A Lot of Weird Service Suggestions?

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indept

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Just got my 2017 Bighorn 4x4 back from dealer doing regular pre-paid oil change (What a bargain that turned out to be, I take it in every 3k miles just like my Dad taught me!) They always say you only need it after 5k miles, but the service is covered at 3k, so I say why not!?

Anyway, I'm at about 73k miles, and they are recommending a lot of "odd" services I can't find in the standard maintenance schedule
  • Crankcase Cleaning $100
  • Service Fuel Injection System $255
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50
  • Cabin Air Filter "Service package" $92 (I know the answer on this, just putting in 'cause its funny)
  • IR Conditioning Oil $80 (What is the IR?)
  • Battery Protection $80 (Put in a new battery last December for <$200)
  • Brake Fluid Flush $251
Are any of these worth it? The didn't want to talk about it much beyond that these are all "recommended".

Much appreciation for anyone who has any wisdom to share. Best to you.

  • Crankcase Cleaning $100: needed to clean out sludge left from cheap oil used for oil change packages
  • Service Fuel Injection System $255: a $255 procedure that replaces & does the same as a $7 bottle of Chevron Techron (sp?)
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50: a $50 sticker that says "Don't use more than 10%
  • ethanol"Cabin Air Filter "Service package"$92 (I know the answer on this, just putting in 'cause its funny): $92 to replace a $20 filter that take 5 minutes to install.
  • IR Conditioning Oil $80 (What is the IR?): IR stands for " In Rear" cause that's where they're sticking it.
  • Battery Protection $80 (Put in a new battery last December for <$200): as mentioned in an earlier post, $80 to put 2 $1 pads under terminals
  • Brake Fluid Flush $251: while this is a worthwhile procedure it can be done in about an hour in your garage using a $20 harbor freight brake bleeder pump.
 
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J

John W in So OR

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  • Crankcase Cleaning $100: needed to clean out sludge left from cheap oil used for oil change packages
  • Service Fuel Injection System $255: a $255 procedure that replaces & does the same as a $7 bottle of Chevron Techron (sp?)
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50: a $50 sticker that says "Don't use more than 10%
  • ethanol"Cabin Air Filter "Service package"$92 (I know the answer on this, just putting in 'cause its funny)$92 to replace a $20 filter that take 5 minutes to install.
  • IR Conditioning Oil $80 (What is the IR?): IR stands for " In Rear" cause that's where they're sticking it.
  • Battery Protection $80 (Put in a new battery last December for <$200): as mentioned in an earlier post, $80 to put 2 $1 pads under terminals
  • Brake Fluid Flush $251: while this is a worthwhile procedure it can be done in about an hour in your garage using a $20 harbor freight brake bleeder pump.
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50: a $50 sticker that says "Don't use more than 10% ethanol" - OMG that is so funny!
 

huntergreen

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  • Crankcase Cleaning $100: needed to clean out sludge left from cheap oil used for oil change packages
  • Service Fuel Injection System $255: a $255 procedure that replaces & does the same as a $7 bottle of Chevron Techron (sp?)
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50: a $50 sticker that says "Don't use more than 10%
  • ethanol"Cabin Air Filter "Service package"$92 (I know the answer on this, just putting in 'cause its funny)$92 to replace a $20 filter that take 5 minutes to install.
  • IR Conditioning Oil $80 (What is the IR?): IR stands for " In Rear" cause that's where they're sticking it.
  • Battery Protection $80 (Put in a new battery last December for <$200): as mentioned in an earlier post, $80 to put 2 $1 pads under terminals
  • Brake Fluid Flush $251: while this is a worthwhile procedure it can be done in about an hour in your garage using a $20 harbor freight brake bleeder pump.
Funny as hell !
 

turkeybird56

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Hey , don’t laugh at the ethanol defense kit. It’s as important as changing the blinker fluid.
Kinda like Hub caps to aircraft, keys to aircraft, rope stretchers on boundaries, roflmao.
 

turkeybird56

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As long as you're replacing the muffler bearing, might as well rotate light bulbs (front to back in an X pattern) and repaint the rotors to match your truck.
NOW some PPL do paint their calipers put on specific color covers. Not so sure on painting rotors, roflmao.

 

Livinalittle

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  • Crankcase Cleaning $100 (They pour cleaner in your oil and run it for a bit before the oil change and follow it up with an additive, you do regular oil changes so don’t bother)
  • Service Fuel Injection System $255 (Throttle body cleaning, can be done at home with brake cleaner, a rag and a toothbrush)
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50 (over the counter additive for your fuel, fill up at a reputable gas station and you’re good)
  • Cabin Air Filter "Service package" $92 (I know the answer on this, just putting in 'cause its funny) (you already mentioned this, it’s a 5 minute job)
  • IR Conditioning Oil $80 (What is the IR?) (Typo “air”, if it’s not broken, don’t touch it)
  • Battery Protection $80 (Put in a new battery last December for <$200) (buy a can of silicon spray, clean your battery off with a rag and lightly spray the terminals to seal them up)
  • Brake Fluid Flush $251 (this is legit)
Dealership mechanics get paid flat rate, means they only get paid a set amount for each job; they will suggest 10 different services (sometimes by priority) assuming you will really only do 1 or 2.

The entire industry is ******, salesmen are rewarded for being sleezy and mechanics are punished financially if they don’t up-sell a bunch of ****.
 

Dave-B

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Find a local, trustworthy, independent mechanic. They are worth their weight in gold and typically have more experience that any of the mechanics at the dealership. I have been operating a fleet of vehicles, many with over 150,000 miles, that have been reliable because we properly maintain them but don't do unnecessary maintenance the dealership makes up. A neighbor asked me for advice on a car of his with 100,000 miles that he brought to the dealership for an oil change. He did them them he noticed a strange thump when cornering. They said the steering column needed to be replaced, along with the part of the rear suspension which totaled over $3,000. I brought it to my mechanic and he found a rubber bumper (where suspension bottoms out) was broken in the rear suspension (suspension was fine). Parts and labor was $220 and another $120 for a front end alignment. This repair costs $340 instead of $3,000+.
 

62Blazer

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Those are all a joke and they are targeting people that don't know any better and will rip them off for the $900+ they are charging. Well, I guess the brake fluid flush is the only legitimate service but not worth $251 to anybody that has the same level of ability as changing the engine oil at home.
 

Marshall

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My dealer did the fuel intake, injector cleaning , and differential oil last oil change , as I can't do that stuff myself very good any more. Don't have a cabin filter I am going to have the brakes looked at, peddle getting a bit soft, just turned 80,000KM

On my 2010 I bought used, the first fellow has bought the service package, But sure is not free, my problem with it was I was a hour way from the dealer, but in this country I am a hour away from anywhere. Some of that stuff you list , is listed under the B.S. section in the book.
 
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Davesram1

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Just got my 2017 Bighorn 4x4 back from dealer doing regular pre-paid oil change (What a bargain that turned out to be, I take it in every 3k miles just like my Dad taught me!) They always say you only need it after 5k miles, but the service is covered at 3k, so I say why not!?

Anyway, I'm at about 73k miles, and they are recommending a lot of "odd" services I can't find in the standard maintenance schedule
  • Crankcase Cleaning $100
  • Service Fuel Injection System $255
  • Ethanol Defense Kit $50
  • Cabin Air Filter "Service package" $92 (I know the answer on this, just putting in 'cause its funny)
  • IR Conditioning Oil $80 (What is the IR?)
  • Battery Protection $80 (Put in a new battery last December for <$200)
  • Brake Fluid Flush $251
Are any of these worth it? The didn't want to talk about it much beyond that these are all "recommended".

Much appreciation for anyone who has any wisdom to share. Best to you.
Never accept any services they offer they’ll start saying you need you’ll need new rotors and hubs I recently changed mines on my 15 ram with only 72k miles never been changed since they left assembly. But never accept any other services it’s better to do it yourself than have them do it. Last time a buddy of mines took his truck to get serviced they didn’t put an official Mopar oil filter.
 

EdGs

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Took my truck in to get recalls done at about 50k miles, the service advisor shows me this sheet how my alignment is out:
20210304_073810-jpg.jpg
I said, "If my alignment is so bad, how come my tire wear is flat and even over the last 20k miles, and my truck tracks straight with no pull?

He stammered a bit and said I wasn't the first one to say that, and " Maybe our machine is off."

How about, "Maybe you just tried to screw me, and got caught."

This was a brand new dealership at the time, only about 2 months old.
 

Dean2

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  • Service Fuel Injection System $255 (Throttle body cleaning, can be done at home with brake cleaner, a rag and a toothbrush
Dealership mechanics get paid flat rate, means they only get paid a set amount for each job; they will suggest 10 different services (sometimes by priority) assuming you will really only do 1 or 2.

The entire industry is ******, salesmen are rewarded for being sleezy and mechanics are punished financially if they don’t up-sell a bunch of ****.
DO NOT clean your throttle body with brake cleaner, nor the TPS/TPM. Brake cleaner is highly aggressive and will severly mess up the electronics. Buy the correct cleaner for the job, they make TPS and throttle body cleaner for a very good reason.
 

62Blazer

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no reason to replace brake flulid unless it has water in it, and I would run from that service manager
Have to admit to never doing an actual brake fluid flush on any of my vehicles. Not saying it's the right thing to do, but I've been working on cars and trucks for 30+ years and have never personally seen a brake issue that was related to old fluid. My last truck I bought new and kept it for 16 years and put 150k miles on it and never any actual flush. I did change the front calipers one time so maybe had half a brake reservoir of fluid swapped out over it's life and never any brake issues. The wife had a minivan that was 8-9 years old with 130k on it with the original brake fluid when it was traded in, and again no issues.
Sure, if you get water or contaminants in the fluid it should be changed out........but where would that water and contamination come from on the normally sealed system?
 

PJ Snyder

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Battery Protection, i believe that they clean your battery terminal & put anti corrosion felt pads on the 2 posts

I believe in the owners manual, you may find a time or mileage Brake Fluid & Power Steering Fluid flush

You yourself can change the Cabin Air Filter
Fram Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter, is as good as any

Fuel Injection Service, there is a mileage service period
Is Ethanol crappier than gasoline ? I think that i waited until 100,000 miles before doing it to my 2009 Hemi,
before that i used Berrymans every few tanks
I have always used petroleum jelly on battery terminals with no corrosion.
 
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