2003 Solara SE V-6

[Salinger]

Hey all,
Was worried I was the only person(male and late twenties) to love Solara and not be a 35-50 woman. Got a few questions:

1) In the V-6 do I use premium? Been told "yes" by Toyota(manual), "no" from the dealer, and "no" from other Camary/Solara V-6 owners.

2) Best way to keep the dark cloth interior clean besides a vacuum?....dark picks up tons of lint and junk.

3) First oil change??? Is it 1K for the first; or 3K or 5K? I've been told to get rid of the oil at 1K due to filings from the engine manufacturing. Or is there engine conditioner that needs to stay there for the full 3-5k?

Thanks for the help! I look forward to talking up a storm on this thing.

-Sal

[Yanks0114]

Hey all,
Was worried I was the only person(male and late twenties) to love Solara and not be a 35-50 woman. Got a few questions:

1) In the V-6 do I use premium? Been told "yes" by Toyota(manual), "no" from the dealer, and "no" from other Camary/Solara V-6 owners.

2) Best way to keep the dark cloth interior clean besides a vacuum?....dark picks up tons of lint and junk.

3) First oil change??? Is it 1K for the first; or 3K or 5K? I've been told to get rid of the oil at 1K due to filings from the engine manufacturing. Or is there engine conditioner that needs to stay there for the full 3-5k?

Thanks for the help! I look forward to talking up a storm on this thing.

-Sal

Congrats on the new car.

1. If you are stock with no mods then premium is not required. If you add a supercharger then you are required to use premium.

3. The first oil change should be done at 1000 miles, and you should also drive easily for the first 1000 miles. After that stick to the 3k mile interval

[NASTY]

welcome

the manual doesn't say use premium, they say minimum 87, higher for better performance (unless it's changed)

[Yanks0114]

welcome

the manual doesn't say use premium, they say minimum 87, higher for better performance (unless it's changed)

I don't think you'll really get that much better performance from higher octane but i personally reccomend it. It burns cleaner and it just made me feel better about my engine.

[Salinger]

Thanks for the info...Esp. about the octane, I felt that it was ok for Reg. unleaded (only 300 mi on it now). I just did not feel like it burning the wrong gas if it called for 93 (higher performance). I think its one of the few engines thats cool either way. Read a Car and Drive back when about it and they talked about sensors in some cars like M3's and Mustangs craping out O' sensors and stuff like that on 87 Ocatane and vice versa on lower end cars calling for 87 octane. Man o man these computerized fuel systems are picky...hehe. Anyone got a cool site to buy a moonroof deflector? Also a bug deflector for a 2002 Impreza. (girlfriends car)

~Sal

P.S. anyone got a pick of the next gen Solara due for 2004 model year? Don't wanna offend but if looks like the next ge. Camary.....forget it!

[Flipside909]

Thanks for the info...Esp. about the octane, I felt that it was ok for Reg. unleaded (only 300 mi on it now). I just did not feel like it burning the wrong gas if it called for 93 (higher performance). I think its one of the few engines thats cool either way. Read a Car and Drive back when about it and they talked about sensors in some cars like M3's and Mustangs craping out O' sensors and stuff like that on 87 Ocatane and vice versa on lower end cars calling for 87 octane. Man o man these computerized fuel systems are picky...hehe. Anyone got a cool site to buy a moonroof deflector? Also a bug deflector for a 2002 Impreza. (girlfriends car)

~Sal

P.S. anyone got a pick of the next gen Solara due for 2004 model year? Don't wanna offend but if looks like the next ge. Camary.....forget it!

Your knock sensors that are part of your 1MZ-FE V6 adjusts timing according to the octane gas you put in. Toyota's knock sensors are very reliable and using 87 wont harm your car. Comparing a Toyota's quality to a Mustang or a BMW is negligible. That's like comparing the quality of Craftsman tools to cheap tools you can buy at the 99 cent store.

Try toyotaparts4u.com or partznet.com or toyotaworld.com for your wind deflector. BTW, moonroof deflectors only add noise and cause wind resistance.

[happy_aggies]

If it's a 3.0 1MZ-FE, I believe the manual would say to use regular 87.

I am not sure 03 Solara would have VVTI or not.
But '99 ES300 has VVTI and Premium is recommended.

[Jackass-Jeff]

FOR LINT

The lint roller works decently... i find myself doing that... but it still takes forever!
Does the vacuum work?