Scotty,
I am an average guy who knows a minimal amount about cars. I own a 2015 Toyota Corolla; base model, nothing fancy. I purchased a Corolla because I knew it would be cheap to own and it would last a long time. Can you give me a list of things I can do to make the car run for as long as possible? I'd like to own it until it isn't worth keeping around anymore. I change that oil twice a year regardless of my usage, though I probably put 8k a year on it, 50/50 highway and city. Always synthetic. But I know their are many more fluid on the car - brake, transmission, etc But I don't know anything more to do other than maintain the oil, get it inspected once a year, and replace the tires and brakes or whatever when the mechanic tells me I should. What do I need to do to ensure I can own the vehicle for 300+ thousand miles?
Chris
P.S. I'm absolutely willing to pay for this advice. I expect nothing for free. I am a big fan of your YouTube channel, and I even watched your videos for advice when I purchased a used motorcycle earlier this year. I have no problems contributing to your further success. I know a lot of people trust you, and I'm assuming a non-trivial amount of your viewers are people like me who just want to know how to treat their cars right and make them last. I will, without hesitation, be willing to compensate you for your expert advice. Thank you for your time, and thank you for your videos.
Baby the vehicle , change the fluids and keep up on all maintenance. Your car manual will give you a good idea how to proceed.
Oil every 3-5k, transmission fluid every 40k, coolant, brake, power steering every 5 years or 100k. Air filter every 5-10k or as needed. Adjust valves every 80-100k. Change fuel filter every 80-100k as well. Keep off the rev limiter and drive it like a Corolla and not a "race" car and it will last many many years.
The manual will tell you everything you need to do to keep up with maintenance.
Usually it is oil changes, tire rotation, fluid exchanges (coolant, power steering, transmission oil, brake fluid), brakes / rotors as necessary, and A/C refresh, spark plugs.
You may need to eventually clean the throttle body, MAF sensor. Don’t go to the dealer for this. They charge up the wazoo.
This is basically what I did with my Prius, and it has gone 300K+ miles. Only oddball things I needed to change out were the water pumps. And recently the rear struts.
