30K Maintenance

[clogan1981]

My dealership is telling me I need to drop a grand on 30K maintenance. They say they're going to replace the drive fluids, do a tune up and other stuff. My questions is what really needs to be done and about how much should it cost. Last time I spoke with them they said it would cost 300-500 I'm not sure why the jump now.

 

[WhiteExpress]

Well, ~30k is time for plugs to be changed.
It's also a good time to flush the trans fluid.
I haven't a clue what else they'd do, maybe the diff(s).

I can't help you with what it should cost, I don't let others work on my vehicles.

 

[Casper]

My dealership is telling me I need to drop a grand on 30K maintenance. They say they're going to replace the drive fluids, do a tune up and other stuff. My questions is what really needs to be done and about how much should it cost. Last time I spoke with them they said it would cost 300-500 I'm not sure why the jump now.

At 32K the owner's manual calls for replacement of all 16 spark plugs, oil change, tire rotation, inspect brakes (repair if needed), replace engine air filter, inspect transfer case fluid, inspect front suspension, tie rod ends, boots and seals replace if necessary, adjust parking brake.

Now fluids may need replacment, but that scraping sound is probably the sound of a stealership taking a gouge out of your wallet.

 

[Etroze86]

Yeah none of that is worth a grand most jiffy lubes do that with their damn inspection they do lol. Plugs would cost the most unless you are really hard on your brakes and you need new ones but like I said none of that should add up to a grand.

 

[Coop]

Are the plugs all that difficult to do on the 4Gs? The 3G was a snap, even after all the worry about the back ones on the driver side. 90 bucks and a couple beers.

A grand sounds ridiculous for 30K maint.

 

[Power247]

Plugs are not that bad. Did them at 50k miles on my '09 and really should have done them sooner. It is not hard but very time consuming. unless you have an overhead creeper you will spend several hours laying on top of your engine. There are several good videos on YouTube if you search. Probably not much different than your 3rd Gen.

Dealer quoted me $300 just to do the plugs. I picked up iridium replacements on sale and rebate AutoZone for about $50 and took a Saturday afternoon to change them. I let the dealer do the trans fluid change since i really didn't feel comfortable doing that myself. All the other checks were already done by them when they changed the oil since my '09 came with the service plan.

For the same money you can do the plugs yourself and get a nice CAI to replace that dirty stock air filter

 

[apepe0738]

They suggest that you replace your spark plugs, diff fluids, transfer case fluid, and trans fluid. I did all this (except the transmission) at ~30K on my 2011 and this is what I found:

Diffs/Transfer Case: Found that the oil was still good, almost new in fact. I changed them anyway since I already drained it.

Transmission Fluid: While some may disagree, I always say check the color of the fluid, should be a cherry red, if it is dark or black, change it, otherwise wait until 100k miles. Note that if you need the fluid changed, unless you plan on dropping the trans, you need to have it flushed. Dropping the pan and filling it back up does not get rid of all the fluid stuck in the TC, thus only a partial fluid change.

Spark Plugs: This would be the only thing I would really recommend changing. When I changed mine, they were not bad, but they would need to be changed soon. They were $80 out the door from the dealer for 16 plugs.

Other than inspecting the truck for other wear, you should be good to go. And above all, if you really want to do it, do it yourself. Trust me you will save A LOT of money in the end, may learn a thing or 2, and for a few hours of your time, you know that the maintenance was done right.

 

[RCFiddyOne]

At 32K the owner's manual calls for replacement of all 16 spark plugs, oil change, tire rotation, inspect brakes (repair if needed), replace engine air filter, inspect transfer case fluid, inspect front suspension, tie rod ends, boots and seals replace if necessary, adjust parking brake.

Now fluids may need replacment, but that scraping sound is probably the sound of a stealership taking a gouge out of your wallet.

You can do all of this on a Saturday with a case of beer and a buddy to hold the light. Don't pay the dealer to do something you can do yourself.

Also, I need to get the part number for the plugs they use on the police Charger since they are rated for 100k mile lifespan. I will put those in on my 30k service.

 

[Sparkyy]

I did my 60K check up over a couple weekends as its hard doing work in an apartment parking lot and takes a good 8 minute walk back to my place.

Spark plus were somewhat easy, did rip the coil pack boot off on the furthest spark plug on the passenger side and found out that no one had ever changed out my plugs beforehand the gap was .55 to .62!!

Did the front and rear diff which were the easiest and the scariest part was the transmission for me but got both filters swapped out and filled up with about 8 quarts of fluid.

Now I could probably knock it all out in a day with no problem, just take your time and make sure you have everything you'll need ready.