Need some advice for 30K scheduled maintenance

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2007 Mazda CX-9 GT AWD
I recently bought a used 2007 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring. The car has 35.5K miles on it. We bought it from a Mazda dealer in Seattle. We're the 2nd owner and the previous owner was leasing the car.

I don't know if the 30,000 maintenance was ever performed on the car, and the dealer in Kirkland, WA said that this would run $750. He guessed that it probably *hadn't* been done. This surprised me because I thought that for leased cars, most dealers usually took care of such things as part of the lease package. He also said it would be easy enough to tell if this work had been completed.

Assuming that we *DO* need to have this done, should I go to the dealer or to my local, trusty mechanic whom I trust implicitly? $750 seems like a lot for changing fluids, putting in new filters, and giving the car an oil change. I'm hoping that a competent service shop will charge a lot less than the dealer.
 
I am not sure what they will do, but you can go mazda online and check scheduled maintenance manual.
Mine is around 33K and I haven't done 30K maintenance yet. However, it seems nothing wrong with it.
 
Would you go through a Mazda dealer, or would you use a local shop if you trusted them? The 30K summary I got from the dealer didn't sound like rocket science.
 
I haven't done anything out of dealer service except for oil change sometimes at Firestone. My town dealer also quotes me around $600~$700 for 30K service.
 
Waste of money, guys. I never do 15L/30K/45K/60K that kind of stuff.
They were designed to empty your pocket. Totally not required from warranty perspective. All you need to do are
- oil & filter change - every 5K-7.5K (must!)
- cabin air filter - 15K
- engine air filter - 10-20k (with K&N - never)
- tire rotation - every 10K (or two oil changes)
- (optional, but I recommand it) transmission fluid drain & replace
(30K -> then every 15K/15K)
- (AWD) transfer case fluid (listed on manual) depending on towing frequency
- alignment, coolant flush, brake fluid flush - do it as you wish, but not required
- Check fluid levels yourself. Don't tell me you don't know how....

A typical 30K contains
- oil change
- N-point inspection
- tire rotation
- cabin air filter
- engine air filter
(that is it!)
If you add up parts and labor, it should cost about $100 only. The rest of $600 are pure profit to them. N-point inspection?! My local dealer's $25 oil change also includes N-point inspection (why not? they like to find problems with your CX9, don't they?).

Anyway, I usually have them do oil change only (too lazy nowsdays for $25). I take care of the air filters (engine and cabin) and also the tire rotation.

Everytime I visit Mazda dealer, the conversation went like the following...
Advisor: "Mr. X, your CX9 is due for 15K service."
Me: "What is in the 15K service?" I asked pretending that I don't know.
Advisor: "It includes tire rotation, oil change, cabin air filter change, and N-point inspection."
Me: "If I am correct, the oil change I am here for today includes N-point inspection also, correct? I did cabin filter myself, and I have K&N. I rotated my tires last week. What else I need to do?"
Advisor: "No. You are covered. No problem."

At 30K miles, I will drain and replace the transmission fluid, though. I don't buy in to the "life-time fluid" concept... It's just me. As long as maintanence items listed on schedule in the owner's manual were done accordingly, your warranty will not be voided. Don't waste your money on over-maintaining vehicles.
 
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Great feedback! I liked your anecdotal summary of talking to the service advisor.

My wife and I have decided to take the car to the dealer next week, but ONLY to look at the electrical issues we're having with the keyless remotes and the back seat fan that stays on after we've turned off the engine. We'll also ask them to verify that all recall-related repairs for our 2007 CX-9 have been taken care of.

The other stuff, I'll either do myself or have my local repair shop (Morgan Motors in Issaquah, WA) take care of.
 
Ceric,

That was excellent feedback. Well done.

I do believe in the oil change every 3-5K and rotate the tires every 10K, then flush the tranny fluid every 30K. I can change the air filter and cabin filter myself, but leave the tire balance/rotation and tranny flush to them. I do use the K&N and I ensure they see the "don't toss my filter" sticker.

Another thing they try to do early is change your s-plugs. I did not change my s-plugs on my Toyota until 95K and they still looked good.

Any feedback on brake-fluid and anti-freeze changes?

I usually change the antifreeze whenever it starts to thin-out, and then do a flush and replace the a-fluid and distilled water.

Regards,
tstex
 
Fluid flushing is a maintenance that one has to decide on one's own.
It depends. Those are on the nice-to-do list, but not mandated by mileage.

I would be cautious about using distilled water as coolant. Do that only in case of emergency. In some modern vehicles (e.g. BMW), coolant also acts as lubricant for water pump. If one uses distilled water, the pump will go soon after. Then, the warranty will be voided. So, I was told by my BMW advisor a few years back. Don't know if that is true universally.
 
Regarding the radiator fluid change, I always use the appropriate amt of antifeeze, and instead of tap water [out of the hose], I use distilled water because there is no chance of any mineral deposits...

Regards,
tstex
 
I took my CX-9 into the Mazda dealer in Kirkland, WA (Lee Johnson Mazda) before the odometer rolled over to 36K. I asked them to check whether all recall work had been done on the car by the dealer in Seattle (University Mazda) from whom we bought the car.

Turns out that none of the 3 recall items for our model had been done. The service manager said that this is something that should be done routinely by dealers when they sell used or leased vehicles.

Anyway, this only confirms our negative view of University Mazda in Seattle. We like our car and the price we paid, but the salesman we worked with left a bad taste in our mouth and I won't be doing business with them again.

Once nice thing about a recession is that companies actually start competing really hard for your business. So far, Lee Johnson Mazda in Kirkland has treated us right.
 
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Usually, dealerhips run your VIN for recalls and must-do TSBs (meaning, do it when vehicle in shop). They actually make money from doing this. I wonder University Mazda does not do this. Maybe a sign of poor management.
 
I also live in Seattle and purchased my CX-9 from Lynnwood Mazda as a certified vehicle. Although I have had some recent issues with my rig, Lynnwood Mazda did all the work per factory warranty (have 35k now). They also did my 30K service check but it was something like $460, not friggin $700+ clams!!!

I don't completely agree with earlier statements about the service points being worthless or that they are just a $ maker, they are recommended by the factory. SO, if you can find a place that does it cheaper good for you; if you can do it yourself and have the time and a place to do it even better.

I used to do ALL my service on my rigs and have been working on cars since I was 16. But now between work and family I have very little time to shop around for a place I can trust and is affordable WITHOUT having to drive all over Puget Sound area (traffic can be a nightmare).

So, with that being said....sometimes IF you can find a good honest dealer to work with it can carry some weight to show when it comes time to sell the car that it was serviced much of its life at the dealership. That of course could also be said of any service center. But IMO I would rather buy a used CX-9 that was serviced by Mazda rather that some offshoot Japanese motor repair place. They can be just as shady as dealerships. I know....been there done that.....just my .02!
 
I was exaggerating when I implied that a 30K service costs $700. :cool:

Nonetheless, $250 is too expensive if you care to save $150 for yourself.
Of course, if your time is more precious and could be better spent making more money,
then, $250 seems like a good deal.

With luxury brands such as BMW/Lexus, 30K service (called Inspection II in BMW term) could cost $700. I was not kidding. I know a 60K service for a Lexus costs $1000+. One of my friend went in with his LS and came out $2000 less in his pocket. They found something to replace such as some tear and wear stuff. They usually scare you into "do it now or weep later"...
 
I'm going to take ours to a shop and have the transmission flushed. Other than that I did all the other 30K items myself.
 
"flushed"? Usually they only do "drain and replace". Make sure you know what you are getting and tell us how much they charge you.
Make sure also the correct synthetic fluid is used. Otherwise, the tranny may fail soon after that. My local dealer quoted me about $80-$100 last year. Just FYI.
 
Waste of money, guys. I never do 15L/30K/45K/60K that kind of stuff.
They were designed to empty your pocket. Totally not required from warranty perspective. All you need to do are
- oil & filter change - every 5K-7.5K (must!)
- cabin air filter - 15K
- engine air filter - 10-20k (with K&N - never)
- tire rotation - every 10K (or two oil changes)
- (optional, but I recommand it) transmission fluid drain & replace
(30K -> then every 15K/15K)
- (AWD) transfer case fluid (listed on manual) depending on towing frequency
- alignment, coolant flush, brake fluid flush - do it as you wish, but not required
- Check fluid levels yourself. Don't tell me you don't know how....

A typical 30K contains
- oil change
- N-point inspection
- tire rotation
- cabin air filter
- engine air filter
(that is it!)
If you add up parts and labor, it should cost about $100 only. The rest of $600 are pure profit to them. N-point inspection?! My local dealer's $25 oil change also includes N-point inspection (why not? they like to find problems with your CX9, don't they?).

Anyway, I usually have them do oil change only (too lazy nowsdays for $25). I take care of the air filters (engine and cabin) and also the tire rotation.

Everytime I visit Mazda dealer, the conversation went like the following...
Advisor: "Mr. X, your CX9 is due for 15K service."
Me: "What is in the 15K service?" I asked pretending that I don't know.
Advisor: "It includes tire rotation, oil change, cabin air filter change, and N-point inspection."
Me: "If I am correct, the oil change I am here for today includes N-point inspection also, correct? I did cabin filter myself, and I have K&N. I rotated my tires last week. What else I need to do?"
Advisor: "No. You are covered. No problem."

At 30K miles, I will drain and replace the transmission fluid, though. I don't buy in to the "life-time fluid" concept... It's just me. As long as maintanence items listed on schedule in the owner's manual were done accordingly, your warranty will not be voided. Don't waste your money on over-maintaining vehicles.

Yep, thats the way I do it. (angel) I go by the manual and have a trusty cheaper mechanic do it for me.
 
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