How To

What maintenance does my 12-year-old truck need?

John Paul, AAA Northeast's Car Doctor, answers a question from a reader seeking advice on servicing their truck.

The Car Doctor answers a question from a reader seeking advice on servicing their truck. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File

August 5, 2025

4 minutes to read

Q. I am the original owner of a 2013 RAM hemi-powered truck with just over 100,000 thousand miles. What is the recommended or required service that should be done, and what should I expect to pay? The only maintenance that has been done is brakes, tires, and oil changes.

A. There are two ways to look at this: Keep doing what you are doing, have a good repair shop give the truck a thorough once-over yearly, and repair what is found. Or, you can be proactive. If you take the proactive route, here is what I would do. Start with flushing the coolant, replace the transmission fluid, change the spark plugs (16 of them) and ignition wires, normal oil change, replace the brake fluid, check brakes, replace the front and rear differential fluids, check steering and suspension parts (repair as needed). I would consider changing the drive belt and at least give the cooling hoses a good look and replace the thermostat. Regarding price, it can vary widely depending on where you go and the parts markup and labor rate. Itemizing some of these repairs listed you are looking at $1,200 to $1,500 at $165-per-hour labor.

Q. I own a 1994 Toyota Previa with 175,000 miles. About six years ago the engine was rebuilt. All was going well, until recently. Now, it seems I need another replacement engine. The problem is that nothing seems to be available. I absolutely love my Previa. It’s a unique car, beautiful inside and out. I hate the idea of junking it for scrap metal. I was hoping you might have some advice for me. Do you know of anyone or any website I might contact for assistance? The engine I have still runs, but the fluid leaks out quickly and the engine heats up. A month ago, I spent $1,500 at a dealership to have the water pump, hoses, and gaskets replaced. They said they could tear down the engine to see what else it needs, but it might cost upwards of $3,000, and parts might not be available. I hate to junk a beautiful car. What should I do? Just throw it away? It breaks my heart.

A. I always liked those vans, although I’m not a fan of working on them. Most of the repairs require removing the engine with a special Toyota service tool. With a lack of available used or rebuilt engines, the only option may be rebuilding the engine you have. But that will not be cheap. You could spend $10,000 since it is about 30 hours of labor to rebuild the engine, plus parts. I would also join a Previa Facebook group and look for suggestions. I did find used and rebuilt engines online with prices from $2,000 to $8,000. Due to the “mid-engine” design, it will take about two days to install a replacement engine and swap over parts. The 2.4-liter engine is fairly common and used in many Toyota vehicles. It is this odd design and location of the engine that becomes the challenge.

Q. I was reading your advice on car storage. I have two classic cars. In addition to everything you said, I would also recommend inflating the tires a bit higher. For rodent issues, I highly recommend dryer sheets, placed around the coil and distributor. I place dryer sheets in the trunk on floor mats, and also place one on top of each tire. I also plug in a mini electronic high-pitched unit as a cover-all-bases strategy to keep out rodents. To test all of this, I placed mouse bait in several hidden places and never had one disturbed by mice, and I live in the woods.

A. All good suggestions. On newer cars I also remove the plastic engine covers (when in storage) which also seem to be a good home for homeless rodents. It has been reported that rodents do nearly 400 million dollars in damage to cars annually. Recently Earthkind sent me some products that are not poisonous, which are designed to keep mice away. I have not tried them yet, but the reviews look promising.

Q. I host a Cars & Coffee every Wednesday morning. How can I get on your radio program/podcast to promote my event?

A. Simple enough, just send me an email with the details and I will promote it. We can also make arrangements to have you call in and talk about your cars and your event. Readers if you want to be on the Car Doctor radio program, just email me.

Q. My 2021 Cadillac XT-6 has a frequent “shudder” during low-speed acceleration. I have had it with the dealer first for a software update followed by a full flush of the fluid, and neither has solved the issue. The car is still under factory warranty, but they said it could be the torque converter, which is a major job that will require leaving the car for an extended period. Do you have any thoughts? Even though it is under warranty, I am still uneasy about this, and I have become fearful that the problem will persist.

A. The most common issue is the transmission torque converter which will require replacement. Replacing the transmission torque converter is a good-sized job and will take about two full days to get it done, according to the repair manual. The fluid flush and software updates are the first steps in the process. Once the torque converter is replaced, I would expect the transmission to be fully repaired.

John Paul is AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. He has over 40 years of experience in the automotive business and is an ASE-certified master technician. E-mail your Car Doctor question to [email protected]. Listen to the Car Doctor podcast at johnfpaul.podbean.com.