I just got a 99 avalon with 61k miles. I want to try to make it last as long as possible do guys have any suggestions what maintenance I should do to make it last long? I have already changed oil, I was thinking of doing a tune up and changing all my fluids (radiator, transmission oil, brake oil) I don't, is that an overkill?
Any suggestions are apreciated.
Overkill - not at all. I would change all fluids, filters, belts; hoses and check all 4 brakes.
You might even rotate the tires if they look good; if not replace them. Don't forget small things like the wiper blades.
This allows you to establish a baseline, especially if you do not knows the vehicles history.
Changing all the fluids is a very good idea given the cars age and mileage! If changing the trans fluid by draining the pan about 2/3 will remain in the torque converter. You will either need to do several changes over a short period of time or pump all the fluid out by disconnecting a cooler hose. There are several methods of doing this, do a search of the Camry forum as this has come up many times.
Use distilled water and antifreeze that is free of borates and silicates.
The ignition components should last 100K miles or more. Check air filter condition plus CV joint boots, vacuum and intake hoses for damage.
Changing all the fluids is a very good idea given the cars age and mileage! If changing the trans fluid by draining the pan about 2/3 will remain in the torque converter. You will either need to do several changes over a short period of time or pump all the fluid out by disconnecting a cooler hose. There are several methods of doing this, do a search of the Camry forum as this has come up many times.
Use distilled water and antifreeze that is free of borates and silicates.
The ignition components should last 100K miles or more. Check air filter condition plus CV joint boots, vacuum and intake hoses for damage.
i'm definatly going to change all the liquids this weekend, also going to change the spark plugs.. it's takes a few seconds for the engine to turn on, I think they might be dirty.
I tried finding them too but it's too far in the back, i'll let the mechanic handle it.
Anyone recommend a particular brand of spark plugs which work great?
The rear plugs are a job at hand for me too. My OEMs were Iridium tipped NGKs and the dealer said 100k is about right.
That engine might be one of the Toyota "sludge" problems, so take a peek under a valve cover if you can, and keep the PCV system clean as well as the oil.
You can search about the sludge thing and if it is an issue, you can clean it slowly with additives or synthetic oil, and keep ahead of it.
I'm not trying to be a downer about your car, I have an '02 with that potential problem, use good sense about maintenance and you can really enjoy a good set of wheels for a long time.
It's my belief there is no such thing as a 100K plug.
More marketing BS designed to sell cars to people who don't want to maintain their vehicles.
I don't know that I agree. I've had several vehicles that I've run beyond 100k with the factory plugs - they were still running great when I swapped them. The electrodes were worn some but surprisingly little wear.
I don't know that I agree. I've had several vehicles that I've run beyond 100k with the factory plugs - they were still running great when I swapped them. The electrodes were worn some but surprisingly little wear.
Indeed, the only reason the plugs on my Cressida were changed was the fact my dad completely forgot about them as they never caused a problem, I don't doubt there are probably still quite a lot of old cars using the plugs from the factory. The car exceeded 200,00kms by this time which is quite a bit more than 100,000 miles.
It's my belief there is no such thing as a 100K plug.
More marketing BS designed to sell cars to people who don't want to maintain their vehicles.
My friend, you got to bring facts to the discussion. Are you a marketing guy? How do you know that what you claim is toyota's response to Voice of the Customer? Opinions are like a****les everyone has got one. Better kept to oneself. Actually if you think about it Toyota could make more cash if they had shorter maintenance intervals because of the extra work coming to their dealer's lots. Toyota's incentive appears to be opposite your opinion. Think about the plugs, car manufacturers can keep the air fuel ratio right where it should be, oil is better and the thanks to advances in material science the plugs are better. The result is a spark plug that goes way beyond those of 20 years ago. There are lots of people spending lots of cash trying to figure out how to make things better to get a competitive advantage. That is what the automakers do.
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