2016 Camry Atara SX 92000 km (Petrol) Mechanical Issues

[jbl]

heya,

 

Just wondering is it worth doing the major service at a Toyota dealership to maintain the extended mechanical warranty. Haven't had any issues so far & after all, its a Camry.

Basically just wondering if there were any mechanical issues to look out for & figure lots of you know a lot more than me re- this.

My trusted local mechanic actually recommended I put the question out there in this forum. Any input would be really appreciated.

[Tony Prodigy]

4 hours ago, jbl said:

My trusted local mechanic actually recommended I put the question out there in this forum.

Hi Joel and welcome to the forum. I'm a little perplexed as to why your trusted local mechanic would have you ask for advice to enable him to do his job. Isn't he aware of rudimentary servicing ? Very strange.

To be honest, and I don't have a Camry as such, but there isn't really all that much that goes wrong with any modern Toyota if it is taken care of and not abused.

If you drive it sensibly and keep it well serviced, it should give you trouble free motoring for decades. Fact.

A good bit of advice we like to offer here, and this is very important, is NOT to follow the stupid book service when it comes to oil changes. The book calls for oil to be done every 15K which is way too long. We advise to do it between 8k-10k max. Use only fully synthetic oil. Your choice. I've been using Nulon 5W-30 since day one of ownership and have had no issues. My engines' internals are still like new with no staining or sludging. This is why you must do regular oil services. Oil is cheap so there isn't much excuse for this. The longer you leave the oil, the worse it gets and you could affect oil pressure, which will chew your rod bearings for breakfast and then your engine will brick itself.

You could follow the log book service for all the other items, such as, coolant, spark plugs, transmission etc, but don't follow the oil service interval guide. It's a trap that many fall into and when your car starts blowing white smoke because it's all sludged up, then it will cost you plenty to bring it back if it already hasn't done the damage.

Hope this helps.

Cheers 

[campbeam]

Main reason for doing a service at a Toyota dealership would be if there were any recent applicable Service Bulletins.

Have a read of your owners manual and service your vehicle as per severe driving conditions. This will involve regular oil and filter changes every 6 months using a quality full synthetic engine oil with an oil viscosity applicable to your engine i.e. https://www.datateck.com.au/Lube/PenriteAus/ 

For long term ownership, also service the transmission with changes of the automatic transmission fluid every 2-3 years.

Toyota uses a long life coolant so check your owners manual for when it is due to be changed.

Check your tyre pressures on a regular basis e.g. monthly. at least. The fuel pump is located internally within the fuel tank and is cooled by the surrounding fuel. One reason why rarely is my fuel gauge below the 1/4 full mark.

[jbl]

thanks guys. My 'trusted mechanic' who is a serious Toyota/Lexus enthusiast suggested that I actually utilise Toyota Dealership's services for the fixed discounted service period (think 1st 3 yrs) just in case anything went wrong. After all, lemons can appear from any 'car manufacturing tree'. He's the type of guy to let go of $ as he's got clients interests in mind. He also looks after several friends/family & has super abrasive opinions about some car brands.

Had the feeling that I should just go with the guy anyway. Just looking for some 'reassurance' as wanting to avoid nasty surprises.

Think I'll just waive that extended Toyota mechanical warranty & just get him to service the car from now on :) 

Edited April 12, 2021 by jbl

[Tony Prodigy]

8 minutes ago, jbl said:

Think I'll just waive that extended Toyota mechanical warranty & just get him to service the car from now on 🙂 

I think this will be the wisest choice as your mechanic will take proper care and tailor his service to suit you compared to the dealership. You just don't know who will be working on your car and what type of work ethic they have. My biggest bug bear is that every time I'd have my company vehicle serviced at a given place, it would always come back with a mark or two here and there and you can see where the morons put the wrenches, spanners on the tops in the engine bay scratching the paint or the plastics, not to mention oil drips and drops not wiped up etc etc. Hopeless they are. One time the idiots forgot to put the air cleaner housing back on and I was driving home with an induction noise so loud It prompted me to pull over to investigate. I thought they put a performance kit in it lol.. [Rant Over]

It really shows lack of workmanship and pride and This is why I don't take my personal car to anyone. I much prefer to do it myself.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Tony Prodigy