Heading
Close X
Menu
If you are wondering what tyres to buy for your Toyota, please watch the YouTube video below:
You don’t always have the money to take your car for a service at the nearest CFAO Motors Dealership.
Do not fear! Your Toyota is still in safe hands, yours! While you are waiting for the finances to take your Toyota for a proper and top-quality service, you can take care of your Toyota yourself.
In any case, vehicle self-care is very important. Why? We have compiled a list of seven reasons why caring for your Toyota yourself is important.
Caring for your Toyota can be a monthly or even an everyday task. It all depends on the extent you are willing to go to take care of your vehicle and the type of task you want to perform.
Read on as we explore how can care for specific sections and parts of your Toyota.
The interior of your Toyota is where you spend most of your time. Keeping it in top condition will not only be essential for your car but will improve your mental health and overall driver satisfaction incredibly.
The first step to caring for your Toyota’s interior is keeping it clean. A lot of dust, pollen, hair, crumbs and more gather up in your car causing it to be filthy. It is not nice to sit in the middle of such a mess. This is why it is important to keep your car clean.
Contrary to popular belief, cleaning your car is not that hard. It is actually quite easy!
Some products that you can use to clean your car include disinfecting wipes, ammonia-free window cleaner, leather cleaner and carpet cleaner. Reliable alternatives can also be used!
Before you start, gather the following equipment which will help you with the cleaning process:
The below process is simply one example of how you can clean your car's interior.
Besides cleaning, you can also make sure that the interior of your car stays in good condition by regularly checking for any rips in fabric, stains or overall dirt and then acting on it. Keeping air fresheners in the car will come in handy when any unwanted smells enter your vehicle.
Now that the interior of your Toyota is nice and fresh, let’s move on to the exterior.
You want your Toyota to look presentable, don't you?! What looks better than a clean and fresh Toyota? Regular washing and waxing help to keep your vehicle in tip-top condition and if you do it yourself, you save a lot of money!
We have created a process to clean the exterior of your Toyota. Please find it below:
Keep your Toyota out of the sun. The sun can be harmful to your Toyota’s paint job, Try to always keep it in the shade or under cover to protect it from any harmful sun rays.
There are a lot of different ways to clean and take care of your vehicle. The above process is only one of the thousands out there that you can use. You can also personalise the process by adding your own flair and order to it, just remember to take care of your Toyota.
Let’s move on to how you can self-service your Toyota’s engine.
What keeps your Toyota moving? It’s not only your foot on the accelerator pedal. No, it's the engine! Keeping your engine clean and serviced is detrimental to keeping your Toyota purring with the power it's built with.
We have compiled a list of processes you can follow to essentially self-service your Toyota’s engine and inner mechanics.
Have you ever cleaned your engine? A clean engine is a happy engine. To continue to run smoothly it needs to be washed properly and regularly. Learning how to wash your engine yourself can save a lot of money. A professional engine cleaning although reliable is not always necessary.
Follow the steps below to help you clean your engine yourself!
Step 1: Prepare Your Materials - Gather a water hose, a bucket, soap or degreaser, a scrub brush and rags. Make sure your engine has cooled down before you start washing it!
Step 2: Wet The Engine - Use cool water to wet the whole engine.
Step 3: Apply Soap Or Degreaser - Apply soap or degreaser to the wet engine and let it sit for a few minutes to break down the dirt and grime.
Step 4: Scrub The Engine - Use the scrub brush to scrub the entire engine. Focus especially on the areas that are the dirtiest.
Step 5: Rinse The Engine - Rinse the engine with cool water again. Make sure that there is no soap left on the engine before moving on to the next step.
Step 6: Dry the Engine - Use either a microfiber cloth or an old rag to wipe down the engine until it's completely dry.
Let’s move on to changing your own oil.
Instead of driving all the way to the petrol station to check your oil, do it yourself at home!
Follow the below instructions to check your oil yourself!
Next, we will show you how to replace your Toyota’s filters.
Before you can replace your air filter, you must first know what exactly a filter does! An air filter is essentially there to keep dirt and debris from entering your Toyota’s engine. A clogged filter can cause the engine to work harder than it should and in turn can cause loss of power, dirty smoke and even engine failure.
Do not wait for your engine light to come on before replacing your filters! Use the process below to guide you to replace them yourself.
Step 1: Park your Toyota on a level, dry surface. Open your hood and secure it.
Step 2: Locate the air filter housing and open it. It will most likely be secured with clamps that can be undone with your hands, otherwise, have a screwdriver or small ratchet nearby to help remove the housing.
Step 3: Remove the old air filter and any debris that might be on it. Focus on how the previous filter is installed and replicate the same method when installing the new one.
Step 4: Install the new air filter. Match the direction and placement of the old housing. Close the air filter housing and secure it tightly. Done!
You just replaced your Toyota’s air filter by yourself!
Next! Spark Plugs!
A spark plug can be defined as an electrical device used in internal combustion engines to ignite compressed aerosol gasoline by creating an electric spark.
Why is it important to change your spark plugs?
Changing your Toyota’s spark plugs are very important because they are essential to the optimal running of the combustion engine. Without a proper functioning spark plug your Toyota’s fuel mileage can be messed up.
Your Toyota’s fuel economy, start-up performance and carbon emission are also influenced by spark plugs. When you change faulty spark plugs, you will experience the astounding smooth drive that Toyota’s are built for.
By following the steps below you can change your spark plugs efficiently as if it is done in a major service. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, book a service at your nearest CFAO Motors Toyota Dealership today!
Step 1: Acquire the precise spark plugs for the year and model of your Toyota. Stay safe and use top-quality Toyota Genuine Parts to source your spark plugs!
Step 2: Safety first! Park your vehicle on a level, dry surface and make sure that your Toyota’s engine has cooled off. It is a good idea to also disconnect the negative post of your engine battery. Always ensure that you follow the vehicle repair guide or other reliable resources before touching your battery.
Step 3: Find the spark plug. If there are any parts in the way, remove them carefully and remember where and how they were fastened.
Step 4: After you find the spark plug, you will have to remove the spark plug wire first. Its end will be inside a metal terminal. Be careful not to damage the wire and the surrounding engine parts.
There will be an engine part called the ignition boot that connects the ignition coil to the spark plug. This needs to be removed simultaneously with the previously mentioned metal terminal to avoid damage. If damage does occur or if the spark plug wires are 5 to 7 years old, then the spark plug wire must be replaced. Our Toyota experts can replace it for you!
Step 5: Next you have to remove the Coil On Plug (COP). This part is directly connected to the spark plug end and uses a long rubber insulator boot. Start by removing the electrical connector from the ignition coil. Next, remove the hold-down bolt and carefully twist the coil a quarter turn or so back and forth until the bond is broken. Pull is carefully up and out.
Step 6: You are finally at the step where you can change the spark plugs! Use a spark plug socket to remove the spark plugs. Avoid damage to the threads by blowing air down the spark plug well hole. This will prevent any dust particles to linger causing the aforementioned damage.
Next, loosen/turn the spark plug approximately half a turn counter-clockwise and shoot a small shot of penetrant fluid to the base/thread area of the spark plug. Give it a few minutes to soak. Check the repair check if there are any extra removal steps particular to your Toyota model.
Step 7: Now it is time to put in the new spark plugs! Before you can do that, make sure that there is no damage to the new spark plugs. Install the new spark plugs while being careful not to cross-thread and damage the spark plug and cylinder head threads. Tighten them to the proper appropriate amount of torque. Use a torque wrench, which you can buy at your local hardware store.
Step 8: After you have installed the new spark plugs, it’s time to re-install the spark plug wires and ignition coils. Start by applying a small amount of plug wire grease to the plug wire and COP boots. Then re-install them. Make sure to connect the plug wired to the appropriate spark plug for each engine cylinder. Next, Re-install the coil hold-down bolt(s) and Re-attach the electrical connector(s).
Put back all the other engine parts that had to be removed to gain access to the spark plugs. Safely reconnect your engine battery.
Step 9: Start your engine and go on your way with freshly replaced spark plugs!
For more information on this process, you can click here.
If you know Toyota, you know that safety is very important to the brand. With storms, dust and pollen, your windscreen can easily become dirty and non-seethrough. This is extremely dangerous. Windscreen washer fluid was designed to help out when you can’t see the road clearly anymore. Your Toyota’s washer fluid needs to be checked and topped up monthly.
It is quite easy to check your windscreen washer fluid, as it is similar to checking your oil.
Step 1: Locate the fluid. The windscreen washer fluid will usually have a brightly coloured lid with a windscreen symbol on it. It is typically located near the front of the engine compartment, behind one of the headlights.
Step 2: Open the lid and fill the reservoir with the appropriate amount of water.
Quick and easy! Let’s put the engine back together.
What exactly is meant by putting your engine back together? After you have done all of the above checks and changes make sure you put everything you removed back into the engine the right and safe way. It is very important that everything is where it is supposed to be for the engine to work properly.
Along with this step comes the cleaning up part as well. Pack away all your equipment and cleaning supplies in a place where you can easily find them for your next self-service.
What is the most essential part of a vehicle? Most people will answer the engine. It is not entirely wrong. The tyres are the most essential to the moving of your vehicle!
Without tyres, your Toyota will not move forward and take you to your desired destination, even if you have a working engine. Thus, taking good care of your tyres is detrimental to your journey and the well-being of your Toyota.
Please find a list of various ways you can take care of your tyres yourself, without taking your vehicle for a service:
If you do not want to do all of this yourself, you are welcome to book a service at your nearest CFAO Motors Toyota Dealership.
Toyota has always had an exclusive focus on reliability. This means that its vehicles will last for a long time, it all depends on how well you treat your Toyota.
Depending on how dirty it gets, the period can stretch from every two weeks to every 6 months.
Basic maintenance includes checking and changing spark plugs, tyres, all the engine fluids and sometimes even your battery.
You don’t always have the money to send your Toyota for a service. This is where taking care of your Toyota yourself comes into play. This will keep your vehicle’s interior, exterior and engine in good condition until its next service. Taking care of your Toyota will also build a sense of pride and self-satisfaction when you start your Toyota and know that it runs smoothly because of your handiwork.
All vehicles still need their recommended services. Book a service now! We also have parts and service specials for your convenience. You are welcome to contact us below if you have any queries:
Email: autoteam@cfaomotors.co.za