Hello,

I have an '08 Scion tC with around 189,000 miles on it. My question is, to keep it running as long as possible, what are the likely maintenance concerns?

Things I've done:
Alternator (at 133,000)
Radiator flush (at 133,000)
Clutch (at 155,000)

as well as regular oil changes every 2000-2400 miles.

Thank you for your time.

 

I just received my '09 tC (190k miles) from my wife as it had excessive oil consumption. I put in a new PCV, new spark plugs, switched to 5w30 Penzoil Ultra Platinum full synth, flushed the coolant and am going from there.

Really the main concern is oil consumption, stay on top of that and you are probably fine.

 

thanks for your reply. I get my oil changed about every 3000 miles, but the oil is usually completely drained by about 1800-2000. The best thing I've found is to keep a few quarts of oil in the car and add as needed. Then usually by 3000, I repeat the process.
Thanks. I'm probably going to check the coolant as well as some small technical things.

 

I also took off the VVT valve cover to help engine cooling. It's just a cosmetic cover with insulation. I don't know if any of this helps yet, coming up to 1k miles since making changes. I'll post what the oil consumption was shortly.

 

At 1000 miles since the above maintenance and oil type / weight switch, oil consumption has gone from ~ 32oz/1000 miles to 12oz. I'm very happy with this. Hopefully this is reproducible going forward.