30K service

[dizzystundra]

How important is it to get the complete 30,000 mile service? I can't afford $500 for it, is the 15,000 mile service just as good or what. I'm currently at 37,000 miles.

[KLS]

Look at the list in the owner's manual and list each item here. You'll get specific recommendations. Also list your driving conditions...tow?...carry heavy loads?...lots of stop & go?...lots of short trips?...really hot or really cold climate?, etc.

Oil change---of course.
Check all other fluids---Yes
Flush and replace antifreeze---Yes
Spark plugs---can wait...won't hurt the engine, just hurts performance & gas consumption.
Air filter---cheap, do it yourself.

After you get your list of jobs together, find a good independent shop that will do just what you want and charge only for that work.


Ken

[SATundra]

I havent looked at the things they say to check or change, but heres the low down that I did at 30K.

changed oil, plugs, complete tranny flush, flush and replace engine coolant, cleaned throttle body, new air cleaner, rotated tires, even swapped out the power steering fluid, cant think of what else I did. I still need to swap out the brake fluid though.

[dizzystundra]

First off thank you guys and TS for all the help you've provided me with.
My driving conditions are mostly highway. If I go 400 miles per week (300 would be highway). So Im def, going to check the brakes since they sound like crickets. Im going to rotate the tires, to see if it corrects the pulling to the right problem. And do all the fluid top offs and checks. The rest of this list is like a foreign language to me.

30,000 mile service includes ($475):
1. Oil & Filter service with semi stnthetic motor oil
2. Check & top all fluids
3. Check & adjust tire pressure to factory specs
4. Rotate and Balance Tires
5. Inspect brake linings, discs, drums, lines, hoses
6. Inspect suspension and steering
7. Adjust parking brake
8. Inspect ball joints and dust covers
9. Inspect drive shaft boots
10. Inspect exhaust system
11. Adjust belts; alternator, power steering, a/c
12. Inspect throttle body when applicable
13. Check windshield wiper operations
14. Replace trans oil
15. replace differential fluid
16. inspect differential oil
17. replace transfer case fluid
18. replace air filter
19. Inspect ignitition wires, cap and rotor
20 Set ignition timing
21. Adjust idle speed
22. Inspect charcoal canister
23. inspect fuel tankcap gasket
24. cooling system service
25. Road test

[SATundra]

Originally posted by dizzystundra
The rest of this list is like a foreign language to me.

30,000 mile service includes ($475):............................

You can do ALL of that yourself or have it done for $200.

Whats REALLY there:
oil change
tranny fluid change
diff fluid change
balance/rotate tires
air filter
cooling system flush

"12. inspect throttle body", that NEEDS to be cleaned, not inspected.

The rest is "inspect" or "adjust" and some of those can NOT be adjusted.

BTW they did not include changing out the spark plugs, that should be done as well.

To bad you dont live closer, I would be glad to help you do the above so you could save the $275.

[TRDKEAU]

You should see if theres a independent shop that works on toyotas... They usually do the same inspections at fractions of the price. I got my 15,000 service with a tranny flush for $90. The dealer without the tranny flush wanted $330. call around.

[akauth]

Originally posted by TRDKEAU
You should see if theres a independent shop that works on toyotas... They usually do the same inspections at fractions of the price. I got my 15,000 service with a tranny flush for $90. The dealer without the tranny flush wanted $330. call around.

That's pretty high for a 15k service ($330), though they may be a little more thorough then most. That must have include additional fluid changes. That $90 is the cost of a trans flush alone. *If* they checked everything it was a great deal.

That $330 be high or it might be that you're getting what you pay for. They might check a little closer and in reality it might be a good deal. But even for a $15k service that's almost twice as high as expected unless they're including some kind of flushes with that too.


The most important things to have done for your 30k now (you can piece it out) is to have the transmission fluid changed (flushed would be better) and have the coolant flushed and changed.

For the engine you WILL want the throttle body cleaned (!) and of course the oil, oil filter, air filter, (and sometime soon the plugs) changed.

The rest you can spread out over the next year. But at the very least have the trans fluid changed now and the air filter with the throttle body getting cleaned. (assuming you're doing your regular oil changes, of course).

But the guys are right, an independent toyota or toyota/nissan only repair shop will do a great job for 2/3 the cost of the dealer. Some might be even less.

Alan

[AndyL]

I thought the 30K checkup was really important, so I went to the local Toyota dealer - What A Mistake!!

They lied about everything inspection item I've reviewed to date (tranny oil "change", cooling flush & fill, tire balance, wiper blade replacement), and their methods of service may be damaging my vehicle.

And for the price ($398)... heck, I could have vacationed in San Antonio and had SA Tundra help me do it myself (probably woulda had $$ left to buy some cold beverages).

[Andy]

When I first got my Tundra and joined this site, I didn't know a leaf spring from a coilover. So, here's my solution for your 30k service if you like learning about your truck and working in the garage.

Invest in a TS membership...it gives you access to instructions on how to do just about everything on your list.

Buy a Haynes manual and read it. Step by step instructions for everything on your list plus lots and lots more.

Then, after you've done the above, go buy what you need in terms of fluids, filters, cleaning agents, etc. from your local auto store and set aside a weekend to go at it!

I know not everyone likes getting dirty in the garage, but just learning about your truck and how it works pays HUGE dividends down the road, especially when you go to the dealer and they try to "pull the wool over your eyes." I've called the dealer out on a lot of things that before joining TS I had to clue what they were talking about.

It's an investment in not only your truck, but your education.

[akauth]

Originally posted by Andy

Buy a Haynes manual and read it. Step by step instructions for everything on your list plus lots and lots more.

I agree with that..... The manual is very, very good and should be even more "required reading" than the actual owners manual.

Well, almost. But *every* Tundra owner should at least have a copy of the Haynes manual considering how cheap and available it is. In many ways, for the day to day items, it's better than even the dealer manual.

alan

[dizzystundra]

I am not really mechanically inclined. I have added accessories to the exterior of the truck (that have yet to fall off)... but I'm not sure if I would toy with the working parts of the truck, not sure I would trust myself.

How advanced do you need to be?

This is what I have gathered from you guys and will be doing within the next week or two at the dealer:
1. Oil change
2. Tranny fluid flush
3. diff fluid change (is this a winter/4x4 thing?)
4. balance/rotate tires (whats the difference here?)
5. air filter
6. cooling system flush (does this mean A/c?)
7. clean throttle body (?)
8. change spark plugs
9. check brakes
10. oil filter
11. coolant flush

What do you experts think I can expect to pay for all this service?

[SATundra]

Originally posted by dizzystundra
I am not really mechanically inclined. I have added accessories to the exterior of the truck (that have yet to fall off)... but I'm not sure if I would toy with the working parts of the truck, not sure I would trust myself.

How advanced do you need to be?

This is what I have gathered from you guys and will be doing within the next week or two at the dealer:
1. Oil change
2. Tranny fluid flush
3. diff fluid change (is this a winter/4x4 thing?)
4. balance/rotate tires (whats the difference here?)
5. air filter
6. cooling system flush (does this mean A/c?)
7. clean throttle body (?)
8. change spark plugs
9. check brakes
10. oil filter
11. coolant flush

What do you experts think I can expect to pay for all this service?

Well hum, its only $200 for me to fly roundtrip up there.

Ok seriously, some of that stuff surely you can do yourself, some of the rest MAYBE. You should be able to:
1. change oil (same as 10.)
5. air filter
8. change spark plugs

If you bought the Haynes Manual ($15) and became Club Member ($24) (total $39), you should be able to do:
all of it, except balance the tires yourself
also 6. and 11. are the same

Sorry I dont live closer.

[Andy]

If you've added accessories to the outside of your truck, you have at least basic tools and skills and that's about all you need.

Your tranny flush and rear differential are just as easy as an oil change in my opinion. Diffs and xfer case (if you have 4WD) are actually easier as there is no filter to change like doing engine oil. Take out the fill plug first, then the drain plug, drain oil, put drain plug back in, fill with new oil, put fill plug back in.

Coolant is not too much different, it's just that the drain ports on the engine are kinda hard to find and you have to mix the coolant, but other than that, it's simply a drain and fill operation.

[akauth]

Originally posted by SATundra

also 6. and 11. are the same

Actually, that may or may not be true depending on what he " meant" even though he really didn't know what he was saying.

Yes, you can indeed flush the a/c system (he did kind of ask if that was what "cooling system" meant) and also the radiator/engine cooling system. So then they wouldn't be the same, but the terms aren't exactly right.

I do get my a/c flushed every 60,000 miles. And I flush my engine cooling system every 30,000. You really can't flush your own AC. You really can't flush/reclaim your own coolant either but you can empty it, clean it and then run clean water through it. But that's not the same as a flush/reclaim.

Alan

[SATundra]

Originally posted by akauth
Yes, you can indeed flush the a/c system (he did kind of ask if that was what "cooling system" meant) and also the radiator/engine cooling system. So then they wouldn't be the same, but the terms aren't exactly right.

Alan

True, but I cant imagine them trying to "stroke" him for an A/C flush at 30K. If thats the case I recommend that he not even call that dealer back, just go somewhere else FAST.

I dont have any figures to back this up but I would bet that at least 99.9% of vehicle owners never have there A/C system flushed. Im pretty good about keeping up my vehicles but not even I flush the A/C system. However I have no doubt that it would make the system last longer.