Debating about 48,000km service (30k miles) Any Mazda techs that can advise?

[Katner]

I'm considering forgoing my 48,000km service. It's not the cost of the service that bothers me, but the value. This is what it includes...

• Replace engine oil; Replace oil filter
• Inspect function of all lights
• Inspect brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering fluid, washer fluid and coolant level
• Inspect all tires inflation and wear
• Lubricate all locks and hinges
• Inspect and clean brake discs and pads, front and rear
• Lubricate caliper rails/pins
• Inspect A/C operation
• Inspect fuel lines and hoses
• Inspect brake lines, hoses and connections
• Inspect steering operation and linkage
• Inspect front and rear suspension components, ball joints and wheel bearing axial play
• Inspect driveshaft dust boots
• Tighten bolts and nuts on chassis and body

If you look at the Blue points really this is a very pricey oil/lube + inspection (I think it costs $500+ here in Canada).

I'm just wondering if I might better serve my car by forgoing the inspection stuff and doing things like fuel filter, spark plugs, coolant flush, perhaps a fuel injection service etc. I would think that for $500 at my local garage I could cover a lot of that territory but I honestly don't know.

Another concern is DO THEY actually perform inspections of everything? And at the dealer I believe they indicate that they only tighten bolts on chassis and body on certain models. As a Mazda5 owner I have my doubts that my car is among them.

I'd appreciate anyone's comments who are more experienced with this stuff than me (which will inevitably be anyone who reads this thread). In a way I want to spend the $ at Mazda for peace of mind, but I'm just not sold on it.

 

[mnthny4]

dont waste your money on a high price inspection ,use that money & change plugs brake fluid ,oil & filter drive belt & inspect tensioner & idler pulley ,if u have never change coolant before u can do that too , buy all the parts your self & if u cannot do it take to your local service tech ,good luck ,i work for a dealership & that is a expensive inspection .

 

[switek]

If your dealership is like mine they won't inspect half of what they claim. I'm nearing my 30k inspection and there's no way I'm paying them to do anything more than an oil change.

 

[Robotazky]

Total waste of money. If the stealership actually did the work, that would be another story, but you can forget about a Mazda dealer looking in their books for all of the chassis locations to check bolts. That's laughable. My Mazda dealer didn't even look at the fluid levels before they sold it to me. I wouldn't even trust those idiots changing the oil, much less opening a tech manual and doing a job that requires any degree of professionalism. Don't waste your money. Do the brakes lube yourself, which takes longer to take the wheels off than to do the work, and keep changing your own fluids. Screw the dealer.

 

[DKaz]

It should be "only" $350.

 

[Katner]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Total waste of money. If the stealership actually did the work, that would be another story, but you can forget about a Mazda dealer looking in their books for all of the chassis locations to check bolts. That's laughable. My Mazda dealer didn't even look at the fluid levels before they sold it to me. I wouldn't even trust those idiots changing the oil, much less opening a tech manual and doing a job that requires any degree of professionalism. Don't waste your money. Do the brakes lube yourself, which takes longer to take the wheels off than to do the work, and keep changing your own fluids. Screw the dealer.

Funny this was the one thing that actually made me consider going to Mazda. Glad I got all of your feedback before I took action on anything.

 

[Katner]

By the way...who WOULD be able to tighten the nuts and bolts on my chassis for a respectable fee? I mean is that something that a local shop does very often or am I better off finding out where the bolts are and tightening them myself?

 

[Robotazky]

Buy the shop manual. It will list all of the bolt torques. Get a torque wrench and go to town. You're really just looking for suspension bolts, motor/tranny mounts, anything really that seems important. It's really common sense more than anything. It will take some research in the shop manual the first time you do it.

 

[rscottg]

My Mazda shop charges about 218 for this service. Most of the time goes into the the caliper lubrication. Still lots of money, but that other price is way too high.

 

[Robotazky]

My Mazda shop charges about 218 for this service. Most of the time goes into the the caliper lubrication. Still lots of money, but that other price is way too high.

So are you doing the work yourself or what? The reason I ask is that you may be the coolest guy ever if you document the process of going through this service yourself.

 

[KBrian]

I expect that rscottg means the dealer he patronizes, rather than his place of employ. I could be wrong, though.

 

[Heat]

Take it to an independent mechanic and have him do the work. Just give him a printout of what is needed to be done and have him sign it saying that it was done (as a part of your receipt). In the US, the manufacturers cannot void your warranty if you have other people do maintenance work.

Speaking of crazy prices, if you call your dealer and ask for a price on whichever maintenance, they may be adding stuff to it. I know that my local honda dealer likes to add valve clearance adjustment to every maintenance package - most people don't catch it and pay an extra $50 or whatever for i (it's not needed until 105,000 miles).

 

[Phratt]

I do not know for Alberta, but in Quebec, Mazda dealer charges near 100 buck per hour plus taxes. So 2 hours "inspection" is 200 bucks +++

My opinion :

• Go to Mazda dealer for "inspection" if it is necessary for the warranty.
• DO NOT GO THERE if you do not have a warranty with Mazda.

 

[KBrian]

98 + tax/hour at my dealer

 

[Katner]

I'm in Calgary where the shop labor rate is $143.

I ended up NOT having them do the service but instead did a few things myself like lubing locks and hinges, inspected suspension and visual of brakes. I then had the dealer do an ATF flush and took it to a seperate mechanic for machining rotors(he charges less hourly). All in I'm down about $210 an Ive actually done some worthwhile services to my car rather than given it a pricey look-over.

Turns out my brakes were shot and the other dude charged me nothing for the assessment. Gotta shop for rotors now.

So glad I went this route.

 

[hagow_boy]

In Vancouver, my 48,000 Kms service cost $279 (all including taxes). The only thing I see extra on my invoice, compared to my regular oil changes is :
$193 - Labour
$3 - Break Cleaning, 0000-85-BKCL
$14 - Fuel Cleaner, JB-15
$15 - Element AI, LF50-13-Z40A
$25 - Tire rotation

 

[was98strat]

I'm considering forgoing my 48,000km service. It's not the cost of the service that bothers me, but the value. This is what it includes...

• Replace engine oil; Replace oil filter
• Inspect function of all lights
• Inspect brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering fluid, washer fluid and coolant level
• Inspect all tires – inflation and wear
• Lubricate all locks and hinges
• Inspect and clean brake discs and pads, front and rear
• Lubricate caliper rails/pins
• Inspect A/C operation
• Inspect fuel lines and hoses
• Inspect brake lines, hoses and connections
• Inspect steering operation and linkage
• Inspect front and rear suspension components, ball joints and wheel bearing axial play
• Inspect driveshaft dust boots
• Tighten bolts and nuts on chassis and body

If you look at the Blue points really this is a very pricey oil/lube + inspection (I think it costs $500+ here in Canada).

I'm just wondering if I might better serve my car by forgoing the inspection stuff and doing things like fuel filter, spark plugs, coolant flush, perhaps a fuel injection service etc. I would think that for $500 at my local garage I could cover a lot of that territory but I honestly don't know.

Another concern is DO THEY actually perform inspections of everything? And at the dealer I believe they indicate that they only tighten bolts on chassis and body on certain models. As a Mazda5 owner I have my doubts that my car is among them.

I'd appreciate anyone's comments who are more experienced with this stuff than me (which will inevitably be anyone who reads this thread). In a way I want to spend the $ at Mazda for peace of mind, but I'm just not sold on it.

I'd pick another dealer if I was you! $500 for the 48k service is double what I paid at my Mazda dealer! (in Toronto)

 

[Phratt]

$25 - Tire rotation

DANG !!!!

Did they rotate the tires front to back leaving the rims as they were on the car, and then balance the wheels!!

This is a perfect example of something that we can all do ourselves. 20 screws, one jack and one car support, and a tiny bit of perspiration.

The more we learn, the more frustrating it is to see how much it costs when we do not want to understand and do the effort... man am I frustrated....

 

[rscottg]

Sorry, I missed the boat on seeing your response to my post. I am not currently doing the work myself. I would like to do the work myself, and I'm curious about doing the cleaning of the brake discs and lubricating the caliper rails/pins without screwing it up.

I'm looking at the 36 month service and really don't want to pay so much when I can do most of that stuff.

Replace engine oil; Replace oil filter
Inspect function of all lights
Inspect brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering fluid, washer fluid and coolant level
Inspect all tires inflation and wear
Lubricate all locks and hinges
Rotate tires (priced separately)
Inspect and clean brake discs and pads, front and rear
Lubricate caliper rails/pins
Inspect A/C operation

 

[wmzda5]

Sorry, I missed the boat on seeing your response to my post. I am not currently doing the work myself. I would like to do the work myself, and I'm curious about doing the cleaning of the brake discs and lubricating the caliper rails/pins without screwing it up.

I'm looking at the 36 month service and really don't want to pay so much when I can do most of that stuff.

Lubricate caliper rails/pins

Its easy. you can either do it one wheel at a time or use jack stands and take off all the wheels at the same time.
Anyways, you will need a No. 7 Allen key, this is not included in a normal allen key set so be prepared to buy from Canadian Tire or any auto shop before you do anything on the car. i think i paid $5 for it.

Its simple as un screwing 2 pcs of bolts (caliper pins) from the back of the caliper, remember this is 2 caliper pins per wheel, lubricate , put it back tighten and you're good to go.