I looked at the scheduled maintenance book that came with the car, and I've been following the regular suggested 5k oil changes (mobile 1), with new oil filter. I still have the tires that came with the car because I only drive on them for 6 months and swap over to snow tires for the other half of the year. Tires still have life in them, and I just ordered a new cabin air-filter & engine air-filter through TRDSparks (love those guys). Brake pads are at about half wear, and the rotors aren't too bad. New tires & brakes will probably be next year, but other than that are there any other key items I really need to have inspected/changed? I don't want to get bent over by a dealer, and I have limited tools at my disposal to do my own maintenance. All coolants are topped off, bulbs are working, steering is good, suspension seems fine, etc.

The maintenance book keeps stating to "look for wear" on a few items (ball joints, brake lines & hoses, drive shaft boots, fuel lines, etc). Should I really take my car to Toyota and get bent over to the tune of $500+ just to have them check these wear items, or are they items that I would notice that need replacement if they were to wear out? Should I clean the MAF sensor, run a cleaner through the fuel, anything?

Forgot to mention a key point. It's an 09 with 34k miles.

 

Manual transmission? Time for a tranny fluid drain and fill. Brake fluid is usually recommended to be bled at 30k. Other than that youre good. These cars will run forever with just basic maintenance.

As far as wear items, just jack up the car and check for any cracks or leaks. If you dont see anything then youre fine

 

Changing tranny fluid with 34K is a waste of money. Ever hear the line " If it ain't broken, don't fix it?" Just do a visual of the lines, check fluid levels and if all is good then keep on keeping.

 

Yea ive heard of that line before but id rather spend a little money to maintain a wear item rather then spending big money to repair it. To each their own.

 

Your thought process is correct but your execution is not. Preventive maintenance is cheaper than the cost of any major repair but you still need to be level headed about it. For example: We all know changing your oil is the best thing you can do for your car. Most choose to go by the manufacture recommendations and change it every 5000K. Others with turbos and such change it every 3000K. Now if I use you logic why couldn't i replace the oil every 500 miles? The cost of the oil will outweigh the price of a new motor?

Most transmission fluid is good for at least 100K miles so changing it at 35K only for the purpose of maintenance is just throwing money away.

 

Scion manual states to change the engine oil every 5000 miles. It also states to drain and fill manual tranny fluid every 30k miles. Maybe other cars with different fluids can go 100k, but i wouldnt with this one. Tranny fluid is what....$50 every 30k miles. No way do i make up the cost of a transmission in that maintenance.