Bad and neglectful owner of a 2000 w/ 150k miles

[thompgk]

I am sorry to say that I am not a vehicle person but I am wanting my 4Runner to live forever. People tell me to just junk it but I love my vehicle.

I have had the car for about 6 years and I've never had to do major maintenance on it.

Right now I have a check engine light that is on.

The symptoms are that I have seriously terrible power. I push on the gas and it takes 5 seconds to get to 25 mpg sometimes. I live in a mountainous area and I just get smoked when I try to maintain my speed.

The mechanic told me that my O2 sensor might be bad but I have read that my MAF might need to be cleaned.

Also, I eat lunch in my car listening to the radio sometimes with my car on and the car will just stall and go to battery power.

Does anyone know what I can do or what my problem is? I just want some advice before taking it to the dealership or mechanic and getting reamed because of my lack of knowledge.

Thanks

 

[brian2sun]

First you need to get the codes pulled because it could be anything (Autozone, O'Reilly's, etc.. will do it for free). Some issues will cause the engine to go into "safe" mode where it cuts the % of power. Because it has idling issues, you probably need to clean the IAC valve, throttle body, and MAF. These are heavily covered on here and yotatech so do a search and you shouldn't have any problems finding some "how to" articles.

On a side note, I used to be a service manager/tech and I've heard people say a thousand times, "What do you mean it's gonna cost $1000, I've had this thing for 10 years and I've never had to do a thing to it.". Then I would tell them that if you've had a vehicle for 10 years and never did a thing to it, you should have and that's why your bill is so expensive now! It's called neglect. Not doing any major maintenance means no timing belt, no water pump, probably no tune ups, no tranny, t-case, or diff fluid changes. If all you have done is change the oil, then this is what's to be expected.

Definitely not trying to bust your balls, I hope what I say will push you to maintain your vehicle better in the future because Toyotas will run forever if you take good care of them. Contrary to what those people told you, your 4runner will most likely be saved still, but your going to have to sink a lot of money into maintenance if you want to keep it running forever.

Did you at least do oil changes regularly?

 

[SeattleMike]

Ditto what brian said, maintenance delayed just costs more money. And... take it to a dealer and get an estimate of what needs to be done, then post it up here for advice before you commit to any repairs. The feedback you get will go a long way towards peace of mind.

 

[Chef-j]

Did you at least do oil changes regularly?

He said he never had to do major maintenance on it. I'm pretty sure oil change isn't major maint.

 

[brian2sun]

He said he never had to do major maintenance on it. I'm pretty sure oil change isn't major maint.

Yeah, but regularly was what I was getting at. I've know a few chicks who have gone 40K and even 60K with no change. I actually had a buddy that had over 100K on the same oil in a POS S10 pickup, he just kept adding to it and it would burn it up. I told him NOT to ever change it at that point, it's probably the only thing keeping the engine together! But yeah, I was mainly asking because engine sludge could cause his issues.

 

[thompgk]

Thanks brian

I appreciate the help. I am not a car guy but I take it in regularly for oil changes and to get my tires rotated and balanced.

Every time my car hiccuped I took it into the shop I trust and every time they told me it was fine.

I don't know much about cars but I am a very DIY type of person. I am willing to throw the cash down to keep the car running in tip top shape but I really would like to learn how to do some of the minor things by myself.

 

[Pikeman]

OK, as Brian said have local Chain Auto store pull codes for you for free. If they are not able ot confirm what the code is, post it here in the thread and a lot of us can clear it up for you. Also since no MAJOR service has been done I would plan on Timing Belt soon unless you have proof that it was done prior then you can hold off on that for a little while. Otherwise plugs, wires, clean throttle body, MAF and IAC as mentioned by Brian should be serviced soon. First thing though is pull the code to get a better starting point.