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Performing scheduled maintenance at the Toyota dealer is like giving your car a check-up. It ensures everything runs smoothly and keeps your car in great shape for the long haul. Here's a simple guide to the Toyota maintenance you need to do to keep your vehicle rolling reliably. Stick to the Toyota Maintenance Plan Your Toyota's owner's manual isn't just for troubleshooting. It's your best guide for maintenance, too! It outlines all the key service intervals tailored to your specific model, like when to change your oil, rotate your tires, and check other vital systems. Typically, you'll want to change your oil and rotate your tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles. For deeper services, like checking spark plugs, belts, and fluids, a good rule of thumb is every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. And even if you don't rack up that many miles, an annual check-up is a smart move to catch anything that mileage alone won't. Visit Your Toyota Dealer for Maintenance Change That Oil Oil changes are crucial, with fresh oil keeping your engine parts gliding smoothly, reducing wear, and preventing overheating. Letting it go too long can gunk up your engine, so keep it clean, and your car will thank you. Tire TLC Rotating your tires on schedule helps them wear evenly, making them last longer and perform better. It's usually a quick job, but it makes a big difference in how your car handles and saves you money on premature replacements. Keeping your tires properly inflated will also help boost both safety and fuel efficiency. Make it a habit to check your tire pressure monthly, especially before any big road trips. Check Those Fluids Watch out for problems with other essential fluids, too, like your brake fluid, transmission fluid, and coolant. These play huge roles in safety and performance. Power steering and windshield washer fluids are easy to overlook, but keeping them topped up makes driving easier and safer. Running low or using dirty fluids can lead to big problems down the road. Maintain Your Brakes Regular brake inspections are non-negotiable for safety. Checking pads, discs, and fluids can tell you a lot about how your car will handle in a pinch when you need to stop quickly. Freshen Your Filters Changing out your engine and cabin air filters regularly helps keep air flowing smoothly, making the inside of your car more comfortable. A clogged filter can strain your engine or make your A/C work harder than it needs to. The point of scheduled maintenance is to prevent problems before they start. By following the recommended schedule, you can ensure your vehicle performs its best and holds its value. Visit Pederson Toyota in Fort Collins, CO, for all your maintenance needs.

Healthy tires give you greater surface traction, allowing you to corner and maneuver easily at speed. Tires wear down naturally as time passes, which causes them to become less flexible and cracks can develop. Weather conditions, undiagnosed mechanical issues, and even sunlight can also weaken your tires. As your Toyota dealership, we'd like you to know a few signs that it's time to visit us for new tires. Time for New Tires? Visit Your Toyota Dealership Today Cupped Tires Cupping is a strange tire wear pattern that appears as deep indents at regular intervals around the tire edges. The indents look almost as if the tire has been scooped out by something. This wear damage is caused by faulty wheel alignment or a suspension problem. In either case, sections of the tires hit the ground harder than they should, causing their odd appearance. We'll examine your Toyota and determine the cause of the damage, If the wheel alignment is incorrect, we'll connect your car's wheels to our alignment machine. This computer makes a series of adjustments to each wheel to restore its correct alignment. If the suspension is the problem, we'll test your shocks and struts and repair or replace them depending on the situation. Visible Tread Wear Bars Tread wear bars are raised tire sections that run horizontally through the tread, which is the raised section of a tire that's in contact with the ground. They're invisible on a healthy tire, but they will slowly appear as the tread wears down due to friction with the surface. If you notice these lines, visit our service department and our technicians will examine your tires. If the wear bars are almost level with the tread, your tread has dropped to approximately 2/32" thick, the minimum tread level safe to drive on. We can fix this problem by replacing and balancing any worn tires. Sidewall Damage The sidewall is the section of a tire perpendicular to the ground and faces outwards. The sidewalls can't suffer friction damage, so they're made of a softer rubber that provides added tire flexibility. These tire sections also lack the steel and polymer bands that reinforce the tread. Despite their safer position, a sidewall can still get damaged. The most common form of sidewall damage is a tire bulge. A tire bulge is usually formed when part of the sidewall is pinched against a hard object, like the curb. It can also be due to the breakdown of part of the tire's internal structure. A tire bulge is dangerous, as it stretches the rubber and can cause a blowout. We can't repair a bulge, but we can replace the tire. Don't risk driving on a worn or damaged tire. Visit us today at Pedersen Toyota in Fort Collins, CO.

The Toyota RAV4 has been one of Toyota's most popular SUVs in the last few years, so it makes sense that drivers and critics are excited about the new 2024 Toyota RAV4 Prime. This PHEV enhances the incredible fuel economy of the original RAV4 and stands out as one of Toyota's most eco-friendly models. A First Look at the 2024 Toyota RAV4 Prime: The Peak of Plug-In Hybrid Innovation The baseline Toyota RAV4 Prime is the SE model. This PHEV has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that can generate 117 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque, along with a powerful electric motor that provides 179 horsepower and 199 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels and 53 horsepower with 89 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. The combined output of this PHEV powertrain is 302 horsepower. The gas mileage for this model using the combustion engine is 40 MPG in the city, 36 MPG on the interstate, and 38 MPG combined. When the PHEV motor is fully engaged, the combined EPA-estimated fuel economy for this vehicle is 94 MPGe. Exterior The SE has key exterior features like a power liftgate with jam protection and height adjustment. With this liftgate, you can pick how high the tailgate opens to make it easier to load and unload cargo. This model also has bi-LED projector headlights that easily switch between low and high beams thanks to automatic high beam technology, which adjusts your headlight illumination to fit your current road conditions. Interior This PHEV SUV has a spacious and comfortable cabin. Standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, and soft fabric-trimmed seats with red accent stitching. The air conditioning system has a built-in pollen filter to help control allergies, and rear-seat vents so the backseat passengers can enjoy a comfortable cabin temperature. A 60/40 split-folding and reclining rear seat is also standard, along with a height-adjustable cargo area so you can customize your cargo space to hold more items. Safety The SE has key safety features such as a rear backup camera with dynamic gridlines to make parking a breeze and a vehicle proximity notification system, which emits an audible warning when vehicles or pedestrians approach your vehicle. Features such as pre-collision with pedestrian detection, lane departure alert with steering assist, road sign assist, and lane tracing assist are all standard. The lane departure feature works by identifying visible lane markers and emitting a warning to drivers when the vehicle sways into another lane. The PHEV will automatically engage steering support to prevent unplanned lane departures, which can help prevent an accident. The Toyota RAV4 Prime is an excellent example of stellar PHEV fuel economy and technologically advanced safety standards. Test drive this plug-in hybrid at Pedersen Toyota in Fort Collins, CO.

Every time your Toyota needs to have something replaced, you have a decision to make: aftermarket replacements or OEM parts from a Toyota dealer? While it may be tempting to choose the first, more widely available option, there are several very good reasons why it's better to use Original Equipment Manufacturer parts. 4 Benefits of Getting OEM Parts From Your Toyota Dealer 1. Guaranteed Compatibility Only Original Equipment Manufacturer parts can guarantee full compatibility with your car. They are designed to fit your vehicle perfectly, ensuring the best performance and safety. Aftermarket parts may look convincing, but more often than not, they don't offer full compatibility and cause issues further down the proverbial road. This is very important today, when most cars feature plenty of electronic systems. Nowadays, parts need to be compatible not only mechanically, with other components, but also electronically, with your car's computer and other advanced systems. When choosing OEM replacements, you can be sure that everything will work together perfectly. 2. Highest Quality OEM components, as the name suggests, are designed and manufactured by the same company that made the original parts in your car. They also have to meet the same quality standards and specifications as brand-new parts originally installed in your Toyota. This means that the replacement will be of exactly the same quality as the original part, so you won't see any drops in performance. Your car will be, quite literally, like new. 3. Longevity The original parts in your Toyota are designed to last. Manufacturers want their cars to be as durable and reliable as possible, after all, so it makes sense that they'd use the best materials and technology. The same is true for OEM replacements: as we've already discussed, they're manufactured to the same standards as original parts, using the same materials. All in all, you'll get a lot more mileage from OEM Toyota parts compared to aftermarket parts. 4. Warranty Coverage Aftermarket parts rarely come with a warranty. Meanwhile, all OEM Toyota parts are covered with a 12-month, unlimited-mile warranty to give you complete peace of mind. Even if something goes wrong with the replacement part, the warranty will take care of it. All you need to do to make a claim on your OEM replacement warranty is bring the proof of purchase to your local dealer. Just know that it doesn't apply to so-called "wearable" parts, like brake pads or discs, since these deteriorate with use by design. Ready to order OEM Toyota parts? Contact Pedersen Toyota in Fort Collins, CO today to book your consultation! We have a wide range of Toyota-manufactured parts in stock, ready to be installed into your car.