Pre-paid maintenance 15k service - GreenHybrid

flopshot · #1 (**permalink**) 03-08-2007, 04:38 PM

Has anyone else here who has purchased the Toyota pre-paid maintenance plan gone for their 15k service? I just took my TCH in, and the service manager says that there are a lot of services that should be done at 15k that are not included in the pre-paid maintenance package, which struck me as odd. The whole point of the pre-paid maintenance is that you don't have to pay a penny to maintain the car! For example, the service manager says that the 15k maintenance package that they sell at the dealership "a la carte" for $189 includes an engine air filter replacement, but that the pre-paid maintenance plan does not include this. This didn't really matter to me, since I had planned on dropping in a K&N filter soon, but anyone else go thru their prepaid 15k service and had the same experience? There were some other things on their dealership 15k checklist that are not included on the prepaid plan. (I don't have that checklist in front of me, so I don't remember what those specific items were).

skywagon · #2 (**permalink**) 03-08-2007, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flopshot

Has anyone else here who has purchased the Toyota pre-paid maintenance plan gone for their 15k service? I just took my TCH in, and the service manager says that there are a lot of services that should be done at 15k that are not included in the pre-paid maintenance package, which struck me as odd. The whole point of the pre-paid maintenance is that you don't have to pay a penny to maintain the car! For example, the service manager says that the 15k maintenance package that they sell at the dealership "a la carte" for $189 includes an engine air filter replacement, but that the pre-paid maintenance plan does not include this. This didn't really matter to me, since I had planned on dropping in a K&N filter soon, but anyone else go thru their prepaid 15k service and had the same experience? There were some other things on their dealership 15k checklist that are not included on the prepaid plan. (I don't have that checklist in front of me, so I don't remember what those specific items were).

Another one of those bait and switch kind of deals, these crooks should be put out of business period!!!!

powerman · #3 (**permalink**) 03-09-2007, 05:19 AM

I did some research on this very subject. The Toyota pre-paid maintenance plan only pays for the manufacturer's suggested maintenance. A lot of dealerships do more than is required by the manufacturer. One of my local dealers here in Virginia charges $90.00 for an oil change. They say the extra maintenance is recommended due to the environmental conditions here and they also put additives in the fuel and oil. I have to raise the BS flag on that one. Bottom line, if you tell the dealership to only do what is recommended by Toyota on the coupon they should do it and there should be no extra charge. If you want the extra services performed then you will have to pay for that. I decided not to go with the pre-paid maintenance plan for one reason. The 3yr/40,000 mile plan covers one major service at 30,000. The only problem is that the TCH does not require a tune-up, transmission service and coolant flush until 100,000 miles. These three items make up the bulk of what a normal car would require at 30,000 miles and cuts the cost of the 30,000 mile service in half. As far as I know the Toyota pre-paid maintenance plan cost the same for all vehicles regardless of what service is recommended for the TCH (which requires less).

flopshot · #4 (**permalink**) 03-09-2007, 09:55 AM

I agree that most of the "Services" performed by the dealer over-and-beyond what is recommended by Toyota is pure BS. However, the engine air filter is what got me intrigued. I agree with the dealer that the air filter SHOULD be replaced at 15k. I am just very surprised that this item is not covered under the Toyota pre-paid maintenance, which I agree with the statement above is the Toyota recommeded maintenance and that i shouldn't have to do anything more than that. So is Toyota corporate saying that I don't need to replace the air filter? That just doesn't seem right. I'll fire off an email to TFS asking about it and will post their reply.

nash · #5 (**permalink**) 03-09-2007, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flopshot

However, the engine air filter is what got me intrigued. I agree with the dealer that the air filter SHOULD be replaced at 15k. I am just very surprised that this item is not covered under the Toyota pre-paid maintenance, which I agree with the statement above is the Toyota recommeded maintenance and that i shouldn't have to do anything more than that. So is Toyota corporate saying that I don't need to replace the air filter?

I was curious and inspected my air filter at 12K miles. It looked amost brand new. I suspect the air filter will easily go 30K miles unless you drive in a dusty environment.

In my opinion the 15K vs 30K air filter change interval is a lot like the 5K oil change synthetic vs dino oil preference. If you feel like doing it, just do it.

Will it make a difference? I doubt it.