Necessary Maintenance Items?

Hi,

I have to admit, I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to maintenance items ... which is why I'm reaching out to you all for help.

I went to my local Toyota dealer yesterday for an oil change. Usually I do it myself but I've been so busy I haven't had time. Cost me $100, which I expected because I specified synthetic, but the service person also suggested all these items:





Now, this is my third Tacoma, and second 4WD Tacoma. Last Tacoma was at 80,000 miles, this current one is at 40K. This dealership never suggested a "4WD service" for the last Tacoma. Air filters I did replace on the last one.

My question to you all is, how important are these items? Adding it all up, this is like $1600 worth of maintenance that I don't recall spending before. Are they trying to scam me?

Also lol the service lady tried to tell me that something was seriously wrong with my wheels/ TPMS sensors until I managed to get a word in and tell her that I put 3rd Gen wheels on a 2nd Gen Tacoma

Thanks in advance,

Kim

 

If you change your own oil then you already have the skill to do most the stuff on that list yourself. Lots of write-ups here on TW on how to do basic maintence on anything your not sure of.

 

In my opinion/expertise, you should change all the fluids in the running gear including the trans, do a brake flush.

filters can be done diy for way cheaper
Spark plugs are a 30k thing.

still mulling over what they mean by caliper service.

only reason why I say do the fluids is so you know WHEN the next time they should be serviced is.

 

2009 DCSB with 275K miles adding my $0.02 here. I absolutely hate dealerships ripping off people, over charging for simple maintenance items.

I have no idea what caliper service is either, and I do all my own maintenance. I would assume it's checking the seals on the pistons and lubing the guide springs. No way that is worth $300.

Brake fluid flush is sorta necessary since brake fluid absorbs water over time. A simple method is every time you change your oil, using a turkey baster, suck out old brake fluid, add new brake fluid, and dispose of the oil brake fluid with your old engine oil. Yeah, you don't get it all at once, but you'll eventually dilute it sorta new.

Air filter and pollen filter (aka cabin filter) are very DIY and take seconds, literal seconds, to accomplish at a fraction of the cost. I get my cabin filter for $7 and air filter for $12 off Amazon. All my oil analysis are coming back very clean so the cheap amazon air filter is doing the exact same job a $25 Fram or STP air filter would be doing.

Fuel injector cleaner is a bottle you pour in your tank. It's $8 for the Cheveron stuff, and $15 for Royal Purple. Reviews I've read state that these 2 are the best. I've had good success with Royal Purple recovering some MPGs.

Coolant flush is a bit more time involved but is a DIY for sure. Toyota OEM coolant is the best, but I've gotten by with using the wal-mart pink coolant for asian vehicles. It's missing a proprietary corrosion preventor that the Toyota Coolant only has, but since I'm flushing every year, it doesn't really matter for me.

4WD service is a very DIY. If you can change oil you can change the oil in your front, transfer case, and rear differential. I prefer Redline Gear oil, but it's pricey. Most recommend Lucas Oil since its available anywhere. An often overlooked, but needed maintenance item for 4WD Tacomas is lubing your grease zerks on your front and rear drive shaft. There are 2 on the front, 3 on the rear, total of 5. It takes seconds with a grease gun and I do mine every oil change.

Spark Plugs are every 30K miles, use factory denso plugs. Off amazon, they're $5 each. You'll need a torque wrench, some anti seize, and 45 min of time. I've done mine 9 times, its very easy.

Wiper blades I change twice a year. They don't last in the SoCal desert sun very long. I get the $4 ones at wal-mart. They just need to last me 6 months and they do. I haven't seen much performance difference between wiper blades except for when it snows, then I switch to one of those single support style wiper blades before going to where it snows. Helps with the streaking, as well as a fresh coating of rain-x.

Tacoma trucks are very robust and very easy to maintain. Everything is within reach, not too difficult, and plenty of manuals to follow.

 

The only thing dealers flush is their commodes.

 

try the Bosch blades, the are expensive, but, I have had one set on for almost 2 years. And Texas heat kills rubber in no time.

 

The maintenance schedule says coolant flush at 100k miles or 10 years.
You can buy all your spark plugs for ~$20.
There is nothing in the schedule about brake fluid. They should check for water in the fluid or at least show that it looks dirty to justify bleeding it.
I have no idea what a caliper service is, but doesn't your truck have drum brakes in the rear?

You can buy refills for the wipers if they are OEM for cheap. Also, silicone refills will fit; they should last a long time.

You should download a copy of the maintenance schedule on the toyota website.

Warning: the 4WD service is easy *in theory*. I just completed the 60k maintenance items on my truck. The previous owner had a dealership do 4WD service at 30k. They cranked on the diff fill/drain plugs insanely tight. The rear diff plug had to be loosened with an impact wrench. I had to have someone weld a hex socket to the front diff fill plug to finally break it loose.

Attached is what the 60k maintenance should consist of and how much I paid for the parts...

 

Brake fluid needs to be flushed at no more than 3 yrs, it is not on maintenance schedules for the simple reason of most people can’t do it in the garage. Just like brake lines, rubber ones need to be replaced every 5-10 years (depends on the manufacturer of the lines and the construction) also not in the maintenance schedule. Some stuff is easy to find just by asking the right people, like raybestos...