'm using the recommended grade of engine oil written with the information above.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Problem encountered
So far my Isis gave me 2 problems after driving it for about 2 months. The first problem is with the air conditioning, while the 2nd problem is with the ABS system. Both are not serious problem, of which I can take it back to Mofaz service center to fix it.
Air Conditioning
The problem with the A/C is that the temperature is not working. When I took it to Mofaz for a checkup, the compressor, oil pressure, and gas pressure are all in good condition. Yet, even with all these, the air conditioning still doesn't work. Then the mechanic check the fuse, and it seems that all are in good condition. But after he put back all the fuses, the air conditioning starts to work again. So, the possible cause could be that the fuses are loosen. I don't know what could be the possible cause for this, probably I've been driving too much on a bumpy road?
ABS System
It just happened today. While I was driving back to work, I saw the ABS light on the dash board lighted. I quickly took it to Mofaz for a checkup, but because the mechanic don't have time to do it today, I have to take it to somewhere else. My last resort is to take it to Vision car servicing center. They are the specialists in Toyota imported cars. Although it's late, they have a lot of staff that could attend to. They helped me to diagnose the ABS by using a diagnosis machine, and found out that the ABS switch at the brake pedal is spoiled. The staff made a remark that for my new car, that things seems pretty early to spoiled. For the whole service, I have to pay RM169.70 including diagnose and part changing. It's pretty expensive but yet it's efficient.
It is to be noted that the ABS system can be spoiled even in new car. The staff told me that they have experienced before that a new car would encounter the ABS problem the next day after the owner acquired it from the dealer.
Conclusion
Well, electronic devices are pretty easy to spoil if they are not used for a long period of time, which is a fact that I could accept. So, just have to be patient and sacrifice a bit.
Air Conditioning
The problem with the A/C is that the temperature is not working. When I took it to Mofaz for a checkup, the compressor, oil pressure, and gas pressure are all in good condition. Yet, even with all these, the air conditioning still doesn't work. Then the mechanic check the fuse, and it seems that all are in good condition. But after he put back all the fuses, the air conditioning starts to work again. So, the possible cause could be that the fuses are loosen. I don't know what could be the possible cause for this, probably I've been driving too much on a bumpy road?
ABS System
It just happened today. While I was driving back to work, I saw the ABS light on the dash board lighted. I quickly took it to Mofaz for a checkup, but because the mechanic don't have time to do it today, I have to take it to somewhere else. My last resort is to take it to Vision car servicing center. They are the specialists in Toyota imported cars. Although it's late, they have a lot of staff that could attend to. They helped me to diagnose the ABS by using a diagnosis machine, and found out that the ABS switch at the brake pedal is spoiled. The staff made a remark that for my new car, that things seems pretty early to spoiled. For the whole service, I have to pay RM169.70 including diagnose and part changing. It's pretty expensive but yet it's efficient.
It is to be noted that the ABS system can be spoiled even in new car. The staff told me that they have experienced before that a new car would encounter the ABS problem the next day after the owner acquired it from the dealer.
Conclusion
Well, electronic devices are pretty easy to spoil if they are not used for a long period of time, which is a fact that I could accept. So, just have to be patient and sacrifice a bit.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Isis - Seat Arrangement
I must admit that I don't have a good camera that I could use to snap some photos of the MPV capabilities of Isis. Therefore, instead of waiting for the new camera, I'll provide the links to the official website of Isis.
As mentioned before, Isis is a MPV (abbreviation for Multi-Purpose Vehicle), thus the seats can be arranged for different occasion. Following this link will lead you to the seat arrangement page. The images itself are self explanatory, so you can just click and view the available different configurations.
The first image once the page loaded shows the folding mechanism of the last row of seats. The seats are folded down as mentioned in the image. Once they are securely snapped, it will has a larger boot space. It is not really difficult to perform this. All are done through the use of the latch.
Second image shows the default configuration, where all seats are in it's default position for seating.
The third image shows the second row seat being pushed forward, while the third row being folded down. This will create a large space for carrying things. I used this configuration once before to carry 16 plastic chairs. Very handy :). As shown in the picture, the cushion of the second row seat is folded upward. It is done by just simply fold the cushion up, there's no latch, button or any level involves. Once folded up, there is a hook in a small pocket underneath the cushion that required to hook at the rod of the head rest. This is required in order to secure the cushion.
Fourth image shows the second row being pushed backward with the cushion up, and with the co-driver seat being folded forward. This will create some space for smaller things or smaller bags. The mechanism to have the co-driver seat folded forward is pretty hard to achieve on my Isis. First, the seat will have to be pushed all the way to the back. Then, pull up the level to push the back cushion all the way down while at the same time having my hand lift up the bottom a bit. The reason is because when I fold down the back cushion, it will release the latch and the whole seat will be lifted up; but if I don't put my hand at the bottom to lift it up a bit, the latch will not release the lock, thus making the seat still intake.
The fifth image configuration shows that the driver seat can be folded all the way backward to create a bed for resting. This is basically for the driver & co-driver to relax while trying for a long distant trip I guess :-p
The sixth image shows that second row and third row seats can be folded to become a bed for resting or sleeping. The 7th image is basically the same, but combined the co-driver seat. This configuration would allow long items to be stored, but provided that the cushions are protected, otherwise one would have a hard time to clean it up.
As mentioned before, Isis is a MPV (abbreviation for Multi-Purpose Vehicle), thus the seats can be arranged for different occasion. Following this link will lead you to the seat arrangement page. The images itself are self explanatory, so you can just click and view the available different configurations.
The first image once the page loaded shows the folding mechanism of the last row of seats. The seats are folded down as mentioned in the image. Once they are securely snapped, it will has a larger boot space. It is not really difficult to perform this. All are done through the use of the latch.
Second image shows the default configuration, where all seats are in it's default position for seating.
The third image shows the second row seat being pushed forward, while the third row being folded down. This will create a large space for carrying things. I used this configuration once before to carry 16 plastic chairs. Very handy :). As shown in the picture, the cushion of the second row seat is folded upward. It is done by just simply fold the cushion up, there's no latch, button or any level involves. Once folded up, there is a hook in a small pocket underneath the cushion that required to hook at the rod of the head rest. This is required in order to secure the cushion.
Fourth image shows the second row being pushed backward with the cushion up, and with the co-driver seat being folded forward. This will create some space for smaller things or smaller bags. The mechanism to have the co-driver seat folded forward is pretty hard to achieve on my Isis. First, the seat will have to be pushed all the way to the back. Then, pull up the level to push the back cushion all the way down while at the same time having my hand lift up the bottom a bit. The reason is because when I fold down the back cushion, it will release the latch and the whole seat will be lifted up; but if I don't put my hand at the bottom to lift it up a bit, the latch will not release the lock, thus making the seat still intake.
The fifth image configuration shows that the driver seat can be folded all the way backward to create a bed for resting. This is basically for the driver & co-driver to relax while trying for a long distant trip I guess :-p
The sixth image shows that second row and third row seats can be folded to become a bed for resting or sleeping. The 7th image is basically the same, but combined the co-driver seat. This configuration would allow long items to be stored, but provided that the cushions are protected, otherwise one would have a hard time to clean it up.
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