Mostly everyday I do a 50 mile commute from where I live from my house to my work. Everyday when I go on the freeway my average speed is about 80-90 miles per hour and usually never slower than that. The thing is my RPM stays at about 4,000-5,300 for about 30 minutes straight and the tc really needs a 6th gear. Just wondering if it will blow up on me or kill my engine like real fast? How bad is this gonna be for my engine?

 

you and your motor will be fine

its a toyota remember that

 

Get your oil change done regularly and your engine will out live you.

 

^^ thats good advice. Definitely use a synthetic oil like mobil1.

Your engine is sitting around 5300rpm?? Isn't that like over 100mph in 5th? What are the speed limits over there? Slow down!

I agree with you though, it would be nice to have a 6th gear

 

yeah, where are you traveling?! Averaging 80-90MPH is pretty high. Last time I hit 90 or so, I think the motor was around 4500 but definately north of 5000.
As mentioned, perform oil changes and other maintenance and you'll be fine. Of course the thought of extra wear and tear may be present but the motor should still be A-OK.

 

oh I live in LA... the speed limit is around 55-65 but in cali... nobody follows the speed limit.

as for the oil change my engine only has about 5,000 miles in it and i only did the oil change once from the dealer. I don't really know how to do the oil change myself but I use whatever oil the dealer gave me.

 

I have a small off topic question..I drive an automatic, and I was just curious on whether it's okay for me to shift to neutral while going down a hill. I know it saves gas, but very little, also I enjoy the extra speed I gain. But besides that, I was wondering if this damages anything in any way?

 

*off topic answer*

well in an auto, what you really should be doing is shifting into a lower gear for engine braking. Shifting into neutral on a hill isn't the best thing to do. Not too safe either.

What kind of wear? well, driveline stresses of neutral to drive but since you picked up speed and the transmission was in neutral. the torque converter will have to spin up, which can lead to a jerk of power into the differential as well as the gears. I wouldn't do this on a normal basis, just shift to a lower gear if you need engine braking.

 

Agreed about the 6th gear... tranny swap

 

This is absolutely right It'd be one heck of a hill, more like a mountain for you to need to downshift for braking in a coupe like a tc. Just leave it in drive and don't think about it. Putting it into neutral takes away your ability to accelerate in case you need to in an emergency, you have to come to a complete stop before you can safely put it into drive, and wears your brakes a bit extra when going down that hill. So, no advantages to doing it and all disadvantages to going into neutral. But like sciontc_mich said, downshift if you really need the extra engine braking (like when you're climbing the rockies)

 

Here is how you do it yourself:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...124680&start=0

Definitely do it yourself. It is the 1st thing I ever learned to do on a car and it couldn't be easier...especially on this car. SO simple. Just go out and buy a filter wrench (not a strap filter wrench but the kind that fits onto a socket wrench).
Also, if you have an '05, go buy mobil1 5w-30. If you own an '06 or '07, go buy mobil1 5w-20. You can buy it at walmart for around $6 a quart. And of course a mobil1 m1-103 filter. DO NOT use the dealers oil and filters. It is generic crud. I say this with such authority here B/C of the type of strain that you do put on your engine. Once you have that in, change it every 5K. But all of this is in that thread, just read through it and you'll be good to go.

 

wow thats what I use. Mobil1 oil and filter. if you are buying 5w30 at walmart Id go with the 5qt jug. saves you money and you have extra just in case if you burn some oil. it should around $24 for 5 quarts unstead of spending the same amount on 4 1qt bottles.
IF I were you id do an oil change ever 3k or 4k. 5k to me is a bit long. I personally do 3k since im turbod anyways.

also I like to pour about half a quart of new oil through the engine b4 plugging it back up and refill. make it extra cleaner

 

I don't know what your dealers use, but the one closeby uses toyota (Denso) filters and they are one of the best. I even sawed them open and compared. Also, most aftermarket filters give our engine smaller filters, ones meant for the 1.8L engines.

The M1 filter is a little overpriced as well. It's made by Champion Labs, and often shares the same design and build as Bosch, STP, Supertech.

 

so how many of you swapped in a 6th gear yet?

 

yeah they are overprice
but I'm the type of person that likes to go with 1 brand, oil & filter. why not?
if you are willing then shiet go for it

 

I believe 06 tc uses 5w-30 .

 

Changing your oil at 3k for Mobile 1 is pretty much a waste of money - it is supposed to be good for many more miles than that. Also driving that small a car at those speeds is not a big strain on the engine when it is reving that much - you probably are barely pressing on the gas pedal. If it were an xB it would be different - I hear they start to cook after about 20 minutes at those speeds. Turning 5k at 90 sounds a little bit high however and I would be thinking more about changing the tranny fluid sooner than the engine oil. Check the oil color and watch for it changing color as it breaks down.

 

well like they say, your oil change interval is your preference really. its just for your piece of mind if you want to change it earlier.
I got turbo so I'd like to have a bit of a piece of mind

 

After my brother spun a rod bearing in his car b/c he wasn't using an OEM filter (oil starvation) I would never use another off-brand filter no matter what. The price difference isn't worth the risk IMO. Also, I'll agree with keeping up on the maintence since its being driven in a higher rpm than "normal."
Illusion: You bought an automatic for a reason, leave it in gear. Brake parts are cheaper than transmission jobs. I don't know why people feel the need to enginebrake in this car, unless you are carrying a large load (notelose to max rating) its unnecessary. Save your tranny, use the freaking brakes.

 

No, the tC has been switched to 5w-20 for all 06 and 07 models. There was a tsb put out on this in march of 06. ALL '06 and '07 models take 5w-20, regardless of production date and regardless of what the cap says. It has been switched. There were sludging issues and signs of excessive wear. Take my word for this, but if you don't, call scion corporate or any dealership and ask them for yourself.

06 and 07 model tCs take 5W-20.