Toyota Rav4 Maintenance on the Cheap

First Things First DIY Options

Let’s say that you bought a used car that upon a quick initial inspection appeared to be a promising buy. Perhaps you even knew the previous owner and your instincts were that the vehicle is probably ok for its age and mileage, but you needed to move fast to avoid losing out on to another buyer with cash in hand because good used cars are high in demand and low in supply right now.

And, now that you have the car home in your driveway and title in hand, you begin to do a more thorough inspection or are thinking about taking it to a mechanic to determine if your instincts were right.

Related article: Common Car Maintenance Mistake Owners Make When Diagnosing Their Car’s Engine Problems

While I would not recommend buying a used car without a more-thorough inspection either by yourself or a mechanic, I can understand how immediacy is a factor today.

That said, today’s article is about a recent demonstration on the Scotty Kilmer YouTube channel where Scotty is helping a car owner who recently bought a 2014 Toyota Rav4 with 116,000 miles on it. Apparently, the car was drivable, but its new owner needed someone to give it a “tune-up” and perform needed maintenance.

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What makes this video useful is that it is a good demonstration that there are some DIY maintenance tasks car owners can do with a newly purchased used car to get a better idea of what kind of shape the car is in and at the same time discover some potential problems before having to take it to a mechanic. I like to call these “first-things-first DIY options” that can help you save money and have some awareness about your vehicle.

In the video you will learn:

• How an inexpensive scan tool can be used to initially find potential problems

• Why you should not panic upon your initial reading of a scan tool

• Basic spark plug inspection that can reveal a lot about an engine

• How that new spark plugs are sometimes already gapped for you

• How that something as simple as replacing an old fuel cap with a new one and changing and your engine’s air filter can make a scan tool problem go away

At just a little over 12-minutes long, this can be a useful learning experience for either the new owner of a used Rav4 or someone looking to buy a Rav4 and could use some helpful quick maintenance and inspection hacks before deciding to buy one.

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Here's Why You Should Remove Your Gas Cap Right Now

And finally…

For additional used car DIY maintenance, you can do, try your hand with these two selected articles: “Toyota Maintenance Mechanic Shows How to Cut Brake Repair Job Costs in Half” and “Car Battery Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement with This Ultimate Guide.”

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Timothy Boyer is Torque News Tesla and EV reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily new and used vehicle news.

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