5,000 mile servce

I took my wife's car in for 5,000 mile service and a few extras:

• sample of engine oil - dark brown, opaque
• change and sample transaxle oil - dark red, opaque
• single beep on "R"
• tire rotate and depth - 8/32 all four tires
• 4-wheel alignment

Total cost: $231.09 ... I had extras.

Wheel alignment numbers, now:

	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5	Column 6
0	front or rear	metric	left is	range	right is
1	front	camber	0.1	-1.3 to 0.2	-0.5
2	front	caster	5.4	2.4 to 3.9	5.4
3	front	toe	0.03	-0.10 to 0.10	0.04
4	rear	camber	-1.6	-2.0 to -1.0	-1.5
5	rear	toe	0.14	0.03 to 0.28	0.13

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I do not like the right front camber and will get a camber bolt and fix. Also, I can reduce the rear camber and toe to the minimums with an EZ-SHIM. The time to do these fixes is before the tires begin to show any wear pattern and 5,000 miles is just too brief.

So compared to the Firestone results, there are some differences:

	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
0	Firestone	Toyota	value
1	0.1	-0.1	left front camber
2	-1.4	-1.6	left rear camber
3	-1.4	-1.5	right rear camber
4	0.12	0.14	left rear toe
5	0.23	0.13	right rear toe

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Both sets of measurements are close enough that I feel confident I can bring them down to minimum levels.

I tried to run some speed tests before and after:

	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
0	miles	MPG indicated	speed	segment
1	11.6	51.6	70	west Jordan Lane towards Mooresville	sprinkles
2	12.2	53.5	70	west Jordan Lane towards Morresville	after service
3	7.4	52.3	65	south Athens to I-565	sprinkles
4	8.5	62.1	65	south Athens to I-565	after service

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I can not definitively state that the service improved my performance because the rain sprinkles required intermittent windshield wiper operation. The mileage differences could be a rain effect. However, looking at the transaxle oil, I have my suspicions.

Yet to do:

• engine oil is just over the "F" - I'll drain a cup or two to bring it under "F"
• check the tire pressure - a notorious problem in the past, I'll do it when I next fill-up ... any guesses about what I'll find?

Bob Wilson

 

So I filled up my wife's car on Sunday but forgot to check the tire pressure. This morning it was 55F and the TPI came ... and I remembered. Sure enough, all four tires were at 35 psi, not the 44 psi I'd set them to before. A quick trip to the gas station and all four tires are fully inflated. I'm just pleased the technician didn't hit the TPI reset button.

Bob Wilson

 

I wanted the back-up beep converted to a single beep and I figured it was OK to share a little sugar with service department. Also, I needed a second wheel alignment check to cross check against the Firestone. Now I have everything needed and can proceed with my four-wheel alignment. Target is minimum rear wheel caster and toe and order the bolt to fix the caster in the passenger side, front wheel.

As for future changes, you're right, I'll be doing them myself. But it did give me a chance to say, "Honey, I'm going to get your car oil changed ..." and have a quiet afternoon. <grins>

Bob Wilson

 

Ok, the real reason was to get the 5,000 mile service done before the floor mat 'recall' jams up the service departments. My wife's 2010 actually had missing floor mat, anchor clips.

Bob Wilson

 

I just got my oil analysis back and started two thread in the "2010 Technical" forum: one on engine oil analysis and the other on transmission oil analysis. Feel free to review and comment there on the results. Hopefully some folks will eventually join me in a fleet study of engine and transmission oil wear characteristics.

Bob Wilson