Opinions on service items at ~35K miles

[besamel]

I need some help here. I have a 2020 TRD ORP, ~35K miles, so it's about 5 years old. I do an occasional off-roading and no towing. Several posts on this forum show conflicting information regarding some service items, and I've talked to 4 shops (including a dealer) and even they do not agree.

My specific questions are regarding changes of the following fluids:
-power steering
-brakes
-trans. case
-differentials
-transmission

The only one that ~80% of the shops and posts agree is changes for trans. case+differentials. All the others are all over the place but most shops lean towards dealing with that at 50-70K miles.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[thatoneguy]

60k seems to be a really commonly stated transmission fluid change interval. Some go further. No way I'm doing mine before 60k. I might do 75-90k.

Diffs? Maybe 30k if I'm feeling generous. Or just 60k. Transfer case? 60-90k I suppose. Power steering and brakes? 7-10 years or once they look bad, whichever comes first.

You didn't even get into the most contested maintenance item, oil change intervals! A lot of people claim Toyota are fools for recommending 12month/10k miles. I am not one of those people.

 

[honda250xtitan]

oil change, rotate tires, air filter, cabin air filter.

 

[fkheath]

I need some help here. I have a 2020 TRD ORP, ~35K miles, so it's about 5 years old. I do an occasional off-roading and no towing. Several posts on this forum show conflicting information regarding some service items, and I've talked to 4 shops (including a dealer) and even they do not agree.

My specific questions are regarding changes of the following fluids:
-power steering
-brakes
-trans. case
-differentials
-transmission

The only one that ~80% of the shops and posts agree is changes for trans. case+differentials. All the others are all over the place but most shops lean towards dealing with that at 50-70K miles.

Thanks for your opinions.

Go by "the book", i.e. the maintenance manual that came with the car when is was new. It has schedules both for normal driving, and severe service (trailer towing, high speed driving, etc). If you want to be conservative, go by the severe service schedule.

 

[1000MPH]

Ultimately it is up to you to make a schedule taking in all the opinions you get. Heavy weight should probably be given to the Toyota Maintenance schedule and maybe less on internet yahoos.
Mine is often changing but this is my current schedule or expected interval, subject to change with new data, experience, etc.
Some of these services are basic “drain and fill” so that’s why they seem much shorter than the official Toyota interval. Also I only drive about 8k a year now.

 

[besamel]

60k seems to be a really commonly stated transmission fluid change interval. Some go further. No way I'm doing mine before 60k. I might do 75-90k.

Diffs? Maybe 30k if I'm feeling generous. Or just 60k. Transfer case? 60-90k I suppose. Power steering and brakes? 7-10 years or once they look bad, whichever comes first.

You didn't even get into the most contested maintenance item, oil change intervals! A lot of people claim Toyota are fools for recommending 12month/10k miles. I am not one of those people.

Indeed, I tried to stay away from that rabbit hole!

 

[thatoneguy]

Go by "the book", i.e. the maintenance manual that came with the car when is was new. It has schedules both for normal driving, and severe service (trailer towing, high speed driving, etc). If you want to be conservative, go by the severe service schedule.

Mostly sound advice, but the maintenance manual considers the transmission fluid a "lifetime" fluid--something that virtually every member and Toyota mechanic disagrees with. Debating when to actually change that one is very reasonable IMO.

Will a 5th gen make it to 200k on original trans fluid? Most likely. Am I going to do that? No, lol

 

[Bmnorm2]

Mostly sound advice, but the maintenance manual considers the transmission fluid a "lifetime" fluid--something that virtually every member and Toyota mechanic disagrees with. Debating when to actually change that one is very reasonable IMO.

Will a 5th gen make it to 200k on original trans fluid? Most likely. Am I going to do that? No, lol

The manual suggests replacing the automatic transmission fluid at 60k and 120k under the “driving while towing, car top carrier, or heavy loading”.

It is odd they never list the need for change under “normal” conditions.

I think following the “Additional Maintenance Items for Special Operating Conditons” is advisable for anyone planning to keep their 4Runner for the long haul.

To the OP, changing the rear diff fluid is super easy and good peace of mind. I changed at 10k miles and The fluid is disgusting due to the break-in gear metals. I changed again at 40k and it was like new.

 

[John in NC]

Lube your prop shafts.

Edit to expand, mine were about dry when I had them lubed. I was the 3rd poster in this thread and got roasted a bit for paying for something many say is simple. But I didn't have a grease gun/ grease and the vehicle was already in the shop so I said why not. Seems many are not well lubed if at all from the factory.

Lube and Torqe Drive/Prop Shaft Cost

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

All my maintenance is done on time intervals now since I’ve been working from home. If miles were my schedule I’d probably be decades between the maintenance on the higher mileage ones. With that said I had my transmission fluid flushed, brakes fluid flushed and coolant flushed at my local dealership at about 43k miles which was about 7 years on the fluids. I’ve got a 2016TP and that seemed pretty long to me on the original fluids. I do most other maintenance myself - transfer case, differentials, engine oil. Lube drive shaft and yolk regularly. All the other little items needed I’ll do too.