Services--How often, and what to do?

armtdm

Oil change and filter. Tire rotation optional, some people like to wear the front tires and replace only two at a time. Optional and not a warranty issue. There are no other warranty mandated services at your mileage or one year. If the dealer says so it is their schedule, not Toyotas that they are trying to push to increase revenue. Don't buy it! Do not pay them to perform " inspections of components" A waste of money. If a component fails it is covered under warranty. Inspections at 10,000 miles worthless!!!!!!

rchinn

So what about the 15000 mile or 12 month service, which is mostly inspection (according to the Toyota maintenance guide)? Wait til I actually get 15000 miles? Isn't it whichever comes first? Don't need it at all if I change the oil at its scheduled time?

armtdm

They cannot void a warranty claim due to failure to inspect anything. Other then oil changes, filters etc. they must replace everything else if it fails under warranty, whether or not they inspected it. Nothing, other then oil and oil filter gets replaced at 15,000 miles, guarantee it!!!!!!!!. Sounds like you want the assurance of being charged to have them inspect (assuming they actually do inspect) various components and say they are okay and you can feel safe from a breakdown??/ If so, pay them!

rchinn

Then are you saying wait until 30000 miles for the first real service??

armtdm

Air filter, tranny fluid, maybe fuel filter at 30,000. Plugs are a minimum of 60,000, timing belt 60,000 all the rest is pure inspection. May need brake pads anywhere from 20,000-60,000 but that can be checked at any time by any mechanic.

This should agree with your owner's manual

cruising

Can anyone recommend a good lubricant for suspension bushings?

arturito

anybody out there do their own oil change on lexu rx 300 ( toyota highlander should be similar)? i think i read somewhere that the acces to the filter is from the front but i opened the hood and i dont see a lot of room for my hands let alone a tool to loosen it any help appreciated maybe instructions are available elsewhere in this site plesae point me in right direction arturito

yupyupyup

I actually change my own oil on a 99 Lexus ES300, same exact Toyota V6 as yours but with 10 less hp. The oil filter can be seen looking from above. It is right underneath the front exhaust manifold. The filter is best removed when you are underneath the vehicle. It is mounted about horizontal into the engine. I used Purolator Pure One and mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30. You can easily go 5k miles between changes. That is a horrible place for a filter since when it is removed, oil drips all over whats beneath it. Especially all around the engine mount.

newcar31

The oil filter is in the same location as your ES300 but it is a little harder to get to because of minor differences. I work at Jiffy Lube now until I graduate this May. Those filters on Camry V6/RX300/Highlander are no fun at all. Especially if the customer is waiting with the car idling and air conditioning on, then they pull in and it is screamin hot. Regarding the earlier post about nothing being done at 15,000 miles: On some of their vehicles, Toyota recommends auto transmission drain & fills at 15,000 because you don't replace all of the fluid when you drain the pan, unless you flush it. Transmission fluid change intervals are based on how hot a particular transmission runs as heat is what breaks down transmission fluid. Some are recommended as long as 50,000, some as short as 15,000. Read your owners manual. Many recent Chrysler products recommend 15,000 mile changes on their auto transmissions because they run hotter. Timing belt changes vary by manufacturer, they are not all at 60,000.

britton2

I have a new Corolla - it has about 420 miles on it right now - should I get my first oil change at 700 miles (because of metal shavings) or at 1250 miles? The dealership to wait until 3000 miles - everyone I know says don't wait that long for first oil change - I'm confused - if after 3 months of ownership I don't yet have 1000 miles on the car - should I go ahead and get it changed anyway? thanks for your advice - sorry if this topic has already been addressed

sandman46

Take the advice of someone whose wife insisted on oil changes at these intervals like the manual said, DON'T DO IT! At 80,000 miles, our '96 Camry needed over $2k in repairs. Sludgy oil, bad o-rings and other numerous problems led to us selling the car and buying a new one. Now, I take the car for oil changes between 3k and 3.5k and rotate tires each time, it's free where I go. Please heed my advice and pay the extra money and do it more often. Learn from my mistake!

britton2

thanks for the tip - I'll do that(change my oil every 3,000 miles or so) what would you recommend as far as getting my very first oil change? My car now has a little over 500 miles on it - some people suggested changing it as early as 700 - what do you think? thanks

nematode

Um, my 1989 Ford Taurus is still running well at near 150k miles on 6000 miles oil changes. All my cars get 6000+ oil changes on regular dino oil.

yupyupyup

Can you ACTUALLY prove that the damage to your engine and its components ARE caused by you changing YOUR oil every 7500 miles? Between oil changes, have you ever checked your oil level?

sandman46

I could never prove my theory, but, I had my last Corolla for 10 years and changed the oil between 3k to 4k miles and never any problems. Do the same on my '96 Corolla and it runs flawlessly with good gas miliage.
Got the wife a Altima last December and did the first oil change at 2.5k and now on the same schedule as mine.

heng

sandman46's statement of sludgy oil and bad rings (I assume he meant rings) at 80K miles sure set the alarms off that it was oil change intervals.

When you can see the sludge in the oil, I don't mean the oil is dark but has some material suspended in it, how can running an engine with that be good? I don't and I've run many engines over 100K and I've never had any mechanical engine problems.

You can go the oil analysis route to extend oil changes but why bother (especially if you have more than one vehicle). Synthetic oil? I won't go there (see the synthetic oil forum).

q45man

that there is a time component associated with running the oil ...[65 running hours at high load][288 hr light duty temperate test] is the usual test proceedure to make sure oil stays in spec.

If your average speed is 50 mph that's around 3,250 miles at 70 mph that's 4500 miles; if you are stuck in traffic for 1 hours only going 20 miles or if you crank a car cold and run for 15 minutes but only go 5 miles twice a day the 90 day change interval should be used even though you go only 900 miles as the moisture level in the oil would be extremely high!

http://www.noria.com/Learn/ler2.html

http://www.noria.com/Learn/ler13.html

sandman46

With the low prices of oil changes, between $10.00and $24.00, it's just plain crazy not to change one's oil at these intervals. Oil is the life blood of one's car and like one's health, it should not be taken lightly! With many of us now keeping our cars for longer periods of time, it's really a no brainer.
My old mechanic, who was in the business for over 40 years before his retirement last year, always said a frequent oil change is the best insurance for a longer running car.

nematode

I dont change my own oil and I'm not a fan of the 3k oil change unless one is towing, off road, or constantly in city traffic. Around here it costs around $25 at most quick lube places. Its a little less at our dealer but they dont fill fluids. I usually use Juffy Lube. I travel about 24k a year at a pretty constant rate of 2k/month. I just change every 3 months because its easy to remember. Sometimes its 5k but its usually closer to 7k.

Lets look at that low price....
150,000 miles
3k changes = 50 changes at $25 a piece for a total of $1250.
7.5k changes = 20 changes at $25 a piece for a total of $500.

The difference is $750. Its a large amount of money to me. Its a car payment on a fancy car or 2-3 car payments on most cars. Or to look at it another way....any money you dont spend should be sitting in a money market getting 4-5% interest or paying off high interest debts (like a car loan or credit car debt if you have any). Essentially, that $750 looms much larger in that context and could be closer to $1500 in real savings if invested/used wisely.

Synth oil.....that another story. I dont use it but if I did my own changes I would but not for the reason that one would think. If I was using synth oil I would do 25k oil changes and just change the filter every 5-7k adding oil as needed. Even if you dont change your own oil, at $50 a change it still works out a couple of hundred bucks cheaper. Now if I was running auto cross, towing, street racing or something like that, then I would change more frequently but not for normal commuter use.

But wait!!! I dont claim that the 7.5k interval is better for the engine. Its probably not. What I claim is that in the lifetime of the average car (10 years) that it does not matter. Basically the 3k interval is a waste of $750-1500. Now if you change your own oil none of this applies becaues then the cost is insignificant.

I guess I must be crazy.

sandman46

My earlier post about these intervals are very subjective on my part, they are not scientific and I don't put alot of thought into it. With the price that I've been paying for my oil changes,3 for $24.99 with free tire rotations, the cost dosen't factor in to my thought process. I drive about 7500 miles per year on my car and the wife does roughly 12k miles, so the price is about $50.00 plus 6% tax. For my own piece of mind and after the trouble we had with the Camry, it's money well spent.

nematode

Holy cow thats a low price!! The lowest I have seen here with name brand oil for our Subaru is $19.00 at our dealer and thats only if you got your car there. Rotation is another $10. Where are you getting your oil changes?

Mr_Shiftright

I don't think $750 is a lot of money spread over the life of a car (150,000 miles is about 8 years). So, less than $100 a year to offer extra protection to the engine? Not so bad, really. And modern engines are quite expensive to rebuild. You lose the engine on a 5 year old car and you are many thousands in the hole.

Also, keep in mind that when you change the oil at 3K, you or a technician is under the hood, looking around, noticing things. This gets more and more important, these periodic inspections, as the car leaves warranty.

leomort

At 100,000 miles I had the fuel filter replaced and at 120,000 miles the timing belt replaced.

So at a 180,000 miles I was going to have the timing belt replaced again. While they were at it, I was going to have the rest of the belts change (be 1st time). Was thinking about have the water pump changed (1st time) and the fuel filter replaced again (2nd time).

Your opinions on this? Is it necessary in your opinion? How much should all of this cost? I have a '94 Toyota Paseo and it will reach the 180,000 mile mark late this year.

Leo

nematode

"You lose the engine on a 5 year old car and you are many thousands in the hole."

If this did happen there is no evidence that the 3k interval would have prolonged it life. Even if there was sludge in the engine. That could be because the rings were bad to begin with, or did not seat properly, or it could be because the long oil change interval caused it. Without actually looking before and after, taking measurements, there is no way to tell. AND I guess thats my point. Engines fail early for a variety of reasons and crummy oil is one reason. I think a bigger reason is there was a screwup in the assembly process or another component (like coolant) failed first. In other words, within reason, the oil change interval makes little to no difference in extending engine life to 150k. I have not looked very carefully, but there is no evidence that (on average) the 3k interval is any better than the 7.5k interval for extending engine life (to say 150k). Most of the evidence seems antedotal. At least in case, my cars (5) have crossed 150k without engine incidents with longe intervals (unless I traded them earlier, 2).

I guess for people who dont periodically check belts, hoses, tires, and the like the 3k interval would help quite a bit. I do that kind of stuff myself which does more than 10 min (if that) a month per car. Also if someone wants piece of mind I guess the 3k interval is better. Me on the other hand: I would like to see some proof that it actually makes a difference before I spend the money. Any money I dont spend goes toward by Audi S4 Avant!!! In that car I will run synth and change 3-5k because I'm planning on driving the heck out of it and visiting red line frequently.

sandman46

I live just north of Ft. Lauderdale and there is an outfit here, Olsen Tire, that has coupons in a shopper magazine for the 3 for $24.99 special. They are a growing company in this part of Florida and so far I've been impressed with their service. I usually make the appointment for 7:00 AM and am out the door by 7:30. So far, so good!

leomort

I notice that my water pump has a very slow/small leak. I have a '94 Toyota Paseo w. 158,000+ miles. Question is: should I get the water pump fix now along with the drive belts which also have never been change OR should I wait until I hit my 180,000 mile mark and have all of this done when changing the timing belt? I'll hit the 180K mark in Nov of this year. Opinion/advice?

Leo

armtdm

Well, depends on how often you can keep checking that water pump leak. If a few times a week then fine, keep on going but for piece of mind get it fixed and do the belts also, not worth the labor cost involved to go back in in 30-40,000 miles to do that belt again is high. The belt is not expensive, it is the labor.

Mr_Shiftright

Fix it! Not worth the risk of an overheat.

leomort

armtdm & Mr. ShiftRight:

Thank you for your advice. Since I'll only be 20,000 miles away from a timing belt change, I've added changing the timing belt to the list. So, water pump, drive belts, and timing belt will all get changed. Already made the appointment. Your right in that it wasn't that more expensive. Thank you both, again. Much appreciated.

Leo

leomort

armtdm, MR. ShiftRight and others:

Last Monday I had tune-up, oil change and inspection and emission. This past Saturday, I had the drive belts, timing belt and water pump changed on my '94 Toyota Paseo w/ 160,000 miles.

Last May when I had a tune up done, the mechanic check the compression and said the pressure was low on one of the cylinders. He said that wasn't uncommon for a car of that age with that mileage. IT could stay that way for the rest of the cars life. Well, when I had the car in for the belt changes, the mechanic notice the head gasket had a small leak. Nothing that need immediate attention. He said that the head gasket could also last the lifetime of the car and not need repalce. Just watch the car's antifreeze level, especially during winter. To replace the head gasket I got an estimate of $1,000 before taxes. Obvisously, I will wait until it needs replaced. But what is your opinion on this? I'd like to keep the car for two more years if possible.

Leo

armtdm

My 92 Camry has 133,000 and this past winter I noticed the coolant level would drop if sitting for over 12 hours, okay under that. After 12 hours the engine really really got cold and I believe the head gasket would permit some coolant into the cylinders, minimal, maybe 8 ounces a month. Now that the weather is warm there is no drop in coolant. At this point not enough to look at but if level really drops in cold weather not much choice as it would be nuisance and could ruin the engine. The head gasket could also be causing the lower compression in your case so you could kill two birds so to speak. But, wait until the coolant drop becomes very noticeable and a pain to keep checking before spending $1,000.

leomort

that's what I thought. But the mechanic said that it usually happens the other way around--low compression in the cylinder causes the head gasket to leak. Mechanic said that its not really a problem in the summer due to the warm temps. keep the gasket firmly sealed. Only in the winter with cold temps especially on long trips does it become a problem. Said because engine block is cast iron while cylinder heads are aluminum. They have different contractions rates in cold weather which losens the seal in the head gasket.

Mine look like a very minor leak. But I'll keep a close eye on the coolant, especially during the winter. You can't see the head gasket looking down from the top of the engine, and the timing belt cover also blocks your view. My Toyota has a plastic/rubber cover underneath part of the engine to sheild it so that obscures any visible leaks/drips, unless it becomes really bad. So the only way is gauge the head gasket is to watch your antifreeze level in the coolant container.

Leo

leomort

fixing the head gasket? I guess that depends when it goes. One can play it either way. A $1000 repair bill is cheaper than new car payments for years. On the other hand the car is only worth $500 and what if the head gasket repair is just the tip of "ice berg". Hmm, interesting choices.

Leo

markd7

I just noticed that I went past (by 9,000 mi) the recommended service interval for the transmission on my 97 Taurus wagon (30,000 miles.) Had it done yesterday at Pep Boys (open Sunday) but should I have one done again to get more of the fluid out?. Should I switch to synthetic fluid? (Mobil 1 ATF?) The car has always driven well and the only problem I ever had was the infamous stuck interior dome light which I cured with a shot of silicone spray above the latch.

From these boards, Taurus transmissions do not have a great rep and www.lemonaidcars.com seems to indicate that some sort of owner satisfaction program/extended warranty may be offered by Ford. I'd hate to be done out of the cost of a transmission by this foulup...

pks1

On my 1.9L tracer sometimes when I keep the engine in gear for a little longer 3500+ but less then 4500rom the engine sometimes hesisates, jumps a little and there is loss of power. Also sometimes when satrting from 1'st gear it feels powerless for the first 3000rpm then at about 3100 it kicks in. This is bad because sometimes i want to merge into traffic and there is no power . I recently replaced sparkplugs . But I did not replace the wires which were not the greatest condition . I heard comething crack while pulling them out. I also replaced the accessory belt and a pulley. But this problem didnt start after replacing the belt and pulley . It started after replacing the spark plugs? What could be wrong? It is a 5spd with 38k . Could it be a dirty fuel filter so when i rev it up not enought fuel can get through cousing a insufficient amount of fuel going into the engine at higher rpm's?

alcan

"But I did not replace the wires which were not the greatest condition . I heard comething crack while pulling them out." "It started after replacing the spark plugs."

Start by replacing the spark plug wires, which you probably damaged when pulling them off the plugs. Always rotate the boots to loosen them from the plug porcelain, always pull on the boots only, not the wires, and ALWAYS use some dielectric silicone grease inside the boots when re-installing if you ever want to get them off again in one piece.

tlindeman1

I just purchased a 2001 Honda Civic and have been told by several dealers (and the owner's manual) that the first oil change should NOT be performed before 5,000 miles. The dealers claim that there are "special additives" in the factory oil to assist break-in. One dealer's service rep. said that the oil was a "special synthetic" break-in oil. I'm not sure I believe any of them. I also called Honda and was told only that they recommend following the service intervals recommended in the owner's manual (5,000 mile intervals for "severe service" and 10,000 miles for "light duty" service.) It goes against everything I have been ever told to leave the original oil in the car for that long. I had intended to do the first change at about 1,500 miles and the next at about 4,000 miles before switching to synthetic (with a quality filter). I'm also not convinced about the 5W20 oil that is recommended for this car. Amsoil is the only one making this weight in a synthetic so far...plenty of arguments regarding this new weight oil and long-term longevity of the engine. Any thoughts, guys?