Shop recommended maintenance, your opinions please

[dishdude]

@dishdude
Now that some of us have weighed in, what are your thoughts on it? Where does this Rav4 live? It's not down in the valley since they swapped snow tires for all-seasons.

I live 2000 miles away so I can't regularly assist with maintenance, and the state requires an annual safety inspection so it has to go in to a shop at least annually. I do not like this shop, MIL does and won't listen, it's her money and her car so that's that!

Every invoice has brake cleaning and some other add-on. At 30k it got a BG fuel system cleaning. At 35k it got a BG A/C system cleaning. This car has had 3 fuel injection cleanings before hitting 40k at $250 each.

Pricing is fair but I think they are WAY over recommending services here. She is the type of person that if the shop says it needs something, she just says do it and doesn't question it.

 

[Patrick0525]

Toyota AWD systems don’t have a transfer case.

Rear diff? Yes!

You have a transfer case if you have one of their trucks that has 4WD.

They call it a transfer case despite being an AWD.
https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/transfer-case-oil-change.1577506/

 

[The Critic]

Toyota AWD systems don’t have a transfer case.

Rear diff? Yes!

You have a transfer case if you have one of their trucks that has 4WD.

Not correct. The gas models have a transfer case. The hybrid models do not.

 

[stanlee]

Inspect, adjust and lube the brakes is a complete money grab. There is ZERO reason to randomly clean, pull pads to re-lube clips and backing plates if there is no noise (at that point you have done a brake job without doing a brake job), there is nothing to adjust and if you are already in for a service costing any money the amount of time/effort it takes to inspect brakes even with taking the wheels off should be a courtesy check (if one person actually needs a brake job they’ve made that time back 5x over and I’m sure like 5 out of 10 actually need brakes).

The diff service at 40k is a good recommendation but at that price for a drain and fill better include the diff AND transfer case. Also don’t like the (overpriced but nothing special) brand pushing and RAV4 diffs have friction limited slips that require LSD additives?

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I live 2000 miles away so I can't regularly assist with maintenance, and the state requires an annual safety inspection so it has to go in to a shop at least annually. I do not like this shop, MIL does and won't listen, it's her money and her car so that's that!

Every invoice has brake cleaning and some other add-on. At 30k it got a BG fuel system cleaning. At 35k it got a BG A/C system cleaning. This car has had 3 fuel injection cleanings before hitting 40k at $250 each.

Pricing is fair but I think they are WAY over recommending services here. She is the type of person that if the shop says it needs something, she just says do it and doesn't question it.

I got a guy I know like that. I will tell him he needs or does not need a service and he will not listen. Then later he slips and tells me the dealership charged him big bucks for the same things I told him we could do together for a 1/10th the costs. He got money coming out his ears so...... to each his own.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Inspect, adjust and lube the brakes is a complete money grab. There is ZERO reason to randomly clean, pull pads to re-lube clips and backing plates if there is no noise (at that point you have done a brake job without doing a brake job), there is nothing to adjust and if you are already in for a service costing any money the amount of time/effort it takes to inspect brakes even with taking the wheels off should be a courtesy check (if one person actually needs a brake job they’ve made that time back 5x over and I’m sure like 5 out of 10 actually need brakes).

The diff service at 40k is a good recommendation but at that price for a drain and fill better include the diff AND transfer case. Also don’t like the (overpriced but nothing special) brand pushing and RAV4 diffs have friction limited slips that require LSD additives?

Much truth and sanity in your words.

 

[HemiBenny]

delete

 

[HemiBenny]

I live 2000 miles away so I can't regularly assist with maintenance, and the state requires an annual safety inspection so it has to go in to a shop at least annually. I do not like this shop, MIL does and won't listen, it's her money and her car so that's that!

Every invoice has brake cleaning and some other add-on. At 30k it got a BG fuel system cleaning. At 35k it got a BG A/C system cleaning. This car has had 3 fuel injection cleanings before hitting 40k at $250 each.

Pricing is fair but I think they are WAY over recommending services here. She is the type of person that if the shop says it needs something, she just says do it and doesn't question it.

They’ve figured out that she’s easy pickings. I hate to say that, but it’s probably true.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Toyota AWD systems don’t have a transfer case.

Rear diff? Yes!

You have a transfer case if you have one of their trucks that has 4WD.

A Rav4 has a case, which is seperate from the transmission, with its own fluid, that attaches the transmission to the rear differential when engaged. The transmission is always attached to the front axles.

All my "real" 4x4's have a case, which is seperate from the transmission, with its own fluid, that attaches the transmission to the front differential when engaged. The transmission is always connected to the rear differential.

If you don't call it a transfer case, what is it?

 

[dishdude]

They’ve figured out that she’s easy pickings. I hate to say that, but it’s probably true.

It's 100% true. Hate to sit on the sidelines and watch someone waste their money, but if they won't listen there isn't much that can be done.

 

[DCDG]

I believe some shops know by being overkill on preventative maintenance that goal is to cause catastrophe where there’s a bigger repair necessary. My uncle was made to believe his 2011 Accord with under 60k because his lack of driving the shop sold him on high mileage oil plus an engine cleanse nothing but vtec solenoid problems. They told him his engine is dirty inside and sludged up hmm. Is this coincidence or is their cocktail nightcap causing this problem he had one replaced and they tell him they clean the screen when they change his oil. I never had a VTEC engine so I don’t know. I think they’re selling him something that smells fishy and it ain’t the fish. He just may be the catch of the day.

 

[Auto tech]

Yes on diff service. As far as brake disassemble and clean/lube any technician that knows anything can physically check brakes and condition without total disassemble. I would offer the brake items as complimentary service no charge

 

[SC Maintenance]

Yes on diff service. As far as brake disassemble and clean/lube any technician that knows anything can physically check brakes and condition without total disassemble. I would offer the brake items as complimentary service no charge

There not advertising a simple brake inspection, there saying caliper removal and lube the pins. Is it worth $129? Thats up to the owner.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Toyota AWD systems don’t have a transfer case.

Rear diff? Yes!

You have a transfer case if you have one of their trucks that has 4WD.

I looked it up (since I am a curious Subaru owner)

It does have a combined FWD diff and hypoid gearset for rear power transfer since the engine is sideways and the unit takes GL-5 gear oil.
a FWD usually uses shared ATF as the lubricant since there is no hypoid gearset with a transverse engine mounting.

The upper plug in the photo is not the check/fill window - so if you fill here use a measured quantity OTW if you fill to drip, you will overfill and pump out the vent

So not really traditional shiftable RWD style xfer case hanging to the side of the AT of a longitudinal (N-S) powertrain

Semantics I suppose.

 

[zzyzzx]

I definitely would not do the brake clean and lube service, unless there is massive, and I MEAN massive, rust.

They were swapping out snow tires to regular tires. Presumably rust is an issue where they live.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

They were swapping out snow tires to regular tires. Presumably rust is an issue where they live.

Exactly. ONLY reason I would advise any elderly person or a woman (who can not take care of their own vehicles) to have such a service done.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I do believe (especially these days with high costs of everything) that is a very fair price.

One CAUTION:
Have to watch out and be prepared for the possible dealer add-on works. They may try that on someone they think they can have their way with. A shame, but many shops automatically assume when one goes in for service , the customer knows very little about their vehicles. Since their job is to make money for the owners who have extremely high overhead costs, the dealer work will always cost more.
Just the way it is. Always best if one can use a dependable/fair indy shop close to one's home.

 

[thastinger]

I've always done differentials and transfer cases/PTUs at 30K intervals. Although I'm thinking about doubling to 60K on our true 4wd vehicles because the fluid always looks new still at 30K and we rarely use the 4wd functions.

 

[Dave9]

They were swapping out snow tires to regular tires. Presumably rust is an issue where they live.

I know, but rust is an issue here too, but the only time it needs addressed is if one of two things happens.

1) The vehicle wasn't driven for a long time, so the normal movement of the braking system didn't scrub off the small amount of rust accumulating in these movement areas.

2) Low service life lube was put on the slider pins, so it rotted away under the braking heat and then you have seized calipers and all the issues that come with that.

The fact that this is (potentially) the first service interval for the vehicle is the wild-card. For me the first time is always the worst because I didn't want to fix anything not broken within the warranty and beyond visual observations of condition, but beyond that point, observation and application take over.

On the first pull of the wheel (which would've been tire rotation), observe, same again next rotation, and I always manage to just wait till the pads need swapped, to service the brakes at all. Granted, I use silicone paste lube for slider pins, which seems to last multiple times longer. The rest of the grease vs rust vs abrasion, just wears off within the first couple of stops while driving. My brakes work very well, you've no idea how many times I've had to panic stop for crossing deer.