Well thanks to the members who helped me and to Scotty for his knowledge, wisdom and experience, we traded off our money pit 2016 Dodge Journey at Ferman Chevrolet in Brandon Florida yesterday for very well maintained and lower mileage Toyota Highlander. This vehicle is fully loaded and drives like a dream, and compared to the Ford Explorer we were looking at plus the Journey the Carfax was clean with one minor recall. You guys helped us out a lot and even my wife was watching Scotty's videos to help with the process. We got a really great deal on something a little older and nearly 5,000 less miles than our previous. Thanks again to a of you and please pass this to Scotty. BTW we love the Highlander!
Glad to help. Be sure to stay on top of the engine oil (every 5,000 miles) and transmission fluid changes (I’d personally go every 40,000 miles), especially on those newer 8-speed AT (jury still out on their longevity). Don’t buy into the “lifetime” ATF fluid non-sense.
I would not take the vehicle to the dealership. Just find and go to an honest, independent mechanic (who’s worked on Japanese vehicles) and he will tell you what you need and don’t need. You can also inspect some of those items yourself, even change fluids (see Scotty’s videos including Toyota Master Mechanic The Car Care Nut’s YouTube videos - highly recommended) and be ahead of your mechanic. I typically know what needs service and what doesn’t before my mechanic tells me. (I am not mechanically inclined but have taught myself a lot about how cars work so I am always ahead of issues and what not, so you can do it too.)
I appreciate the advice and I will take it to my independent mechanic who works on both domestic and foreign vehicles and does a really really good job. Since this is my 1st Toyota and it has a 3.5 liter V6 with 79000 miles on the Injun what oil would you recommend that I use because I always use synthetic? Also what weight would you recommend that I use since I'm in the hot Florida humidity?
For engine oil, I would use synthetic oil -it’s the best. The brand is not critical as long as the viscosity is the same (as what your owners’s manual recommends - stick to that) and it meets Toyota’s specs. Also, stay with that same engine oil (including brand and viscosity) for the remainder of your ownership.
Also, an excellent resource for Toyota maintenance/service and information about Toyota’s by Toyota Master Mechanic “The Car Care Nut”:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCEKt2bUDBoRUw3wpPpDOUaA
I have a 2006 HL with over 228,000 miles. It still 'rides like a dream'.
