I have a 2018 Rav4 le with 27000mile that I bought new. Now that it is 6 years old should I do a transmission fluid change ( not a flush)? The tires look good but like I said are 6 years old. I plan on keeping the Rav as long as I can. What else should I be doing?
I have bought two 2018 Rav4s, both made in Japan. The first had 64k on it in February, 2020. The car was mostly freeway driving of about 70-80 miles a day. I went overboard and dropped the pan, replacing the filter and gasket along with about 5.5 quarts of OEM WS fluid (check parts.toyota.com for competitive pricing in your region. for a comparison, use ZIP code 36601 or 92108 and see what Springhill Toyota and Norm Reeves charges for things through the parts website, currently $8.80 a quart).
I sent a sample of the fluid to Blackstone and got a report that it had about 10% life left in it... AT 64k! The car was in a rural Southern California high desert. The previous owner was a woman who didn't do any aggressive driving just an early morning commute.
If you are in a mild climate suburban area, I wouldn't be so concerned about age. High humidity, dust, heavy traffic, driving with underinflated tires and towing are all considered severe and I would say that 6 years is a good time.
Oil changes on low mileage cars, yes, 6-months. short trips leave a lot of moisture and fuel mixed in and screw up the oil.
Coolant should be a consideration. Again, OEM pink SLLC. (currently $18.99 online Toyota OEM). I have Phoenix test strips through Amazon and I check pH and Glycol once every 10k. Keep in mind that those strips do expire and getting old ones will give you funky results. Check on a known new car with one in the batch just to verify.
Because of the low miles, an Italian tuneup with some additives (I like Gumout Multi-System Tuneup AND Hot Shot's Gasoline Extreme) for a 4 hour round trip getting RPM up after the engine is good and hot... Needless to say only put good gas in it: TopTier Shell, Costco, Chevron all have good additive packages. Mobil's additive package was tested to be a rather weak mix a while back.
If you are still on your original wiper blades, buy wiper insert refills!!! A great price; all three on my Prius were under $20 and the OEM lasted 5+ years with a garaged car in Southern California. They were still good but I didn't want to have a failure and groove up my $2,200 windshield.
Vacuum out your seatbelt retractor areas. I use that orange once-a-year silicone car polish for my windows, keep my wipers clean with a wipedown of isopropyl alcohol and I now use 303 Graphene for my paint/water repellent. It lasts over a year easily without the heavy price or labor. A single bottle lasted me a 4Runner, a Rav4 and a Prius.
And the last bits of advise: If you ever need your windshield replaced listen up: Toyota's optical safety system is not guaranteed to work unless it is behind Toyota glass AND calibrated on Toyota software. There is a statement in their Service Bulletins saying this. When supplied to your insurance company, they should comply with getting a Toyota collision center to do the work. I would also encourage a low COMPREHENSIVE deductible. Mine only costs pennies a month more for a $50 deductible. It has paid for itself a million times over because your windshield is over $2,000 to replace. ("No deductible" glass coverage is strictly through Safelite or some other contract service... Don't get screwed.)
