30K mile service

[hondoford]

Guys stop being so cheap or go back to driving Elantras. The 30K service on my '08 Subaru STi was $795. You're driving a premium car so either buck up and spend half a car payment on maintainence or do the work yourself.

 

[TEF]

Aside from some additional features, luxury cars differ little mechanically from cheaper ones and the question here seems to be how much one should pay for a 30K Service Check. Relative to the manual, the check seems to consist of an oil change and a long list of "checking" things. Why should anyone be charged hundred of dollars for something so vague and that cannot be verified? Even worse, some dealers are claiming to change or checking items (plugs and throttle body) falling outside of manufacturer's recommendations. Having owned numerous new cars since 1966, I've never bothered with these checks nor have I ever had a related mechanical failure. Change oil as recommended and check critical fluid levels and brakes at the same time. Luxury car or not, these "checks" at certain intervals are just revenue generators for dealer service departments. Moreover, once one's warranty ends, one gets no star on his/her chart for having paid for them. One is usually charged the same for repair work falling outside the warranty regardless of regular checks or not. Save your money now and apply it to future necessary repairs.

 

[sarge]

Guys stop being so cheap or go back to driving Elantras. The 30K service on my '08 Subaru STi was $795. You're driving a premium car so either buck up and spend half a car payment on maintainence or do the work yourself.

There is nothing miserly about refusing to pay for unnecessary (and in some cases non-existant) services. The Hyundai recommended services for the 30K visit include a number of visual inspections, an oil change and tire rotation, and 3 new air filters. That's it, and that's all that is necessary. All of the other services mentioned in this thread are dealer add-ons that do nothing but lighten your wallet.

Of course, if paying for extra services provides some peace of mind, then spend the money. I'll get my oil changed at 3000 miles, even though the Hyundai web site recommends 7500 for the first service on my car.

 

[jefmoody]

Guys stop being so cheap or go back to driving Elantras. The 30K service on my '08 Subaru STi was $795. You're driving a premium car so either buck up and spend half a car payment on maintainence or do the work yourself.

People of means don't get there by allowing themselves to be ripped-off. The very reason many of us bought this car was to get luxury at 1/2 price. Before the Genesis, I had never set foot in a Hyundai Dealership; so, I cannot go back to an Elantra but you may be on to something with that idea.
Final thought: I'd rather give someone a $100 bill for no reason than have someone charge me a $100 for a $50 job.

 

[STREETS]

Can someone clue me into the anti-freeze in the Genesis? Dealer said that it should be flushed every 30-35K miles. He said the days of using 100K fluid is gone. Never heardof going backward- new and improved- this in new and sucky suck sucker! No?

 

[homeofstone]

Can someone clue me into the anti-freeze in the Genesis? Dealer said that it should be flushed every 30-35K miles. He said the days of using 100K fluid is gone. Never heardof going backward- new and improved- this in new and sucky suck sucker! No?

Check your car's manual. In the maintenance section it gives you a schedule of what should be done at what mileage interval. In my manual it states that the original coolant(antifreeze) is to be repalced at 120,000 miles after that every 30,000. Your dealer is ripping you off. Let me suggest that you read through the manuals for your car at least twice then study the manitenance section so you will not get told BS.

 

[mikec]

The Genesis owner's manual says the first anti-freeze task/job is to replace it at 60,000 miles or 60 months. From then on, replace it every 30,000 miles or 24 months. The Genesis uses "old fashioned" ethylene glycol anti-freeze, not the newer "long life" mixtures. Why? Don't know exactly though I have some suspicions:
1) ethylene glycol is a "known" quantity - there are many years of service history. For a company like Hyundai that hasn't been making their own engines for decades there hasn't been a whole lot time for them to have long-term tested the new anti-freeze chemicals.

2) the "long life" stuff hasn't exactly been as perfect as it was supposed to be. Coolant related failure rates have been higher for some vehicles using this stuff unless owners changed the anti-freeze more frequently than the "long life" was supposed to allow. A local garage that I trust thinks it causes quite a few problems unless owners change the anti-freeze at the 30,000 mile/24 month "normal coolant" type of intervals. Think "New Coke" - it was supposed to be better but it turned out not to be.

I know I personally would never let anti-freeze go 100,000 miles in any vehicle regardless of what the anti-freeze claims it's capable of. If nothing else, just grit and grime accumulation is enough to contaminate it long before then. Anti-freeze has a few key tasks:
1) the main task: lowering the freezing point of the water and raising the boiling point (pressurizing the cooling system does a lot of this too)
2) lubricating the water pump
3) keeping the water from causing corrosion to the metal parts of the engine.

Engine coolant is really a mix of water and the anti-freeze of course. The water is the primary "heat mover" of the mix; anti-freeze generally can't move as much thermal energy as the same volume of water. So mixing water and anti-freeze actually reduces the thermal capacity of the system... as backwards sounding as that may be. Anti-freeze is necessary for the 3 items I listed above - basically protecting the engine, water pump, and radiator from the "bad" things water causes like corrosion. The fact that anti-freeze generally reduces the thermal capacity of the system is why the owners manuals lists recommended anti-freeze to water ratio based on the ambient temperatures expected: the hotter it'll be (outside air temps) when you drive, the less anti-freeze you want so you have more water by percentage/ratio for higher thermal capacity. For really cold (Alaska) type of temperatures you need more anti-freeze to prevent system freeze-ups.

mike c.

 

[mikec]

In my manual it states that the original coolant(antifreeze) is to be repalced at 120,000 miles after that every 30,000.

Interesting - I just double-checked my 2009 manuals and it definitely says 60,000 miles for the first replacement - and this is in the "Normal maintenance schedule" too - not the "maintenance under severe usage conditions" section. So did the recommended anti-freeze type change between 2009 and 2011?

What about transmission fluid - my 2009 manual shows "Inspection" only for the transmission fluids - no change at all implying "lifetime" fluid. That's something I won't let go beyond 60,000 miles either. I've heard the 2010-later manuals DO have a change interval instead of "lifetime" - what does your 2011 manual say?

mike c.

 

[homeofstone]

Interesting - I just double-checked my 2009 manuals and it definitely says 60,000 miles for the first replacement - and this is in the "Normal maintenance schedule" too - not the "maintenance under severe usage conditions" section. So did the recommended anti-freeze type change between 2009 and 2011?

What about transmission fluid - my 2009 manual shows "Inspection" only for the transmission fluids - no change at all implying "lifetime" fluid. That's something I won't let go beyond 60,000 miles either. I've heard the 2010-later manuals DO have a change interval instead of "lifetime" - what does your 2011 manual say?

mike c.

I doubled checked and the coolent does say 120000. Transmission says to inspect only and servere is every 60000 for the trans. fluid.

 

[eyexciteme]

So I just got a quote of $595.00 for my 30k tuneup! I literally was speechless, told them I'd call back for my appointment. I then called a different lot (under the same dealership name, mind you), and was given a quote of three different options ranging from $209 to $425...I'll give you two guesses where I'm going.

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[geetee]

i dont plan on taking my car to the dealer for routine maintenance.

although, hyundai dealer prices don't seem as bad as euro-$tealers - try $200 for an OIL CHANGE at your friendly MB/BMW stealer.. LOL

 

[STREETS]

What is dealer #2 doing for $295-$495?

30K- shouldn't need brakes. No tune-up.
Maybe rotate/balance tires & align, check brakes, change filters- replace wiper blades?
Honestly- what else? I do all that myself (minus alignment- that was $99 included in winter tire changeover/mount/balance)
$495 would be brake job at about 55-50K

 

[homeofstone]

i dont plan on taking my car to the dealer for routine maintenance.

although, hyundai dealer prices don't seem as bad as euro-$tealers - try $200 for an OIL CHANGE at your friendly MB/BMW stealer.. LOL

Not all Mercedes and BMW dealers rip you off. The ones here in Athens GA have very fair prices and the BMW dealer is less expensive than Autozone on some parts. A dealer of any brand can rip people off. There use to be Chevy dealer here that was known for high service prices and add-ons, (long gone now.) The service I have received from Rick Case Hyundai in Duluth(Atlanta) has been very low cost.

 

[TEF]

I am convinced that these scheduled service events are a concession to dealerships by manufacturers (to make money after the sale). Most states with annual inspections will spot safety issues like worn tires and brakes and a manufacturer's warranty covers problems dealing with none-wear items. Unless one is willing to spend hundreds of dollars for someone to check fluid levels (and recommend unnecessary, expensive service), stay well clear of all dealerships. If one has specific issues like tire balance or wheel alignment (not covered by warranty), use speciality shops - that's their trade and generally they excell in these functions. I've never bothered with scheduled services at dealerships nor have I ever experienced major or minor problems by skipping them. In short, if it's not broken, don't fix it.

 

[Mark_888]

I am convinced that these scheduled service events are a concession to dealerships by manufacturers (to make money after the sale). Most states with annual inspections will spot safety issues like worn tires and brakes and a manufacturer's warranty covers problems dealing with none-wear items. Unless one is willing to spend hundreds of dollars for someone to check fluid levels (and recommend unnecessary, expensive service), stay well clear of all dealerships. If one has specific issues like tire balance or wheel alignment (not covered by warranty), use speciality shops - that's their trade and generally they excell in these functions. I've never bothered with scheduled services at dealerships nor have I ever experienced major or minor problems by skipping them. In short, if it's not broken, don't fix it.

I sort of agree with you, except there actually is nothing that the manufacturers are actually doing to encourage this. If an owner looks at their owner's manual (instead of just believing the dealer) they can see the items that need service at any particular interval and have those items done individually.

At one time (about 25 years ago) cars needed oil change, new spark plugs, tune-up (points, rotor, sometimes distriubutor cap, timing adjustment, etc) every 12K miles, so the XX,XXX mile scheduled service made some sense, but those days are long gone. Also, modern brakes are designed to make noises when they need new pads (before there is any danger) so not that many things need to be inspected, assuming an owner is capable of looking under their hood and checking some fluid levels.

 

[scottdk]

Just an FYI......for the hell of it I checked pricing with my dealer for a coolant flush, and a differential drain and refill:

Coolant flush for $149 (drain and refill $99)

Differential drain and refill $79.

I think this is very reasonable, especially for a dealer. Diff doesn't require attention "normally" until 60,000 miles per the manual and it's just an inspection, but I figure since it's pretty cheap to get the fluid changed I will do that and a Coolant flush in the spring along with my free Oil change minus the synthetic price.

 

[Mark_888]

Just an FYI......for the hell of it I checked pricing with my dealer for a coolant flush, and a differential drain and refill:

Coolant flush for $149 (drain and refill $99)

Differential drain and refill $79.

I think this is very reasonable, especially for a dealer. Diff doesn't require attention "normally" until 60,000 miles per the manual and it's just an inspection, but I figure since it's pretty cheap to get the fluid changed I will do that and a Coolant flush in the spring along with my free Oil change minus the synthetic price.

Problem is usually not with individual service items (although MB and BMW may be another story), but with so-called 30K mile service package (or other levels) that include all kinds of simple inspections that one ends up paying several hundred dollars for, and that would be obvious to the owner if there was really a problem.

 

[scottdk]

Problem is usually not with individual service items (although MB and BMW may be another story), but with so-called 30K mile service package (or other levels) that include all kinds of simple inspections that one ends up paying several hundred dollars for, and that would be obvious to the owner if there was really a problem.

I agree. The only items I ever get serviced are what the service manual calls for. Otherwise, it's a waste of money.

 

[homeofstone]

.... so not that many things need to be inspected, assuming an owner is capable of looking under their hood and checking some fluid levels.

Yep, you are correct, but in today's world there are so many people that don't have a clue about how or what to check on a vehicle; many dealers and shops are ready to take those suckers' money.

I do get some service done at the dealer from time to time, but i tell them exactly what I want and ask what it will cost. Never do I fall for those so called service packages. BTW, 25+ years ago I was a service manager so I know the game.