CPL_Radar

Greetings, noob owner and forum member here.

~In October, I purchased an 08 TC with ~43000 miles on it. I've noticed that it's a hard start in cold weather. In Dec, it required a jump, dealer said battery was bad and replaced it. Fast forward to this week. Needed jump again. I suspect the last battery didn't just go bad. Something killed it. I had requested that the dealer check the alternator, starter, and look for a parasitic draw. A dead battery two months later indicates to me that they did not do these, and simply replaced the battery once that was found to be bad. Is the dealer full of it?

~The motor feels fine, revs correctly, and provides adequate power, however it sounds harsh and unrefined. Is this typical?

~There are clips in the footwells and LED's in the cupholders. Could this be the remains of a TRD lighting install?

~The tires on the car are 225/45-17, Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02. They are garbage in the cold and snow, and I think they are also not the right size. Is the stock 215 or is it really a 225?

~The interior is loud. Very loud. Especially in the cold. Are their some quick fixes for some of these creaks and rattles, or is the volume **** the usual way to go?

~Until the car heats up the driver's window does not open at all. The passenger window will only go all the way up or all the way down. No stopping it. Moisture in the switch? Motors?

~One of the previous owners tinted the windows, it looks like crap, and I can't back all the way down the driveway in the morning or evening. What's the best way to remove tint without damaging the defrost lines?

Basebllstar

Welcome.

Battery was probably just going, it has been 6 years.

The valves can be a bit noisy. That's normal.

Yeap. Remnants of the Toyota footwell and cupholder lights.

Stock is 215/40R17. 225 will work, and those tires are supposed to be all season, but the tread pattern looks odd. Up to you if you want to replace them.

In dash noise cancellation device (Radio) is the way to go. These cars are cheap and made of plastic.

That's odd. No clue there. Sounds electrical tho.

The best way? Take it to a professional.

CPL_Radar

Thank you.

Yeah, I didn't have a problem with that, but the new one has only lasted 2 months before needing jumps on cold starts.

bentheswift

Stock tire size is 215/45/17, not 215/40/17. The Bridgestones are the original tire. They are pretty good tires as far as all-seasons go, but they're not a snow tire. If you want a safe tire for snow driving, get a set of studless snow tires. You can drive on them all year round if you want to, and they are really great in the snow. I alternate between some fairly aggressive Hankook summer tires and some Toyo studless snows.

Most of your problems sound typical. The engine is kind of loud and thrashy, partly due to the extremely short gearing. It's a loud car in general. You can try to address it with dynamat or something if it really bugs you.

Far as the battery goes, the dealer probably didn't diagnose it and just sold you a new battery. Of course most people don't want the dealer to spend time and money diagnosing a dead battery because an hour of diag is almost as expensive as a new battery, so don't fault them too much. Go back to them and tell them you still have the problem. 7 years is a long time for a battery, but the alternator should be fine after 43,000 miles. If the PO messed with any wiring, I would not be surprised if they jankified something causing a parasitic draw.

Good luck!

SATownScion

I have replaced all 3 (optima battery x3 - 2 free warranty replacement, alternator, starter) on my 08 with 83K miles. I have an alarm, a huge sound system with 3 amps and I have pretty much turned my car into a cop car with all the strobes, headlight flashers, leds galore.

I would park my car on Friday after work and not use it again until monday morning, I would have to jump it every time.

When my driving around voltage wouldn't go high than 12.2 volts, I swapped the alternator and have not needed to jump my car. 2 months ago the starter would have a grinding sound after the car would turn over. the solenoid not pulling the gear back. once the new one went in, it starts up a second faster.

they are good cars as long as you dont mind all the noises from so many things. just keep changing the oil and take a look under the car when its on a lift to catch problems before they get too expensive.

mc1114

Definitely noisy cars ad noisy engines

Still a fun car though