New 4cyl Owner

[Ryder99]

Hi folks, new to the forum here. Last week the wife and I bought a 4 cylinder base model in silver sky. I have been driving it the past week and so far I'm very happy with it. It will be wifes daily driver in the spring when she goes back to work and our little guy goes to preschool. I plan on adding things here and there and will update the forum if I do anything worth mentioning. It is at the shop now getting the tint done on all the windows. It feels like driving a school bus with no tint!

[nth89]

Congrats on your purchase. I love Silver Sky. It was my second choice if I couldn't find a white one. Yeah the tint is a must so you don't look like a fishbowl.

[Ryder99]

Thanks! The tintless windows on the base model were actually the thing my wife noticed/disliked the most. She was quite turned off until she realized the tint can be done for around $200. It's getting 20% on all the back windows and 35% on the driver and passenger which is legal in Mass.

[nth89]

35% is the same in MD but I just did 20% on the front to match the rest of the windows.

[Biggoldfish]

Congrats! Welcome to the club!

[2toyotaman]

I've had my almost bare bones 2011 4 cyl just a year and 15,000 miles and love it. Biggest use is a cross country tourer and it is great. The 4 cyl will handle cruise control at 90 mph on the western desert highways. Get 23 mpg at 80 to 90, 30 mpg at 50 to 60. Check my posts back a year or so, more details on my 4 cyl.

[Ryder99]

2toyotaman I have read several of your posts and it was nice to get some feedback before we purchased. My first full tank of gas averaged 22mpg and that was driving the van fairly hard to get good ring seal on the motor. I can see easily getting mid to high 20's driving the van normally. Yesterday we had myself, my wife, my brother, our 2 year old, 2 large filled coolers, a stroller and lots of miscellaneous stuff in the van (which all fit easily) and it had no trouble cruising at 80mph on the highway. We are very pleased with it so far.

[jm98]

I got 4-cyl LE with Conv. and conf. package from out of state (AL). I could not find 4-Cly LE near my home town BigD and the closet I found was 500 miles away so I had to pickup my Sienna LE 500 miles away from my home. Local dealers were not interested in custom ordering one for me, only interested in selling XLEs.

So on the way back I was doing between 60 to 70 mph for 525 miles trip and the average was showing round 27 mpg. I done same trip on same route on my other mini van and remember I had to fill up more frequently on the same route.

[Ryder99]

There were no LE 4 cylinders in the northeast that I could see when I was looking. It appears to be a regional model. I haven't been driving our van 100% of the time. My wife drives it around town mainly during the week and we go to my parents house in it on the weekends. In probably 50/50 city/highway driving we have seen generally around 24 to 25 mpg. The van only has about 2900 miles on it right now so the mpg's may go up as it breaks in more. If I solely drove it I'm sure I could easily get in the high 20 mpg's with it. My wife tends race from stoplight to stoplight and around parking lots much to my chagrin.

[blizprl1]

Originally Posted by Ryder99

Hi folks, new to the forum here. Last week the wife and I bought a 4 cylinder base model in silver sky. I have been driving it the past week and so far I'm very happy with it. It will be wifes daily driver in the spring when she goes back to work and our little guy goes to preschool. I plan on adding things here and there and will update the forum if I do anything worth mentioning. It is at the shop now getting the tint done on all the windows. It feels like driving a school bus with no tint!

Welcome Ryder99. Glad you like your new minivan.

My wife and I also bought this minivan over Odyssey, and this is the first Toyota product that we own after being a long time owner of Honda products.

Now let the modding begins.

[Tandem Rider]

I have a 4 cylinder Camry and a 6 cylinder Sienna. The 4 cylinder Camry does not have a timing belt to change and the spark plugs are easier to change. If the 4 cylinder Sienna is like the Camry not only will you save gas but several hundred dollars not replacing the timing belt and spark plugs.

[akphs]

"Does not have a timing belt" -- seriously? How are things controlled? My 4-cylinder Camry sure had a timing belt (2000).

[Tandem Rider]

I don't know how things are controlled but my mechanic says that it does not have a timing belt. My 6 cylinder Sienna was about $800 for a new belt and water pump. Replacing the spark plugs on the Sienna is not easy and costs several hundred for a tune up.

[blizprl1]

Originally Posted by Tandem Rider

I have a 4 cylinder Camry and a 6 cylinder Sienna. The 4 cylinder Camry does not have a timing belt to change and the spark plugs are easier to change. If the 4 cylinder Sienna is like the Camry not only will you save gas but several hundred dollars not replacing the timing belt and spark plugs.

Yes, I think recently 4cyl Camry engine has timing chain, not belt.

The recent V6 Sienna engine also has timing chain, so no need to worry about changing it. It's used as long as the engine lives expect when you ruin it. The valves clearance is also auto adjust, so no need to worry that. Since it's a DOHC V6, it has wider top area which makes it very difficult to access the rear 3 spark plugs. Just for comparison, the V6 engine in the Oddyssey is SOHC type; hence narrower head area. This makes it easier to reach the rear 3 plugs. But it uses timing belt instead of chain.

Another factor (my guess) is that since Sienna is offered with AWD besides FWD, there are more items under the body to connect the rear axle with the front trans for AWD. So to make it easier and universal to save cost, the engine location is positioned at the same height. The Oddy has only an FWD platform so the engine can be positioned lower compared to Sienna.

Not sure about 4cyl Sienna engine.