Introduced for the 1995 model year, the Toyota Avalon was the first full-size sedan sold by Toyota, a step up from the trustworthy Camry and a very good option for Buick and Mercury owners. To this day, the Avalon is the flagship sedan for Toyota, offering owners Lexus-like comfort at a Toyota price.
Build quality is excellent for the Toyota Avalon, but owners still need to perform routine maintenance to ensure that their sedan provides many years of faithful service. Please read on for tips on how to keep your Avalon running strong.
Today's longer maintenance intervals mean that Toyota Avalon drivers do not need to change their oil under normal conditions for as long as 5,000 miles, longer if synthetic motor oil is used. For people who do a lot of door-to-door or city driving, changing the oil and filter every 3,000 miles can benefit engine performance.
Check your owner's manual for tune-up frequency and what parts should be changed and when. Consider replacing your paper air filter with a cotton gauze filter, as the latter does a better job of forcing air into your engine. Forced air helps your Avalon's engine run at optimum levels; a cotton gauze filter can be reused again and again, which means fewer junk filters tossed into overburdened landfills.
At least once annually, check your Toyota Avalon's brake system for wear and tear. Companies such as Midas provide free brake inspections, offering this reminder to customers, "Remember, regular brake inspections should be part of your vehicle's ongoing maintenance, helping to ensure its safety and reliability." Regardless of who inspects your Avalon, you'll want to check for brake pad wear, inspect the calipers, check rotor surfaces, inspect brake lines and more.
You can extend the life of your Toyota Avalon's tires by rotating them once or twice annually, depending on the number of miles driven. In cold weather climates, owners routinely rotate snow tires in during the fall and out during the spring. Even if you use all season tires, these should be inspected once every 6,000 miles to ensure that they are wearing evenly.
Inspect the CV joints at this time too. Indeed Car Talk advises, "The rubber boots degrade over time and can crack or tear open, which will expose the joint itself. Inspecting the boots will let you know right away if you have a problem, so you can replace them before damage is done to the more expensive CV joint."
Other simple maintenance tasks you can handle yourself includes changing a head or tail light, filling or replacing fluids, changing belts, replacing the battery and changing spark plugs. Inspect these items every three to six months, change when needed or as outlined in your service manual. Have a professional check your exhaust and suspension systems annually.
