2010 Corolla S Maintenance Schedule Help

[badger05]

My Corolla is approachng 20k miles now and I am looking for some help in setting up a maintanence schedule on items that I can do myself. I plan on keeping this car for a long time. So far I have had the oil changed and tires rotated at 5k, 10k, and 15k miles at the dealer (only because it was free). I plan on sticking with 5k oil changes and tire rotations for the life of this vehicle. I also kind of wanted to lump some items together at the same intervals to make things easier on me. I average driving ~12k miles a year.

These are some of the intervals I was thinking:
Oil/filter change and rotate tires - every 5k
Change air filter ( & cabin filter) - every 20k
Drain / fill transmission fluid - every 20k
Brakes - as needed, flush all brake lines when brake pads are changed.
Replace PCV valve - every 50k
Drain/fill coolant - every 50k
No power steering fluid to change
Spark plugs - ?
Adjust rear drum brakes - ?

Anything else to add to my list? This car doesn't have any grease points, correct? I was thinking cleaning the MAF sensor should be added, but unsure of how often to clean it. Any other thoughts are appreciated!

 

[HerrStig]

One thing you don't need to do with the latest ECM controlled single line fuel systems is change the fuel filter often. How often---- I have Toyota with 300K on the original filter.

 

[LeakySeals]

Add a TB/MAF/fuel system cleaning to the air/cabin filter cycle. Do that all just before an oil change. spark plugs are iridium. if things are right, 100k. I do mine 60-70k, older engine.

 

[Voltmaster]

No need for atf change
Corollas atf ment to never be changed its stated in manual.

Use high quality injector cleaner 3-5k as well.

 

[LeakySeals]

sigh..

 

[Rand]

engine air filters usually go at least 50k miles also. unless you live somewhere with alot of dust and dirt.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Voltmaster
No need for atf change
Corollas atf ment to never be changed its stated in manual.

Use high quality injector cleaner 3-5k as well.


it all depends on what lifetime you want from your transmission

if you want a shorter lifetime dont change it.

manufacturer's lifetime fill could be a shorter interval than you want.

if they dont recommend changing it.. its solely for "low maintence costs" marketing.. nothing to do with having your transmission happy for a long time.

 

[crazyoildude]

that sounds good maybe a little overkill

 

[fusion0389]

Its incredibly easily for manufacturers to claim lifetime fills on transmissions when they are not responsible for premature wear\failures outside of the short warranty period. IMO I would change every 30-40k or extend according to uoa results. My fusion has lifetime fill on the PTU\Transfer Case and the rear differential. There is NO WAY Im leaving that stuff in there for 100k+

 

[mechtech2]

A spray can of real dedicated MAF cleaner is $6-7. It will last for many maintenance cleanings.
So I'd do it every year. Also clean your TB and idle air valve - they can get dirty quick in some cars, esp without a catch can. Regular brake cleaner and a rag is fine here.

And I agree with using a good Techron type in tank cleaner every year or so.

 

[hattaresguy]

Just drive it, no one does that much to those cars and its going to run longer than you want to drive it no matter what you do.

Toyota coolant is at least 5 year, transmission is life time, plugs are at least 100k, etc.

Only thing you should do once a year is the cabin air filter, they are only $8 and on that car get dirty.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
A spray can of real dedicated MAF cleaner is $6-7. It will last for many maintenance cleanings.
So I'd do it every year. Also clean your TB and idle air valve - they can get dirty quick in some cars, esp without a catch can. Regular brake cleaner and a rag is fine here.

And I agree with using a good Techron type in tank cleaner every year or so.


some throttle body's are coated so be careful what you clean it with if you have one of those..

 

[badger05]

good info so far, thanks everyone.

I'm going to stick with my plan to drain/fill the transmission fluid, maybe go with 25k for that and air filter changes. Despite manufacturer claims of lifetime fluid I would rather play it safe and have some fresh fluid in there every so often.

I'll grab a can of MAF cleaner and add that to my list to clean every couple oil changes, along with some techron to add to the fuel a tank or two before every couple oil changes.

 

[badger05]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
that sounds good maybe a little overkill


Yea I know...BITOG has gotten the best of me

 

[badger05]

UPDATE:

Well I just hit 50,000 miles on my Corolla. Below is a summary of what I have done for maintenance to date.

Transmission Fluid - Simple drain and refills done at 25k and again at 50k. Stuck with Toyota WS fluid. Takes just under 3 qts to do a drain and refill.

Coolant - Drained and refilled radiator at 50k. Used Toyota SLLC (pink). Took just under a gallon.

Engine oil - Has been changed every 5k. Been using Toyota filters and currently using PP 0W-20. I'm really tempted to begin stretching this out to 10k intervals...which would be once a year for me.

Engine Air Filter and Cabin Air filter - Changed the engine air with a Toyota replacement at 50k. Was pretty dirty but I don't notice any change in performance. Maybe I'll change this to be replaced every 25k going forward. Cabin air filter also replaced at 15k (dealer freebie) and again at 50k. Used a fram fresh breeze...nothing special to note here.

Spark Plugs - Plan on checking at 75k and changing then or at 100k at the latest.

PCV - Need to look into this...not sure how difficult it is to access.

Brakes - Brake fluid will be changed whenever I need new brake pads in the future.

Tires - Rotated every spring when I take off my winter tires/steel wheels.

Used a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner a few tank of gas before the last oil change at 50k. Didn't notice (and didn't expect) any changes in performance.


I know I'm only at 50k miles but I've had zero problems with this car so far. Hoping to continue this type of maintenance and aim for 200k miles with it.

 

[Nick1994]

Sounds like a great car.

People are quick to bash the Corolla because it's boring, but that's what's great about them, not having to fix a bunch of stupid stuff like on a VW

 

[CELICA_XX]

Originally Posted By: badger05
UPDATE:

Well I just hit 50,000 miles on my Corolla. Below is a summary of what I have done for maintenance to date.


That sounds perfect... maybe try 7500k if you're more comfortable with that. (I personally would prefer 7.5 over 10k)

I would also only fill up with Top-Tier gas, avoid all the small-town cheap stations.

nice car

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Sounds like a great car.

People are quick to bash the Corolla because it's boring, but that's what's great about them, not having to fix a bunch of stupid stuff like on a VW


watching the humble mechanic on youtube who is a VW specialist, i already had a huge bias against VW, now i have a bias that is immeasurable. there is just too many bad engineering design decisions which makes me think that a VW is best leased if you must absolutely have one.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Sounds like a great car.

People are quick to bash the Corolla because it's boring, but that's what's great about them, not having to fix a bunch of stupid stuff like on a VW


watching the humble mechanic on youtube who is a VW specialist, i already had a huge bias against VW, now i have a bias that is immeasurable. there is just too many bad engineering design decisions which makes me think that a VW is best leased if you must absolutely have one.
Yeah tell me about it. My 2004 VW Beetle TDI is currently for sale.

 

[BikeWhisperer]

I had a 2009 Scion xD, same engine 2ZR-FE as the Corolla. I originally did 5k OCI's up until the warranty expired then switch to 10k with a quality synthetic. The engine never used any oil, it ran exactly the same, and the oil and filter looked pretty much the same at 10k vs 5k. I didn't do any UOA's but the car got mostly hwy miles and I felt there was no reason (other than wasting oil and filters) to change at 5k.