differental fluid change

I have a 2020 Tacoma Off Road with 41000 miles. I offroad on ocean beaches about 20 times a year. Every time I bring my truck to be serviced the service writer says I have to change the fluid in both differentials and transfer case for $350. I had a 2014 Grand Cherokee for 6 years and that dealership never mentioned it to me. Do I really need to do it? am I being ripped off for that price?

 

from the Toyota manual, this is every 15K.
Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy vehicle loading:7

Replace front differential oil (4WD)
Replace manual transmission oil
Replace rear differential oil
Replace transfer case oil (4WD)
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body

Otherwise I didn't see it mentioned


how does the oil look?

 

Not unreasonable interval, unreasonable price. It’s easy to do yourself.

 

If you aren’t towing heavy loads, or submerging the differentials in water, I’d wait until 30k.
It wouldn’t hurt to do the transfer case then as well, but I personally waited until 50k.
I don’t know what the manuals says, but I know my differentials and transfer case have made it fine so far, and I’ve gone well passed the recommended interval. I’m not saying you should, but but I think every 15k might be a bit excessive.

 

What is "every time"? 6 months? 12 months? 2 years?

If you're truck is at 41k and you've taken it in 3 times, the interval is reasonable. Manual is every 15k.

That cost isn't, though. It's cheap and easy to do yourself albeit annoying.

 

Don't know. If Im going to do it myself i
I get Fluids and just do it.

 

I haven't changed it yet

 

The transfer case fluid is pricey, but straight 75w oil is what is called for. $350 is pretty reasonable imo for the dealer to do it, given the amount of fluids and time. But it's not a hard job to do yourself, just messy and smelly. Tradeoff is that it gives you the opportunity to crawl all around under the vehicle and gove everything a once-over while you're already there.

But same question as cowfootball^^^, how often are you talking?

Are you driving into the surf at all? Or through shallow pools of standing saltwater? Even if it's not being sucked into the diffs/xfer case, much like those of us in the salt belt, all that ocean water can wreak havoc on the undersbody and frame, even degrading seals over time. Do you carefully wash the underbody once you're off the dunes?

 

I haven't changed the fluids on my truck yet. I do use a hose under the truck after offroading but have seen some rust.

 

i think you should change it based on mileage and use. the price is fair for a dealership.

 

I do it every 50k front and rear. No issues.