[Skimoab]

So here are some pictures of a maintenance brochure from my local dealer. I want to get some opinions from everyone on what they think of these recomendations.
I'm especially interested in the 30,000 mile one since that's coming up here pretty quick.
The first picture shows the services they recommend, the second picture shows some explanations of some of those services.

Keep in mind I have an '05 6s ATX V6 hatch.
I want to know:

What services do you guys think are necessary?
Which are unnecessary?
What would you do differently/when would you do stuff?
Besides the obvious DIY stuff like changing the oil, what should I do myself?
What are BG 44k and MOA and what are your opinions about them?

Have at it guys, any info you can give me would be awesome.

 

[LapisLazuli6]

The 'friction fighter' is a gimmick. Lube this, check that, inspect this.. $500 please. Yeah, uh no I don't think so.

I personally take my car to a private garage to have the 30/60/90 done, because the dealer is a rip off. All you really need, by looking at that list, is a brake inspection, tire rotation, and oil change. I'd say $100 at the max. Save the other $400 for something cool for Xmas for the car.

 

[SimplyOrange]

im coming up on this in a few K.

how about the fluid changes? thats the only one i can see being reasonable alone with rotation, and oil change. might as well get new pads.

 

[LapisLazuli6]

Don't get new pads unless you need to.

Fluid changes, they should change the oil, the coolant, and the transmission fluid. That's what my shop does in its 30K. Plus checks the brakes, battery, and replaces the spark plugs and air/oil filter. All for $160.

 

[Skimoab]

But I could even do those fluid exchanges, right? Would it be that difficult if I'm not trying to do a flush?

 

[LapisLazuli6]

It's kind of better to go somewhere that's going to give you paperwork on it so you'll have it incase you have any issues down the road from what I've heard.

I don't know about doing your own maintenance. I work 60-70 hours a week, I don't have time to do it myself. So I never thought about it.

 

[Skimoab]

It's kind of better to go somewhere that's going to give you paperwork on it so you'll have it incase you have any issues down the road from what I've heard.
[/b]

That's actually a really good idea.

 

[Jax6S]

I recommend DIY for all:

For ATX fluid, just do drain and fill everytime you change your oil. It will keep your ATX fluid fresh.

Oil change/filter, that's self explanatory.

Power steering fluid, just get a turkey baster and 1 to 2 quarts of ATX fluid.

Air filter change is self explanatory.

If you want to do cooling flush, you can do this by doing the drain and fill method. All you need is about 2 hours of your time, a jug of coolant of your choice and about 8 gallons of distilled water.

If you want to clean your fuel injector, just buy your favorite techron additive or something similar and add it when you fill up your car.

Rotate tires, you can do this yourself. It might be kinda hard using just 1 jack, but you can use the spare tire as a temporary tire while you're rotating.

Visual inspection - just take a flashlight, look here and there. If you don't see anything broken, leaking, etc, you're good.

Brakes - if your car still brake OK, no squeeling noise, the rotor look OK, then it's OK.

O yea, take a look at your cabin air filter. If it's filthy then go change it.

So how much money you spend DIY compared to $500? :nana:

 

[SimplyOrange]

i guess i just need to change fluids.

i dont trust my diy maintainence unless its the cabin filter. lol.

 

[RoX]

It's kind of better to go somewhere that's going to give you paperwork on it so you'll have it incase you have any issues down the road from what I've heard.

I don't know about doing your own maintenance. I work 60-70 hours a week, I don't have time to do it myself. So I never thought about it.
[/b]

As an option, you can have your own journal. State the dates, the milages and the work, along with all the reciepts for the fluids you purchased, staple it all together and presto, instant paperwork that is just as meaningfull. Plus when you sell the buyer will have a piece of mind knowing you took good care of the car.

 

[mk706]

you dont' need a fuel filter at 30k. FYI- you must drop the tank to get to the filter. check the owners manual, but you should be good until at least 60k or beyond.

also, i'd avoid all those additives. even if you don't want all that junk, get a coupon from mazdausa.com for the oil change, coolant flush, and tire rotate & balance. i get coupons all the time for $19.99 (oil, full synthetic oil would cost more), $69.99 (coolant) and $29.99 (r&b) ATX service is about $89, you can absolutely do the air filter ($26). even if you have the dealer do all that, it's still half the price qouted.

 

[Turchman]

I agree with what everyone else said, I am not sure that they even do all of what they say during these scheduled maintenance visits. It is a big money maker for the dealers.

 

[Six-wheeler]

I'd do the fluids and the easy filters, and switch tires front to back, probably myself if I had some extra time on my hands. You can leave the fuel filter till the 60k mark. this anti-this and anti-that business is BS if you ask me.

 

[todras]

I'd replace coolant, PS fluid, fuel filter, cabin filter, and transmission fluid every 30-40k. Their really aren't any points on the chassis to lube on todays cars. Remember coolant gets acidic over time & begins to break down hoses. I just did a service on a friends SVT Contour. Hadn't had anything done to it and it has 100k on it. Everything still looked pretty good. Dealers want to be overly aggresive with maintenance. It's not a bad thing. Just costs you more $. It will make parts on the car last as long as possible though. Oh and I usually do an air filter replacement every 10k on my cars that don't have a K&N.

 

[J Dragon]

30000K service = Dealers getting over on you

only thing I let my Dealer do is Change the oil....

everything else can be done yourself.

 

[Starion]

Ditto..dealer is there for warranty work and oil change's imo

They won't see any more of my money...

go with the privately owned shop to get that auto trans flushed!

Ryan

 

[VroomZoom6MZR]

Go by what Jax said. No need to flush if you drain/fill the tranny every 15-20K. Everything with fluids on this car is easy to do in the driveway with little knowledge and some write ups.

 

[megashock5]

A quick question - does NOT getting this service done void your warranty in any way?

 

[Elicious]

30000K service = Dealers getting over on you

only thing I let my Dealer do is Change the oil....

everything else can be done yourself.
[/b]

Oil change can't be done by yourself?

 

[VroomZoom6MZR]

LOL. It's just as easy. If you have the 4cyl you need a special socket or strap wrench for the filter housing. V6 is the same as most other cars.