Fluid change schedules ???

Morning
I have a 2020 4 runner SR5 Premium
I had the oil changed out and tires rotated and balanced at 57+,000 miles for $200 + no deels hear ( I can imagine what a dealer would charge..)
The shop recommended and said this should be done every 30,000 mile ... Change transmission fluid, transferase fluid, rear diff fluid .. not cheep
How many actually do this ..

 

Depends on how you use the rig and if it falls into severe service schedule. I do because easy to do myself and fluids are cheap maintenance. But this is likely to turn into a debate 2 extremes of pro active replace it to you never need to replace them.

All fluids degrade the only question is how quickly depending on environment and usage.

 

Many of us follow this one here and Toyota Maintenance Manual as well.

 

It’s a good metric but also depends on your goals with the vehicle.

For tires, if you have a Discount Tire or warehouse club (Costco, Sam’s, etc. that stocks what tires you want) you could go for them next set you get and get free rotations for the cost of install or something like that.

Transmission is a 60k-100k mile job, but you could never touch it and it’ll probably give you a couple hundred thousand miles if that’s all you want.

Transfer case and front/rear differentials are nice to do around then but you don’t really have to either, differentials are stupid simple. Could put it off to higher mileage easily if you aren’t hitting the trails or hauling.

If you’re DIY-inclined at all, those aren’t hard though.

 

I am overly cautious, (picky, annul, meticulous?), about changing fluids as I really plan on keeping my 2021 for a long time, so for me....
Oil change, grease driveshaft and tire rotation (not tire balance) 3-5,000 miles
Air and cabin filters checked at every oil change and changed as needed, probably once a year
Front and rear diff and transfer case, every 30,000 miles
Brake fluid, power steering fluid, trans fluid and filter, and coolant every 50,000 miles
Plugs, PVC and serpentine belt will be done every 100,000 miles (not there yet)

I do all of these myself so the cost isn't crushing.

I would say the MOST important of these is engine oil changes at 3-5,000 miles. Many people slide by without ever doing the others and can probably make it 150-200,000 miles.

It all depends on how long you want to keep the vehicle.

 

My Tacoma lasted 364,000 miles the frame got it

 

Hell, I’d bet you’ll still go the distance with oil changes closer to Toyota’s 10k mile recommendation - of course depending on conditions.

I know it’s not “proper” and I’m definitely over-maintaining some things but hey, gotta pick where the put your pennies.

 

Looking at your lube fluids is cheap insurance. My tranny fluid (48,000 miles) was a beige color? Which resulted in a deeper exploration and discovery the FlexLock torque converter system controlled inside the tranny valve body was defective and chewing up the TC lock up friction linings. Since under an extended warranty as my basic powertrain warranty had timed out, Toyota replaced TC & Tranny.
Since I know what tired gear lube should look like, I examine what comes out of diffs. and transfer case. Plus I taught my dealer service writer and his shop technician about propeller shaft zerk fittings.
I am unable to wrench myself, but I request & am escorted into shop bays to check under my runner when having big services performed.

 

Hopefully your shop used Toyota approved lubes working on your runner. There are a few GL-4 gear lubes suitable for our transfer case. Toyota ATF is cheap at dealers, so I use it.
But labor is the big cost.

 

Have spoken with maintenance managers at 2 Toyota dealership. Both emphasized that ALL bottom end fluid changes do not need to be done until 80-90k miles. I am therefore having all replaced at 85000 miles

 

Front diff and T-case maybe… rear diff fluid lives a hard life.

 

I second the rear diff. For a street driven truck that does not tow or carry heavy roof loads I would still not go past 60,000 miles.