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Engine & DrivetrainDiscussions about the engine and drivetrain of your vehicle.
This is a discussion thread titled "Scheduled Maintenance - Am I getting Taken?", within the Engine & Drivetrain forum, part of the Technical & Vehicle Assistance Forums category.
I stopped by my local Toyota dealership to get an oil change and the service rep asked how many miles I had. The answer was 49k. When I told him, he asked if I had had the 45k service, which I had not. The 45k service that the dealership is pushing costs approx. $580.
My gut feeling is that this is a case of the dealership trying to maximize profits by pushing unnecessary service packages.
My question is this. Does this sound out of line with what other people have been having done and paying for this service?
Here’s what the dealership 45k service consists of:
- Oil change
- transmission drain and fill
- power steering fluid flush
- fuel injection service
- throttle body service
- service battery/cables, install anti-corrosive terminal pads
- complete brake fluid flush
Additional Recommended Service
- 2 or 4 wheel alignment
By comparison, the Toyota Scheduled Maintenance Guide states the following for the 45k service:
- Oil change
- rotate tires
- replace air filter
The remainder of the list is to INSPECT 11 other items such as ball joints and the steering gear box.
The 30k service package from the same dealership was $560 and consisted of similar items. Spending $1000 on service every 1 and a half years seems excessive, but I do want to keep my Tundra until it rusts away. If this is what it takes to maximize its life than that is a consideration.
Any insight into your experiences and thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I am not a maitenance guru but I know what I paid for. If they are charging that much everything, including a massage should be for $580
I paid 300 for my 30k service. I don't mind looking at it again and scan it and emailing it to you. It was done at Gene Messer Toyota. Up here in Lubbock. I do know prices are a little different but jeez. I bought my Tundra in Fort Worth (actually its Weatherford) but only 10 min drive west of Funky town so I will call the home dealer and see what they say.
I also know one thing I make out like a bandit up here with oil changes.
The dealer runs a special for 9.99 oil changes. Can you believe that.
I am going to miss that special when I graduate.
Do you remember what you paid RichR..for the 30k service..
A happy ending for me would be to take home the Tundra Girl...with every new Tundra/or Service
--http://www.revoh.org:1234/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=news;action=display;num=1014941847; start=0--
I didn't link it b/c she is too hot for TS to link it directly.
Just copy and paste
if you go to page 4 of the thread you will find a link to more pictures of her.
The 45k service that the dealership is pushing costs approx. $580.
I talked to a few reps at Durrant Toyota, Freeman and Vandergriff:
Those dealers are near my house.
Durrant
30k 400..wow
45k 199..ehh
Freeman..
still sleeping... they weren't in or dealing with people who are actually there.
Vandergriff
Steve said
30k 299.00 ehh (its what I paid)
45k 159.00 ...hmm not bad
1000 West I-20
Arlington, TX 76017
Phone: (817) 468-8696
Fax: (817) 299-9850
This one happened to be the furthest from my house and perhaps closer to you.
you are gettin' *soaked*...it better come with a couple Happy Endings, for that price.
- Oil change if this coincides with your change interval, yes--get a drain tub, do it yourself, very easy
- transmission drain and fill yes, pull the tranny pan bolt, dump 4(?) qts down the tube, unless youre running synth in which case inspect and change if necessary
- power steering fluid flush wait til 60k
- fuel injection service dump a can of seafoam in a (full) gas tank
- throttle body service take off the air intake tube, use a $1.98 can of throttle body cleaner and a lint-free cloth, maybe an old toothbrush, clean the butterfly and the inside of the throttle body around the butterfly
- service battery/cables, install anti-corrosive terminal pads youll know if your battery needs servicing, it'll be low on charge and/or dead, you dont need "anti-corrosive" terminal pads unless youre getting corrosion at the terminals, if there's dirt/corrosion on top of the battery clean it off as you will lose charge slowly via the grime between the terminals, use a small wire brush to clean terminals and cable ends
- complete brake fluid flush this requires two people to do yourself, and about 20 minutes with a 10mm wrench, a drip pan, a small cup and a piece of clear flexible plastic tubing, or get a kit for 5 bucks at the auto shop
- 2 or 4 wheel alignment do you need one?
- rotate tires do you have a rotation agreement elsewhere? otherwise, do this
- replace air filter when was the last time you replaced? do you need to?
from their list, there are several things very easy to do yourself where you can save a couple hundred dollars alone, namely the throttle body service and injector service. all they do is clean the throttle body and dump some injector cleaner in the tank. if you dont want to mess with the fluids, have them deal with it, and the rest (battery service etc) is highly dependent on whether or not you actually need the service.
there are many, many things you can do yourself in an afternoon, particularly if you have a helping hand. ryan and i did the majority of the fluids for my trucks 90k service in a couple hours--flushing the transmission, oil change, both diffs and the tcase, and that included installing an oil drain valve and all the crank/refill cycles for the transmission.
you can do the power steering yourself as well, i havent needed to yet, but iirc ken (kls) recommended a good way a while back.
theres quite a bit of money to be made/saved on routine maintenance, as long as you dont mind investing in a pair of goggles (3 bucks) and a bag of plastic gloves (3 bucks), and have a decent tool set (50 bucks at costco, still treating me right). diy isnt for everyone, my dad isnt in the best position to diy (no garage, dirt driveway not level), some people dont have the time or are willing to trade the trouble for a few bucks if $580 is only a few bucks to someone, others have no garage and a strict no-maintenance clause in their apartment lease (i have a garage in a quiet, lazy complex, nobody cares as long as it's in the garage). i believe strongly in getting a good deal for my money, for roughly a hundred bucks i can flush almost every fluid in the truck and refill with mobil-1 synthetic, and in a couple hours no less. for that price and time, it's well worth doing it myself.
if you diy, just ask...everyone here was very helpful in explaining to me how to take care of everything. if you take it in, good luck finding a good price--make sure you ask what the service includes, when you see one price at $580 and another at $160.
For the battery service. Those "anti corrosion" washers are $4 at Autozone or Wallyworld. Loosen battery terminal bolt, remove terminal, place AC washer on post, reinstall terminal and tighten. 5 minutes max. Before you start as part of the cleaning service, 1 pitcher of water with some Arm and Hammer Baking Soda mixed in will neutralize all the acid. Pour liberally over battery.
Power steering- you could get one those hand held squeeze suction units and just do a "drain (vaccuum) and fill" on the reservoir. Drive and repeat in a week. 5 minutes also.
Since I had so many break jobs done, that pretty much covered my only concern well at least for 30-45k service.
Every thing else you can do your self, maybe, I would at least try for what there charging, ouch
Thanks everyone for the help and the very quick response. Devin and Cubic, you guys went above and beyond.
I'll go back to the dealership and have them do just the oil change. I would do the work myself, but unfortunately I can't do that in my apartment compex. That's a real bummer because I want to install a set of headers which I clearly don't have a working area for. This dealership has S&S long tubes in stock but all I can really do is admire them for the time being. I have some questions about them that I will post in the appropriate forum.
The dealership in question is Toyota of Dallas also known as Mr. Toyota. I have been using them since early 2003 and have been very pleased with their work. From my observations they clearly have been taking a proactive approach in trying to improve their profits through promotions, and maintenance packages. The dealership's Preferred Customer Maintenance Guide is very professional, very slick, and very glossy. As I compare it more extensively to the Toyota Maintenance Guide, it calls for replacing and flushing things at a more frequent rate than the Toyota guide that came with my truck. Unless Toyota has recommended a new maintenance schedule since I bought my truck, it does not paint a good picture for the dealership's ethics.
I am also dealing with the brake TSB issue which I also mentioned to the service rep last time I was in. I had the rotors replaced after 18k miles in Mar 2002 when I was in Florida so it wasn't on their computer. I have the receipt from that repair and the rep said to bring it in and that they might be able to help me out with that. I'll let you know how that turns out with a short update to this thread.
For the battery service. Those "anti corrosion" washers are $4 at Autozone or Wallyworld. Loosen battery terminal bolt, remove terminal, place AC washer on post, reinstall terminal and tighten. 5 minutes max. Before you start as part of the cleaning service, 1 pitcher of water with some Arm and Hammer Baking Soda mixed in will neutralize all the acid. Pour liberally over battery.
No! If any baking soda solution gets into the battery cells through the vent in the cap you get the priviledge of buying yourself a new battery.
Picasso,
The service techs may be doing a very good job for you, but the general manager and the service manager are crooks. Most of the work listed is unneeded at 45K as well as overpriced.
Here's what I'd do:
-Oil & filter change @ 5k by a quality shop, never IffyLube.
-Transmission drain & refill @ 15k
-Power steering fluid exchange @ 30k (suck it out with a turkey baster, refill with fresh synthetic ATF, drive, repeat two more times)
-Injection service...add Chevron Techron Concentrate or Berryman's B-12 Chemtool to the tank before each oil change
-Throttle body...as Sean described.
-Battery cables...keep them clean & tight
-Brake fluid flush & renew...every two years
-Coolant flush & renew every two years
-4-wheel thrust alignment when your frequent careful visual inspection of the tires shows uneven wear
-Rotate tires every 10k
-Renew air filter at 15k or 30k depending on how dusty your conditions are and your careful visual inspection
Ken
__________________
You get what you inspect
Not what you expect.
S&S Long Tube Hi-Torque Headers
TRD/Eaton Limited Slip Differential
Gibson exhaust system
Hellwig Rear Antisway Bar
Sylvania Xenarc H.I.D. X1010 Auxiliary Low Beam Driving Lights
Schaeffer Engine Oil, ATF, Differential Oil
Racor LFS22825 full-flow transmission filter
Towing a 21' Bigfoot trailer using a Hensley Arrow hitch, Jordan brake controller, McKesh mirrors
I only know as much as the thread that I posted before.
Thanks to TS I know something about everything
and little about anything. (BUT I AM STILL LEARNING)
This site is meant for all who wish to go above and beyond
....its kind of a theme..... hmmmmmmmmm....
I think I am on to something....
You are all, or should I say most of you Tundra owners out there are spending way to much $$$ on servicing at the dealership. Throw your money away if you like....It must grow on trees in your backyard or something. Cowboy Up! and do some of the maintenance yourselves. You will save tons of money you can use for other things.. I hope I don't offend anyone, but the maintenace is very, very simple. Purchase a good manual, preferably a Factory Manual, and get to work.
Scheduled Maintenance - Am I getting Taken?
Sounds fishy to me.
Scheduled Maintenance Question
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