Just purchased a 2005 Sport Edition with 10K miles

[Major SNAFU]

Hi all,

I have questions about how much I can do and no violate the Toyota warranty (the in-service date for my 2005 is in 2006 and I purchased the full bumper to bumper extension of the warranty).

Can I change the oil(s) myself (I want to go to synthetic) and still maintain my warranty? What is the best way to document these things?

Also, I am looking for some service manuals this 4-runner. Which one's are the best for general maintenance?

Thanks,

 

[toto]

Congrats!
Yes, you may change the fluids yourself. Keep records of the date and mileage when you did each service, and keep the receipts for the fluids and any parts (like oil filters) you buy in order to do said service.

As for manuals, the paper ones are very expensive - about $300 for a complete set - unless you can find used ones on eBay. You could also access the factory manuals in electronic format at Toyota's Technical Information System (TIS) Web site, http://techinfo.toyota.com. It's $10 for one day of access, but there you can download the Owners Manual, TSB's, and the Service Manual in PDF format. The manuals are chopped into little pieces of 2-3 pages each, but it's possible to download the whole thing with a few hours of focused work. You'll see CD-ROM's for sale on eBay as well, but they're just homemade discs from the TIS site content. Toyota doesn't sell or even create manuals on CD-ROM.

 

[Major SNAFU]

Thanks!

I had a '05 Tahoe but I just got sick of the 13-14 MPG in the City ( I spend a fair amount of time in city traffic).

I looked at the Highlander, but my research turned up that the 4runner gets nearly the same, and in some cases better MPG than a non-hybrid Highlander.

But the 4Runner holds all of us (4), all of our camping and hiking gear and our 17.5' canoe. So I am happy. I do miss the Tahoe sometimes - but in general I think this was the right move.

My only real complaint is that I have to tilt the steering wheel up everytime I get in/out of the vehicle.

 

[MikeInNH]

Thanks!

IBut the 4Runner holds all of us (4), all of our camping and hiking gear and our 17.5' canoe. So I am happy. I do miss the Tahoe sometimes - but in general I think this was the right move.

I too went from a pickup to a SUV (about 17 years ago). There were times I really missed the pickup...But I bought a utility trailer and have been very happy with the switch. The SUV's were far better for camping. Could easily fit all camping gear in the back. But now I have a pop-up...and my 2005 T4R with the V6 EASILY tows it with all our gear and wife and son in SUV. The T4R is an EXCELLENT vehicle. A few quirks I don't care about..but all vehicles have SOMETHING.

 

[Lee614]

My friend is an engineer in the automotive industry. He drive appx 60k a year w/ over 200k on his car and it doesn't burn a drop of oil and he claim the oil looks clean at oil changes. (not sure how frequent his changes are)
He suggested (and does) 1 quart of synthetic (I use Mobil 1) and the rest conventional (I use Valvoline) He claims I'll get the benefit of synthetic without using all synthetic in the engine. 60k on my truck with oil changes around 4500 miles and the engine runs smooth, w/ quicker turn over. (I am not burning any oil, but at 60k I better not be burning any oil)

my 2 cents