98 4cyl camry with 150k miles. Brakes issue and regular maintenance questions.

I have a 98 4 cyclinder camry approaching 150k and I was hoping folks could chime in and make sure I'm covering all my bases regarding Camry maintenance. At 99-100K, I utilized my extended warranty contact and did a full tune up and got everything covered under warranty including timing belts, oxygen sensor, ax seal and trany pand replacement, replacement the leaking axle seal. I drive about 100 miles a day, freeway driving, and I do not drive the car hard.

Immediate issues:

1)My brakes are making noise again so I need to get the pads swapped ASAP. I last did this at Midas for $225.64. My question is do I really need them to clean and adjust rear dram brake labor for $25 or resurface front brake rotors for $50 if I just did brakes at 90k? Or is this an upsell tactic? With Midas having lifetime warranty on brakepads, I do know I just have to pay for the labor at $80.

2)At 99k, took the car into the dealer and told them it was hard to start cold. The engine would die and I had to use the gas pedal to keep the engine running.

This is what the show in the invoice:

895521 Idle Air Control R&R 2272 CTEC 22270-74291 Valve Assy Idle Spee 22215-74400 Gasket 00289-2CC00 Non-Chlorinated Carb

Found ISC Valv P/A ISC Valve

This seemed to fix the issue at the time, but it has arisen once again at 150K.

Hope that helps. Does anyone know what exactly is outline above and should this have a warranty of greater than 50K? Is this related in any way to sparks, plugs, and wires? I do not believe I have ever changed these things. Do they ever need to be replaced?

3)Coolant/Anti Freeze was changed at 99k. How often should this be changed and should I do a flush or just refill? Also, if I do oil changes myself, how difficulat would it be to flush the coolant myself?

4)Transmission was changed at 115k. Is this needed every 30K? Should this be a drain and refill or a complete flush?

5)Brake Fluid - How often? Flash or drain and refill?

6)Fuel Filter? How often? What does this do for me?

7) Differential Fluid? How often? Is this different from transmission fluid?
Reply to
tallassazn
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8) Spark Plugs - Never had these changed. What does this provide and what is the normal schedule for replacement?
Reply to
tallassazn

This is Toyota's official site. Go to Toyotaownersonline.com Click on 'Scheduled Maintenance'

You can download complete 98 Camry Maintenance Schedule in PDF format. There is Warranty information too.

Reply to
hbuck
  1. Your using midas pads, theres your noisemakers...
  2. Plugs should be changed each 60,000 miles. No clue on your cold start problem. Ask dealer.
  3. Coolant should be changed each 30,000 miles.
  4. Trans fluid should be changed each 30,000 miles.
  5. Purge air while removing old brake fluid during brake jobs.
  6. I think 90,000, keeps gunk out of the fuel injectors very important.
  7. Diff fluid I do when the trans is done.
Reply to
Rob

Yikes. You've asked enough questions for several postings. Here's my opinion. If you service and maintain the car properly, it should last 300,000 miles or more. I have a 1977 Toyota truck that still runs great, and the Camry with

136,000 miles is mechanically excellent. Plus, I enjoy keeping up on the mechanical aspects because the car is so well designed and engineered down to the tiniest aspect. First, I generally do not trust mechanics. See:
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my first advice, would be run from Midas.Try to use only genuine Toyota parts. (my opinion)Why? Because they're designed for your vehicle. They fit and operatecorrectly, and if you start substituting aftermarket parts it could besome time before the damage becomes apparent. For example, if you use adifferent type of coolant, and it affects the radiator and coolingjacket passages, or you don't use distilled water, it will be some timebefore you notice any difference.Same with brake pads. Aftermarket pads often squeal. Toyota has gonethrough numerous formulations seeking the best blend (compromise)between rotor life, quiet operation, long life and effectiveness.To eliminate the brake noise, try switching to genuine Toyota brakepads. Cold start problem: Loosen the single 10mm bolt at the hose clamp and remove the large black air intake hose at the throttle body. With the engine idling rough, cold, spray a small amount of TriFlow (from bike shop or hardware store) into the rectangular hole at the bottom of the TB (IAC air intake) (for more information search "IAC" on this group). If the idle air control valve has been replaced, it is probably just sticking slightly. After I replaced mine, the problem resurfaced after a while and this seems to have completely cured it. Platinum plugs are scheduled to change at 60,000 miles. It may be overkill but I also change the plug wires, cap, rotor and "packing" (cover gasket), as inexpensive insurance because my wires were shorting out slightly inside the spark plug tube. Coolant. Use only Toyota red and distilled water. If you look with a shop light or flashlight you can see the drain valve at the bottom of the radiator from above. I use a plastic tub from a home improvement store for mixing concrete to catch the drained coolant. Just let it all drain out and then re fill. I tried removing the drain plug on the block and only a tiny amount extra came out, so I'm not doing that again. If you drain regularly, the fluid will stay clean and no flushing is required. IMHO changing transmission fluid at 115k is waiting too long. Yes, it should be changed at 30k. Drain and refill should suffice. But you'll need to do this several times because you only get about half this way. If you buy the 10mm Allen head socket (hex wrench) and some aluminum gaskets, and drain the transmission with each oil change for the next three or four times, that should clean it up. If you want to keep your transmission alive, keep the fluid clean. An extra step would be removing the pan, cleaning the inside including the magnets and replacing the gasket but that is optional - Toyota does not list this service beyond drain and refill. If you remove the pan, use the correct torque when reinstalling the bolts. I found two of mine stripped by a prior mechanic. (you're talking inch pounds here, not foot pounds - they need to be firmly snugged down with repetitive passes) Tip: if you change your own fluid, drain it hot, then let it stand over night. (make sure no one else tries to drive the car!) That way you'll get an extra quart to drain out. Here's another tip. If you get the oil with graduated markings on the side, and using a funnel, carefully pour the old fluid into those, you can measure the amount you need to add back. Especially for the first time though, add in the last amount slowly after having driven the car at least ten miles to fully bring the fluid to operating temperature before the final level check. Here's another tip. If you use a plastic drain pan, you don't have to worry about holding the hot drain plug. Just let it fall into the pan, and the next morning use an inexpensive telescoping magnet to retrieve it. Brake fluid should be flushed every two years. I change mine when it no longer appears amber in color. I bought the brake bleeder kit here:
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they're racers who bleed the brakes after every race, but youcan also search the web and buy from the manufacturer.Fuel filter according to Toyota is "lifetime" although to the best ofmy knowledge they don't specify maintenance schedules for partsanticipated to last over 100,000 miles.Doesn't do much for you apart from adding some peace of mind.I did change it at 120,000 miles. I recommend using a "crow foot" flarenut wrench (17mm I think) and Kroil penetrating lubricant on the lowerfitting which can be very tight. With this procedure mine came off veryeasily. Check your car to see if you have a separate differential fill plug. If so, then the differential fluid is separate. The Haynes repair manual has a picture. I use Mobil 1 fully synthetic ATF. The differential and transmission both use the same Dexron type fluid. I'm not sure about how often. Except for the first time when it came out brown in color instead of red, every subsequent time it looks brand new. I'm guessing every 60,000 miles might be about right.
Reply to
Daniel

follow up - coolant drain: not only can you see the drain plug from above, you can reach it, and should be able to loosen it with forefinger and thumb. It is not a compression seal, but uses an O ring, so it is not necessary to remove all the plastic air shielding beneath, and crank it down extra tight with pliers.

Reply to
Daniel

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