I know some of you hate the dealers' service people with a passion (they do gouge pretty hard) but I want to keep my services and repairs well documented in case warranty issues arise in the future. So here's the deal:

I took my '13 Rubi with about 15000 miles on it to the dealer the other day for a regular oil change and they said that at 15K I should have them replace the front and rear differential fluid and replace (or inspect, can't remember) the transfer case fluid. Also, they said because I live in Los Angeles and "driving conditions are harsher on your vehicle here" (totally bogus IMO) that they recommend a fuel injector system and throttle body cleaning. For all this they wanted over $500 which seems pretty steep. I can probably do it all myself (with the exception of the t-case maybe, don't know what goes into that) for way cheaper.

Do you guys think the dealer is trying to bend me over unnecessarily? Or should I have them do it. Also, if I maybe take it to an independent shop to do the service, will this pose a problem in the future with warranty disputes if they come up? Will it be cheaper?

 

My jk is a 10 and my manual says to inspect the diff fluids and trans case not replace every 19,000. I did mine recently and the front looked new. The rear was gross so I will be sure to change that every 20k. These are one of the easiest things to do, the dealer charges crazy money for no reason. I was at my dealer recently for warranty work they said I need some sort of fuel cleaning blah blah and a pcv valve and hose. They wanted almost $300 for everything. That's just crazy money. All they are really doing is removing the throttle body and cleaning it as well as some sort of fuel system cleaner. All this can be done by you for about $20. I do clean my throttle body every so often as it does need it. just keep a log with receipts should they ever question you about it if you ever have a warranty issue. You have every legal right to do it yourself!

 

I do all this service myself cause the stealership will rape you. gear oil is cheap - should be able to do both axles for $50 yourself. The Tcase is easy to do and I think the ATF was about $20 bucks from the dealer plus you'll need $8 for a pump. with that being said, I have two warranties 140K miles on my jeep and they still honor all my warranty work. Maint is how stealerships make money as you can see. If you know how then do it yourself. It will not void your warranty as long as you do it properly. now with that said you probably don't need to do any of this maint at 15K miles but it surely wont hurt. Unless you tow heavy and wheel hard your difs will be fine but you can check the oil its easy enuff. the Tcase prob doesn't need to be touched yet. fuel injector cleaning and throttle body cleaning prob doesn't need to be done yet either. both easy to do yourself too.

 

I've seen that the throttle body is easy to clean but what about the fuel injectors?

 

you just dump a fuel injector cleaner in your full gas tank and drive around. that's seems easy enuff to me and the stealership is gonna do the same

 

The answer is yes, they are absolutely trying to sell you services you don't need at greatly exaggerated prices. Changing the diff fluid is as easy as changing the oil since our JKs have drain plugs. I also say that throttle body cleaning at 15k miles is nonsense. I had my 2012 in the dealer two weeks ago for the slow clock service bulletin. They didn't know it, but I had completely changed all fluids within a few weeks of taking it in. So the service manager calls me and says that they did a complimentary inspection and that my fluids are dirty and should be changed. I called them out on this. Their response was that I must have used a different brand of fluids that was darker than theirs which made them think it was dirty.

 

This. Diff service is a simple drain and fill. If you're not using 4WD much, then I wouldn't worry about the t-case. TB cleaning? Injector cleaning? Gimme a break! Get a bottle of Chevron Techron and dump it in your tank every time you change your oil. Costs about $8-$10 for the bottle that treats up to 20 gallons. I'm a former service advisor and I promise you they're trying to upsell you stuff you don't necessarily need. Diff service at 15k is legitimate, but something you can do your self with a 3/8" ratchet & extension. Everything they're telling you to have done might cost you $30-$40 to do yourself and that's if you choose synthetic gear oil for the diffs.

 

Thanks for all the input. I'm just going to do it all myself. Found a hand pump for ATF at Harbor Freight for $10 so I should be able to do everything for a fraction of the cost.

 

Thanks for the info, would you recommend going with the synthetic gear oil? I read it already has a friction modifier in it.

 

Good move. That's what I've done also. I changed my diff fluid at 5k and 30k. Front fluid looked new each time. I changed at 5k only because I tow a toyhauler and wanted to get the recommended synthetic fluids in there. The non-rubi should take 2 quarts in back diff and one quart in the front. Use synthetic if you ever think you will tow with the jeep. You will find gunk on the magnetic plugs. This is normal, don't be alarmed. Just clean them off good.