Switching gears, time to focus our efforts on hating on more Toyotas! For context, I transitioned away from Japanese cars to European for a while, and this Corolla and the Boxster are the cars I've owned the longest.
So our Corolla iM is hitting the 150,000KM mark, and by the end of the year, I expect we'll hit 160,000KM. With that in mind, I was thinking of getting ahead of some preventative maintenance before the harsh Ontario winters hit and thought of doing the following:
1. Coolant flush - The car is running the factory coolant since we bought the car brand new in 2017
2. Spark plugs - Probably time to replace (as per owner's manual)
3. Accessory belt - It shows no signs of cracking (that I can see) but it is the original belt
4. Waterpump and thermostat - No signs of leaking. Good idea to replace both?
5. Timing chain - Leave it alone or replace?
6. Engine / transmission mounts - leave them alone or replace?
7. Brake fluid flush - it's running on to 3 years, so probably time to flush.
I was thinking DIY'ing but I don't have the time to tackle this while working and in school. I asked a few Toyota dealers and a few independent garages and most of them just laughed at me and only suggested flushing the brake fluid and coolant, and replacing the spark plugs. Everything else was
(Replace it when it breaks.)
It's weird to hear that, especially when I've become accustomed to European maintenance. You either replace it as a preventative measure, or deal with it when shit goes south. Crazy how these cars are still well built, despite how much we shit on Toyota. I don't know if I'm complaining or of this is a traumatic reaction to European car ownership. Any thoughts/opinions?