I had the smell for a month or two with no visible symptoms. It made itself obvious when it finally let go just above the accelerator and got my foot hot and wet. Before then it had apparently been seeping very slowly just enough to dampen the pad under the carpet. No smell ever came from the...
I had a company car in the early 80’s that developed a mildew smell with no obvious cause. Turned out to be a leaking heater core. Took a month or two to figure it out.
An early oil change will have benefit for your mind and no benefit for your engine. I’m in my 60’s and no car I’ve ever owned required an early oil change when new. My last new car required 10,000 mile oil changes and that’s exactly what I did including the first one. At 217,000 miles it was...
I had a 2013 Avalon with the 2GRFE that also spec’d 0W20 every 10,000 miles. That’s exactly what I did from new. That engine never used a drop or had any issue until the car was totaled on 11/1/21 at 217,000 miles. Always used Mobil1 AFE 0W20 because it was readily available and cheap with the...
I have changed oil & filters in Mom's 98, my brother's 01, and my own 00 Camry many times. All have the 5SFE engine and various filter brands were used. All were empty after 10-15 minutes as you described. Must be nature of the beast.