With my car at less than 90K, maybe I don’t need new plugs at all for a while?
Thanks for the good poop on the plugs. Wasn’t aware of it.
Let me add, while these plugs are made by NGK and Denso, they are made to a Toyota spec and are not the same as their usual plugs. They are available at most parts stores like AutoZone or O’Rielly’s though. The regular Iridium plugs made by both manufacturers do not have the platinum disk on the anode so they do not last as long. These are specific for Toyota, but other brand vehicles that take the same plugs can also use them. I.e., they fit some Honda’s that I know of.
You are correct. It’s not Rocket Science. And I’m pretty handy as a back-yard mechanic too, Mike, but I’d like to watch you “throw a set of plugs into a Pontiac Grand Prix” in your driveway. In fact, it would make for an entertaining You-Tube video! Or at least I’d like to watch.
If you could do it I’d bet you wouldn’t the next time without paying somebody else to do it. Fred the mechanic has done many of these and he still totally earned every cent he was paid on my car.
CSA 
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@Steve_K1
Where do you go for your normal maintenance items with your car? The dealership? or some other shop? If you have a good working relationship with whomever you are currently working with, I see no harm in sticking with them- even if it may be a bit more expensive.
Having a mechanic that knows you can be about as important as one that knows your car.
I will add: check your owners manual for when spark plugs should be replaced. It is not at all unheard of to expect over 100K Miles out of a set of plugs anymore.
When and where did Toyota/Lexus open an oil refinery?
Tester
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That’s almost always the best plug for your car - except in rare cases when the carmaker has issued a TSB that something else is better, or as good.
In the Toyotas that have Denso on one side and NGK on the other, that’d be pretty good evidence of interchangeability!
You shouldn’t need to replace the spark plugs sooner than indicated in the maintenance schedule.
For spark plug usage, here is the foot note from the 120,000 mile service in the maintenance book;
_Maintenance services of spark plugs are required under the terms of the Emissions Control Warranty. _
For 2GR-FE engines, it is imperative to use the Denso-manufactured spark plug FK20HR11 or equivalent, which enables full engine performance.
Actually, I think radiator and brake flushes are more routine than a spark plug change. I’d let a small shop do a radiator flush as I get to know them, but not a spark plug change on a transverse-mounted V-6. If you keep going to a dealership for this kind of basic maintenance, you’ll never establish a trusting relationship with a small shop.
If you’re looking to save money by establishing a relationship with a small shop, the best way to do that is to start by letting them do your basic maintenance. If you’re happy getting your basic maintenance done at the dealership, keep going to them.
That’s my point. It was a sarcastic remark. People fall for that.
What’s the difference? I treat them both the same way.
The BBB is useless. Their business model sustains them through membership dues. Consumers of automotive services are are not their customers, the shop owners and dealership owners are their customers. The rest of us are merely incidental to the BBB’s business model.
Yep, changing the back spark plugs on a transverse-mounted V-6 is no picnic. It’s not rocket science, but it’s a lot more work than changing them on a longitudinal-mounted V-6 or an I-4.
I know how difficult it is on a Grand Prix. Friend of mine owned one. Good mechanic himself, and it took him almost 4 hours. Thus the reason why I said 99% of all cars…NOT 100% of all cars.
Worse stock car I changed plugs on was the Chevy Monza with the 262 V8. You had to loosen the engine mounts and raise the engine to get to the rear drivers side plug.
Then there was my son’s friends car who bought Chevy S-10 from another friend…who added headers. Well the headers were not designed very well. You had to remove the headers to access the plugs. Royal pain.
Really, it doesn’t matter. The only thing is that a spark plug itself may not wear out in 100,000 miles but I always worry about being able to get them out at that mileage without damage to the heads. So I’d rather change them a little early for $100 than risk it.
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Which is why almost all of the Chevy Monzas–and the mechanically-identical Pontiac Sunbirds, Buick Skyhawks, and Olds Starfires of that era–never had all of their spark plugs replaced. After a few years, these cars ran so badly and emitted such noxious exhaust fumes that most of them were off the road before they even got to 75K miles. When was the last time that anyone saw any of those cars on the road? More than likely, it was more than 20 years ago.
…just one more of GM’s “wonderful” design decisions…
Yea…it is harder. My wifes Lexus - the key was from underneath. Put the car on ramps that raised the vehicle a 8+ inches and then get under with a creeper, and was then able to reach them pretty easily.
I don’t worry about secondary ignition components unless the Check Engine light comes on with a misfire code.
My 97 Accord with 212,000 miles, V6, has the original rotor. cap, wires, and plugs.
Runs smooth as silk. No Check Engine light.
And yes. I’ve loosened the plugs and they’re not seized.
Tester
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My 59 Pontiac was no picnic to change plugs on either. There was one plug under one of the brackets for something (can’t remember) that no way you could get your hand in there to screw a new plug in. I came up with a piece of clear tubing with a stiff wire. Stick the tubing on the plug, then with the wire, guide it into the plug hole and get it started, then pull the tubing off and finish up with the socket. I might still have it in my tool chest. I’ll have to put a note on it for my auction in case there are any buyers with a 59 Pontiac. Farm ingenuity and I’m a city kid.
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As far as dealership or inde shop for a spark plug change, 6 of one, half dozen of the other . They should both be able to do a good job for you. There’s advantages and disadvantages either way. Were I in your position I’d ask friends, relatives, fellow church-goers etc who they use to service their own cars. If I heard the same shop repeated, and when I interviewed that shop’s manager I got a good feeling about their quality of work, and they worked on your make of car, I’d probably choose that shop to do the work. If the only option for inde shops is by choosing one from the phone book listings without any personal recommendations to go by, then I’d use a dealership.
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Wow, that surprises me coming from a professional mechanic, but hey! it works for you. I have to figure that you know what you’re doing.
All the folks I talked to said they didn’t have a problem with plugs that were in the GM 3.8Ls for a long time, as far as coming out okay. My car was running fine on the original plugs at 100k, but when I looked at my iridium plugs that came out, I could see visible signs of wear. I just wanted to change them on my schedule, not the car’s schedule, someplace in the middle of a 1,500 mile two day road trip.
CSA
Why would that be a surprise?
OBDII monitors for misfires.
And if there are no misfires, the secondary ignition system must be working?
Tester