Service

[laddie007]

hi im lookin to have my celica gt gen 7 (56)plate serviced for winter iam from the northwest area .can somebody advise off main dealer costs ,or independent recommendations,also i cant check the antifreeze levels because cant access the rad reservour because its covered with a side front panel,

[Scarlett Arrow]

Toyota will charge around £100 for an Interim service, which is basically an oil/filter change, and a visual safety check.

A Full service will be over £300, depending on which parts are due for replacement. The plugs for example are the Iridium type on the VVTi-L, and relatively expensive.

Personally, I'd recommend an independent as they will be much cheaper and will still stamp your service book. I know of a top guy who will do a professional job on your Gen 7 at a very good price (he's done all the work on my VVTi since the warranty expired), but you would need to travel to the Notts/Derbys border, close to J27 M1. He has his own workshop and nearly 40 years experience, let me know if you would like his contact details.

HTH :)

[laddie007]

thanks for the quick reply ,prabably a bit far out for me ,......shame.

[Scarlett Arrow]

I thought it might be too far for you. I know of members of Chavved Celicas UK who have driven from Manchester to him, but you may be even further north than that.

Good luck in finding a reputable independent :)

[Deelee888]

Hi...a good idea to check whether your anti-freeze needs changing is to get a coolant checker at Halfords for £1.99....this reads your coolant protection capabilities, I've recently done a service on my celica vvti 140 myself. I changed all plugs, engine oil, filter and air and cabin pollen filter. Runs very sweet now! I decided to do it myself because it was burning oil badly and eventually the check engine light came on! Toyota wanted to charge me £110 for diagnostics alone so I thought il have a go at fixing it....I bought a obd reader from eBay for £30 and diagnosed the problem as cylinder one misfire ( code P0301) my local reputable garage said it was probaly my coil pack and plugs, he quoted me £400 for a coil pack and a full service plus extra costs for parts like plugs, so I thought il give it go myself. I found out the coil pack wasn't at fault and changed the plugs and everything else, my total outlay was £70 including the obd reader! This included Castrol 5w30 magnetec fully synthetic being sold at a discount at Halfords for £17.50 for 4litres...I then plugged in the obd reader and the check engine light came off! Just a reminder to some readers that I didn't know the plugs needed changing as the car had only the occasional rev fluctuation until the check engine light came on....also this has cured my oil burning problem aswell! I don't think I'll be entrusting my celica to any garage from now on for servicing...I've just one issue though my coolant is only fair...so I'm hoping to change that but I've heard that that is trickier as you have to avoid trapped air bubbles by bleeding...not just a straight forward drain and refill...I'm searching the net for details of how to but haven't found any yet...any readers with any experience of how to? Would really like to know because Im sure Toyota would charge probaly a lot to do it....and I'm trying to survive a recession!

[Scarlett Arrow]

I also have a 2004 VVTi, David, but my mechanic tells me the coolant doesn't need changing yet. What I do know is that you need to raise the height of the expansion tank by suspending it from the Bonnet catch when bleeding the system of air. Are you planning on using Red or Pink coolant?, the Pink is supposed to last longer, but according to a Toyota Dealership employee posting on a different Forum, slowly attacks the Water Pump gasket eventually leading to the coolant weeping out.

As an aside, the £17.50 Magnatec isn't a true synthetic, merely a hydro cracked mineral oil, but the 5W30 will of course be fine in the 140.

[Deelee888]

Hi Scarlett...thanks for replying...Im hoping on red coolant...The current one in place is red...and I rather less of a longlife than leaking gaskets!...the Red one maintains for over three years and that is good enough!....but do you know where the bleeder air hole is?....Ive never done a coolant Change before but everything seems straightforward apart from the bleeding!...I just don't wanna mess things up! I've heard that about the Castrol magnetec from someplace aswell but strange how they advertise the magnetec as fully synthetic though....

[Scarlett Arrow]

I've heard that about the castrol magnetec from someplace aswell but strange how they advertise the magnetec as fully synthetic though....

Isn't it!. I'm sure I read somewhere that they were taken to court by another oil retailer (could have been Mobil), but overcame the injunction to label their Magnatec, "Fully Synthetic".

[Mistermena]

I've heard that about the castrol magnetec from someplace aswell but strange how they advertise the magnetec as fully synthetic though....

Isn't it!. I'm sure I read somewhere that they were taken to court by another oil retailer (could have been Mobil), but overcame the injunction to label their Magnatec, "Fully Synthetic".

Yep! A cracked hydro oil like Mobil 1 is! If you really want synth oils you have to look at the likes of Motul 300V (Double ester) and Gulf comp oils. But you'll pay somewhere in the region of £40 for 2L of the Motul gear. They have high TBN (Total Base Numbers) for anti wear, in the region of 12 and Mobil 1 ESP has around the 6 mark...