Maintenance Madness II: Dealer vs. Manufacturer Maintenance Schedules

Previously, we explained how to better understand the manufacturer's maintenance schedule. But what happens when you pull into the dealership for service and the dealer's recommended maintenance schedule is different from the manufacturer's recommended maintenance service as listed in the owner's manual? Often this is the case and most owners don't even realize it. You go in for your 30,000-mile service expecting to pay $150.00, and the estimate comes to $300.00, or more. "What happened?" you ask yourself, as you leave in a state of shock. Believe us, you are not alone, and if you get over the sticker shock to ask why, the dealership service advisor's answer is most likely that "this is the recommended maintenance schedule!"

The next question you should be asking is, whose schedule? You have the manufacturer recommended maintenance and the dealer recommended maintenance and they are not likely to be the same schedule. The dealer recommended maintenance schedule is more comprehensive, and more expensive, than the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule. Try this: Call several dealers for your make of vehicle and ask for the 30,000-mile service and ask for a price quote and what it includes. Also be sure to ask about package prices versus individual item pricing, as some dealers do discount for packaged services. While on the phone don't forget to ask if they have any other discounts, other than packages, such as coupons or flyers with discounted prices. Take extensive notes and most likely you will find that each dealer has a similar but different schedule, as well as different pricing. This makes it difficult to compare prices between different dealers, because the services are not exactly the same. It also makes for some interesting price shopping, as the dealers who quote the lowest prices are usually the ones to get your business, and you may later find out why they were so inexpensive. The quote may seem all inclusive and upfront, but there may be some hidden costs for things that are recommended but not included on their basic list of maintenance items. You may also find that their list is a little short compared to the manufacturer's list. So is the dealer just out to make a quick profit on useless services or are the additional items on the dealers recommended service schedule worth the extra cost?

Every vehicle owner is different and the requirements for some owners are different than for others. For instance, some owners lease their vehicles and are only required to do the manufacturer-recommended maintenance. Other owners buy their vehicle and plan to keep it until automobiles become a rare and extinct species, for those owners there are benefits to following the dealer's recommended maintenance schedule. Maintenance requirements depend on the owner's long-term goals with the vehicle, and it is up to the owner to decide the maintenance services that meet their needs.

To illustrate, we will follow through on a 30,000-mile service for one particular vehicle and compare manufacturer-recommended and dealer-recommended maintenance schedules. Our comparison vehicle will be the Edmunds.com long-term Jeep Grand Cherokee that recently went in for it's 30,000-mile service to an authorized Jeep dealer.

That's quite an extensive list of additional recommended maintenance (some of which appear redundant) by the dealer, and you have to ask yourself, is it all necessary? If you authorize it, what is the additional cost? Before you say, "Oh those dealers are just trying to rip me off," let's take a more in-depth look at some of those items the dealer is recommending and analyze if they are important to the health of your vehicle, based on your driving habits.

Let's look at those additional dealer-recommended maintenance items and briefly describe each item. We'll try to give you information on each one to help in making your decision about whether this should be part of your maintenance schedule.

• Install premium engine treatment -- this certainly will not hurt your engine and does help in the long run to keep it cleaner; most of these cleaners are of the aftermarket variety and are used with a flush type of system. Fairly new to the market, most premium engine treatments use a chemical cleaner that is heated and run through your engine from a pressured flush machine. This really does work to remove build-up from the engine, most beneficial to long-term owners or those with turbocharged engines.



• Check and adjust fluid levels, inspect visually for fluid leaks -- fluid levels are supposed to be checked monthly according to our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule but most of us don't have a lift in our garages to properly check for leaks, as just checking the floor for drips does not catch a leak until it is quite large.



• Add windshield washer solvent and test system -- according to our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, this is recommended at each fuel stop, but checking the system operation should be done on a periodic basis. In certain geographic areas, the washer jets and/or the washer system filters are more prone to clogging than others, typically due to dirt or dust.



• Add engine and fuel system treatment -- opinions are sure to vary on this subject, we'd recommend that you pass on these treatments, as with most additives. Keep in mind that additives are just poured in their perspective areas of treatment, and not used in conjunction with a flush-type machine. Note this does vary from the "premium engine treatment" above in that this is just an additive, as is the fuel system treatment. Consider "servicing the fuel injection system," which we address below.



• Lubricate door hinges and hood latch -- most of us never do this on our own and periodic lubrication does extend the life of the mechanisms. We'd even recommend that the weather strips to sprayed with a silicone-based lubricant to prolong their life as well.



• Inspect water pump weep hole (if applicable) -- a visual inspection that could prevent you having a water pump failure on the road, typically included with other visual inspections at little to no cost to the consumer.



• Service crank case breather (if applicable) -- not listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, yet it will get dirty and eventually clogged, typically creating oil pressure buildup which could possibly lead to oil leaks. It's usually not very expensive to replace and we would recommend having it checked with your tune-up interval service.



• Service smog valve/PCV system -- listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule at 60,000 miles or 48 months.



• Inspect condition of belts &hoses -- listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule at 90,000 miles or 72 months for the belt. Hoses, per our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, are recommended to be checked "at each oil change."



• Road test &quality control check -- not listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, but you'd be surprised what a different driver can find in one test drive, usually at little to no charge. For example you may not notice that your vehicle is getting some pulsation when braking but the technician may notice it immediately on a brief test drive. As the vehicle ages, small changes that take place are harder for the daily driver to detect.



• Service fuel injection system (recommended additional) -- surprisingly not listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, and listed as recommended rather than required even on the dealer's list. This service does help prevent clogged or partially clogged fuel injectors, and is beneficial for long-term owners. We would recommend this to be included with your tune-up interval service; unfortunately there is no way to inspect the injectors without removal.



• Inspect and adjust brakes -- brake inspection is listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule at 22,500 miles or 18 months and every 15,000 miles on the dealer-recommend maintenance schedule. Brake adjustment is not listed on the manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, and is most likely not required unless your vehicle is equipped with drum brakes, but if they require adjustment, your dealer will advise.



• Inspect drive belt -- see previous section above regarding "Inspect condition of belts and hoses."



• Flush automatic transmission fluid -- flushing automatic transmission fluid is not listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule. Drain and refill of automatic transmission fluid and filter change is listed at 30,000 miles or 24 months.



(One of your biggest vehicle expenses is an automatic transmission failure, which typically requires transmission assembly replacement; this is cheap insurance for long-term owners and removes more contaminants than the drain and refill service can -- new machines are available to exchange 99 percent of the transmission's fluid -- drain and refill services typically replace 50 percent or less of the transmission's fluid.)

• Visually check emissions control systems -- see previous section above titled "Service smog valve/PCV system."



• Replace fuel filter(s) (if applicable) -- A replacement interval is also not listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule. According to our phone call to Daimler-Chrysler, Jeep vehicles are using a long-term fuel filter and do not have a scheduled interval for replacement. It is certainly better to replace it early than to have a clogged filter cause a breakdown. Typical fuel filter replacement occurs between 30,000 and 60,000 miles, so we would not go further than 90,000 miles for replacement of this long-term fuel filter.



• Clean and lubricate antenna mast (when applicable) -- this applies to power antennas only. Antenna masts require oil to move up and down smoothly, and the oil attracts dirt, which makes the antenna mast stick. A stuck mast can lead to a broken mast, so lube it often; it is cheaper than replacement.



• Throttle Body clean -- not listed on the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule for most manufacturers. The throttle body does get a build up of dirt and oil and will eventually stick, causing drivability concerns. It is probably better to clean it before you pay to diagnose a drivability concern and find out that this was the cause. We would recommend having it checked with your scheduled tune-up service, and let the technician advise you as to the condition.



• Replace manual transmission fluid when applicable -- not an available option on our vehicle, therefore not listed on the manufacturer's maintenance schedule. For vehicles with manual transmissions, fluid replacement is less expensive than an internal parts failure and can be cheap insurance.



• Transmission service with filter -- see previous section above titled "Flush automatic transmission fluid."



• Visually inspect timing belt -- not applicable for our Jeep Grand Cherokee, therefore not listed on the manufacturer's maintenance schedule. If your vehicle does have an engine-timing belt, replace at the manufacturer's recommended interval.



• Visually inspect distributor cap and rotor -- not applicable for our Jeep Grand Cherokee, therefore not listed on the manufacturer's maintenance schedule. If your vehicle does have a distributor cap and rotor, replace at the manufacturer's recommended interval or when recommended by technician, typically during an engine tune-up interval service.



• Front & rear differential service -- listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule at 12,000 mile intervals on schedule "B,"(Severe-duty) not listed on schedule "A"(Normal-duty), which is the schedule we are following here. Use you best judgment -- fluid replacement is less expensive than any internal parts failure.



• Cooling system pressure check -- if you are following our Jeep manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, then you are checking the coolant level once a month. If you are noticing coolant loss, you may want to have a cooling system pressure check performed to find a possible leak in the system. Otherwise the cooling system is pressurized every time you use the vehicle unless there is a leak in the system.



• Flush cooling system -- listed on our Jeep's manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule at 45,000 miles or 36 months. This recommendation is more in line with current mileage trends of approximately 15,000 miles driven per year, hence the 45,000 miles or 36 months recommendation. Previously, 10,000 miles driven per year was considered average, which would have worked out to 30,000 miles or 36 months, but vehicles continue to increase the miles driven per year.

Now you may be asking, "If these additional services are important, why doesn't the manufacturer recommend them?" The manufacturers want to keep the service schedules as simple and cost effective as possible for their customers. Reduced intervals on services are currently a major selling point on new vehicles. The less time the customer spends with the vehicle in for service the more satisfied the customer is going to be. Reduced maintenance also has to do with technological advances in electronics and computers. More electrical and less mechanical control, equals fewer components to service, which means less frequent services.

Now you have seen what's included in the complete 30,000-mile service for one vehicle as listed by the manufacturer and the dealer. Hopefully, you understand the differences more clearly now. In most cases, it is best to decide what your long-term goals are for your vehicle in terms of length of ownership before setting your maintenance standards. In other cases it is clear, especially if it is a company vehicle or a leased vehicle that you plan on turning in at the end of your contract, that you should perform the minimum manufacturer-scheduled maintenance. In any event, you must decide what you can and are willing to do, and if you would rather pay a little now for maintenance or big bucks later for repairs.