Is a Sienna a Van or Car?

Obviously they are offering more than an oil change. No one would pay that much for that service. Their website says this:

Every 5,000 miles or 6 months

$63.95 + tax Yellow Service Exterior wash included Replace engine oil & filter Adjust tire pressure Rotate tires (as necessary) Test battery Inspect/check the following: Drive belts All fluids All lights All belts & hoses Wiper blades Steering & shocks Exhaust pipe & muffler Clean/adjust brakes Complete vehicle inspection Road test

For our Sequoia, we pay around $25 including tax for an oil & filter change and basic inspection of brakes, tires, air filter, etc. with a guaranteed

1/2 hour or it's free deal at our local Toyota dealer in the Chicago suburbs.

Do they really use the word "CHECK" and if so how does that differ from inspect? There was no 'check' in the paper ad. Did they bother defining a van?

Longo has one of the worst reputations, for price, service and reliability, among people I know who generally are on their third or fourth Toyota. I did visit their establishment and from 'inspection' appeared to fit that description.

Especially when the Toyota vans and cars have the same engines LOL

mike hunt

My dealer does all that for $27.50 including tax

mike hunt

Here in Florida they guarantee the oil change in 30 minutes or the next one is free.

The cost? $24

That is WTF people (me) are talking about...

NS - including tire rotation required by T 5k mile?

I see that Longo has another ad for ExpressLube $27.95 - 19 point inspection nothing about tire rotation. 29 min Guaranteed. One price for all T.

Why is tire rotation so critical to be included in every oil ch by T?

You should get a tire rotation every other oil change.

One can check fluids to see if there is sufficient quantity or bulbs to see if they illuminate. One can inspect other components for amount of wear or for leakage or damage.

Ray; You are in IL and not FL - can't even get that straight in my mind. The 2006 Sienna "Scheduled Maintenance Guide" has tire rotation and service every 5k miles from day one. From the 2002 Sienna Haynes rag that I picked up for $16 (latest available) had scheduled oil change every 3k - tire rotation every 6k.

TIRES: about $80 each only an economy issue and safety is very minor - have had a van front tire blow at 70mph - heavy traffic - no real control issue to get to a stop on the bare rim. expected tire life - 45k???? guess

This is the equation as I see it:

9 tire rotations at say $20 ave cost and one hr each extra time of customer time ($$$) = prolonged tire life of say 25% or 10k miles at best. or about $100.

IMHO WTF are we doing tire rotations?

Would this be an issue for Toyota that customer failed rotate tires?

Would some sort of sensor be upset by lack of rotation? Tire inflation???

What if tires are rotated 'across' and not just "front to rear and back" on the same side(s)?

How could the service interval suddenly be almost doubled? Some great improvement in something?

My whole argument has been that service should be related strictly to miles driven and NOT time elapsed (every 6 months). Is there a serious engineering study to show that a car that has only been driven a few hundred miles (or perhaps not at all) absolutely needs service (and tire rotation) every 6 months?

Please enlighten me.

j

I do not know why a tire rotation is recommended every 5,000 miles. The rule of thumb used to be that the oil should be changed every 3,500 to 3,750 miles, with a tire rotation every other oil change. With the longer oil change intervals, perhaps it was thought that 10,000 miles was too long to go between tire rotation, particularly if the tires use a softer compound.

FWD and AWD vehicles tend to wear the shoulders on front tires more quickly than RWD vehicles, so tire rotation is more important on FWD and AWD vehicles.

As to whether you should follow Toyota or Chilton's maintenance recommendations, you may wish to ask yourself how many vehicles Chilton has made before you decide to follow their intervals.

As I mentioned above, FWD and AWD vehicles tend to wear the shoulders on front tires more quickly, and the tire shoulders are what provide traction when turning.

It will not be an issue for Toyota. The issue for the customer that failed to rotate tires would be shorter tire life. Tires are warranted by the tire manufacturer, not the automaker. I am not aware of any tire manufacturer that will warrant their tires for premature wear if the wear is caused by lack of proper care, like inflation, alignment, and rotation. Defects like belt separation that are not caused by the lack of rotation should still be covered.

No.

Cross rotation changes the direction of tire rotation (spinning), and conventional wisdom is that radial tires may encounter ply separation if the direction of rotation is changed. Ply separation can lead to blowouts and a choppy ride.

It is more a combination of several smaller improvements in oil circulation and cooling, oil quality, engine cooling, piston ring improvements, etc.

Some stuff on a vehicle will deteriorate whether the vehicle is used or not, particularly tires, batteries, rubber parts, and fuel, and oil.

In the case of engine oil, if the engine is never run during the 6 months, then there is no need to change the oil in the crankcase, but the engine parts that are protected by the oil will gradually become susceptible to corrosion because the oil coating the metal parts will gradually drain away. If you start the engine occasionally for short periods of time, then a lot of condensation will accumulate in the oil. Also, when an engine is running, some exhaust gas and unburned fuel escape past the piston rings and end up in the crankcase. This process is known as "blowby." The oil in the crankcase holds this stuff in suspension, but it eventually settles to the bottom of the oil pan. If the oil is not changed before the particulate matter has a chance to solidify at the bottom of the pan, then you will gradually end up with muck at the bottom. This is also true of transmission fluid.

The need for tire rotation is really dictated by miles, not time, however, a tire that is bearing weight should be moved occasionally so that flat spots do not develop in the tire.

Ray, I pretty much accept your arguments and I do want to maintain the Toyota new vehicle warranty. Tires do not seem important in that they are relatively cheap. The guide does say to also "Visually inspect brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs" - does this not imply wheel removal and therefore rotate at the same time? Why is this brake thing required every 5k or six months?

Under the Warranty - if I only had the oil changes and skipped the rotation and limited the inspection to observing the exterior of the brake system - in case of a brake failure would T refuse any claim and any other claim not directly related to brakes.

Just looking at tire ads - anything special about the Dunlop tires it came with? Are they specifically needed for the excellent riding characteristics? I see the same size (no name) with 60k warranty for about $50 at PepBoys etc. vs. $80+ at T dealer.

I just hate to stand in line or wait for anything.

j

Tires are very important in terms of vehicle safety, handling, and ride comfort. By the time a tire is mounted and balanced, and the vehicle is aligned to prevent tire problems, and you pay to dispose of the old tires, so those $80 tires end up costing closer to $100 per tire out the door. A lot of people do not like spending $400 for tires, whether it is every 2 or

3 years or every 4 or 5 years.

Yes, unless you have alloy wheels which allow you to peek at the outer pads at least once a week when you check tire air pressure.

Why is this brake thing required every 5k or

The advent of power brakes makes it difficult for a driver to detect a stuck caliper slide or poorly adjusted drum brakes. A visual inspection would reveal uneven pad wear, which would point to a stuck caliper slide; or the lack of wear to drum brakes, which would point to the need for a brake adjustment.

It depends on the nature of the brake failure, but most likely not.

The only thing unique about the original tires on a vehicle is that the tire serial numbers may be sequential, where that rarely happens on replacement tires. Unless you have run-flat tires, as long as the tire is the right size, then it is the right size. Pay attention to heat, treadwear, and traction ratings.

How common is "stuck brake caliper slide or poorly adjusted drum brakes"? 1 out of 10, 30 50 or higher?

For those that do their own oil changes - how is the MAINT REQD reminder light reset? Is this something that is standard and well known for all cars by mechanics? Nothing found in the manual.

Our friend Longo was advertising ' Toyota Oil' for $1.99 - is there only one grade/kind for ALL Toyotas? j

I have had a stuck brake caliper slide on a personal vehicle only once, on our Previa when it had around 80,000 miles. Never had a stuck caliper slide on any of the 100 or so company cars I've driven.

On the other hand, I've seen quite a few stuck caliper slides on customer vehicles, so my opinion is that the incidence of stuck caliper slides is directly proportional to the care given to the vehicle.

I'd say that the incidence of poorly adjusted drum brakes is close to 75% if it has been greater than 20,000 miles since the last lining replacement or adjustment on vehicles with automatic transmissions and about 20% on vehicles with manual transmissions.

I googled and found this: With the car started (ignition on), set the LCD odometer readout to total mileage (not trip A or B). Turn the car off (ignition key to the OFF position). Push in AND HOLD the button/knob that switches the odometer, then turn key to ON position without starting the car. You will notice the maintenance light blink and go out. Release the odometer button/knob. That's it! The "MAINT REQD" light has been reset to warn you to change your oil in another 5,000 or 7,500 miles or so.

I don't kinow if this is standard or well known for all cars by mechanics.

No. I believe there is 5W-30 and 10W-30, and that Toyota brand oil is supplied by Mobil in the U.S.

So what effort and $ is involved in correcting that? Couple of squirts of cleaner and a hammer blow ?

Thanks, sounds safe and simple to do. What did you give google to find this? Did you search groups for an old message?

Put the vehicle up on a lift, remove the rear wheels, remove the drums, wash down the brakes with brake cleaner using a brake cleaning machine, inspect lining wear, re-install drums, remove plug from backing plate, stick screwdriver or adjusting tool in the hole in the back of the backing plate, turn star wheel until the left and right sides are even, reinstall wheels, do final adjustment, re-install plugs, take down from lift, take for test drive.

Probably 1/2 to 1 hour labor plus brake cleaning fluid.

If you use the parking brake regularly, the drum brakes will self-adjust.

I think I googled "Sienna reset light"

Are Toyota brakes especially maintenance intensive?

I have owned many vehicles, all domestic cars & vans, and some were used by employees of a small co I owned (10+years ago). All we/I ever did about brake maintenance was have it fixed if there is noise or failure to brake in some manner and/or have it checked or repaired with tire changes. My main rules were:1 do not drive an unsafe vehicle 2 remember we are driving US made vehicles that weigh twice as much as most of the imports and have smaller brakes - in a high speed stop (anything over 45mph) you will not be able to stop as quickly as the imports - leave plenty of space in front. To this day I believe this was both safe and cost effective.

Are things different now? What are the MOST likely consequences of doing this today?

j

All I can speak about is our two Corollas.

My 92 Wagon goes about 95,000 between front disk service.

The rear brakes lasted 150,000.

Our '97 Corolla got about 65,000 miles on its front disks.