Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[rrocket]

Replaced the steering rack bushings on the LS 430 and did its 5,000km oil and filter change. It's not seeing nearly as many miles as it used to, and will likely be closer to 10k a year moving forward.

Any noticeable difference with the bushings?

[Hannibalsmith]

Replaced the steering rack bushings on the LS 430 and did its 5,000km oil and filter change. It's not seeing nearly as many miles as it used to, and will likely be closer to 10k a year moving forward.

Holy crap man...do you spend 20 hrs / day driving?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

My boss/friend's wife had a 2011 Chevy Equinox that has been giving her problems for the last few years (various electrical gremlins, excessive oil consumption, etc).  They were shopping around for different vehicles, and at one point were considering a Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, and a Rav4.  On my recommendation, they picked up a 2017 Rav4 XLE.  May they have many years of trouble-free motoring. 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Got the oil change done.  He recommended that I replace the cabin air filter, as its apparently pretty filthy, and that I clean up the battery terminals as one of them is starting to corrode.  He offered to do them, but I declined, preferring to do that stuff myself.  I'm just pleased that he actually did an inspection on the truck and picked up on a few minor things.  I think I'm going to keep going to him. 

I did bring up one concern I had with going to an Indy vs going to a dealer, and that was the fact that TSB's issued by Toyota that would normally be quietly performed by the dealer at each service wouldn't get picked up on.  He assured me that his computer system has access to the complete service schedule from Toyota (by VIN), and also sees any TSB's that would need to be performed.  If he sees one come up, he can let me know to take it to the dealer to get addressed while still under warranty. 

[blur911]

^I've never seen a dealer fix anything for free because there is a TSB.   

A TSB does not mean it's covered when out of warranty.   

[Great_Big_Abyss]

^I've never seen a dealer fix anything for free because there is a TSB.   

A TSB does not mean it's covered when out of warranty.

When it's under warranty, they'll fix it for free if it needs doing.  My truck is currently under warranty.  Hence why I said 'he can let me know to take it to the dealer to get addressed while still under warranty'.

That being said, given the length of time the Tundra has been on the market in its current form, I can't anticipate many more TSB's or recalls.  The only recalls I've had came about because of equipment that were new to the Tundra the year I bought it:  The front radar unit for the adaptive cruise, and the LED headlights. 

[EV Dan]

If there is a recall Toyota will send a letter (or maybe an email nowadays), so I don't think you will miss anything except the free cookies LOL. Are you using a Toyota oil filter?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

If there is a recall Toyota will send a letter (or maybe an email nowadays), so I don't think you will miss anything except the free cookies LOL. Are you using a Toyota oil filter?

That's a good question.  It's not a conventional filter in the sense of it, but rather a replaceable filter element.

[blur911]

^I've never seen a dealer fix anything for free because there is a TSB.   

A TSB does not mean it's covered when out of warranty.

When it's under warranty, they'll fix it for free if it needs doing.  My truck is currently under warranty.  Hence why I said 'he can let me know to take it to the dealer to get addressed while still under warranty'.

That being said, given the length of time the Tundra has been on the market in its current form, I can't anticipate many more TSB's or recalls.  The only recalls I've had came about because of equipment that were new to the Tundra the year I bought it:  The front radar unit for the adaptive cruise, and the LED headlights.

Wasn't disagreeing, just clarifying.     
 I had a Ford pickup with a wet warped frozen fusebox causing all kinds of problems.   there was a TSB about how to sell you a $800 fusebox, but not how to fix the leak.

[Golly]

Took the Malibu into the dealer for an oil(dexos full synthetic) and filter, cabin filter and engine air filter change.  They also did a basic inspection, tire pressure, tread depth, all lights, battery cables, fluid levels, wipers etc.  Bill came to $190.28, all taxes in.  A few years ago, I would have done all this myself but I'm getting older and lazy and the dealer is very reasonable.   

[EV Dan]

If there is a recall Toyota will send a letter (or maybe an email nowadays), so I don't think you will miss anything except the free cookies LOL. Are you using a Toyota oil filter?

That's a good question.  It's not a conventional filter in the sense of it, but rather a replaceable filter element.

Same thing in my case. I noticed that the cartridges can vary in quality and even design, so I'm using either a genuine Hyundai, or Mahle who is their OEM supplier. The point is of course while under warranty you don't want the dealer to blame a possible engine failure on a cheap filter cartridge.

IIRC Toyota uses Denso for filters, maybe not exclusively.

[TheHire]

Replaced the steering rack bushings on the LS 430 and did its 5,000km oil and filter change. It's not seeing nearly as many miles as it used to, and will likely be closer to 10k a year moving forward.

Holy crap man...do you spend 20 hrs / day driving?

Sometimes it feels that way. I did 2,700km between Sunday the 23 and Sunday the 30th. 1,500 in the Yukon, 600 in the Lexus, 400 in my A35 AMG press car, and 200 in the 2021 RAV4 Prime on the drive press event. I was pretty beat by the end of it all...

[tortoise]

Got the oil changed in the Golf, $140 after taxes.

They said the brake pads are half worn and recommended new pads and rotors for $650 plus taxes.  I had them serviced in the fall and my mechanic said they are fine.

Mentioned there's a rattle coming from the passenger side, they "couldn't reproduce the sound", I heard it on the way home.

Pretty meh experience overall. The only highlight was they have a kiosk where you can drop off, pay and then pickup. I never interacted with anybody outside of a phone call.

At least they gave it a wash.

[quadzilla]

They said the brake pads are half worn and recommended new pads and rotors for $650 plus taxes.  I had them serviced in the fall and my mechanic said they are fine.

This is the best part. Replace at only half worn.  WTF?  Maybe next time you can pay them only half of what it cost and see how they like it.

[tortoise]

Oddly, there's no mention of it on the work order. 

[Bubba]

The solar maintainer is a good idea. When I used to keep my truck in one of those plastic shelters at my grandmothers place I used this one on the dash - enough light came through the plastic shelter to for the panel to work and keep the battery charged. This one has a built in charge controler, so you never have to worry about overcharging either.

http://www.amazon.ca/Battery-Tender-021-1163-Solar-Maintainer/dp/B004Q83TGO

IIRC your truck is an old F-150,I bet the 12V outlet is always live in that.

And you're right, 3 starts in 3kms will drain more than is put into the battery in most situations. Colder weather slows the charging process, plus you're also probably running stuff that adds more strain - blower motor, wipers, light, defrost, etc

My parents don't use their car very much and have had the battery die a couple times because of it.  They park outside, but under a canopy, similar to the pictured one.  The car does not get direct sunlight.  Would a solar battery maintainer work on their car?

[Firm]

If they mounted/placed it somewhere where it got sunlight (not shade) at least a few hours of the day I think it'd do the job. If the battery starts out charged it doesn't take much input to keep it topped up...but if it's already dead/depleted a solar charger isn't going to do it.

[Bubba]

If they mounted/placed it somewhere where it got sunlight (not shade) at least a few hours of the day I think it'd do the job. If the battery starts out charged it doesn't take much input to keep it topped up...but if it's already dead/depleted a solar charger isn't going to do it.

I'm going to put it on a charger tomorrow.  So, with the car parked in the shade, a solar panel wouldn't be enough to keep the battery topped up?

[Firm]

If they mounted/placed it somewhere where it got sunlight (not shade) at least a few hours of the day I think it'd do the job. If the battery starts out charged it doesn't take much input to keep it topped up...but if it's already dead/depleted a solar charger isn't going to do it.

I'm going to put it on a charger tomorrow.  So, with the car parked in the shade, a solar panel wouldn't be enough to keep the battery topped up?

Tough to say...Most of those canopies get a fair bit of sun depending on the time of day, so it would probably do the trick. Also, I don't know what the car is, but the newer/fancier it is, the larger the 'parked' drain on the battery would be. If it's a fairly simple car, I suspect the solar panel would work fine for them.

[Bubba]

If they mounted/placed it somewhere where it got sunlight (not shade) at least a few hours of the day I think it'd do the job. If the battery starts out charged it doesn't take much input to keep it topped up...but if it's already dead/depleted a solar charger isn't going to do it.

I'm going to put it on a charger tomorrow.  So, with the car parked in the shade, a solar panel wouldn't be enough to keep the battery topped up?

Tough to say...Most of those canopies get a fair bit of sun depending on the time of day, so it would probably do the trick. Also, I don't know what the car is, but the newer/fancier it is, the larger the 'parked' drain on the battery would be. If it's a fairly simple car, I suspect the solar panel would work fine for them.

2013 Toyota Corolla LE