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I'd be very surprised to ever hear of an oil-related failure related to using the correct grade of ST synthetic for any semi-reasonable interval, and I'd have no heartburn about using it, to say the least. The 20k spec is impressive, and I have no reason to believe that it's not a high-quality...

Neat - I do like Apple Pay and have noticed it being offered at more and more locations. Gas pumps are a more recent addition to the Apple Pay universe. Since iPhones won't let someone pay with Apple Pay unless they match the FaceID/fingerprint on older phones, it's likely safer than carrying...

That means a conventional automatic (no CVT) that uses Toyota WS fluid, if you did happen to want to change it, though the spec is that it's lifetime fluid.

Is it the hybrid or the gas engine model? The hybrid has a CVT while the I4 and V6 have a conventional 6-speed automatic. These have "lifetime fluid" although I replaced my '12's WS at a dealer at 60k just for peace of mind. As another data point, our '10 Sienna (also with "lifetime fluid")...

It certainly wouldn't show the additive depletion associated with 1500 miles of use, and might not show anything useful about wear metals either, but that's a harder question. Unless you have any reason to expect a problem, I wouldn't waste the time on a UOA of 500 miles, and I definitely...

At this point, I'd have no heartburn having a pure EV in addition to a gas-powered car (or hybrid/plug-in hybrid), but I'd guess within 10 or so years, the feasibility will be completely there and I'd have no concerns. Charging on road trips presents the largest issue of EVs, to me. Winter range...

Of course! It was fun to write that up, and you absolutely should shoot for something similar in retirement. It's amazing how much you can see in a week on the road, and when you put a bunch of such trips together, you can really feel like you've been to a place. I've at times been paralyzed by...

I hit 48 states (plus DC) this summer, and I thought I'd do a bit of a writeup/stat breakdown for the BITOG crowd. We accomplished the bulk of this in essentially five loops of 3-4k miles each from the Midwest (most of which were 9-10 days each), not counting the states that we'd already been...

I like the design overall (even including the digital dash) but thought the fuel gauge with only 8 "pips" was kinda funny. There's not much precision there! Otherwise, it's a clean design and a nice car; I'd certainly consider one if I were in the market (is it just me or does the Jetta seem to...

I picked them up at Advance for $12 or so, but later saw them at Walmart for $10. If they're not too fogged, you should be able to get two cars' lights cleared up - you get four cleaning wipes (I used one on each light) and two UV sealer wipes (I used one for both lights); this is per the...

I could go either way on this, but I'd way rather have an older OEM or OEM-equivalent radiator than a new one of questionable quality. Your plan to use a Denso one makes sense, though.

I picked up a pack of Armor All headlight restoration wipes on impulse to try and clear up the lights on my Camry. They were relatively foggy (though not too bad for a ten year old car), and I wanted to see if I could clean them up. I'm not opposed to picking up a new set of headlights if needed...

For me, the benefits of the E0 fuel come into play in a few cases... -old engines that aren't designed for ethanol (cars more than a couple decades old - likely not too common) -outdoor power equipment - mowers, snowblowers, boat engines, trimmers, blowers, etc. (that may or may not be designed...

Thanks for the writeup. Our pressure washer has a GCV160 that leaked oil as soon as we got it from Amazon, probably five or six years ago. After we let them know, their response (great customer service, by the way) was to give two choices - they'd either mail us a new one and we'd send the old...

In case you're not aware, the LIM gaskets were fragile, to say the least, on GMs of that era, particularly 3100s/3400s/3800s. I'd closely monitor the coolant level if you don't end up changing them out of caution, as it'd be a shame to blow out an engine for that reason in such a low-mileage...

You probably would never know a difference with any of those you listed (and, likely, neither would the mower), but why not buy a $6 quart of synthetic 10w30 that'll last two oil changes/two plus years, and give you the peace of mind that you'd stayed within the spec? If I remember correctly...

That's right at the price of a 5k btu window a/c unit. If I had $150 to spend with the goal of making a hot house more comfortable, I'd get a small a/c unit and stick it in the living room or somewhere else you spend time that's too warm, and take some of the load off the main a/c. I think you'd...

Interesting how the buttons to turn off parking sensors/lane departure are higher up than all the climate buttons. How often are people really messing with those settings?

I'd guess many people seldom (or never) use that band in their cars (or anywhere else). I pretty much only use AM radio when I'm looking for something to do on a long drive. I'll scan through all the stations and try and find those from farthest away (say, a station from Dallas or Cincinnati on...

Depends on how you drive - I drive pretty normally (faster speeds on the highway and reasonably brisk acceleration, but not accelerating into red lights or that type of thing, and keeping a steady speed/avoiding unnecessary braking), and I can beat the EPA highway and city estimates on most...