Maintenance plan for new-to-me 2005 LE
 

So I just bought a 2005 Camry LE with 74,000 miles. The interior is clean and the cloth seats are in great condition. The exterior is decent with zero door dings but the hood paint is a bit faded. It drives good and I initially think the previous owner(s) took care of things. But maybe I am wrong. I check the cabin alr and engine filters and they are dirty. The cabin filter was nasty, probably never changed in the last 17 years. But it blew cold fresh air so maybe this filter thing is not so important? I received not a single document as to service records other than a little sticker in the upper left windshield that says next oil change due in 1,000 miles. I can do a lot of maintenance myself (thanks YouTube) and want to make a plan of what to do first. I replaced the gas cap because the car check engine light flagged a P0442. Hope that takes care of it. Now I am looking for any help in prioritizing preventative maintenance items first, second, third etc....

Suggest you change the air filter as the air you breathe passes through all that debris. Aftermarket filters are low cost and easy to change.For auto maintenance suggest looking to keep the fluids up to date.

Worn out transmission fluid is the No 1 cause of transmission failure. Changing the fluid before 100K will prolong trans life. This can be as simple as doing a number of transmission pan drain and refills or changing all the fluid using a different method. The trans pan only contains 1/3 of the trans fluid with the rest is in the torque converter. The owners manual should have the fluid type used. If you don't have it Toyota has a website to download it.

If the car has hydraulic power assisted steering look in changing fluid. One can remove the fluid from the hydraulic reservoir with a small hand held fluid transfer pump and replace with new between drives until it is clear again. The reservoir cap should have the type of fluid used.

Toyota brand coolant is supposed last some 10 years. Its pink or red in color. The antifreeze in coolant never wears out but the anti-corrosion chemicals do.

If a 4 cylinder engine CHANGE the oil every say 5K miles and use synthetic. The later model 4 cylinder engines had issues of the oil drain holes in the piston oil ring area plugging up and causing excess oil consumption.

Keep an eye on the coolant level as the later model engines also had issues of failed head bolt threads causing coolant leakage.

The engine has a chain drive for the camshaft but the water pump is driven by the serpentine belt. Inspect the belt and change if never changed as cheap insurance.

If really want to get into one can check the brake fluid for color. Brake fluid absorbs water and turns black. One can do a simple flush of the old fluid replacing with new. Here removing most of the old fluid from the reservoir and replacing with new. Then bleeding the brakes to force the old fluid out and new in. If going this route read search the internet for the procedure. Replacing brake fluid is not a major concern but over time can old fluid can cause issues with the ABS system.

Get some kind of service manual as a reference. The internet has a host of video's and info on doing specific things for the car. If a 4 cylinder the engine model is 2AZFE which was used in a lot of Toyota model vehicles. The transmission model is listed on a sticker on the side of the drivers door. The model would start with a letter such as A or U and have 3 numbers after this.

Thanks for the quick reply