Keep '00 XLE or replace?

[khule-1]

...my wife drives a well-loaded '00 XLE, and has loved her first experience with a mini-van. I think the Siena is an excellent product and would definitley get another one.

My situation is this...We just got a $350 quote from two reputable dealers to fix a sensor and I am not feeling that at all? Although this is not an emergency fix, I am wondering what other things I can expect to start going bad. Do I need to be concerned about having 85,000 miles on our van?

If so, what repairs/maintenance needs should I plan on (or be prepared for) in the near/long-term future?

I am considering getting into a newer model, but would like to hold-out and keep this one a while longer (if upcoming repair/maintenance costs aren't going to be too high)? Any comments/advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Peace.

[typesix]

Your van should last minimum 200k miles and allocate several hundred dollars/ year for maintenance and repairs. Think you have timing belt on your engine, see owner's manual for replacement mileage. If water pump is driven off the timing belt, good idea to replace it at the same time. Transmission fluid should be changed about every 30k miles. See owner's manual for other service, use severe driving conditions charts unless all mileage is highway.

[Doug Tatham]

Another thing you should check is whether or not you have engine sludge. Look under the oil fill cap. If you see a buildup, you need to get a serious engine cleaning or you'll loose the whole engine. I'm currently trying to have the engine in my sisters 2000 XLE replaced. The sludge built up and caused one of the cam shafts to snap. It will need a new head just to get it running, but who knows how much stuff is built up inside other places. If you engine gets sludged, Toyota is very good about taking care of you. Just be sure to get it there before you lose the engine. Also, be sure to save your oil change receipts. My sister lost most of hers and I've been struggling for a week now to come up with a sufficient paper trail. Toyota just doesn't consider her log of dates and mileage for all maintenence that she kept in a spiral notebook to be sufficient. Imagine that.

[khule-1]

typesix & Doug,

Thanks for the helpful tips/advice.

..."Engine Sludge" - what does it entail to get this rectified? And how do I know if I need it? I mean what if I don't see any build-up under the cap? Should I still have the dealer check it out just to be on the safe side? What should I expect to pay? Thanks.

[Doug Tatham]

The best way to see if you have a sludge problem is to take off the front valve cover. You'll see a gel like thick oil substance and if you rub it between your fingers it will be gritty. My sisters mechanic mistook it for metal fragments and told her her engine was about to blow. Diagnosis wrong, effect correct. Most mechanics won't recognize it for what it is. If you have a lot, you can have the engine cleaned out but it's expensive. For prevention change oil often (3000 mi)and use synthetic oil. Toyota will repair engines with sludge problems that are in a certain build date range for up to 8 years for the original owner. The cleaning they did on my sisters Sierra at 32000 miles turned out to be a very temporary bandaid. I haven't gotten final word on whether or not they will honor the engine replacement for her van yet. If not, my view of them is likely to sour just a bit. Then again, Toyota is known for making great cars, not promising great service. The later opinion may change as well, providing they replace the engine.

[Doug Tatham]

Just an update. Toyota came through in a big way. They are honoring the additional warranty completely! They will be installing a new engine in my sisters Sienna as soon as it comes in. I was really expecting to have to fight on this one, but they did exactly as they promised in their press release. It is somewhat surprising to have people put what is right above profit in this day and age.