Maintenance

I have a 2011 prerunner approaching 120k miles. When i purchased the truck had 92k miles. I have no idea what maintenance was done up to that point. Truck drives like a champ. Not worried about that at all. Just curious what recommendations anyone has as to what I might should have checked on the truck for repairs and/or maintenance. I want to be able to comfortably put 200k on this truck without batting an eye. I drive about 400 miles a week for work and just want to make sure I’m in good shape with it. Keep I mind I’m used to driving fords that you can’t keep on the road. This is my first Toyota.

 

I would change all fluids including brake fluid and power steering fluid, spark plugs, grease u-joints, inspect ball joints etc. Have you tried looking up the service history to see if some of this has been done?

 

also coolant change, and definitely trans fluid if you have the automatic.

Anytime I buy something used I like to run through every maintenance item that can (reasonably) be done to start with a clean slate. You never know (even with records) what exactly was done and how it was done so it is worth doing.

Bringing all of these maintenance items up to snuff is an investment but well worth the piece of mind to make sure you'll have several hundred thousand more miles ahead of you

not to mention...most of these things can be done by you to save some coin

 

I would also like to add that if you do any of the maintenance yourself keep records. That will help if you ever decide to sell it.

 

What I would do:

Rear Differential oil change (every 30k)
Transmission flush (every 100k)
Spark plug change (every 30k with copper plugs or 100k with irridium)
Coolant flush (every 100k)
Check brake and powesteering fluid and change/flush if they look bad
New cabin and engine air filter (every 20-30k)
New battery if it looks factory

I would have done these things when I bought it at 90k so keep a closer eye on this stuff. Read the manual so you know when things need to be done. Most of these items had a due interval from 90-100k.

PS My Tacoma is my first Toyota. I’m used to driving Fords I couldn’t get off the road they treated me so well.

 

This will help:

https://sites.google.com/site/tacomamaintenance/

The left column has links for most of the how to's on this site.
From the original thread here for validation purposes:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/scheduled-maintenance-2nd-gen-30-000-60-000-90-000-miles.30893/

 

How do i check service records?

 

Thanks everyone for the help

 

https://www.toyota.com/owners/vehicle-specification. I think this is the site. I have never done it myself since I bought my truck new.

Edit. Nevermind that is to look up specs about your vehicle. I believe that if you make an account on the toyota owners site you can look up service records though

 

Yes! All my records from the Dealer - and even My own services (you can enter yourself) are there ....

 

Thanks i found this and was able to look up. Didn’t find a whole lot past 70,000 mile mark. Of course i bought it at 90,000. Tune up and plugs were done at 70k along with rear differential fluid change. Guess I’m in store for a full over haul maintenance visit.

 

Yep, do it ALL! Start fresh and document everything!

 

Just got quotes to do it all. Around $700-$750. Not too bad I guess.

 

Your truck is definitely not in dire need of maintenance
You could easily go another year without doing anything. I am not suggesting that you do that, but don’t be eager to give your hard earned coin to the dealer. I would suggest instead to read up on some of the excellent write ups on here and tackle these things yourself.
By doing this you will learn a lot about your truck, and it is quite rewarding to be able to accomplish these things.
You don’t have to do them all at once, pick one, buy the stuff you need, and knock it out.

Post questions if you have doubts, but all of these things can be done in the driveway.

Just my 2 cents

 

What’s the easiest 2 I could do?

 

Agreed. This is good advice.

 

The rear differential is pretty straight forward. You need the right size socket
The plugs are not too bad, read up on it.

I wouldn’t do the brake fluid or power steering fluid. Mine are still original at 270000 miles no problems

Next thing I would check is front brake pads, those are really easy on the Tacoma. Don’t change your rotors unless you’re sure they are warped.

The radiator coolant is not too bad, there are drain points on the block, and the radiator, takes 2 gallons of coolant, get it from Toyota, don’t flush with water! Just drain and refill. Again, great write ups here describing this in detail.

Last thing I would tackle is the transmission. Lookup gearcruncher’s wisdom on this topic.

Take your time, you will not regret doing these.

 

How does yours drive at 270? Mine drives exact same as it did when i bought it 30k miles ago. Have 120k now. I figured the plugs wouldn’t be too bad. Should i do plug wires too? I’ll probably leave the fluids to the shop. Brake pads I’ve changed on a Honda Accord and a ford ranger before.

 

Mine drives like new, no problems.
There are no plug wires, the coils are connected directly to the plugs, pretty easy to remove to get access to the plugs.

In general, everything on the truck is simple with good robust engineering. That is why they remain so trouble free.

 

I would highly suggest changing both of these. Brake fluid is engineered to absorb water. Water vaporizes under pressure and water vapor is compressible. This causes poor braking performance, as well as corrosion inside the system which leads to failure of parts.

I know less about the power steering system, but have read that not flushing the fluid can lead to failure in this system too.