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SolaraGuy.com • View topic - How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?
Stock talk about the Generation 2 and 2.5 Toyota Solara which was released in 2004-2007

How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby DriDed » Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:01 pm

I noticed the Gen 1 and 1.5 guys have their thread about how their cars are holding up so I thought that we should have the same.



Question:


How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?


---------------------------
*My gen 2 so far has no rattles, squeaks aside from the rear sway bar, and it still drives as good as the first day that I drove it. The car now has 56,100+ miles, which is low for its age but its gonna go up high pretty quick when I graduate from college.
2004 Toyota Solara SE (2az-fe) automatic
+TRD front strut brace
+TRD rear sway bar
+Injen Short ram intake
+Pioneer DEH 2200 UB headunit
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby Projex0 » Thu Mar 17, 2011 11:11 pm

at 45k it makes a weird belt whistling noise on cold starts but goes away after I've been driving for a bit, its coming from the belts around where the alternator is at
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby DriDed » Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:59 am

Projex0 wrote:at 45k it makes a weird belt whistling noise on cold starts but goes away after I've been driving for a bit, its coming from the belts around where the alternator is at


I get that too sometimes on really cold days but I didn't think that was unusual, but I have been keeping an eye on everything with the Solara. :morning:

-----------------
I forgot to mention that there are several cracks on the dashboard and the door interior panels are messed up.
2004 Toyota Solara SE (2az-fe) automatic
+TRD front strut brace
+TRD rear sway bar
+Injen Short ram intake
+Pioneer DEH 2200 UB headunit
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby Black Bob » Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:49 am

Nice thread Dri :up: At 106,000 miles:

1) Squeaky drivers seat --my fat ass is up to 240 pounds from eating beer and wings all winter, will either go on a diet and/or tighten screws
2) Blown front strut --just noticed yesterday and is driving me nuts!
3) Both back and passenger door speakers are pseudo-blown --handles rock still, can't handle gangsta 808 kickdrums tho

Happily enough that's about it....which I consider frikken awesome for the mileage! :sweet:
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Previous: 2005 Arctic Frost Toyota Solara SE Sport V6
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby NightRider » Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:21 am

Black Bob wrote:Nice thread Dri :up: At 106,000 miles:

1) Squeaky drivers seat --my fat ass is up to 240 pounds from eating beer and wings all winter, will either go on a diet and/or tighten screws
2) Blown front strut --just noticed yesterday and is driving me nuts!
3) Both back and passenger door speakers are pseudo-blown --handles rock still, can't handle gangsta 808 kickdrums tho

Happily enough that's about it....which I consider frikken awesome for the mileage! :sweet:



How did you find out that you had a blown front strut? What made you notice it?
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2004 Black Solara V6SLE COUPE
5% rear window tint 20% front window tint
Injen polished SRI
Alpine Deck w/ complete Rocksford Fosgate speakers & subs
TRD FSB 6000K HID's
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby yaddadaimsayin » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:23 am

110k already on this bad boy. Minimal rattling, some squeaking of the drivers side chair when adjusting it, a squeaking noise when starting it up in the morning, some noise in the sun roof, and just noticed two days ago when installing the 2.5 tails that my right side rear bumper is a little off kilter. whack! But I still love this car just as much as the first day I bought it, if not more.

Could use some fresh paint too.
l CP-e Intake l TRD Lowered/Exhaust/RSB l 20/5 Tints l Custom Grille l Alpine HU l Rocksford Amp l 2 10" JBL Subs l 6000k HID l Smoked 2.5 Tails l Satisfied Driver l
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby Black Bob » Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:05 am

NightRider wrote:How did you find out that you had a blown front strut? What made you notice it?


Clunk, clunk, rattle, rattle, clunk, clunk!

I tried thee ol' "bouncing-my-fat-ass-on-the-quarterpanel" trick but the car refused to bounce. Hell, even driving on the freeway there's no shimmy or noise. I'm guessing the stiffer Sport springs keep it from floating and bouncing like a Cadillac but taking a hard corner (whoa boyyyyy!) the 'Lara isn't as sure-footed. And flooring it over potholes and railroad tracks you definitely hear and feel the lack of suspension, but still no excessive bouncing is experienced.

I inspected my strut mount and upper assembly which seem A-ok, so hopefully it'll just cost me struts. Assembly and mounts aren't terribly expensive hardware it's just I hate making multiple trips to the parts store and each time thinking I got everything. We've all been there!

By the way, need I remind everyone that these are the stock struts! :o ONE-HUNDRED SIX THOUSAND miles is a hellluva life for front struts....especially on Ohio roads. KYB FTW!
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby DriDed » Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:46 pm

The paint on my car is pretty good, there are some chips and a nasty scratch on the bottom of the front bumper as well as some swirl marks on the trunk lid....

My Solara is garage-kept so there is no paint fading at all.
2004 Toyota Solara SE (2az-fe) automatic
+TRD front strut brace
+TRD rear sway bar
+Injen Short ram intake
+Pioneer DEH 2200 UB headunit
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby cincybrad » Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:14 am

I have a weird rattle under the dash up near the driver side tweeter by the windshield. Other than that I have no issues at 60,000 miles. OH the door panels are a little weird the armrest part is messed up on the both sides which I hate.
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby DriDed » Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:00 am

^^I looked up on how much the door interior panels would cost brand new, it was $670+ each. :o
2004 Toyota Solara SE (2az-fe) automatic
+TRD front strut brace
+TRD rear sway bar
+Injen Short ram intake
+Pioneer DEH 2200 UB headunit
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby jimmm » Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:18 pm

At 96,829...........I have no complaints.
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby DriDed » Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:53 am

At 56,300 miles, my Solara still going good but one thing I dont like is that the car sits about as high as a small crossover SUV so I am gonna fix that this summer.
2004 Toyota Solara SE (2az-fe) automatic
+TRD front strut brace
+TRD rear sway bar
+Injen Short ram intake
+Pioneer DEH 2200 UB headunit
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby linmk2 » Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:58 pm

I don't have my 2006 convertible any more. The lease was up in Oct. 2010 and I got a new Acura. However, in the 5 years and 53,000 miles I owned it, it's the only car I have ever owned that did not have to go into the shop ever for repairs. There were two things I noticed toward the end of my ownership. The drivers side armrest looked as it the padding was deteriorating. The vinyl covering was no longer smooth and it felt as if the padding was simply gone. Also, I noticed some of the stitching on the top over the drivers side window was rotting. Beyond that, the car looked the same as the day I bought it. The seats, carpet, etc all looked brand new. In short, it's the best car I've ever owned. I would have gotten another one had Toyota still made them.
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby crispone » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:03 am

Just rounding 123,xxx miles and runs fantastic. A few bump/rattles primarily from the rear suspension with a bit of creaking here and there over rough road, etc... and some belt/pulley noise on start-up after sitting and headlights are getting the slight "tinting" from age and sand/wind blasting, but some Plast-X polish should help that this spring. Burns no oil and sounds KILLER (still my favorite audio chamber at the moment... although the Tundra project will begin soon!)

Overall, the car is really pretty quiet on highway and under most driving conditions...

I expect 200,xxx miles of good service out of this car, and I'm mixing my driving mileage up between a couple vehicles, so that may be a few years yet. All in all, this has been and continues to be a great car... and best of all, IT'S PAID FOR! :D



-crisp :evilbat:
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Re: How is your Gen 2/2.5 holding up?

Postby DriDed » Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:52 pm

I am expecting to get at least 300K miles out of the car if not 400K since I will be keeping it as long as possible.
2004 Toyota Solara SE (2az-fe) automatic
+TRD front strut brace
+TRD rear sway bar
+Injen Short ram intake
+Pioneer DEH 2200 UB headunit
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