[1911]

hey all,
i have a 1999 camry and yesterday when i was exiting the car after a drive i noticed a faint burning type of odor. upon checking the car i noticed the car brake was up....now i cant for the life of me remember if i put it up or it was left on during the drive...reading online i found out that if you leave the parking brake on and drive your brakes can fail due to overheating of the brake fluid but that didnt happen...so here is the question..the car has 60,000 miles on it
do any of you follow the manufacturer's recs for service? ie 30,60,90 thousand mile intervals? i was wondering if it is worth the cost or "unnecessary" thanks in advance
1911

 

[rmx]

I wouldnt worry too much. Toyotas are built well... but take it to a pep boys or something and have them inspect the brakes and let you know what wear condition they're in. Also, it's probably time for a brake fluid flush.

 

[MetalManCPA]

I'm probably naive and stupid when it comes to cars, but I rationalize that since I've spent $15,000 on a car, it's worth the few hundred bucks for those 30,000 mile interval "tune ups".

 

[chadbang]

Why not? It's worth the piece of mind with a great car like a Camry.

 

[Takashi]

I never owned Camry but am pretty sure it uses "drum in disk" parking brake, so your case wouldn't have any effect on main brake (service brake).

This type of rear brake has both disk brake (as main brake) and drum brake (as parking brake) built into the same disk rotor. That way, main brake pad can have less static friction and more dynamic friction, thus making it more controlable. Parking brake is then only meant for static friction to keep the car standing, almost no stopping power when car is running.

As for maintenance, I think it's about time to have it checked. You'd be happier spending "unnecessary" money than having your brake fail on the road.

 

[mbriant]

I used to own a '93 Camry wagon and drove with the parking brake on (for short distances) more than once. Never seemed to cause much trouble ... just needed an adjustment.

I was bothered by burning smell once for a few days ... turned out a plastic shopping bag on the road had fused onto my muffler and was slowly burning up.

 

[wallijonn]

You did drive with the brakes on.

But you could have driven through snow water, put on your brakes when you got home, and the brakes froze. You gotta start not putting your parking brake on in very cold weather. Use blocks if you have to...

Get your brakes inspected and repaired. It'll probably cost you $100 to $500 (if it got really hot you may have burnt the bearings). Replace the rear axle fluid.

I got 340,000 miles out of my Celica by doing regular maintenance. I finally got rid of it because I didn't think it was worth replacing the clutch one more time.

I change my oil every 3000 miles and my oil filter every 1000 miles. I used to change my oil every 1500 miles. I replace parts before they break (like the alternator at 100,000 miles even though it didn't need it).

You either let everything go - in which case it'll last 100,000 miles... or you do regular maintenance and get over 200,000 on it before the engine needs replacing.

I'm having my 1990 Miata re-painted next week. It has 130,000 on it. I plan to keep it another 10 years. A new engine will cost me $3000. That'll be a lot cheaper than a new car. Maybe my 1,000,000 mile muffler warranty will hold out.

You either invest $500 to $1000 a year into a car or you buy a new car every 5 years. You either pay a little at a time or all at once.

 

[soundboy]

My car is a 2001 Camry LE and I have a little over 63,000 miles on it, so I am in a similar situation as you. I haven't done any work on the brakes yet, but I have had my radiator fluid changed, automatic transmission fluid changed and a tune-up every 30,000 miles. I don't have any problems at all with the car. But I would look into changing the timing belt....I am not sure whether it's done at 60,000 or 90,000 miles on the Camry. My dealer wants $250.00 and that seems reasonable. I also noticed that the struts (shocks) are starting to go, so maybe it's time to "mod" the car.

I am going to drive this car til it dies....probably another 10 years. At least. I can go buy a new car, but the insurance would kill me. And the sales tax on a new car runs at least $2,000, which is a total waste. $2,000 will buy a lot of car maintanence.

 

[uzziah]

60k "check ups" etc. are usually overpriced. but, if you don't know exactly what you need, it's hard to figure out exactly what repairs to do

go to
http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html

and find a good mechanic. and, unless you're really wealthy and your time is insanely valuable, it's worth it to spend time learning about how cars work and doing what maintenance you can do, yourself. you can always get a second opinion on repairs as well. you'll probalby be drifing a car for the rest of your life (hydrogen fuel cell - where are you???), so might as well put some time in.

saving money is an art. i'd much rather work less, save more, eh?

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy My car is a 2001 Camry LE and I have a little over 63,000 miles on it, so I am in a similar situation as you. I haven't done any work on the brakes yet, but I have had my radiator fluid changed, automatic transmission fluid changed and a tune-up every 30,000 miles. I don't have any problems at all with the car. But I would look into changing the timing belt....I am not sure whether it's done at 60,000 or 90,000 miles on the Camry. My dealer wants $250.00 and that seems reasonable. I also noticed that the struts (shocks) are starting to go, so maybe it's time to "mod" the car. I am going to drive this car til it dies....probably another 10 years. At least. I can go buy a new car, but the insurance would kill me. And the sales tax on a new car runs at least $2,000, which is a total waste. $2,000 will buy a lot of car maintanence.

1. **** the dealer. tha's overpriced unless they're changing the waterpump as well, which as far as i know is a honda-only thing

2. you defininetly don't need to replace your timing belt yet. general rule is 100,000mi on cars 1990 and newer. don't sweat it. i had to replace the timing belt on my subaru legacy (now i'm actually questioning whether i "had" to) because my oil pump ruptured and spewed oil all over the place, including soaking and damaging the timing belt. my 1995 legacy wagon is a real cherry: it was my wife' grandmothers, and it has (drumroll) 60k miles on it. oh yah

ps: did i mention that you must now **** the dealer?? ok, just wanted to make sure

here's the rule: IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING FREE SERVICE UNDER WARRANTY YOU MUST **** THE DEALER!

 

[jpr703]

If you take you car in to a dealer (or most other mechanics for that matter) they are going to find something wrong with it so that they can make some money. Unless you're performing routine maintenance on a new car to keep from losing your warranty you're best to follow the oldest rule in the book -- If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[soundboy]

Well, the warranty expired once I hit 60K miles.

Regarding the timing belt, on some cars it's recommended to change it at 60K miles. Some of the Toyotas have a recommendation for change at 90K miles. So I need to make sure which schedule my car goes under.

 

[plus_c]

Yeah, but generally you don't want to let the timing belt go. Many Japanese cars have "interference" timing belt designs, which means that if that breaks, it'll take part of the engine with it. That happened to my dad once - he let his timing belt go, and then when it broke, he ended up having to buy a new car, because getting a new engine was so expensive that it wasn't worth it.

So to recap - the decision is either $250 now to replace the timing belt (and get it done by manufacturer-trained technicians), or pay for a new engine when it goes. Personally, I'd go with the $250 now.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plus_c Yeah, but generally you don't want to let the timing belt go. Many Japanese cars have "interference" timing belt designs, which means that if that breaks, it'll take part of the engine with it. That happened to my dad once - he let his timing belt go, and then when it broke, he ended up having to buy a new car, because getting a new engine was so expensive that it wasn't worth it. So to recap - the decision is either $250 now to replace the timing belt (and get it done by manufacturer-trained technicians), or pay for a new engine when it goes. Personally, I'd go with the $250 now.

That's what I heard....and I don't intend to find out what happens to my engine once the belt goes.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy changing the timing belt....my dealer wants $250.00 and that seems reasonable.

That sounds like a bargain.

When I had mine done I had them change the water pump, all the gears, pulleys, levers, seals, etc. I paid over $800.

When I had my clutch replaced with a street / drag unit I had him check all the seals and had my fluid replaced.

Speaking of shocks - in the cold weather my car would make this weird sound. Turned out that I had a bad shock. I made the mistake of not replacing the springs at the same time. I'll never do that algain. Next time I'll replace the springs at the same time along with all those little rubber grommets which soak up body squeaks.

I couldn't afford a dealer soft top. So instead of paying $1200 I went with a $550 custom job. Two weeks later the rear plastic windshield ripped. Meanwhile the original lasted over 10 years. I made the mistake of not getting a sun-fast top. <groan>. I'll replace my top next year (even though I was scheduled to replace it this year).

I want to replace all my torsion bars / struts / sway bars and all the bushings. maybe I'll just replace all the bushings (front & rear lower wishbone, sway bars) on the lower body...

Which do you guys prefer - tubular or solid sway bars?