60K MILE MAINTENANCE - HELP WITH PRICES / PRIORITIES

[youcanrunnaked]

Here's what my dealer replied with when I asked about recommended service at 60K miles:

Oil and filter change $130
Tire rotation NO CHARGE
Transfer case drain and fill $380
Rear differential fluid drain and fill $380
Front differential fluid drain and fill $380
Transmission fluid drain; clean and inspect the pan, reseal and fill $380
Test coolant $160
Test brake fluid $160
Test power steering fluid $160
Engine air filter inspection $55
Cabin air filter inspection $55
Full vehicle inspection at no charge

SPARK PLUG REPLACEMENT IS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL 100K MILES

These are their book prices; I can get them discounted, depending on what I have done. In the past, this dealer has been fair with me (e.g., oil and filer for $79; a set of four AT tires at 30% below retail). I am wondering what a fair price for each service (of the total service) should be.

I thought the 3d Gen Tacoma has iridium plugs, and those are good for 100K miles. However, spark plugs at 60K miles is in the OM. I've seen it said that this is a conservative recommendation to guarantee Toyota's EPA compliance, and the dealer says 100K miles is fine. I'm inclined to agree, but would appreciate input from owners.

I'm thinking coolant should be good to 100K miles. Maybe the South Florida heat requires a test now, though? Regardless, the test / inspection prices seem way off to me.

I can probably test / inspect ps and pb fluids, and coolant, myself. I don't have the test strips for this, but getting them and DIY seems like a better strategy than spending $480 (or even half that) to have a technician test them.

I can look at and replace as necessary engine air and cabin filter myself, but IMO they should inspect them as a courtesy, not for $110.

The fluid changes also seem a bit high. I am not sure that I have the tools, talent, or workspace (other than a sloped driveway) to do the drain and fills. Dropping the transmission pan is another thing I'm hesitant to do myself. I'm also not sure what the fluid and filter costs are, as compared to having the dealer do them. If the price difference between materials and dealer service isn't that great, I would just have them do the work. Would like to get advice on this.

 

[RevN3]

My truck is at 62k and is in the shop right now for other reason. They brought up the recommended service and mentioned the plugs, they were quoting me something like $700 for the job. Yikes! They are supposed to give me the full list of recommendations when I pick it up tomorrow. I'll post it here so we can compare numbers. I have a friend with a shop so I plan to do it all myself.

 

[Tomahawk Dog]

Source: https://youtu.be/TevK-u3vkx4

 

[Tomahawk Dog]

If you do your own maintenance,
oil 5K - Diffs 30K - MT first time 30K then 50K (same with transfer case)
Coolant and plugs 60K or most do at every 80K (depending on how you drive and where)

 

[Tomahawk Dog]

Shops charge WAY too much for maintenance and repairs.
I can see needing to bite the bullet for repairs as vehicle lifts and special tools are required
PLUS, knowledge beyond maintenance and a tech stream (computer reading device) is often unavoidable.

But oil changes and fluid changes and even spark plugs can be done by the owner.
If you are mechanically inclined just do it this is a pretty good Tacoma help site.......

Team Oil Drop

🔧 Welcome to the Team 🍻 As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 🚨 Vendors/Marketing Reps - Please feel free to reach out to me. Also please understand I am extremely picky what I demo for the channel.

www.youtube.com

Its basic stuff, the site is good at telling you the tools you will need.

BUT if you are not good with tools or have never worked on cars,................ dont touch it.
Bolts and screws can be damaged, and the threads stripped, you can get over your head fast.

Repairs are expensive but having someone fix what you have screwed up or damaged can be REALLY expensive.
Besides no mechanic likes to fix someone's mistakes. Its hard to warranty work and most mechanics will just take off everything and start over which is more time and money.

The list of dealer repairs for 60K above gets close to $2000,...... all can be done in one afternoon for a couple hundred bucks.
But you need tools,...... never buy cheap ass tools. They will damage bolts and screws or break themselves.

Tools are an investment; knowledge is power and fixing your own stuff is gold!
95% of mechanics first learned the basics from their father or a friend. (I hope these days have not passed us by)

Fact is vehicles today have become more complicated and technical than even and even the best driveway mechanics find themselves scratching their head and go to the dealer themselves as they know your vehicle is no place for experimental try's or learning something for the first time.

You can do maintenance! This will extend the life of your vehicle and save money while feeling good about it.
Here is your $380 rear differential fluid change in 2 minutes.

Source: https://youtu.be/qyauqDyk7cg

 

[RevN3]

Here are the prices I was quoted, as promised:

 

[youcanrunnaked]

Thanks for all the replies. To clarify a few points:

The dealer's "test / inspect" prices are to replace; the prices assume the inspections will fail. The tests/ inspections themselves are NC.

The prices quoted are the dealer's book prices. I agree with everyone that these prices are excessive. What would be a fair price for these services? (FWIW, I have a good relationship with the service manager at the dealership where we bought the truck. They have promised a significant discount on their book prices, depending on what services I ask them to perform, but I would like to know what prices I can reasonably expect.)

I'm certain I can replace the engine and cabin air filters myself.

I'm pretty sure I can drain and fill all of the fluids myself, but dropping the AT pan may be outside my comfort zone. Given some input I've received, I'm not sure how necessary that is.

The discounted price the dealer charges me for oil changes is $79, and tire rotation is NC (bought the tires there). I've had the dealer do these services every 5K miles. I will probably continue to do so, because I've priced the materials for DIY, and I'd be saving maybe $30 on an oil and filter change, and still have to take the truck in for tire rotation.

I'm fairly certain the spark plugs can go to 100K miles, but not sure I can do it myself. What should having a mechanic do it cost?

The dealer also has replied: "Fuel filter replacement is not required on this vehicle unless the fuel tank has to come down for some reason. The filters are no longer accessible (in-line) as before. I did include a fuel system cleaning service price as I had missed to include that before." ($150)

In addition to asking about these services here, I think I've found a local shop that I can trust, and am asking them for their opinions and a quote on these services. I am grateful for the input here, and I think that with all of the information I'm collecting, I'll be able to make an informed decision. Thanks again.

 

[youcanrunnaked]

Here are the prices I was quoted, as promised:

View attachment 64278

Thanks.

For comaprison, here's what my dealer has recommended / quoted (the second price is the discounted price):

Oil and filter change $130 $100
Tire rotation NO CHARGE
Transfer case drain and fill $380 $340
Rear differential fluid drain and fill $380 $340
Front differential fluid drain and fill $380 $340
Transmission fluid drain; clean and inspect the pan, reseal and fill $380 $340
REPLACE coolant $160 $140
REPLACE brake fluid $160 $140
REPLACE power steering fluid $160 $140
Engine air filter inspection $55 $45
Cabin air filter inspection $55 $45
Fuel system cleaning service $170 $150

Full vehicle inspection at No charge

SPARK PLUG REPLACEMENT IS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL 100K MILES - $704.95

As for your dealer's recommendations on brake fluid, power steering fluid, and coolant, these can and should be tested at 60K miles, but they are not automatically bad at 60K miles; depending on severity of use, most times they can go well beyond that. (Tests / Inspections should be a courtesy NC or low cost.) The prices you were quoted for replacing these fluids is much higher than what I'm being quoted. OTOH, the prices you were quoted for transfer case, differential, and transmission fluid drain and fill is much less that my quote.

What is the difference between the transmission. drain / fill and the "transmission service?" I thought the fluid chsasnge was all of the service needed. Beyond that, what transmission service costs $557.39? My dealer is recommending dropping / cleaning/ inspecting / resealing the transmission pan, but aside from the lower cost I was quoted, I'm not sure that's even necessary.

Also, why the drive belt change? I don;t think this is a recommended service at 60K miles, and in any event, the price seems excessive

The spark plug service price is pretty much what my dealer has quoted me... and it's wild! They must be going by the repair manual, which says remove the intake manifold to access the plugs on the driver's side. That takes a lot of time, and the dealer's hourly labor charge reflects that. However, others say that's not a necessary procedure; there's an easier way. If the dealer won't do it the easier way, and you don't want to DIY, I suggest finding an independent shop that will do it the easier way. Here's how it's done the easier way: