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Comments
Toyota does a lot of testing and their pads are well proven. There may be better pads out there, but how can you be sure they will be as good or better than original equipment. If you buy a lousy set, it is really a pain. I have a neighbor who has had really bad luck buying cut-rate rotors for his US made cars and since watching him have to keep taking new rotors back I am going to stick with original equipment whenever possible.
People who race their cars or know a lot of people who have already experimented with different brands of brake parts may very well be able to do better than original equipment . . . but a lot of people also lie because they have the "whatever I do is best" syndrome.
The wires all look good and in tact.
Does anyone know if that "blue" relay looking box under the spare tire housing ever goes bad? Does it have a name? AND what are your thoughts on replacing with a used one from a junk yard vs buying new?
Thanks for the help!
GiddyUpGirl
Here are the following quotes I received.
$600 - Toyota dealer
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$350 - reputable shop close to my home who will use Toyota pads and resurface rotors
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Here is what another shop close to my house tells me.
Estimate to perform a complete brake system inspection. Replace brake pads. Resurface brake rotors (if within specs) and service brake calipers:
$281.00 Fronts
$267.00 Rears
Additional $17.00 (per axle)to upgrade to a premium ceramic brake pad that’s guaranteed not to make noise
Ceramic pads wear longer, improve stopping distances and lower the amount of brake dust on the wheels.
I doubt if your rotors after that many miles will look good enough to ignore, in order to give you a quality “professional” brake job, they will most probably need to at least be resurfaced and depending on wear may even need to be replaced.
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Firestone
They seem like a pain to deal with, but they told me if they use their brake pads it would be $340 for all 4.
I paid $110 for a complete set of original equipment Toyota pads -- front and rear -- and a dollar for a packet of brake grease. It will take me two or three hours to clean everything and replace the pads. It is important to know where to use the brake grease to keep everything moving smoothly and to keep the brakes from squealing.
Assuming at least a hundred dollars an hour for a mechanic and a reasonable markup for parts, I guess $500 for the whole job is reasonable. A good mechanic, with professional equipment, will do the job a lot faster than I can.
Two separate issues
1 Drains from the air inlets in front of the windscreen are the ones that collect leaves. When the drains become blocked, water on this area flows into the air box and then into the car, wetting the floor as you have experienced.
These normally have drains on either side which you can check by aiming a hose at the windscreen and watching where the water flows out below the car.
Routinely, you should clear the cabin air intakes of leaves when you have the bonnet (hood to you) lifted and also check that they are draining correctly. Remember to do this regularly in Autumn (Fall to you)
If drains become blocked, look under the car, find the drain hoses which drop down (easier to identify if you have run water through them in the past. a fine hose, such as a 1/4" drip system hose can be fed up through the drain pipe. I have fabricated a join to a normal hose pipe to inject a fine jet of water to clear any dirt or leaves clogged in the pipe - Klugers/Highlanders are less problematic in this area than most cars)
2 Air Conditioner drain has a single outlet about centrally located near firewall. Run the air conditioner on a humid day and then park on dry concrete., Look under the care and you will see where the water drains down from a short hose protruding downward. You rarely need to clear this as it only drains the condenser coil of moisture from the car interior.
Cheers
Graham
Replace engine oil and oil filter 1
Rotate tires
Replace limited-slip differential oil, if equipped (4WD)
Replace spark plugs 2
Re-torque drive shaft bolt
Replace engine air filter
Replace cabin air filter (if equipped)
Inspect the following:
Automatic transmission fluid
Ball joints and dust covers
Brake lines and hoses
Brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs 3
Drive belts
Drive shaft boots
Engine coolant
Engine valve clearance
Exhaust pipes and mountings
Front differential oil
Fuel lines and connections, fuel tank band and fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
Fuel tank cap gasket
Radiator, condenser and/or intercooler
Rear differential oil (except 2WD)
Steering gear box
Steering linkage and boots
Transfer case oil (4WD)
Additional Maintenance Items for Special Operating Conditions:
Driving While Towing
Replace front differential oil
Replace rear differential oil, including limited-slip (except 2WD)
Replace transfer case oil (4WD)
Replace transmission fluid or oil
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis
Driving in Desert or On Dirt Roads
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis
Applicable Footnotes:
1) Reset the oil replacement reminder (“MAINT REQD”) light after replacing engine oil, if vehicle is equipped with this light.
2) Required under the terms of the Emission Control Warranty.
3) Inspect thickness measurement and disc runout
Can you give me info. on replacing the spark plugs; as far as I can tell, the car is running okay. (the footnote says this is required due to emissions standards) And also on re-torquing drive shaft bolt. There are several things listed under the inspect part that is not usual: example drive shaft boots.
So my overall question is when I go in for the oil change, what would you ask for additionally to be done or inspected?
I was just quoted $650 to have all my fluids replaced except the engine oil and radiator fluid in my 2003 Highlander. They said labor would be four hours!. I'm no mechanic, but four hours needed for differential, brakes, transmission, power steering fluid replacement? Remember no radiator or engine fluids. Seems high to me. What do you think?
Thank You.
Why doesn't my "plugged-in" dealer know about this???????????????????????? If this problem has existed for a while wouldn't seals, or SOMETHING be damaged?
Thanks again!
During the last service the dealer service adviser also mentioned that it appeared that my water pump had been leaking and it was probably a good idea to replace it. On the 4 cylinder it is a much easier job than on the 6, but I don't see any point in getting it done until it is leaking a significant amount or getting noisy. Again . . . any ideas?
Over time this leakage will leave a trail of coolant chemicals and the (S)dealers will often point out this trail as evidence of a failing water pump.
So I would not rely on the dealer for an opinion but I would begin watching the coolant level for time to time or watch out for pools of coolant under the water pump area of the engine.
If you mean the oil firm type of K&N then STAY AWAY, worse than snake oil as over time it might, will often, result in damage to the MAF/IAT sensors.
However, I'm a bit surprised you battery is giving up the ghost after only 3 years. I had my OEM batter in my '03 for six years and after only one cell died I decided not to push it any farther and got another OEM.
However, as with most things, YMMV, which it obviously does.
I've had good luck with batteries from Walmart in Boise heat (but only ~3 months of heat a year). Who knows who makes those - I've heard that both companies source for Walmart depending on the part of the country you are in. AutoZone is probably similar.
Six of one, half dozen of the other?
I live close to a Sears, and after triple A left, I drove straight there and had one of their "big bopper" batteries installed! Of course it must be considered that I still have less than 50,000 miles on this car!!
year 2004, highlander, anyone know how to get the tire pressure light off?
Jay
My mechanic called a Toyota dealer for the part and the parts guy said, and I quote,"These Toyota Highlander drive shafts are FLYING OFF THE SHELVES!"
I've been doing some research and have found that people are saying that there are "poorly engineered drive shafts" in some of the trucks.
Toyota is only admitting to the Tacoma drive shaft issues.
Is Toyota keeping secrets?
Add this one to the recall list, Toyota!
http://www.toyota.com/recall/
I had no great expectation of noticeable improvements in power and/or fuel economy so I was surprised to feel my Highlander is more responsive and lighter feeling with the K&N. The biggest change is in how much more smoothly it shifts now. Four cylinder Toyotas like mine have always drawn fewer complains about shifting than 6 cylinder models, and I have been pretty satisfied with mine. But there is one circumstance -- when pulling out on the road in front of my house and then giving it the gas, calling for a downshift, when the transmission seemed to take a long time making up its mind. Not only that, but worse, it almost seemed like the engine lost power before the shift, making the whole process slow, jerky and annoying.
Honestly, I can still feel a delay when my Highlander shifts down under those same circumstances, but the delay is shorter and, best of all, there is no feeling of slowing down before the shift. Under normal driving conditions the shifts are much smoother -- almost completely unnoticeable -- and my car feels more responsive. It is no sports car -- my other car is a Miata (which I also just fitted with a K&N) -- but it does feel lighter. Okay, seat-of-the-pants impressions are not always right, but I am sure of the improvement in shifting.
My feeling is that Toyota mapped the ignition timing (and possibly cut-off) and fuel injector settings while the engine and tranny were on a dynamometer with a less restrictive than stock air supply. The restriction of the stock air box and filter just throws the timing and fuel setting slightly off kilter. If I remember right, even a brand new OEM paper filter doesn't perform as well as the K&N.
I am not a K&M salesman and don't want anybody to buy one on just my say-so. If you feel that your shifting could be improved you might think of talking to car enthusiasts who are likely to experiment with things like K&M filters. If they are as satisfied as those I talked too (and I am), you can make up your own mind. I have no idea what effect a K&N filter has on a 6 cylinder Highlander.
We didn't particularly want a moonroof, it was just in the car we bought. We may have opened it a half-dozen times or less in the last 8 years and haven't opened it in the last 5 years because of the "cable problems" I've seen posted here. I intend on keeping this car past 300,000 miles (only 105K now) and don't want to have the moonroof sealed with ductape (prior post on this forum). The HL moonroof seems to be one of the weakpoints of the vehicle.
Phil
Thanks...
I took a 1200 mile trip recently, ~1000 at 74-79mph, and oil consumption was just barely noticable on the diptstick.
Yahoo!
Cheap, easy fix. Don't let a shop overcharge you or tear your engine apart - $6 part and 15 minutes. Maybe it was a $5 part, can't remember. And, by the way, the old PCV valve rattled like it should, and appeared to pass the suck/blow test. Go figure.
Jonas
Doug
My recent reading calls into question their long term filtering ability, but that's somewhat affected by proper oiling, which seems more art than science. OEM filters have gotten better over time, with reduced restriction that is what the K&N's primary claim is. There are BMW tests which show no performance improvement with a K&N, and an Australian Lexus Coupe group (Soarer in Australia) test which shows the Toyota filter works just fine.
I still have the K&Ns! (but no BMW, thanks)
My butt dyno felt a difference in the Highlander when I installed the K&N.
I disagree with the idea that reduced restriction in front of the throttle plate has no effect at less than WOT. Any reduction in restriction in the intake makes it easier for the engine to breath, making it more efficient at any RPM or throttle opening.
Smoother shifts is an interesting result, but if it works for you, great. Just be judicious with the oil when you clean the filter, and you have a lifetime filter with better shifting to boot. Fyi, I use PJ1 filter oil in an aerosol can from the motorcycle shop.
Jonas
Otherwise they were a PITA. When it rained, the water would get to the filters quite easily and start clogging up the breathing which of course made the bike run like crapola.
I swore off of them after selling my last bike and have never looked back. I don't think they worth the hassle and god knows how much is just the right amout of oil?? it's a crap shoot. No way to be 100% certain of the correct amount.
Take an 8' diameter water pipe (OEM filter) down to a 1" diameter water pipe (throttle plate) and measure the flow downstream of the 1".
Now use a 10" diameter inlet pipe (K&N) and measure the flow.
And check just how small, 70-80% restriction, the throttle plate opening is, and how low the intake airflow actually is, during simple cruise, 99% of the time.
K&N, NO positive effect, except(??) higher noise level, and more cashflow at K&N.
The real question is: "how much pressure drop is significant?" Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 14.7 psi. Two percent of that is 0.294 psi -- not very much. But 2% is huge to car makers -- they do cartwheels over small increases in power and/or fuel economy. If you spend $2,000 a year on gas, 2% of that is $40, about the price of a K&N filter.
I am not saying that a K&N filter gives me a 2% improvement, but I seem to feel some improvement. Even my skeptical wife says the Highlander feels lighter and smoother (maybe smoother shifts). Looking at the economics -- assuming I don't have to have my air flow sensor cleaned -- even 1% means the K&N will pay for itself in 2 years.
Don't mean to sound like a K&N salesman. I wish Toyota would come up with a more efficient air filter and air box.
And I think your numbers are a bit skewed. The OEM/factory filter is typically more than 95% efficient, only lowering the downstream pressure by ~5% at WOT. So how could it possibly have a POSITIVE effect at normal throttle openings.
Go back to the water pipe analogy. Put a restriction of 1" in the mid-point of 12" water pipe with a inlet pressure of 30PSI and measure the downstream pressure. Serious reduction in downstream pressure, right?
Now add a 0.5" restriction downstream of the 1" restriction and measure the pressure between the two restrictions. What, BACK UP TO 30PSI...???!!!
How can that be...??
With today's cars it would be easy to measure, just record the output of the TPS, Throttle Position Sensor, at 65 MPH on a level section of roadbed, with and without the K&N installed. With an OEM filter and then with the K&N.
I'll readily wager that you'll not see even a 1% difference.
K&N filters are worth their weight in GOLD on the race track, but off...NOT even worth pocket change, not even a holely pocket.
Not true, just no base truth to that statement.
There is only a pressure drop if the filter is actually providing a restriction to airflow. Add a higher, tighter, restriction downstream and the interim space fills with atmospheric pressure faster that it can be "exhausted" through the "downstream", tighter, restriction. Neither the K&N, NOR the OEM/factory filter will cause ANY atmospheric air pressure drop as long as the downstream restriction results in filling the "interim" space faster then it can be depleted.