Dealership "scheduled maintenance" musings

OVERKILL

$100 Site Donor 2021
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
57,913
Location
Ontario, Canada
So, my wife's truck is coming up on 2 years old. Unlike the SRT that doesn't get any free service, the truck is supposed to get lifetime free oil changes, providing one adheres to the dealership maintenance schedule.

Because of this, we provide the oil and filter and one of the dealership techs does the oil change, then documents it in their system for warranty and other things and there's no labour fee.

So, the other day, as the OLM was licking at 0% and the truck was clearly due for its oil change we dropped it off at the dealer with two 5L jugs of M1 EP 0w-20 and a FRAM Ultra on the passenger seat. It had been quite a stint since its last visit and apparently this ticked off several boxes on the dealership maintenance schedule.

The tech that did the work, who is an amazing guy, and the shop foreman, also performed these scheduled items, which were:
- New cabin air filter
- Full brake service (disassemble, clean, lubricate slide points, inspect wear)
- Fuel injector cleaning (Pressurized can)

That last item is the one that caught my eye on the invoice, as it was $130 for labour and the cleaner.

I'm perfectly fine with the cabin air filter ($22.50) and brake service ($262.99) but at 37,328Km, unless @Trav feels differently, I really don't see any justification for an injector cleaning. The vehicle is daily driven and gets Top Tier fuel. This seems excessive to me 🤷‍♂️

Maybe every 100,000Km or something, sure, but at this mileage and age it just seems silly.
 
Requiring things like that is how the dealer makes up for the "free" oil changes.
Definitely, though the brake service is a good idea, given our climate. The injector cleaner? That's the free oil change right there.
 
Just curious

Did you know that the brake and injector cleaning was going be done ?
I suspected the brake service was going to be required, I assume my wife knew about the injector cleaning but I definitely didn't until I was reviewing the bill.
 
As you're in Canada, is this the reason why it's "required" ? Different rules related to warranty ? Then again, unless Chrysler lists it as required service, the dealer can't make it mandatory.

- Full brake service (disassemble, clean, lubricate slide points, inspect wear)
For that price, granted the Canadian dollar isn't the same value as the US Dollar, you could have had the pads replaced and rotors machined on (1) axle ! $200 (US) or $262 (CAD) is outrageous to me for that "service". I respect people who don't work on their vehicles too and yeah, you gotta pay, but the pricing seems excessive.
 
Ive never cleaned an injector or throttle body on any car I've ever owned.

Cabin air filter is fine.

Brakes probably needed.

Not a biggies either way.
 
Requiring things like that is how the dealer makes up for the "free" oil changes.
That's how they get you... My civic had lifetime free oil changes, but you had to pay the environmental fees. Of course it was an upsell for all the other services they would want me to get.
 
As you're in Canada, is this the reason why it's "required" ? Different rules related to warranty ? Then again, unless Chrysler lists it as required service, the dealer can't make it mandatory.


For that price, granted the Canadian dollar isn't the same value as the US Dollar, you could have had the pads replaced and rotors machined on (1) axle ! $200 (US) or $262 (CAD) is outrageous to me for that "service". I respect people who don't work on their vehicles too and yeah, you gotta pay, but the pricing seems excessive.

This is the dealership requirement for the free oil changes, it has nothing to do with FCA warranty requirements beyond having the oil changes recorded, which I do per the OLM, which is a much longer duration than the dealership recommends.

I've wrenched on all my own vehicles over the years, this is a vehicle that's still under warranty, so I like to keep all of these services recorded in case it matters in the event there is a warranty claim. Once it's out of service, I may start doing some of it myself, but we'll see.

If you think this is expensive, you'd lose your mind as to the price of a brake job on the Jeep.

The dealership labour rate is $120/hr BTW, so the brake service was roughly 2 hours.
 
Ive never cleaned an ... throttle body on any car I've ever owned.
On some vehicles, while the manufacturer never calls it out for maintenance, it can definitely end up being needed. I have a G35 with Nissan's VQ35 engine and occasionally experienced the RPM dropping low enough to cause the engine to shudder (it would typically do this when going from speed and slowing/stopping at a stop sign, red light, etc). Or, 1-2 times, it started, sputtered, then died but would immediately restart and run good. I cleaned the throttle bodies and the build-up was definitely having an impact. Since cleaning, it's idled perfectly.
 
Ive never cleaned an injector or throttle body on any car I've ever owned.

Cabin air filter is fine.

Brakes probably needed.

Not a biggies either way.

I used to have to clean the TB on our Expedition. It would accrue varnish and cause the blade to stick. Some AC Delco combustion chamber cleaner on a rag and some rubbing and it would be clean. The telltale sign was the pedal sticking, apparently common on Ford 4.6L, 5.4L and 6.8L 2V modular engines.
 
This is the dealership requirement for the free oil changes, it has nothing to do with FCA warranty requirements...
Ahhh, I read that part quickly in your OP and didn't link it to the "free" oil change deal. Gotcha.

So say you waived the free oil change deal, are you still required to have maintenance like oil changes performed by the dealer for warranty in CA ? I know it keeps things simpler on the paperwork trail doing this. Wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to pay them for oil changes out of pocket ? 😁
 
On some vehicles, while the manufacturer never calls it out for maintenance, it can definitely end up being needed. I have a G35 with Nissan's VQ35 engine and occasionally experienced the RPM dropping low enough to cause the engine to shudder (it would typically do this when going from speed and slowing/stopping at a stop sign, red light, etc). Or, 1-2 times, it started, sputtered, then died but would immediately restart and run good. I cleaned the throttle bodies and the build-up was definitely having an impact. Since cleaning, it's idled perfectly.

Yes,I've seen more people have issues with a dirty throttle body and air meter then injector issues.
 
On some vehicles, while the manufacturer never calls it out for maintenance, it can definitely end up being needed. I have a G35 with Nissan's VQ35 engine and occasionally experienced the RPM dropping low enough to cause the engine to shudder (it would typically do this when going from speed and slowing/stopping at a stop sign, red light, etc). Or, 1-2 times, it started, sputtered, then died but would immediately restart and run good. I cleaned the throttle bodies and the build-up was definitely having an impact. Since cleaning, it's idled perfectly.

This subject is always interesting to me.

Let me help clarify my position: If I ever had symptoms like you are describing Id certainly do it.

Along identical lines my 95 Maxima went to something like 250K without ever having it done.
My 06 Infiniti g35 coupe went without one for the 60K I had it before being "crosstraded" on the RX400H
(second wife arrived with 2 teenage boys so the fun car left)
 
Ahhh, I read that part quickly in your OP and didn't link it to the "free" oil change deal. Gotcha.

So say you waived the free oil change deal, are you still required to have maintenance like oil changes performed by the dealer for warranty in CA ? I know it keeps things simpler on the paperwork trail doing this. Wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to pay them for oil changes out of pocket ? 😁

Warranty is just per FCA's requirements, which aren't overly strict. Oil changed per the OLM, that kind of stuff. We do not have MM up here, so I think it's generally a good idea to keep to the manufacturer's requirements and document it so that everything is looked after without any hangups in the event there is an issue that should be covered.

I DO like the periodic brake service and having the cabin air filter changed was very reasonable as well, it's the injector service that had me like... "what?" as it surprised me and seemed quite silly.
 
Tell them to take an additional $130.00 off your best deal, when you trade the truck in on a new TRX...

Don't get me started, the wife is already drooling over the idea, it's her truck...

We get dealer cost, so we always get good prices on the vehicles, I'm not going to beat my buddy's service department up over $130, I just thought the board would get a chuckle out of the this, as it definitely raised my eyebrows.
 
My 06 Infiniti g35 coupe went without one for the 60K
On the DE variant, single throttle body, I'll bet yours was pretty dirty at 60k miles. Maybe not necessary to clean yet but if you had it accessible for some other reason, wouldn't have hurt to do it. My '08 has the HR engine with 2 throttle bodies so maybe the build-up per TB was "halved", i.e. could effectively go 2x longer before it became something to consider. 🤷‍♂️
 
The company that provides the injector cleaner probably has little rewards stickers to incentivize the techs to recommend it. I think when the salesman here comes to restock, they get cash for the stickers. Even if it's not cash, they are all about those stickers. We got some fuel system cleaning kits where the stickers were missing and the techs wouldn't use them until the company sent us a small roll of stickers. 🤣

They won't sell things they don't want to do though. The chemical company started offering some anti-Corona service that involved a ray gun and a bottle of powder or something and the techs wouldn't do it.
 
Back
Top