Local dealer recommended services?

Hello everyone,
Dealer mailed out a coupon for a discounted oil change. I usually do it myself, but with work and the cold weather I took advantage of it. While I was there they hit me with a laundry list of recommended services. I deferred them all for now, but hoping you guys can tell me what these are for and if they are really necessary.

2016 Tacoma TRD sport 4 door 4wd with extended bed
42,700 miles currently on it.
Original owner

List from dealer
------------------
power steering exchange $140.70
4wheel drive service $344.85
Fuel injection cleaning $174.95
4 wheel alignment $159.95
Front brake job $464.25

The front brakes are bad-pretty rusted and stopping I am feeling some pulsating. This just happened over the past winter. Hard to believe that they are rusting away already so I will be replacing them myself. Dealer wants $328.84 for new factory oem rotors and pads. I will check autozone to see what they will cost me there.

The tires are also the original oem tires I got with the truck new, so I will probably have to replace them this year. I had them rotated and balanced recently and the guy said they probably wont be able to do it again due to the age. They were at 6 and 5/32s on wear. I believe What tires do you guys recommend as best replacement? I don't do any off-roading or anything.

But other than the tires and brakes, any validity to the above recommended services? What should I have done with the truck up to this point or what do you guys recommend? I can't find my service manual for the life of me. Sorry if this has been asked before.
Thanks for your help,
Mav

 

They recommended "Fuel injection cleaning"? and for $174.95? That alone would make me question everything else

 

https://repairpal.com/estimator/toyota/tacoma/maintenance-schedule

Maintenance Schedule for Toyota Tacoma
Select Your Mileage
45,000 Mile Service
(Estimate: $162 - $190)
What to Expect

• This service generally involves an oil and filter change, tire rotation, and safety inspection, as well as possible replacement of the engine air filter and cabin air filter.
• While changing the oil, the mechanic should perform a visual inspection of the brakes, belts, hoses. The mechanic should also look for any fluid leaks, listen for any abnormal noises, and pay attention to any irregularities in the operation of the vehicle.
• If this service is performed at the dealership, they should also take care of any necessary recalls.

Additional Repairs That May Be Necessary

• Brake pad replacement
• Tire replacement

Service intervals may vary between auto manufacturers. Please consult your owners manual for service information related to your specific vehicle.

 

Rust on brake rotors is not a problem if you use your truck on a regular basis. The minor surface rust gets worn off by the pads. I don’t remember ever replacing brake rotors my whole life and I live in the rust belt.

 

Minor surface rust is not a problem but once it gets beyond minor it just gets worse and eats pads. I paid under $200 for OEM pads and rotors last year from one of the online Toyota parts dealers.

Hard to go wrong with Michelin Defender LTX for tires.

 

It will never go beyond minor surface rust if you use the truck on a regular basis.

 

Find a new dealer. They are trying to take advantage of you.

 

OP only has 42,700 miles in 6+ years. I think a lot of rotors went beyond minor during the pandemic when people were not going anywhere.

 

Sounds a bit much, but what they pointed out is perhaps due sooner than later. Prices seem a tad higher than what I’d see locally

 

I worked for a Ford dealership that would bait customers with cheap oil changes to then gouge them for additional un-needed repairs. Customer Service Reps would say "let's see if that guy has Stupid written across his forehead". My favorite was telling customers that their lug nuts needed to be replaced after every tire change or rotation because they will swell up and your tire iron won't fit on the lug nuts anymore. We sold a lot of lug nuts. If your truck is out of warranty do not go to a dealership (sorry stealer ship.)
My late uncle who died in January took his 2007 Chevy Uplander religiously to our local Chevrolet dealership for years. He swore the service was so much better there and he felt comfortable with their recommendations. Then a few weeks before he died, they did a complete rebuild on the left front suspension for $1500. Said it needed immediate attention.
I took over this van to sell and about died when I crawled underneath to check things out and found the unibody frame rails rotted out right next to the repairs they had done to his van. They never told him it should be going to a junkyard instead and made the repairs anyway. The body looked great, but the frame was so bad the rear sliding doors would often not open or close back up completely. This customer service friendly dealership ripped off a 92-year-old man like that. Scum of the earth every one of them.

 

That's a good brake job price if it uncludes parts and labor

Everything else looks like normal pricing for a dealer.

 

I’m skeptical.

 

I would not replace the rotors for a little surface rust. They are bare metal and will rust if not driven. In my years of driving I have only replaced rotors if they were warped or cut into by worn pads.
If you can do an oil change you can probably do your own 4x4 services. I'd say that isn't a horrible idea to do soon but you can do it for less.

There is probably a way to do the power steering fluid. I don't think that is as critical.

I would not pay for the fuel injection cleaning unless you have harsh idle or performance issues. Use an in tank cleaner with top tier gas at every 5000 miles is what I do for maintenance.

I would consider the alignment when you get new tires.

 

This right here is why I'm so pro on doing some of the maintenance on your vehicles or having family or someone trustworthy that isn't financial incentives to sell you stuff like the commissioned service writers.

Having a look for your self or a trusted 2nd option can stop that.

 

I also have a 2016 but about 80k my brakes are still good but I plan on replacing pads this summer. It really depends on your braking habits. My friends wife’s car needs new pads every 30k.

Really…power steering exchange $140.70 typically they drain the reservoir fill, run. Replace reservoir again, 1-2 qts of fluid and on Baster bulb

also a drain and fill 4 wheel drive service $344.85
A bottle or two f injection cleaner. Fuel injection cleaning $174.95
I would after new tires. 4 wheel alignment $159.95
I’d check around for rotors and pads, but $120 in labor is fair Front brake job $464.25

 

Dealership is my go to for warranty work and recalls.

Even when a know a great tech at a dealer, they have no control over the pricing.

So for the things I can't or don't want to do, reputible independants are on tap.

 

I finally found a service writer that doesn't try and stick it to me every time I go in so I stick with her, but the safest thing to do when a service writer recommends something is to ask him/her to show you on the factory maintenance schedule where it says that. If they can't or if they give you some line like it's our recommended service that goes above what the manufacturer recommends, blah blah blah, you're being take for a ride. If it's not on the factory schedule, don't do it.

 

I saw some comments about replacing brakes and thought I would mention this. When I sold my 2004 Corolla with over 150000 miles I never replaced or even tried to turn the rotors or drums. I'm doing the same thing right now with my 13 Sienna. It currently has 70000 miles. The trick is to keep the pads changed before they can chew up or warp the rotors. I watch them closely when it starts getting time to replace them, I will do it before the pads do any damage. So far it has worked. My nephew who is a mechanic says it will work doing that provided the rotors don't wear down or break. I had the same drums on my 65 Ford Galaxies which I sold recently since 1989. I changed pads and kept the drums free of debris and moisture.

 

10$ for a quart of maxlife atf and you can do the powersteering yourself with 2 beers, drink beer one. use to collect old fluid while drinking beer 2 doing the 5 min flush.

Needless to say, all that shit is well shit, the dealer as always will try n fuck you, hard, with no lube... kinda like the govt.

Dont bother going to them for tires, find a good tire shop in the area prices will be cheaper. also +1000 to Michelin Defender LTX M/S tires.

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Sorry I haven't been able to respond until now-work has been insane. To answer everyone's skeptism on the brakes-The brakes are bad. As you can see by the mileage I don't drive it a whole lot-have a sedan as my DD that gets way better mpg, so it sits a lot-I try to drive truck on weekends, etc. Anyways, while driving it today I was feeling lots of vibrations and pulsating from the pedals. I had to stop hard once and after doing so I was smelling brake pads in the cab, so I'm going to definitely have to replace the pads and rotors. It's crazy that they rusted out as fast as they did, but what am I going to do.

The parts dept. at my local dealer quoted me $79.95 for oem replacement pads and $227.38 for oem replacement rotors (113.69 each) totaling 328.84 with tax. The service dept. quoted me $464.25 for them to do brake job. I called back service and confirmed that is the cost with parts (basically the 328.84 + $135.41 for labor). Looking online at autozone, the prices for pads are from $57-$69 for pads and $87-$105 for each rotor. Unless you guys have better recommendations for good pads and rotors around the same price, I was thinking of just getting the OEM stuff from the dealer as the prices aren't that much higher. I know how to do brake jobs. I have done them several times on cars and I imagine the Tacoma wouldn't be much different. My only concerns is will my floor jack (harbor freight-pittsburgh 3ton low profile) will get the front of the truck high enough to put it on some 6 ton harbor freight jack stands I already have. I also need a tool to push the pistons in far enough so that I can put the new pads one. Anyone have any recommendations for a tool and also do you think my jack will work? Otherwise I will just bite the bullet and pay the $465 and have them do all the work. Not sure if it is worth the extra $136 in savings to do it myself.

In regards to the 4wd drive service, I asked about that and they confirmed that it is just a drain and fill of the front dif, rear dif, and transfer case. I watched a couple of youtube videos and I think I can handle that. It looks pretty straight forward and it also looks like you don't need to jack the truck up on stands to do it. just crawl underneath and do it while taco is on flat surface. I just need to find my manual to get the recommended replacement OEM fluid from toyota. I also need to find where to buy those pumps with the attached tubing that connect to the bottles that everyone was using on the youtube videos. Again I think I can do that and save myself some money.
The alignment I won't worry about until I get new tires. Speaking of tires, my dealer has a promo for buy 3 and get fourth for 1$. Since I didn't know what tires to go with, he sent me a quote with 4 different tires he recommended along with their prices. His computer would only let him do a comparison of 4 tires, so these are the ones he sent me.

Yokohama Geolandar H/T G056 OWL p265/65R17 110 T SKU: 05619 $861.80 with tax
Toyo Open Country A30 BW P265/65R17 110 S SKU: 310420 $783.90 with tax
Michelin Defender LTX M/S BSW 265/65R17 112 T SKU: 02033M $1128.30 with tax
Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 OWL P265/65R17 110 T SKU: 01525 $882.30 with tax

This includes labor and free tire rotations for life. Not sure if any of these tires are recommended (well RichVT said Michelin Defender LTX were good) but if so let me know and I will check my local costco, sams, tire barn and discount tire to see if they can do better as I haven't bought tires in a long time. Or if there are other tires I should be looking at. I don't do any offroading, just normal driving. So for me tires that will last a long time, give good mpg/fuel efficient, and ride nice with minimal noise would be what I would be looking for.

The power steering change and fuel injector cleaning I really don't care about at this time. Neither is an issue at this time (steering is fine and acceleration is also fine) and I am assuming that the dealer was just trying to get money out of me. For me right now it is definitely the brakes, the diff fluids and the tires. Please let me know your thoughts on the above.
Thanks,
Mav

PS-when do I need to do the ATF fluid change? While watching YT vids on the diff stuff I ran across a couple of videos on doing it. It too looks like something I can do, just have to figure out how to put taco in that AT temp mode.