Service After Toyota Care?

My 2017 has past it's 2 years of free Toyota Care service which consisted of the mileage service intervals. I'm coming up on the 30,000 mile service and I'm wondering if I should really pay the $90 that is costs or should I just do the oil change?

On one hand, it'd be nice to do the 30k mile service since I've had all of the previous ones done, but am I just paying for nothing on top of the oil change? I think the oil change itself is around $40-$50, so it's an extra $50 for the full 30k service which includes tire rotation and all of the fluid and point checks.

 

I would recommend paying for the next two, until you are past the 36,000 mile mark. The 30k service is the big one, it sucks because it's a lot more involved than your standard rotation and oil change. But if you have it on record that a Toyota house did it, they can't hassle you on any future warranty issues, i.e., "please prove you serviced this part before we consider your claim."

Feel free to do it on your own for the 40k service.

 

It depends on how much your time is worth.yoimcan Do an oil change and rotation yourself for about 30 bucks if you have your own tools and jacks. And it will cost you a couple of hours I cludi g taking your oil for disposal. You can also get underneath and grease the front propeller shaft and inspect your brakes,cv boots, and ball joints.
If you don’t feel like it, look for he best service deal including tire rotation inspection and oil change. It may not be your toyota dealer, it could be a Ford fast lane for example.

 

I keep seeing people post the 30k is a big one, but I don't see where it's much different than the others. A few more points to "inspect" but not really any more work. And is the dealer really inspecting those items anyway.

 

Diffs and transfer case is about it I think.

 

It depends on the dealer. Some actually do what they claim, a lot of them very likely half-ass it just like your local jiffy-lube techs do. But that doesn't matter-the important part is that they documented that they did it, and the documentation is worth as much as the service itself.

Here's a big what-if scenario: suppose your rear diff eats itself next week. You have it towed in because it's under warranty still. The dealer is going to ask for the record that shows you had the diff fluids inspected at 30,000 miles.

Here's another one: your crazy rich uncle left you a new TRD Pro in his will, and you now need to sell your old one. Having detailed service records is a nice negotiating chip to have when haggling over the value, especially if you are asking more than blue book list.


You're likely taking about a difference of $50-60 between having it done at the dealer vs. doing it on the cheap. That's a nice dinner for sure, but not a ton of money when it comes to properly documenting the care of your truck all the way through it's warranty period.

 

You make a convincing case. I will likely continue to just do the service intervals throughout my ownership of the truck. Even if I never have an issue, the records will show that I cared for the truck when it comes time to sell.

 

Very good points and I agree with everything you said. I was just trying to figure out why people say 30k is a Big one. I guess because its the last real service before the standard warranty is up.
Also, I use the toyotaowners app to keep track of any work I completed on our Rav4 and my Tacoma. When the dealer does anything it shows up too, so there are some well documented records for those two vehicles.