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I just got my vehicle's oil changed and they did a look over to see what maintenance needed to be done. Obviously I don't know much about cars, but I have always tried to keep my vehicle well maintained mechanically, as it is the only vehicle I own.
So can you help me decipher what this report means, what and if anything can be done without taking it in to be serviced, and how much I should expect to pay if I do take it in?
Air Filter - dirty
Belts - Alt. & "P/s" belts are cracked (pretty badly, I'm told. How vital is this?)
Transmission, Coolant, Power Steering, and Brake fluids - require maintenance flush
Alignment
Oil leaks - engine needs to be cleaned & rechecked
Tires show edge wear, need replaced
I own a 1997 Toyota Camry and I believe I purchased it when it had ~94,000mi. on it. Currently it has ~124,000mi. after owning it for 2 years, so I approximate that I've put on about 15,000mi./yr. Does that sound about average? I know for a fact that I replaced the tires with brand new tires within the past 2 years. I'm not insinuating that the tires do not need replacing..as I have taken quite a few 200 & 500mile round trip 'road trips' around the state of Florida and I do drive somewhat aggressively..I just thought tires were good for 30-40,000 miles.
Anyway, all of the problems listed in this report had been mentioned to me at a different shop when I had my previous oil change, so I'm sure some of the work needs to be done. But is there anything I should look for or anything I can do to avoid hefty charges at the shop?
Too start with;
Air Filter...dirty...should be replaced as it will cause poor gas mileage.
Alt and Pow steer belts cracked...definetly replace.
Trans... Automatic or stick shift?
Trans....Automatic might need fluid changed and the screen also if it has one every 30,000 miles.(flush NO)
Trans ...Stick uses heavy weight grease (leave alone).
Power steering and Brake fluid (master cyl) add fluid till at full level.
Tire Alignment...keep watch on tire pressure before any alignment is done. Low pressure will show wear unevenly while out of alignment will show wear on the inside or outside edge of the tire. Same could be said if you have the WRONG size tires for your year car. If the car pulls to the left or right...low air in one tire can cause that or the front end Alignment is a problem. (don't jump at what they say)
As to evidence of oil...any car with your mileage can show some evidence of oil. Steam clean the engine compartment and any fresh oil will show itself.
15000 miles is about average for one yrs driving if your a normal adult and not some teen.
200-500 mile trips are nothing today with freeways.
Hope I gave you a insight (retired Mechanic) Steve
On the tires, if you don't rotate them often enough, the fronts will prematurely wear on the edges. Which is common. Which is why you rotate them....so you get max life out of all 4 tires.
Belts....depending on bad it's cracked. If cracked bad enough it can break. If a belt breaks it can mean no power steering, no a/c, no charge from the alternator and possibly even an overheating engine.
I thought cars like yours only use one belt for everything? I hope that mechanic who wrote the ticket isn't trying to charge you for 3 belts if you only have one.
Brake fluid should be gold colored. Not brown.
Tranny fluid (automatic) should be red and not have a burnt smell and should not be brown.
Coolant....depends, I'm not sure if your car uses the bright green stuff or some other color/type. Seems GM was using orange colored coolant from 1996 onward. Before virtually everything used the green "ecto cooler" antifreeze.
Ditto on the oil leak....wash the car underside and engine compartment out real well. Use a good engine degreaser to do so. This should rid of the oil. Now drive the car and check it every day or so. If it's still leaking and if you've been keeping a close eye on it, you will begin to see where the oil is coming from....if there really is a leak.
I just got my vehicle's oil changed and they did a look over to see what maintenance needed to be done. Obviously I don't know much about cars, but I have always tried to keep my vehicle well maintained mechanically, as it is the only vehicle I own.
So can you help me decipher what this report means, what and if anything can be done without taking it in to be serviced, and how much I should expect to pay if I do take it in?
Air Filter - dirty
Belts - Alt. & "P/s" belts are cracked (pretty badly, I'm told. How vital is this?)
Transmission, Coolant, Power Steering, and Brake fluids - require maintenance flush
Alignment
Oil leaks - engine needs to be cleaned & rechecked
Tires show edge wear, need replaced
I own a 1997 Toyota Camry and I believe I purchased it when it had ~94,000mi. on it. Currently it has ~124,000mi. after owning it for 2 years, so I approximate that I've put on about 15,000mi./yr. Does that sound about average? I know for a fact that I replaced the tires with brand new tires within the past 2 years. I'm not insinuating that the tires do not need replacing..as I have taken quite a few 200 & 500mile round trip 'road trips' around the state of Florida and I do drive somewhat aggressively..I just thought tires were good for 30-40,000 miles.
Anyway, all of the problems listed in this report had been mentioned to me at a different shop when I had my previous oil change, so I'm sure some of the work needs to be done. But is there anything I should look for or anything I can do to avoid hefty charges at the shop?
Hey Ashley ~
First of all, you have to remember that these shops don't make their money on oil changes. They make their money by scaring the crap out of you, and convincing you to have them do a whole bunch of work on your car. Sometimes it's absolutely legitimate, sometimes it's a scam.
Here are my thoughts:
Air Filter - dirty
Replace the air filter. It's $10, and if it is dirty, a new filter will improve your mileage and performance.
Belts - Alt. & "P/s" belts are cracked (pretty badly, I'm told. How vital is this?)
Unless you have an older car, you probably have 1 serpentine belt that runs all of these. The belt itself will cost about $50 - plus the cost of the installation. Get a second opinion regarding the condition of this belt. If it's in good condition, leave it alone. But if it's questionable, replace it immediately. If that serpentine belt breaks on you, you are stranded.
Transmission, Coolant, Power Steering, and Brake fluids - require maintenance flush
Hogwash.
Alignment
It is possible that this needs to be done - particularly if your tires are wearing unevenly. But beware: If you take a car in for a front end alignment, it's almost a 100% guarantee that they'll find about $500 worth of repairs needing to be done before they can do the alignment.
Oil leaks - engine needs to be cleaned & rechecked
This depends on how much oil you are leaking. If it's excessive, look into it. If you're only losing half-quart of oil between oil changes, let it go.
Tires show edge wear, need replaced
Tires do wear out. If you need new tires you need new tires.
I think you need to take your car to another shop to get another opinion.
I would also check if the timing belt has been changed. Either with the previous owner or look at the maintenance manual to see.This is probably the most expensive at that mileage and if it breaks from not changing it is highly likely there will be engine damage internally. I would check the owners manual and see what has been done or maintenance receipts. Without doing the constant maintenance catching up can get expensive.The owners manuals are a good guide to maintenance and when they should be done. Many used cars now days were owned by many that do little maintenance and then get rid of it before high mileage. Always best to check on verifiable maintenance because many do keep these receipts for what is done.As to tires. Normally wear on the edges can indicate several things. That the tires were not rotated properly or at all;that the inflation was not maintained and they will wear faster on a driver that does not brake to sufficient speed before turning and brake in the turn that shifts weight to the front and put excess pressure on the outside tire edge.
1. Change your air filter, very easy to do
2. Belts, none of mine use only 1 belt, they both have 3 so yours probably does too. Get them replaced cause they are probably due.
3. Yes your tranny and radiator do need to be flush every 30k to 60k miles depending on your driving, a drain and refill is worthless since most of the old fluid stays in the vehicle.
4. Alignment, drive down the road and let go of the wheel, if it pulls to the left or right, get the alignment
5. Oil leaks, that could be very expensive, learn how to read your dipstick and you can then tell if you are actually leaking oil.
6. Tires, look at them. If the tread is gone in the middle, edges, you will need to replace them and find out why they are wearing so quickly.
7. Learn all you can about your car, most community colleges and tech schools offer beginner classes on auto repair. keep it maintained properly and the expensive repairs will be few and far between.
You can also go to a camry owners site, just google camry forums, and get help about your vehicle there. Good luck.
The tires I would question, stop by a reputable tire shop(Discount Tire if you have one) and tell them what was reported, get a second opinion. And yes, rotate every 10,000 or so.
The flushes? Depends on what they want to do it. Was this a Toyota dealer?
Belts? if you haven't changed them in 30,000 and you bought it used at 94,000.....replace them. Not just 2 of them, all of them. Labor to replace the one that you didn't replace when it breaks, and it will, will be more than the cost of the belt to do it now.
Oil leaks. Look at where you park . If it's a street, put a piece of cardboard under the front of the car when you park it after work. In the morning, see alot of drips?
And oil consumption....have you been having to add oil?
A decently maintained Toyota is only broken in at 124,000 miles. Unless you abuse it, 200-250,000 miles should be easily achieved without major repairs.
Who do you have service your car..? Don't go to the quickie places, i.e. Lube and Tune, those kind of places.
Find a good independent garage you can trust and establish a relationship. Just like you would find a dentist or doctor, find a good place and stick with it the same place every time. They will get to know you and your car, and you will get taken care of better.
All the above advice is good, but you aren't going to assimilate all of that information.
You shouldn't have to learn a new field just to get your care serviced.
Get a recommendation, if necessary, and find a shop you trust and let them advise you. There are plenty of honest shops out there that have your best interest at heart...
Air filter on modern FI cars will limit full power if dirty, the FI system compensates so it has no real effect on mileage, unless you use full throttle a lot. If it's really dirty, yeah, change it, but this item is way less critical than it was in the days of carburators.
The V-belts or serpentine belt, whatever runs your power steering, alternator, etc. should be replaced if they are cracked, this should not cost much. Be sure to get OEM belts, or Gates, some known and reliable brand, avoid "no-name" belts - they may be OK or may not, but the labor to install a cheap belt is just the same as a high-quality one.
Actually *changing* or flushing the brake fluid is a maintenance item that is frequently overlooked. Topping off brake fluid should not be necessary, and in fact with a 4-wheel disc brake car, if you fill the reservoir just to the "full" mark when new pads are installed, the brake fluid will be right at the "add" mark when your pads are about used up. On most cars it works like that. These "stupid lube" outfits that add (God knows what kind, what brand, probably whatever they could get cheap) brake fluid as part of their "free services with oil change" are doing you no favor.
Probably you just need to rotate the tires. You don't say where you are, in snow country you don't want deeper tread on your front tires than on your rear, for stability when braking, but in milder climates you can get away with it.
Probably the transmission flush is nonsense, probably just a regular fluid change if indicated is all it needs, including cleaning of the screen if it has one, or changing filter if it has that. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable shop that will use the correct fluid for your transola, and someone who won't overfill it, overfilling at least some Toy trannys can cause serious problems.
I just got my vehicle's oil changed and they did a look over to see what maintenance needed to be done. Obviously I don't know much about cars, but I have always tried to keep my vehicle well maintained mechanically, as it is the only vehicle I own.
Not much of a "gearhead" here, Ashley . . .
However, I am a strong believer in regular maintenance, are you? Driving 15k miles a year indicates you depend on this 10 plus year old vehicle.
If you do not trust, or are at least a little suspicious of this particular shop's recommendations, my advice would be to shop around. Ask friends or relatives for advice and, by all means, build a decent relationship with a good mechanic.
Remember, a well maintained vehicle will last much longer, retain its value much better and, above all, will cost the owner much less in the long haul.
Good Luck
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