coil pack question

[jondoe888]

My check engine light came on. The codes said ALL the coil packs were bad. I bought some plugs, to try first. Then I got home and looked at the engine. CRAP! It will take more than 30min just to get to them! This does not look like an easy job. At least it only has to be done once or twice. I'm at 110k. (10k below the recommended change - which may be 3 years of sitting in the driveway, for me. Gotta love retirement...)
But all the packs going at once? I don't mind changing them, except for the effort. The parts store kid said get them online. 6 will cost what he charges for 1. <are aftermarket packs OK? Is Denso worth the extra money? A lot extra? Does plugs and packs seem like a good place to start? The car runs OK, with some missing, at idle or at load. It won't get better... The mileage has dropped from 22 to 20. 
I pulled one plug out and it looked fine, with a good burn pattern. 
Traction control also stopped working. The same time? A coincidence? It seems there a brake sensor out. But first - the engine. I've had this car 11 years, and it's always behaved. I did change one coil 5 years ago. And the recall of the badly designed oil filter hose... Don't like to work on cars? Get a Toyota!

[zieke]

My coils started going bad at 75k. I bot the new ones online and had the Toyota dealer install the rear ones (not real easy) and plugs so the problem wouldn't recur.  My opinion is that the Japanese made ones should be ok. Not Chinese!

[jetfixer01]

I seriously doubt all coils went bad at the same time. Get the car hooked up to Techstream to see what's really going on. I would not use Chinese coil packs.

[RX400h]

$52.79 at rockauto.com
If coilpacks/sparkplugs are easily accessible, changing them is very easy. I helped a coworker change his Avalon plugs and coil packs and the rears were a bit more time-consuming than the fronts.

If you don't want to do this, yourself, any mechanic at a repair shop should be able to do it. Sometimes dealerships have service specials. Check your local Toyota dealerships for current specials.