Hey Scotty, I love your channel. I bought a 2006 lexus es330 4 years ago with 16,000 miles on it. The car has driven like a dream, i’ve done oil changes every 3-4k miles, changed the transmission fluid at 35k miles, have changed air filters and other minor things. My question to you is, how urgent is changing the timing belt? I’m a college student so I've been putting it off due to cost. The car was in California for it’s first 16,000 miles in a garage, and now has 43,000 as I drive from Long Island to Buffalo for school and took it on a 3 month trip to Florida. Should I prioritize the timing belt at the moment due to age? Also, what are other maintenance suggestions you may have? I sometimes note very minor slipping/difficulty at around 2,000 rpm when the car shifts gears. Lastly, is 93 gas really necessary? It’s been hurting my pockets all year. Any advice/guidance will be a huge help!
Well you don't really need to buy expensive gas but the timing belt I would change because that is an interference engine. If the belt breaks it'll damage the engine. Unfortunately, it's about the only V6 engine Lexus ever made. That's an interference engine. My wife's ES300, for example, is not
Thank you for the advice Scotty!