Decarbon, Power Steering Fluid Exchange, Brake Fluid Exchange Scam?

[CaliViking]

I took my 2004 Toyota Corolla to the local Toyota dealer to get it serviced T 45K miles. They had a standard package called 15K mile dealer service that included:

• Oil filter & Gasket $ 7.79
• Parts wash $ 3.75
• Premium Engine Tr $12.45
• EFI Cleaner $14.45
• Battery pads $11.45
• Washer solvent $ 2.99
• Element Sub-Assy $20.88
• Parts total: $73.76
• Total Labor and parts: $167.00

They also added $12.95 for 5 quarts of motor oil to this service.

I am probably paying too much for my service in the first place, but what really got me concerned was that the dealer called me and told me that I needed to:

• Replace my front brake pads & grind rotors for $239.99 (I replaced my front pads at 33K miles, which is only 12K since this service)
• Perform Decarbon service for $149.95
• Perform Power Steering Fluid Exchange for $139.95
• Perform brake fluid exchange for $137.99

I asked the the dealer if this was really necessary and they said yes. I swallowed their bait and accepted to get the work done. Based on the comments on the web I think this is a scam.

I live in Southern California. They weather is good, no frost, low humidity, the roads are good. The car is in good condition.

Can someone tell me if I am being taken to the cleaners?

Thanks,
CaliViking

[05_Echo]

Big time...

If you feel that you are being scamed allways go to another shop and have them look at your car. But those prices are high and I live in Canada where it allways cost more than the U.S. and I highly doubt that your car needs those things flushed with such low milage and as far as the brakes I'd take it back to where you had them done to check them over. Just tell them to show you so you know for yourself that they are good.

[JasonA]

I voted "yes", but will caveat that with the fact that I'm not in front of your car and I'm not looking at the same things that they are.

But in general...a car with only 45k miles on it shouldn't require any of those services. None of those services are recommended in your owner's manual. I highly doubt the brakes needed doing again already. Since you're paying for the parts, ASK TO SEE the old brake pads. By law, they must give them to you. Don't take "we threw them away" as an answer. Demand to have the old parts returned to you, or refuse the charge. It looks like they're replacing an air filter also? Demand to have that back also. Call the dealer now, if the car is still there, and let them know you want the old parts back.

[Cman46290]

1st off.... my rule of thumb... is NEVER do Power steering/brake flushes... they are 99% of the time a complete scam..... obviously you werent complaining about the brakes so i would have definitely gotten a millimeter measurment.... Parts wash $ 3.75 ....wtf? Scam
Premium Engine Tr $12.45 ....??? what is this.... prolly another scam
EFI Cleaner $14.45 ...scam
Battery pads $11.45 .... total scam....
Washer solvent $ 2.99 ...should be included in fluid top offs in oil change inspection----scam
Element Sub-Assy $20.88 --- Not sure what that is..prolly scam
Parts total: $73.76

Decarbon Service?... are you kidding? SCAMMED all the way bud... im sure you could have just done an oil change/tire rotation and been done with it.....

[jeepwranglerg]

and a good idea to change out brake fluid, purge out all the old with new clear dot 3. They shouldnt charge much more than $70 bucks and $5 for fluid. The fluid in my 2003 corolla with automatic seemed fine and did mine last week. I watch people get scammed all the time at dealership. $56 for one ball joint heck i got two off ebay $36 lol. Id hate to see what dealer wants for rotors and pads. I got rotors $30 minus 15 percent with free shipping, pads $23

[kaipozumou]

I’m sorry but I think it’s a scam too… I have 2003 Corolla and brought it to Toyota dealer for 60K service about a month ago. First, the reason I decided to take it to them was based on the estimate they gave me over the phone. I shopped around and surprisingly their price was very reasonable. I thought, if the price is the same, why not getting the job done by TOYOTA people, right? Well, I was wrong. Their “actual” price was much higher, which they didn’t tell me until the job was completed. On top of that, they told me I needed…
1. Serp belt replacement – they said there are cracks on it
2. Efi Decarbon service
3. Power Steering fluid exchange
I told them I can’t get those done today, and I’m still thinking about these. Do I need these services? Is it scam? What if I really need it? Any advice, anyone?

[Cman46290]

Scams... all scams... the auto industry is all about upselling tickets to make their service department money.... Al of those things surely wouldnt hurt your vehicle.... but did you actually need them? More than likely not.... Its hard especially when you are face to face with the Service Advisor telling you all this bullsh** that you "need" .... I just plain and simply would say "If it aint broke...dont fukin fix it"...

A serp belt replacement has a spec on how many cracks per inch it needs to have before it needs to be replaced.... and even if it does have that many cracks... it doesnt meant the thing is going to just fall apart on you... as far as the others.... junk scams. I was a honda tech... so maybe im not the most knowledgeable about toyota's... any toyota tech on here? What do you guys think... im sure you have seen this crap a million times....

[User1234]

My wife came across a similar situtation when I asked her get the oil changed at our local Toyota dealer. They wanted to flush the power steering fluid and replace it for $140. Of course she called me and I told her not to get the ps flush.

About a week later I go to the same dealer because I needed windshield wiper replacements. At that time I asked if I needed any of the fluids flushed. They took my car into the shop and checked the transmission, brake, and ps fluids. They then told me all of them were fine.

So I call scam.

[PhatRoyale]

ouch!

[Darchrow]

i paid for EFI the other day... passed on the PS flush.

they said it was dirty... i wonder if i can flush/fill it myself...

[DaddyGuy]

I just took my 2001 Prius to the dealer for a recall notice. They did an inspection and gave me a list of things needed to be done.

Decarbon t/body and EFI service 174.95
Replace cabin air filter 69.95
Drive belt replace 179.95
Replace 2 tires and front brakes 597.90
Replace water pump 442.00

I googled the air filter and found it for $14.50 with shipping and tax. There is a video that shows how to replace it, just slip down the glove box. Less than 3 minutes to replace.

I never heard of Decarbon and EFI until I found this page. Thanks to this page I do not see it to be nessesary.

I took my car to a different shop and found my water pump not to be leaking.

Always a good idea to have a second opinion.

[shoujiliuzhijun]

I went to a dealer for one recall. Extremely bad impression:
The man gave me a 1500+ bill, saying that my car has a serious oil leak, needs a transmission flush, battery failed........Unfortunately, he didn't know my frequency of checking the car, let alone all the DIY projects I've done.
In addition, the recall work has created a small problem: door open indicator light somethings won't go off completely.

[onemph05]

Originally Posted by CaliViking

I took my 2004 Toyota Corolla to the local Toyota dealer to get it serviced T 45K miles. They had a standard package called 15K mile dealer service that included:

• Oil filter & Gasket $ 7.79
• Parts wash $ 3.75
• Premium Engine Tr $12.45 Oil additive you can buy at a parts store $7 (open oil cap and pour in)
• EFI Cleaner $14.45 Fuel additive you can buy at a parts store $6 (pour in before filling up with gas)
• Battery pads $11.45 Terminal protectors .99 (disconnect battery cables and insert to terminals)
• Washer solvent $ 2.99 Wind shield washer fluid 1.99 a Gal. parts store(open reservoir cap pour in).
• Element Sub-Assy $20.88 Cabin air filter $15 (remove glove box and replace filter)
• Parts total: $73.76
• Total Labor and parts: $167.00

They also added $12.95 for 5 quarts of motor oil to this service.

[Bob Shiftright]

I take my Japanese cars that are past the warranty to my local ASE garage. If an ASE certified tech can't maintain and fix a Corolla or a Honda, it's time for him or her to explore alternative careers.

The Corolla was serviced at an indy garage last year @ 6823 miles (I inherited the car and it hadn't been driven much in the last few years.)

Coolant change, oil change, transmission fluid change and brake fluid change. I do a lot of my own routine maintenance work, but lately used fluids have become difficult to dispose of, so I'll let a shop do the changes. I provided a case of Mobil-1 and a Toyota oil filter. I changed the engine air filter and cabin microfilter myself. I didn't change the plugs because the car has so few miles on it. I thought it would be a waste of time. The indy shop is ASE certified. My bill was $274.02 (US) with tax. This is in the NYC area, which is usually on the high side for labor cost.

The filters were about $50 and the Mobil-1 about $20. I also buy the Chevron FI cleaner by the case at Costco from time to time, and I tossed a bottle in. I also pumped out the WSW reservoir and filled it with the good RainX ($3) stuff. So (roughly) $350 total. For everything that I could (sanely) think of to do to the car.

Yes, that litany of "service" is nonsense and why I only go to new car dealers for warranty repairs. The few occasions where for one reason or another I've gone back to the dealer for service after the warranty has expired, I've regretted it.

[devinsdad]

With the advent of warrentees lasting 60, 70 even up to 100K miles on new vehicles, dealers have to find somewhere to make money. They do this by selling you items and services that you don't need. Replacing barke and power steering fluid is a common one. Barring a leak or damage from something unrelated, the brake and power steering fluid will last till the component itself breaks. When it does, the fluid exchange will be part of the job...not an add-on. Dealers sell this as preventiave maintenance and say it's needed because of the tight tolerances of todays vehicles and fluids wear down quicker. Or, your desperate to get into my wallet because modern machineing has taken the place of the drunk monkeys who made the parts before and parts work for much longer. I have a 2007 rolla "S". I change the oil (Mobil 1) every second time I get the light, had the front brakes replaced at 98K and tranny serviced at 103K. Thats it, nothing else. I've replaced the oil, air and cabin filter a couple times and it runs like a top. My wife takes our Sienna to the dealer exclusively and we call it the "grand van" due to ANY time it goes in for an oil change, they want to add on another thousand in Preventative Maintentance....what a crock.