Yaris TLC and Maintenance/Things to Check

[YarisHybrid2016]

Yaris TLC and Maintenance/Things to Check

Hi,

My OH is currently shopping for a new car, and I'm more than aware that I need to give my car a bit of TLC (the last year has been utterly screwed-up and I neglected to even wash my car in that time), and while the weather is good I'm thinking I should spend a few days and get on top of it.

In terms of the mechanical side, it's not far off 70k. Since the last service, it's done around 4000 miles, and checking the oil a couple of weeks ago it doesn't appear to be burning any and it is a nice clear golden color. It's serviced to schedule by my local dealer.

I asked this a few years ago here, but if I'm going to do it now seems the time: has anyone replaced the transaxle oil, and what oil is required? With Toyota extending the warranties I'm rather uncertain whether to do anything, but as I understand it, even "life long" oil degrades, and is better replaced before problems appear.

I had the AC blow quite some dust a couple of months ago when we had the really warm and sunny weather (April/May time). Are the AC evaporators a known problem on these? There is once again a very fine covering of dust on the dash and elsewhere (it's nearly certain this is the source). If I don't change my car in the next 18 months or so, I'll be keeping it until it can run no more, and I'm not afraid to spend a bit to keep it in the best condition it can be. It's no good waiting until everything is broken to do that.

Other than that, there doesn't appear to be any problems and everything looks great. It's still on the original brakes/discs which are still in good condition, and based upon the last service report, will be making 100k+ miles before replacement.

Is there anything else I need to be aware of as the car ages? I've never owned a car long enough (or old enough) to think about future issues. Obviously some things will eventually wear out (e.g. wheel bearings) but I have no idea what the expected life-time of these are.

One thing I'm not great at is how to look after the paint. I wash the car fairly often (or more depending on how dirty it is) and I always remove bird droppings when they appear, but I'm not convinced using car shampoo is enough? I have thought about getting car wax, but will this really help to keep the paint in better condition than not using it? What product(s) would people recommend? The other thing I'd like to stop is all the crap off the roads that splashes up on the lower part of the doors. It seems particularly difficult to remove, and something that can stop it clinging and make it easier to clean would be good.

Does anyone know how to remove the rear spoiler? Some mossy deposits have built up and I can't get them out.

What do people recommend to keep rubber in good condition? I'm mostly concerned with the seal around the roof, the windows, and the doors. They are still in good condition, but I'd like to prevent them perishing/succumbing to age/the sun, as I think the rubber at the bottom of the door windows is certainly heading in that direction, and the rubber around the roof is definitely starting to look "not new", but still good condition. I can't imagine replacing the roof strips would be a cheap or easy task.

Up to now, the car has been excellent, and I hope to have many more years out of it! 😄