Dad took CX-5 at 56k miles in for routine maintenance and these were the recommended repairs

[GTXT23]

I go to stealership for maintenance.
I always arm myself with coupons, and tell them what I want done to my vehicles.. not the other way around.

Indeed - Im surprised they didnt add , " cabin air filter " $95

 

[madar]

And just EXACTLY what is BG brake fluid conditioner? In all of my years I have never heard of brake fluid conditioner.

BG = Big Grin.

That's what the dealership gets when they sell you this snake oil.

Lol...

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/bg-products-brake-fluid-conditioner.293803/

 

[GTXT23]

Lol...

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/bg-products-brake-fluid-conditioner.293803/

I sincerely feel for this person -- Mazda at some point needs to send a few Ronin here to go thru every dealership and tune them up !

 

[anyman]

Were going into a DIY age, do it yourself or they tear you a new one- could be a good new motto for some dealers ! , Try starting with simple things like an oil change , which gives you confidence to do something else ...also you can start learning to inspect the brakes , belts , gaskets , oil pan, fluids ( you should do this anyway ) etc yourself and take some control of the situation --best

This is definitely what is happening with EVERYTHING....cars, houses, etc. The prices the pros charge for repairs isn't sustainable but as long as people live on credit and charge these services to their card it won't get any better.

Conversely with the HUGE labor shortage in the trades maybe these prices will become the norm. Either way, I feel like DIY is the only way to truly save any money...but if you don't enjoy it at all then it's going to be torture doing this stuff yourself.

 

[GTXT23]

Gotta love stealerships. Hate them to the core but that's their job to bring in money.

This is definitely what is happening with EVERYTHING....cars, houses, etc. The prices the pros charge for repairs isn't sustainable but as long as people live on credit and charge these services to their card it won't get any better.

Conversely with the HUGE labor shortage in the trades maybe these prices will become the norm. Either way, I feel like DIY is the only way to truly save any money...but if you don't enjoy it at all then it's going to be torture doing this stuff yourself.

You aint whistling dixie there brother !

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Sorry about the poor image quality. Other than the first row, how likely are these needed at 56k miles, assuming they are telling the truth? I don't see any of these mentioned in the maintenance schedule in the manual. The car has been regularly maintained and serviced.

View attachment 323967

Man even that first line...in what world is a basic synthetic oil change a $143 service? OK, they tack on a tire rotation....question still stands, and depending on where you bought your tires, you can probably get that done for free.

As for the rest:

Brakes and fluid should only be needed if needed, if that makes sense. I will say that's about when my rear brakes needed replacing, so not unheard of. How do your brakes feel?

Fuel induction service? Ask them what they actually do. Likely all they are doing is dumping in a fuel injector cleaner (usually the Mazda dealer advertise using BG 44k) into the gas tank which you can do yourself for like $25 if you use the same stuff or less than $10 with other cleaners.

Coolant flush? At 56k? The Mazda manual very clearly states 120k miles or 10 years for the NA CX-5. Is this a turbo model maybe? I don't know if their schedule is 60k. But if just a standard NA 2.5L, then definitely don't need that.

Alignment? I've never needed to get one, still tracks straight. So you would know if you need it or not.

Edit: Almost forgot...Belt/Tensioner - this should only need replacing if it is leaking, which isn't unheard of for CX-5's, I had to get mine replaced a few years ago. That said, the price quoted is absolutely a rip off. And you should only replace it if it's actually leaking which can be inspected visually - i.e. the tensioner covered in oil.

 

[ceric]

Indeed - Im surprised they didnt add , " cabin air filter " $95

I was going to say that also.
Strange. The advisor must have forgot about the obvious.

 

[GTXT23]

I was going to say that also.
Strange. The advisor must have forgot about the obvious.

Lets call and remind them !

 

[1killera4]

This is definitely what is happening with EVERYTHING....cars, houses, etc. The prices the pros charge for repairs isn't sustainable but as long as people live on credit and charge these services to their card it won't get any better.

Conversely with the HUGE labor shortage in the trades maybe these prices will become the norm. Either way, I feel like DIY is the only way to truly save any money...but if you don't enjoy it at all then it's going to be torture doing this stuff yourself.

In my case I have the Dealer do all services except performance modifications. I am an Engineer by trade and 63 years old. I am smart enough to tell my Service Writer how much I will pay in advance and only approve EXACTLY what I want accomplished. This way there are NO surprises when I get the bill. I am past the point of try to save a few bucks on an oil change or service item. My time is indeed money and if I cannot afford to pay for service I have no business owning a nice car.

 

[Conrad 16.5]

In my case I have the Dealer do all services except performance modifications. I am an Engineer by trade and 63 years old. I am smart enough to tell my Service Writer how much I will pay in advance and only approve EXACTLY what I want accomplished. This way there are NO surprises when I get the bill. I am past the point of try to save a few bucks on an oil change or service item. My time is indeed money and if I cannot afford to pay for service I have no business owning a nice car.

Some of us actually enjoy working on our cars and doing our own service. Saving some money by doing things ourselves is just a bonus. I can certainly afford to pay someone else to do the work, but I would never dream of it.

Doing it myself guarantees that it's done right the first time.

I am smart enough to tell my Service Writer how much I will pay in advance and only approve EXACTLY what I want accomplished.

As am I but I still do it myself and as long as I'm able to lift a wrench and crawl under my cars, I'll continue.

 

[stickerbush]

Some of us actually enjoy working on our cars and doing our own service.

I can't say I enjoyed doing my rear brakes recently but I did enjoy saving a pile of money!

I used to enjoy wrenching on my cars but I've transitioned that hobby to motorcycles as I find them to be of an easier scale for my old self to manage.

 

[sm1ke]

I like working on my car(s). Saving wait time at the dealership and the money on dealer shop rates helps me justify the money spent on the power tools I bought

 

[Conrad 16.5]

I can't say I enjoyed doing my rear brakes recently but I did enjoy saving a pile of money!

I used to enjoy wrenching on my cars but I've transitioned that hobby to motorcycles as I find them to be of an easier scale for my old self to manage.

It's not always enjoyable while doing the work but once the job is done and you look at what you've just accomplished, the self-satisfaction is the thing.

I also work on my motorcycle. Depending on your bike, that's not always easy either. Most of my bike is covered by a fairing and that has to come off to do just about anything.

 

[7eregrine]

My dealer did a tire rotation for free last time I was there. I ONLY went there for 2 things that a normal shop cannot or will not do. Oil change was...$70. Hell, Firestone did a tire rotation for me for free once.
$143... wow.
The day the warranty is over, you find a new shop. I promise these cars aren't hard to work on.

 

[1killera4]

Some of us actually enjoy working on our cars and doing our own service. Saving some money by doing things ourselves is just a bonus. I can certainly afford to pay someone else to do the work, but I would never dream of it.

Doing it myself guarantees that it's done right the first time.



As am I but I still do it myself and as long as I'm able to lift a wrench and crawl under my cars, I'll continue.

Exactly why I included my age in my post.

 

[clownshoes2]

TBH some of those things are reasonably priced for someone who cannot do these things themselves.
My opinion on the following services:
1. The brake service is BS. I paid about that up here for new pads and rotors. It's BS. For that price you should get all new.
2. The brake fluid flush is BS. When I did brake jobs, you just left the bleeders open changed the fluid that way as part of a full brake job. This is gouging.
3. The induction service is BS. Even my stealership says to not do it unless there is a problem.
4. The coolant service seems ok.
5. I don't understand the 2 different charges for drive belts. I was just quoted ±450 for a replacement of belts AND tensioner. What are they doing for almost $900?

 

[anyman]

I just started doing my own fluid changes and basic maintenance recently after a good 20 years of not doing it. I like saving money but I like knowing it was done correctly. I DIY almost everything on our house…built sheds, tiled my garage floor…renovated an entire house…but I HATED doing car stuff.

I think what changed is having the means to buy the right tools, having a warm garage to do the work in and having the internet as my teacher. 20 years ago there was no YouTube and you really had to rely on forum posts (usually without video or pics) to do this stuff. A lot has changed. But maybe by the time I’m 63 I will hang up my tools and just pay somebody to do it. We’ll see.

 

[Buzzman12]

Doing it myself guarantees that it's done right the first time.

Hopefully in your case that you are correct. However, people doing repairs themselves does not guarantee that it's done right. Just the opposite in a lot of cases.
Just one example: look at all the posts over the years on here from DIY'ers doing rear brake jobs without knowing or going into maintenance mode? How many guys ruined their calipers in the process? That is but one example.
I've perused some pretty funny postings on the internet from mechanics that had to fix cars that the owner worked on themselves. Some of the stuff that owners did, or tried to do, were beyond scary.

 

[Conrad 16.5]

Hopefully in your case that you are correct. However, people doing repairs themselves does not guarantee that it's done right. Just the opposite in a lot of cases.
Just one example: look at all the posts over the years on here from DIY'ers doing rear brake jobs without knowing or going into maintenance mode? How many guys ruined their calipers in the process? That is but one example.
I've perused some pretty funny postings on the internet from mechanics that had to fix cars that the owner worked on themselves. Some of the stuff that owners did, or tried to do, were beyond scary.

As I said, if I'm doing the work it's guaranteed to be done right.

If it's something that I've not done before you can be sure that I'll research it to death before I do the work to make sure that I know what I'm doing before I start.

 

[ColtX-5]

Sorry about the poor image quality. Other than the first row, how likely are these needed at 56k miles, assuming they are telling the truth? I don't see any of these mentioned in the maintenance schedule in the manual. The car has been regularly maintained and serviced.

NO.

Follow the manual for everything. Find another mechanic. All of that is 2x too expensive, having done most of that myself recently.

I am only getting 55k to 60k miles out of my rear brakes because of the Hill Start Assist, but I also tow an RV. There is no recommended change interval for the brake fluid, but it's a good idea to change it sometime. I changed it in my MX-5 at 10 years. Redline SI-1 every 10k miles at each oil change is all the injector service it needs. No other additive makes a detectable difference. STP makes a spray intake tract/intake valve cleaner that worked for me. I used 2 bottles at 60k miles and got better mileage and throttle response (perkier). Now, I run 2 bottles every 30k miles and can't detect a change. That should mean the intake system stays sufficiently clean.

Factory coolant is good for 10 years/120k miles. RUN!