Just bought a 2015 Toyota Highlander Limited Platinum with 113,000 miles, but I’m not sure what maintenance was done after 50k miles. Planning to get it ready for winter. Here’s my list—does it look good or would you change anything?
Spark plugs/coils
Transmission fluid
Transfer case fluid
Diffs
Coolant
Steering fluid
Brake fluid
I’m comfortable doing brakes, rotors, and calipers myself, but I’d rather have a mechanic take care of the fluid changes since I don’t know how it was treated by the previous owner. Any advice appreciated!
Do you have any prior maintenance history? You could check where it was last serviced to see what was done. Also, consult your manual’s maintenance chart and avoid doing extras that aren’t listed. If there’s no history, assume the more expensive items, like spark plugs, weren’t done.
Start with basics: oil, air, and cabin filters, engine oil change, transmission fluid, differential oil, brake fluid, and coolant.
@Toni
It’s strange—1st owner was a personal lease up to 44k miles, then it was leased for just 9 days. No other maintenance records up to 113k when I bought it.
Paxton said:
Definitely change the transmission fluid. I traded in my Highlander because the transmission was fried at 130k. Get it done before it’s too late!
@Vaughn
Never flush, just drain and fill. Flushing can push metal shavings where they shouldn’t be, damaging the transmission. They market it as a sealed transmission, but it’s not worth the risk.
Paxton said: @Vaughn
Never flush, just drain and fill. Flushing can push metal shavings where they shouldn’t be, damaging the transmission. They market it as a sealed transmission, but it’s not worth the risk.
Good to know! Just did a drain and fill on my Silverado. Why do they even advertise it like that?
Paxton said:
Definitely change the transmission fluid. I traded in my Highlander because the transmission was fried at 130k. Get it done before it’s too late!
Thanks for the heads-up… this stuff always makes me nervous!