• Steering wheel off-center - adjusted

• Creaking doors - lubed

• Condensation in chipped front driver's side corner light - replaced 

• Hissing in front speakers - normal (?!)

• Driver's door rubbing against door frame - repainted

Update: During a rescheduled visit to the body shop, they repainted the door and jamb, replaced the left front corner lamp, and replaced some missing fasteners in various locations:

• Front left wheel well - missing fastener

• Front left wheel well - loose fastener

• Rear left door - rubber plug missing

• Front right wheel well - missing fastener

• Installed glass break sensor
• Programmed remote to open all doors with one press

After following the instructions to test the sensitivity of the sensor I went back to dealership and asked them to set it at the highest setting. I have not encountered any false alarms.

• Pennzoil Fuel System Cleaner

I wanted to use Valvoline SynPower Full Synthetic Fuel System Cleaner because I thought it worked really well on the Passat, but none of the stores I checked out had it anymore. 

This Pennzoil stuff is way cheaper, but I also haven't noticed any difference in performance after using it. 

BTW, Real Canadian Superstore sold it  for about $5 less than Canadian Tire or Lordco.

• Flat tire (front left)

The extended warranty I bought usually covers road hazards but I paid for this one because I was on a gravel road.

UPDATE: 2004.06.12
I had been using this repaired tire mostly as a spare but when I did a 2nd rotation last week (at approx 38000 km) I decided to use it again. Soon after I noticed that the tire was gradually loosing air. When I did the soap and water test, I saw that there were numerous leaks coming from all around the tire--the worst being from the puncture repair. It makes me wonder if the repair was done properly .

Repair puncture

Volco Tire

• Oil change
• Adjust (increase) automatic headlamp sensitivity to +20%

I didn't think the lights came on soon enough at dusk so I asked them to increase the sensitivity. The automatic headlights can be set at (-40%) (-20%) (0 -factory setting) (+20%) and (+40%).

Update: The door they had already painted once (or twice?!) is still rubbing. I had originally scheduled to have them readjust and paint it at this time, but this week was just too busy for me. I'll get them to check it another time. Here's a picture of where it's rubbing on the driver's door and the corresponding spot on the door jamb.

Part of the service involves checking tire pressures. I check my tire pressures on a regular basis and always while the tires are cold. I had them all set at the factory recommended 32 psi, but after the service I found that they had removed air and the cold tire pressure was 28 psi. Next time I'll tell them not to bother.

The tech reported that the air filter was quite dirty and the windshield fluid needed refilling.

*The Extended Care Protection extended warranty (ECP) includes 3 complimentary oil change coupons (reg. $29.95 as of Oct 1/03).

Invoice page 1

Invoice page 2

Service Checklist

• Replaced air filter
• Toyota OEM part #17801-07010

Although I had a K&N permanent filter in the Passat, I haven't heard as many positive comments from Sequoia owners. For now I'll just stick with the stock filter. 

It was a lot easier to replace this filter than the one in the Passat. First, undo four clips in each corner of the air box:

Then you can tilt the entire cover up to access the filter:

Here's the bottom of the box:

You can see from the pictures on the right that I had several things embedded in the filter, most noticeably a small pebble!

Update: There is an excellent comparison test between the paper filter and the TRD permanent filter here: Tundra Air Filter Test and another interesting (non-Toyota) test with the K&N Filter here: Air Filtration and Flow Test. It looks like I'll be sticking with the stock filter for awhile.

Invoice

Old vs. New (top)

Old vs. New (bottom)

Bottom

Closeup

• Bosch 19" Micro Edge wiper refills

I'm pretty sure wiper refills are covered under warranty for the first year, but I'd rather just do the change myself. With the weather we have, I usually have to change them twice a year, anyway.

I had to cut the rubber on the old refills to remove them. Changing the Bosch ones will now be a breeze.

Update: Although the Bosch refills worked great on the Passat, they must be a bit stiffer than the stock Toyota ones because the last 2 cm on both ends of the blade don't sit very well against the curve of the windshield on the Sequoia. As a result, the actual cleared area on the glass is about 1 cm less along the top and bottom. It's not really bothersome, but I may replace the whole blade next time.

• Meguiar's 3-Step Deep Crystal System

I had time enough just to do the front end and I'm happy with the results. The 3 steps involve applying 3 different products:

• Step 1: Paint Cleaner
• Step 2: Polish
• Step 3: Carnauba Wax

After everything was done, the light battle scars I got in the summer had disappeared. Now, I need to find time to do the rest of the vehicle.

The pictures of the hood were taken in my garage after the Sequoia had been sitting in the rain the previous day (2 days after application).

• Turn signal lamp repair (rock chip)

I bought some lens repair tape and patched up the hole in the driver's side lamp. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the effort was worth the results that I got. I paid about $1.50 for the tape and it looks like a 25¢ repair job.

First I had to remove the lamp (instructions in the owners manual) but it's in there pretty tight so I wrapped a towel around the back end and used the towel to pull the lamp housing out. (Be ready to catch the lamp before it hits the car when it pops out!)

Then I removed the chip, used a blow dryer to dry up all the condensation and water in the housing, and used some alcohol to clean the surface.

The tape is thick and fairly easy to apply, but since the hole was quiet large with long cracks and because of the curvature of the lamp, I had to overlap areas which made it look even more cheap.

The Results:

Conclusion: I'm definitely going to have to fork over some money for a new lamp. I don't know what looks worse: the water and condensation filling up the lamp or the Dr. Frankenstein-hack-up tape job. (At least with the condensation I could plead ignorance.)

Update: The reason why it looked so bad was that I put too many layers of tape on and I failed to take into account air flow direction. The top layers didn't stick very well and the corners peeled up and collected dirt. Once I took off the extra layers, I was left with the clean first layer and it was hardly noticeable on the housing. So, it doesn't look that bad.

The Damage

The Repair Tape

The Tools