recommended maintenance

[jstert]

my 2014 yaris l came to me from hertz in 2016 with 42k miles. it is two years, two oil changes, engine and cabin air filters, one cruise control kit, and 10k miles older now. tires check out ok. when i bought it i was allowed to see, not copy, its maintenance records, all were up to date.

my question is what maintenance should i do, beyond what is listed in owner’s manual, which is quite minimal?

it is a snowbird car, garaged on a battery tender half the year, in las vegas. it runs fine, averages 30mpg combined.

when should i do radiator, auto transmission, brake fluids, pcv, anything else?


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[91mustang]

i wouldnt ever change the auto fluid. toyota doesnt recommend it in fact. radiator i wouldnt mess with it until it gets 120k, plugs at 120k, i wouldnt touch the brake fluid. i recommend hawk brake pads for the car. i run them front and rear.

[mint_julep]

replace all fluids, idk where this nonsense about not doing certain fluids comes from. watch some of this guy's vids you'll learn a lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuNNqh8-jkw

at 88K miles, i just did all my fluids. the transmission one was definitely bad and it was past due time. better replace the oil then spend thousands on a new engine, and same with the transmission. do that one at about 50-60K miles.

[suprf1y]

my question is what maintenance should i do, beyond what is listed in owner’s manual?



Nothing.

[91mustang]

replace all fluids, idk where this nonsense about not doing certain fluids comes from. watch some of this guy's vids you'll learn a lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuNNqh8-jkw

at 88K miles, i just did all my fluids. the transmission one was definitely bad and it was past due time. better replace the oil then spend thousands on a new engine, and same with the transmission. do that one at about 50-60K miles.

Toyota specifically says it is not needed in the owners manual. I guess you know more than the designers?

[kimona]

Nothing to do beyond what you've done. Check your wiper blades and watch your battery for signs of weakness.

[Dodge Aries K]

I would do the trans fluid as well. Even though it's not "needed" I noticed a difference in the various Toyota's I've owned or own currently.

Coolant I believe is supposed to be every 10 years or 100,000 miles to be swapped out but that's just going off of my faulty memory. I'd do the PCV valve the same time you do the plugs whenever that works out to being in the manual. It's so cheap so it doesn't hurt anything to change. No idea about when to change brake fluid... i've basically done that when I've had to replace a bad caliper/wheel cylinder/brake line/etc. I'm sure there is some official specification though.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it'll absorb moisture/water over time. That will lead to weaker braking and potentially corroding the brake lines from the inside. iirc, rule of thumb was do a brake fluid flush every 3 years or 30k miles. The DOT4 fluid, which degrades quicker than DOT3, I put in my FR-S lasted only a year before it visually started degrading. It was pretty brown by 2 years, so I recently changed it.

https://scontent.fsac1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/49192742_10218705411372752_6750774280968994816_o.j pg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_ht=scontent.fsac1-1.fna&oh=ec411b00e7f02077edcf70291ebedde6&oe=5CB96D9D


If your brake fluid is that color, CHANGE IT ASAP. I don't know about you, but for how easy and inexpensive it is to flush out brake fluid, I'd do it as often as possible since I really don't want to get in an accident caused by old brake fluid.


You can buy paper test strips or digital testers and see just how much water your brake fluid has absorbed.


Here is one link you can read. I'm sure there are other articles out there, but I think one's enough: https://www.aa1car.com/library/bfluid.htm

[Kaotic Lazagna]

I'd also do an alignment (rear end of the Yaris cannot be aligned) if it has never had one done before. Also check for signs of the water pump failing (you'll see coolant sprayed on the underside of the hood on the right hand side). I'm not sure if Toyota fixed it for the third gens, but for the second gens, the WP was pretty weak and failed prematurely. On my first Yaris, I think it went out around 60k? I got my second Yaris used with 21k miles on it, and it had a failing WP.

[2bz]

Here is the 100K schedule that I use.

[DarkShadowFox]

not much. ive had to have a few alignments on my vehicle because i drive it like a normal car and not the city car its designed to be, oil and gas and filters and not much else, maybe a battery if it sits, keep it clean and try not to be too hard on the outdated 4speed automatic. its mercedes beefy but its not indestructable.

brake pads. if you have rear drums then dumb shoes.