Niki

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi!  Looking forward to Saturday 🙏🏽

@Ale Vallecchi this will now be my first (only) drive of the weekend as I had to cancel my Friday slot and can only ride on a Saturday this week.  Do let me know if I can make this drive.  Thank you

@Asif Hussain I am now only able to drive on a Saturday and will miss my chance to drive with you for a first time and the special route planned!  I will try and make it to a wait list for Saturday and look forward to a future chance to be led by you and experience Swehein 

Hi @Ale Vallecchi pls can I be added to the wait list as a 2nd drive

thanks 

Well done @Ahab Shamaa your time away will give me the challenge to catch up and then be able to join more drives together!! 

For the January 2021 drives, below are the centers available via the SEHA app (search done 3/12/21). 
 

(city walk in dubai seems a nice option!) 

Wow @Jeepie this felt like 2 drives worth of fun, learning and experiences!!! Thank you and the full convoy for making it so special!  Cannot wait to get back out there with you all next week!  Happy new year!  I will add a few vids to the gallery later ... the drive was so involving that I didn’t get many pics or vids this time out 

Happy new year my friend @Ahab Shamaa

So nice knowing I am not the only one who has a family that are reluctant to camp (I have demands for AC, proper bathrooms, no bugs,  room service!!! 🤣 ) again full disclosure I may have been the same as them only a few months back! 
 

cannot wait to see the back of those covid restriction and camp options open up soon.. will keep an eye open for those for sure.

2 hours ago, DANIEL NOGUEIRA said:

Ps: Toreto never lost, Brian did.... 

😝😝😝

So, snacks will be barbecue or sushi ???? 🤣🤣🤣

Shall we remind @DANIEL NOGUEIRA it is not about speed...... it is all about momentum and power/weight!  🥁 

(I’ll get my coat !!! )

I kindly request on behalf of all the ‘fewbies’ to be re-routed to enjoy the battle royale to be played out 🇯🇵 Vs 🇺🇸
 

we will bring refreshment and snacks and a working computer/drone! 
 

@Ahab Shamaa Be kind to@DANIEL NOGUEIRA ... it was clear in his eyes last week he was seduced by the elegant, petite and graceful Toyota (sushi) so may be over compensating his love for American muscle (cheeseburger) 😀

have a safe and fun ride and look forward to making it to your levels soon! 

@Ahab Shamaa leave it with me... safe travels and speedy return.  When you get back all answers will be ready for 🙏🏽

@Mohamed Seidam thank you for sharing!  This care for our cars I don’t believe is over the top and people like me, with zero mechanical skills or background, it helps us start building these new skills/competencies. 
 

I actually inspect the underside when I wash but will now need to look at the suspension parts you mentioned and learn what to look out for!  Will hit up YouTube this evening to see what to spot and again appreciate you sharing your routine! I want a squeak free and cotton like ride forever also 
 

@Chaitanya D I cannot wait to become a 1/2 mechanic  I will shake hands if I get to even 1/100 as today I am completely hopeless ... Again joining this community is more than just learning to drive Offroad it is helping add these mechanical self taught skills also 

24 minutes ago, Ahab Shamaa said:

Now I’m confusing myself! I don’t have the mental propensity to process such complex matters 🤣

@Gaurav thank you for this guidance. 
 

@Ahab Shamaa see I wasn’t going crazy trying to make this puzzle fit  ... having a service pack complicates all this as it’s a great idea for the regular services but now we condense certain maintenance works (oil etc) we need to now plan how and when to best use the service entitlement vs doing work in an independent.  
 

I’ll give the dealership a call  in the new year and reply back here their recommendation and even quote for the oil etc.  if you (or others) beat me to it ... please do post a reply here.  
 

isnt this community powerful!  The above info isn’t easy to find via Google (or Bing  ).  Thank you again all that replied so far to this thread 

@Ahab Shamaa I found it tricky getting true independent advice here in UAE as the few garages I visited were licensed to sell certain brands and therefore were biased to those.  That’s one of the challenges in our market in that exclusive rights (subsidized stock) limit true independent garages so us giving true reviews can be a massive help!  I am like @topgear on stock suspension and it’s been great as I am learning on these so any future upgrade I will really be in a position to appreciate the improvements.  
 

OME 51’s had a great and easy manual adjustment so within a minute you could move to softer rebound so Sat-Thursday we would have a really nice ride on the road and then a quick adjustment to firm things up and be ready for the desert.  That said (I understand but need to confirm) the shocks cannot be rebuilt ... they have a 3 year warranty which helps but need to read up on >3 years what’s needed.  Beauty of others like King/Fox etc is you can get them rebuilt and effectively like new annually/whenever so a bit more research to do for sure! 
 

In the new year I will start up that show and tell thread if others haven’t and do a bit of detective work to find out who on our drive had the OME 51s to encourage a quick review for our benefit  

we need to find something to talk about right... our cars are not breaking down that often so our community looks silent 🤣 ... 

@topgear such a great community this and will do my part to make sure our FJC gang/band/group/rabble support each other as those xterra, Jeepers and Pajero group have!  at present I am sharing little but getting a lot ... will pass that forward for the next FJC newbie!
 

appreciate you sharing your maintenance schedule and the oil change every 5k! 

See you in 2021 I hope and I may start up a few more FJC threads as I had a peak into @Ahab Shamaa FJC trunk and the gear has me thinking we should do a FJC show and tell/gear review!  I noticed with envy a four tire inflation rig, storage solution and I bet there’s even more in there.  Also we had a few FJC on the RAK trip and I noticed my dream suspension setup (OME 51’s) so may find who that was for a true review! 

@Ale Vallecchi @Wrangeld @Gaurav echo what all others shared... this was a really special drive!  Anyone who didn’t get to join this drive do make sure to prioritise it when it opens up again. 

@Ahab Shamaa what a pleasure it was to finally meet and you are the soul of the drive! 
 

@Gaurav appreciate you trusting me in the #2 role (surprised even me) and it was a forgiving route so am glad the convoy didn’t need to rely on me to redirect  

@DANIEL NOGUEIRA your Japanese improved a lot and by the end of that drive you were almost fluent  .. nice to meet you and we all heard how much you missed the v8 American muscle but you made us Toyota drivers proud this drive! 
 

@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ you are ‘father and son’ goals... I showed my boy your matching gear and he loved it!  
 

see you on the next ride... happy new year everyone and in the galaxy I have added @Gaurav having a play on virgin dunes, @Ahab Shamaa arriving fashionably late (Arab time some have told me) and a few views from the top of some stunning tricky dunes! 

@Ale Vallecchi ... 🙏🏽 My brother @Ahab Shamaa and I will share the same tracks so you won’t even notice an extra car in the convey! 
 

@Ahab Shamaa you are not a poser .. you have the pin-up FJC!  I live through your spending and upgrades ... god bless your credit card!

I am clearly in the honeymoon phase lol.. thank you for sharing your maintenance routine and I will add clearing out the air filter (I cannot believe I didn’t do that so far)!  When I check the fluids after each drive if the oil levels drop or/and the colour degrades I will then change the filter/oil otherwise stick to the scheduled 10k intervals.  
 

I have just placed an order for duck tape and be prepared for the most boring car tour when we finally meet (I have one duffel in the trunk and that’s sadly it). 
 

FJC crew ... cannot wait for the next ‘FC preferred ride’ so we get to hang out as a rabble/heard/gang/crew 

Thank you @Rahimdad for taking the time to reply and rightly comment that’s it’s better to be safe and spend a few extra aed than be sorry.  I am one of those people that reads manuals (even the ikea ones) ... I am hanging my head in shame!... sadly I rarely understand what I am reading but carry on as it makes me feel smarter. 
 

appreciate you adding the FJC gurus and Gaurav to give me further council.  With the weekly drives I suspect I will hit the 5k milestone by Jan/feb so just getting prepared.  
 

hope I get to join one of your famed drives very soon!  Touched and humbled by your story about your brother and the Superman tshirts! Look forward to seeing you again very soon. 

Hi (again)

As a new Toyota owner and new to using a 4x4 for its intended purpose, off-road, I need a little advice from my fellow Toyota Owners with regards service intervals.

I am trained over the past 9 years to service my car annually (as I never previously hit the mileage milestone) and with a service pack never really read any documents as it was a matter of a reminder being sent on SMS and pick up the car a few days later.

My car:

• FJC 2020 (registered October 31^st this year)
• 4 year service contract
• Averaging 2k per month KMs so hitting service schedules much sooner than planned
  • Added to this a reasonable % of this mileage is done off-road

I know I need to call the dealership for a number of these asks below however their service departments isn’t exactly responsive so as I wait thought I would ask our community:

Advice needed

• #1 according to the Owners Manual, if you are using the car regularly on dusty road then the service interval for a few items are adjusted (brought forward).
  • ASK # 1 – Does a weekly desert drive qualify my driving/car as having ‘regular’ off road use?
• #2 above is a screen shot from the owners manual that details the items that need to be done earlier if using off road regularly
  • ASK #2 – have any of you fellow Toyota owners with a service pack, bothered to use the included service for this maintenance?  Would it be a waste of that service entitlement as I only get 7 (covering 4 years)
  • ASK #2A – if you fellow service pack owners advise to keep the included services for the main milestones (every 10k KM) then do you simply go to an:
    • Independent garage and have the filter and oil replaced + Prop Shaft greased and tightened OR
    • do you pay the dealership tax and get that task done at the dealership to not risk any void warranty? OR
    • just buy the Toytota official Oil filter and have the work done offsite/independent
• #3 and ASK#3 – any FJC owners able to advise me on any items to watch out for / have looked at as I now take the car weekly into the desert and it being only a few months old?
  • I am following the guidance in the forum to check fluid levels prior and post drive (oil, coolant, power steering and brake)
    • I have done 3K KM so far and the oil on the dip stick looks as good as new and the fluids haven’t shifted at all (good news I guess)

Thank you in advance

@Wrangeld @Lorenzo Candelpergher thank you for another great drive and feedback!  Confidence has grown a lot and cannot wait for the next one! 

1 minute ago, Ahab Shamaa said:

@Niki Patel, I had something to do with the toy FJC being used as a demo 🤣 We FJ owners have to hypnotize the Jeepers with the awesomeness of the cruiser, tactfully, subconsciously... 😜 

@Ahab Shamaa you are the #FJGuardianAngel along with having the #pinUpFJ ..

🤣😂🤣 about the subtle propaganda we are using for our jeeper cousins  

I have this toy on my Xmas list now because of you and Ale! 

Am very new to this community (my absolute newbie ride was in Nov 2020  ).  Therefore that has to be my fav moment and pic for this year!  @Ale Vallecchi using his baby FJ toy car for the briefing ... I felt this club/community was made for me ... fate! (a black FJ owner on his very first ride led by an expert FJ driver  using a toy black FJ to teach us the basics)

and the group also included @Gaurav ... talk about newbies being spoilt! 

Looking forward to what 2021 will bring ... I cannot wait for the opportunity to enjoy an after drive Karak/banquet!  Congrats on the incredible growth and keeping the community run like a family! 

@Wrangeld appreciate the way you managed such a technical route with  a large and long convoy of us newbies!!  Appreciate the opportunity to use the ATrac on the car  and the trust you gave me to allow self recovery from the many refusals! Excited to learn more and build that confidence ... in car and myself! Thankyou! 
 

@Rahimdad was great to meet you in person as I tried to self promote to fewbie  look forward to an adventure under you lead soon.   Have you flying in as Superman when we had the torn tire caught in the gallery. 
 

@Janarthan @Jeepie what super patient calm and reassuring support you have to us near the back half of the convoy! 
 

other pics are in the galary of the adventure and look forward to the next one!