DEALER RECOMMENDED SERVICES - advice?

[joeyjoejoe285]

my '18 JLU Sahara (almost 126k miles) at the dealer for a bad PDC and oil leaking from the Oil Filter housing. All covered under warranty.

They are recommending a few thigs that I want to make sure are necessary.
1 - Throttle body cleaning service
2 - Fuel system cleaning service
3 - New Coolant (done at 105k miles)
4 - Brake fluid flush
5 - Front & Rear Differential Flush (the front alone costs $400)

Any advise or thoughts are appreciated - thanks!!

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[58Willys]

Ask dealer what the exact procedure is for throttle body and fuel system cleaning. I suspect it would dumping a $8 can of fuel system cleaner up in the tank. If you coolant was changed @105k, then you’re good. Yes on brake fluid flush, but check cost. Diffs, yes; but not for $400, you can do it yourself for $45, or find a half decent shop that will do it $100.

 

[cthomas31]

Only thing I would let the stealership do is brake fluid flush. Diff fluid change is a 20 minute job and only cost is new gear oil.

 

[GATORB8]

I assume you have a lifetime "warranty" with this dealer, or something similiar? I would check the terms of that for what you have to do to maintain it.

 

[hamiamham69]

Does the dealer realize the coolant was changed 21K miles ago?

1. Throttle body and be cleaned using an $8 can unless there is something more here. I’d ask for clarity.

2. Fuel systems are constantly cleaned via detergents in fuel as well as thru things you add to the tank. Any symptoms of fuel system problems? I’d ask for clarity here as well.

3. Unless something is very wrong you should not need new coolant after 21K

4. Fine

5. When - if ever - was the fluid changed? Personally I have not heard of the need for a differential “flush” but the fluid could certainly need changing.

Any of these services would be cheaper from a non-dealer

 

[WannFly]

I recently had stealership flush my brake fluid, since then, the brake is little soft, not by much, but it is softer than before. It was even more evident when I was coming down of a steep hill (no, I do not ride brakes). So, my guess is, there may be a little air in the system. I paid $220 for the said flush.

Now I need to redo my flush, and I just bought this one-man-flush thingy to do all my vehicles. K700B Chrysler / Jeep Brake Bleeder Kit - Speedi-Bleed

Diff fluid change is an easy job if have the means of doing it one your driveway / garage. No way I would pay for that unless you do not have the means or time.

I have been "sold" on the throttle body story before, and I have paid for it and learned it the hard way that they dont do shit other than pouring a bottle that they buy from walmart like previous poster mentioned. Below is the line item from my Ram:

My philosophy these days is - I will only go to stealership for warranty work and default to no for whatever they have to say for anything else.

 

[av8or]

If it isn’t recommended by the manufacturer it’s most likely not necessary and just a money driver for the stealership.

 

[Radioman]

If it isn’t recommended by the manufacturer it’s most likely not necessary and just a money driver for the stealership.

This

 

[Chris A]

I have a friend who was a Toyota dealer mechanic. He told me don’t ever ever ever let any one do a throttle body/ fuel service! It is really hard on sensors and if I was lucky they just said they did it. Basically a big money maker for them.

 

[Nokones]

Follow the recommended services in your owner's manual. Use only the recommended fluids. As for the Throttle Body, only filtered air should have been passing through the throttle body.

As for the fuel system, if you have a fuel filter, yes replace the filter with a factory filter. As for the injectors, that would depend on the fuel you were using, if you were using Chevron, Shell, Mobil, NO, especially if using Chevron. If you were using the cheaper brands like Speedway, etc. and Costco, Sams Club, and other similar discount gasolines, it may need the service. Only an injector flow test will tell you if it needs to be serviced or not, but my guess if you were using the cheap gas then yes.

I'm not sure if the fuel system service that the dealers are offering would be of any benefit. It would be best for if an Injector Service performed an individual flow test on each injector and that will require you to take out all the injectors and send them to an injector service company.

If the injectors are not flowing/spraying correctly you will notice a significant improvement not only in performance and fuel mileage, your emissions would also improve.

Also, if you were using Chevron and equivalent quality gasoline and the recommended factory oils your engine oil properties would look a lot better and provide better lubrication and wear on your reciprocating parts and you would have been saving money in the long run and more than likely have any failures contributed by using inferior petroleum products.

If you were using the cheaper gasolines and oils all this time and you plan to keep your vehicle for many years, this would be a good example to demonstrate that going cheap with the cheap lower quality oils and gasolines are not cheaper in the long run.

 

[GATORB8]

To clarify, due to OP's mileage and the statement that he had a warranty repair, he likely has a dealer service contract (commonly advertised as a warranty). The rules for maintenance are NOT the same as a standard manufacturers warranty and they can require the maintenance be done by their dealership to maintain the coverage.

 

[PunksJL]

Your vehicle was designed with a factory maintenance schedule which can be found in the owner's manual. If you stick with these items and this schedule you will be fine including if you have any warranty issues.

Stealerships make a lot of money selling you unnecessary services that are not specified in the service schedule. Only if they have a killer deal on a brake fluid flush or other items not in the service would I consider them. Most of these "extra" services are way overpriced. If you are somewhat handy, services like oil, diff fluid changes can be done by yourself saving you lots of money.

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