97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
Broke 38k miles today on the old girl
The right front passenger seat in the 2014 4Runner was getting pretty ratty after 11 years and 393.7K miles. On our trip down down from Montana to SoCal, I picked up a seat from a salvager in Salt Lake City. The material and foam were ok, but the black material did suffer fade from being out in the sun. Still much better than the old. We’re going to address the fade with some black fabric paint/dye. I did swap the seat warmer from the old foam to the replacement foam and we kept the old seatback with seat warmer and the bottom Fram from the original seat. I had done the original install of the seat warmers, so this job of redoing seats has become relatively easy for me, but still took a couple hours.
Applied the fabric paint to the faded black portion of the seat and it came out pretty good….
Replaced my battery with a Walmart AGM battery. A little irritated since the 4Runner is barely 5 years old. We bought it brand new on Feb 7, 2021 and currently has just under 30k miles. So, we don't drive it a ton, but we don't not drive it either. Last trip was a 300+ mile trip camping to Mendocino just a few weeks ago.
I tried charging it by taking it on a 50 mile/1 hour drive on the freeway. Did not do a darn thing. After all that, my battery tested at only 17% Charge and 1% Health at 57 CCA.
Got the EverStart Platinum AGM battery with 4 year warranty. $179 + tax/core etc. $207 total. Still have to get my core back.
PSA: The original Panasonic battery requires maintenance. Who knew? I let the water level drop WAY below the LOW level line. Also, it is rated at 530 CCA. The sticker is under the bracket that holds it down.
Brakes and sub box wrapped up!
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Replaced my battery with a Walmart AGM battery. A little irritated since the 4Runner is barely 5 years old. We bought it brand new on Feb 7, 2021 and currently has just under 30k miles. So, we don't drive it a ton, but we don't not drive it either. Last trip was a 300+ mile trip camping to Mendocino just a few weeks ago.
I tried charging it by taking it on a 50 mile/1 hour drive on the freeway. Did not do a darn thing. After all that, my battery tested at only 17% Charge and 1% Health at 57 CCA.
Got the EverStart Platinum AGM battery with 4 year warranty. $179 + tax/core etc. $207 total. Still have to get my core back.
PSA: The original Panasonic battery requires maintenance. Who knew? I let the water level drop WAY below the LOW level line. Also, it is rated at 530 CCA. The sticker is under the bracket that holds it down.
Battery life is not a function of miles. Non-use is worse because it discharges and sulfates. You need to keep it on a trickle charger.
Swapped the TRD wheels for FJ Cruiser 8-hole wheels and dropped the 5100s to the 2nd spring clip from the 3rd. Went from 275/70/17 Wildpeak AT4W to 255/75/17 Cooper Discoverer Road & Trails.
Probably doing the opposite of most on here lol, but I've had the vision for these wheels since before I bought my 5th gen!
25% off Toyota Parts Sale is on now.
Promotion
Interesting.
Earlier this month I bought some oil filters and related using the Costco Auto Program, which cuts members a 15% off coupon at select dealers. You put in your zip code, and if there is a semi-local dealer who is signed up for that zip code, they email you a coupon.
Many local dealers don't have a web portal where you can see parts prices. They have a form, or you can call them. IME those are the ones charging $8+ for a YZZA5 oil filter cartridge, $42 for a cabin air filter, and so on. One dealer local to me has a portal and their online prices are competitive, with, say, Toyota of Olathe, where you can get that same YZZA5 cartridge for $4.50 or thereabouts.
But you can't put the Costco coupon code in to get a discount on their online prices. So I went in there and it was like a bait-and-switch. The prices they charge for a walk-in are lot higher than the online price, so that even with 15% off you come out paying more. For example that same YZZA5 cartridge was around $5.45 even after 15% off.
I don't pretend to understand how much leeway Toyota gives their dealers on parts prices, but with that 25% off deal, those YZZA5 cartridges are almost $6. Respectfully, it is probably cheaper to order from legit online sellers and purchase enough to get free shipping.