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.

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.