Toyota OEM Spark Plugs

How Toyota Spark Plugs Work

Whether you drive a Toyotaor a Scion vehicle, its engine burns fuel and oxygen to produce power. However, the engine can't do that on its own. It needs spark plugs to start the process. How they work is straightforward. The key turns in the ignition's lock cylinder, an ignition switch triggers, several ignition parts—the battery, starter motor, starter solenoid, and ignition coil—produce and send an electrical charge (a "spark") to the plugs' leads, they capture it, and it's used to combust the engine's complement of air and gas. This releases said power, the engine pistons, crankshaft, and the many other parts that move the vehicle get going, and things stay running thanks to the alternator.

When to Replace Spark Plugs

Without spark plugs, though, neither Toyota nor Scion, car nor truck, SUV nor van could start at all. To make things worse, they can and eventually do fail. Luckily, a few symptoms can warn you. They include:

• Corroded or excessively widened leads
• Electrical conductivity problems
• A misfiring engine
• Engine failure

Breakage, however, is a worst-case scenario, as a broken spark plug can severely damage an engine's cylinders.

Otherwise, they usually last up to 100,000 miles, for millions of ignitions. Those that aren't made of copper and standard-life are extended-life and often made of platinum or iridium. Whichever your vehicle needs will depend on its model. Genuine OEM spark plugs work best either way, though, as Toyota and Scion design them to work with their models specifically, which is something that not every aftermarket brand can necessarily promise. Whichever you end up using, just be sure to replace them all before they reach the mileage limits recommended in your owner's manual or other documentation.