Recent content by RT Cruiser

Fair point. Got 18 mpg to Lake City with the bumper bike rack. Round trip averaged 19.5. And as @bloc said, and I hope my point landed despite my best efforts to explain it: high altitude = thin air = higher mpg. Simple physics, poorly explained by a guy whose expertise is more in the financial...

Maybe you're driving heroically. Air temp = air density = mpg, and Alaska's atmosphere is basically sabotaging you on purpose. But you're in beautiful, quiet, non-gentrified Alaska. Mad respect. Send campsite photos — which probably means wherever you want to go unlike CO where many former...

Funny how "common sense" needs a permission slip on this forum. Meanwhile you're getting 17-20 with 34s and a lift, I'm getting 20-21 while driving like Mr. Colburn from Driving Miss Daisy. Hey, did you, or do you own a Supra? What year? I had a '92 - not full of zest but very comfy.

I get it — the MPG topic has been discussed more on this forum than whether black holes have gravitational-oscillating envelopes among astrophysicists. At least the astrophysicists eventually publish a paper and move on. My rig is 100% stock. The photo on the left is our family enjoying...

I also escaped the Subaru life—where, despite it being the 'official state car' of Colorado, we were constantly harassed by bro-dozers with mud tires and ego issues. Switching to a 200 Series was a revelation. Suddenly, the road respect is real; the only people who dare tailgate me now are Mini...

I never updated this thread because the sheer embarrassment of my mechanical ineptitude was physically painful. I eventually realized that I was less of a 'home mechanic' and more of a 'threat to public safety,' so I waved the white flag and hired 'my car guy' to save both my marriage and the...

The smell is coming from one of the TENOK sensors. You ask what is this? Great question. This is the Toyota-Engineer-No-One-Knows sensor. The Toyota engineers did something so strange that not even they know what they did. Although these sensors are located on various parts of the 200 series...

Ditto on what Bloc said. If you want just the tees, here is another option: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000COBB52/?tag=ihco-20 These have served me well. I replaced the hose assemblies (with the OEM plastic tees included) a few months ago. I carry the Dorman spares in the cargo area...

It's much easier than what it can first be observed from the video. Your transmission should shift like butter now.

As you discovered, you cannot remove the overflow plug when the engine is off and the transmission oil is cold. When the engine is running, the transmission oil is moved to where it is supposed to go. I'm assuming you know the steps of moving the gear selector properly: It is very important...

OEM calipers. Never an issue since using this brand for the past 80k miles. Maybe it's just me, but the install goes very smoothly except the rear calipers are a bit fidgety to put back on the new rotors. I recommend you put a little anti-seize between the hub and rotors to make them easier to...

I've been using the Powerstop Truck & Tow brakes for the past 5 years on our 2008. Very very good brakes. Phenomenal value.

Take it for a (another) test drive and pay close attention to the transmission. Use the manual shifter, low speed through high speed, and use it to down-shift into 1. Use the auto shifter. It should be very smooth. Lots of people on this forum do a lot of towing in their 200's. So doing so is...

Installed a new cruise control lever. $13 from Amazon. Much better than $150 from Toyota. Changed the engine oil and filter. Changed the transmission fluid (pan only). Put new grease in the zerks. Washed the outside, cleaned the inside. Discount Tire did a rotation. Prepped it today for a drive...

I understand statistics a bit, and very acquainted with bell curves. If you look at the analysis given by the link from @M1911 you will see at the right end of the bell curve that some owners recorded mpg up to 22. Yes, that is not considered the norm, but those results are part of the...