Necessary Services
 

Hey all,

I'm on my 18k mile service and I noticed that there are so many services to be done. Are all of them really necessary? If I don't do the service now which ones would I eventually HAVE to do in the future that's really crucial?


The dealer gave me a sheet that lists a bunch of recommended services such as:

Induction Flush
Injection Flush
EGR Flush (??)
A/C Tune Up
Power Steering Flush
Brake Flush
Cooling System Flush
Auto Transmission Flush
J/K Synthetic Transmission Flush
Rear/Front Differential Flush
Manual Transmission Flush
Transfer Case Service

Looks like that "dealer" wants to get rich. Some of those things the 370 doesn't even have (?).... "transfer case"?

yea there just stuff you dont have on the car.

EGR valve
transfer case

Check your service booklet or the back of your owner's manual.

Yeah he just gave me a general list of recommended services by the Dealership and hi-lighted some areas. So my question, if I pass up on some of these services now. Will I have to eventually get them done later?

Its says you drive a manual, I don't see why you would need an auto and manual flush

Find a new dealer, this guy is trying to screw you hard.:shakes head: Along with the mentioned items your Z does not have, add induction as well as front Front Differential to the list as well.

Induction Flush aka marketing gimmick for cleaning the air intake. BS
Injection Flush another marketing gimmick for cleaning the fuel injectors. Likely uneccessary @ 18k miles
EGR Flush (??) EGR: Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve
A/C Tune Up pfttt.. complete BS service
Power Steering Flush Not needed at 18k miles
Brake Flush Probably not needed at 18k miles but you should switch to a better brake fluid anyways. @30k is fine
Cooling System Flush Probably not needed at 18k miles. @30k is fine
Auto Transmission Flush n/a
J/K Synthetic Transmission Flush :wtf:
Rear/Front Differential Flush front n/a, Rear Probably not needed at 18k miles
Manual Transmission Flush Probably not needed at 18k miles. @30k is fine
Transfer Case Service n/a

The truth is, most of REQUIRED service is detailed in the manual. Of course, the dealer service rep only "Recommends" these services. Please don't fall for this crap. It's all mostly a bunch of gimmicks designed to basically steal your money. I've actually had them ask me if I wanted my tires rotated.:shakes head:

http://www.nissanusa.com/pdf/techpub...2010_N_SMG.pdf

Thanks Cmike. I'm and idiot and I fell into their trap!! I had the induction and brake flush today. Also, the dealer did ask me about balance and rotating tires. Then he went on and looked at the tires and wasn't sure so he said he would ask the tech. In the end they charged me $45 for balance. He said they balanced left to right (change left and right tires I'm guessing). So at the end of the day I felt like an idiot and lost a bunch of money. Not sure why I agreed to those services but I certainly learned.

In the service and maintenance manual, Schedule 1 maintenance doesn't really require to do much except for oil change. It's the premium maintenance schedule that services everything. When you say probably not needed at 18k miles, when would you recommend to start looking at those services?


Forgot to mention. I came in for an oil change when all of this occur.

Does it annoy you when the tech gets their dirty hands all over your steering wheel and shifter? It's pretty annoying to me to have to clean it up after them.

I think the only service you should be concerned with right now is finding a different shop to do your work for you. I mean seriously they not only screw on unnecessary work but their techs couldn't even bother to respect the interior of your car. I say find a new shop and don't look back.

Lesson learned, and hopefully you can spread the word on this garbage. They prey on your trust and instinct to perform precautionary actions. Hey, It's not like you're hurting the car, you're just a little lighter in the wallet.

As far as when you should do this, for the most part, it really depends a lot on your driving habits. For normal street driving, changing the coolant, brake & trans fluid can be fine for 60k miles or more. It could be as little as @30k miles or less if you tend drive it harder than most with some autocross or track use. The oil change and air filter is all the maintenance you really need to do until you reach the 60k mark for normal driving. Other things like the clutch, brake pads and tires obviously depends on the amount of wear.

Balancing add's those little weights you see on the wheels. Basically, it keeps the wheel from vibrating/wobble at speed. If you didn't notice any steering wheel shake at 60mph, chances are, they didn't need balancing.

Rotaring the wheels involves moving the back tires to the front to prolong tread life. Something you can't do because our car has a staggered set-up (back wheels are larger than the front).

Just remember, most of the service reps (the guy behind the computer screen) know surprisingly very little about cars, let alone the cars they "service." They are just reading off a screen and either want themselves to look good for their boss or fill a quota. They are just as useless as the car salesmen. It's a hit or miss with the tech's at the dealers (the one's who actually work on the car). Usually though, oil changes and the the easy stuff like "flushes" are handled by the least experienced of the bunch, so be warned. Make sure you are getting what you paid for. I have the maintenance plan for oil changes and they have tried to skimp out on me by using regular oil instead of Ester. Ester by the way is around $90 for an oil change, a huge difference over regular.

Next time they leave your car dirty or damaged in any way. You have to complain and tell them. I hate being that guy, but you have to complain, especially before leaving the lot.

May I offer a slightly different approach. If you feel the *service* was good, simply thank them for their suggestions and ask for the *exact* things you want at each
service.

Service Reps are just doing a job of course, and like any other profession suggesting selling, optional services etc...are part of it. A good rep will ask once, say these are optional things that go above and beyond. MFG's get in the act as well with Premium service plans in their books...but its not required.

If the Rep is pushy, or acts as if your car will explode without the EGR flush then its time to find someone different. If they are polite and simply ask and move on, and the service to your car meets expectations, then I don't see any reason to not use them.

- b

When they offer services that don't apply, it shows that they don't really give about you or your car and just want to squeez every penny out of you. I don't think anyone here is denying the validity of an optional service, as long as it applies. The reps might just be doing their job, but they're doing a pretty crapy job in this situation. It's dishonest and should not be tolerated.

Knowledge is the key thing here. If you're knowledgable about the service your car requires (or any "extras" that you may want), then you should do just fine. If you haven't got a clue about what's involved, check here (as you're doing) or seek a second or third opinion.

:iagree: dealers are always out to get your money...I mean I could tell when they listed a manual and auto tranny flush for the guy when he only had a manual. :shakes head: