Recommended repair times for 1998 Toyota Avalon?

The answer depends on which flat rate book the shop uses. Toyota's flat rate time will be less than the Mitchell or Motors book that most shops use.

My wild guesses...

Maybe I am wrong, but I think he means service interval, not how long it takes the shop to perform the work.

Oops, my bad, I think you're right.

Revised answer: Replace struts when they fail. Get a 4 wheel alignment if the car drifts, pulls, has unusual tire wear, after the struts or rack are replaced, after a collision, or after hitting a big bump, pothole, or curb. Drain and refill the transmission fluid every 60,000 miles or 48 months Replace the brake pads when there is 2 mm of pad life remaining. Replace the brake fluid every other brake job.

Ray: Thanks. How does one know when the struts fail? I try the bounce test; ie move the front and back ends up and down by hand to see if they bounce back up properly, and they seem to be alright. The Toyota mechanic didn't find anything wrong a few months ago.

Keith Lee

It is not always obvious when the struts fail. Symptoms include stains on the outside of the strut from fluid leakage, physical damage to the struts, noise, and the loss of a strut's dampening effect. If the car passes the bounce test and there are no other symptoms, they are probably OK.