I'll never forget they tried to sell me an injection clean on my Nissan, I refused (this was when I took the car to the dealer up to 60k at which the powertrain expired). The SA said I don't want you to think I'm making this up, I want you to come back to the shop with me to see the equipment. He made it sound like this would be some really involved job like a hvac man cleaning a evaporator coil. It was some bright yellow machine made by Bosch. I told him that's nice but it doesn't do anything, so I don't want it. I get that bread and butter dealers upsell bogus services, but this should not be happening at Lexus and premium places.

 

Nothing any dealer has ever done shows up on any Carfax for any of my cars lol. It goes in the Lexus online thing, but you can enter independent work there too yourself.

Only reason to use the dealer is convenience. Its really nice, easy and upscale to roll in to the nice interior drop-off area, and jump into a loaner car and go. Time is valuable, and I will pay a certain premium for that convenience, but not a huge premium. For instance, a tire rotation/check 5k service is $99 at the dealer, like $70 at my independent. I'll pay $30 to have it done at the dealer and get the loaner. A 10k with an oil change is like $200 at the dealer, its like $150 at my independent. I'll pay the $50 for the convenience. You get to big services though, for instance on my LS460 the dealer wants $700, my guy did it for $350, for $350 savings I can rent a car or find some other way to get to work.

 

Oddly, exactly the case with my brake flush and drain and fill/coolant. It's on Lexus Drivers, but not carfax. The state inspection at Toyota is on Lexus Drivers and carfax. Inconsistent.

Agree on the convenience...in PA, we pay for emissions and safety inspections. Toyota charged me $76 while I waited in a crowded lounge with no snacks nor designer water (first world problems). BMW charged me $68 with a brand new 428i Gran Coupé loaner and designer water and snacks (although the SA never called me back that day, and when I simply drove down assuming the car was done, it wasn't--bad BMW and bad Audi too [buddy didn't get a call back for 5 days! both are subpar service with nice snacks and loaners])....

p.s. I got my Centric rotors for the LS430 rears, they cost $28.xx each, that's a little embarrassing! But seem like a great deal....[Lexus OE is $93 discount plus shipping]

 

15k usually means engine and cabin filters. You can do cabin and engine filters yourself, dealers fleece drivers for these simple *** services. Then you can get the oil change wherever

 

If you want to be bothered. Have to get the filters, on my car there are two air filters and you have to remove all the underwood plastic to get to them, PITA. I'll pay my mechanic.

 

Are the eBay or Amazon new air filters okay to use? They are priced at $30 new for LS460.

 

Sure, should be fine.

 

That is what I did, purchased online. I bought a pair of Toyota engine air filters for $35 ($17.50 each) a few months ago. Below are personal notes I kept when I purchased the cabin air filter online:

"Replaced front cabin air filter (in glove compartment) at 73,639 miles. Bought TYC brand #800108C as the ClubLexus forums indicated TYC also makes the filter for Toyota. TYC was $14 vs $50 for Toyota. Upon visual inspection it actually seemed like the cheaper TYC had a more rigid frame and better made than OEM."

IMPORTANT! Make sure you refer to the manual and set your climate control to to recirculate before removing the old cabin filter or else you'll cause an expensive repair with this easy DIY.

 

Will they give you a free loaner for this expensive "service"? Is it worth the up-charge vs a independent to get a loaner car for the day? $500 seems steep to me for 15k miles. Just go to a trustworthy independent shop and they'll laugh a the 162-pt inspection that they will do for free to earn your business when something does go wrong. Fuel injection cleaning is largely unneeded with today's fuels, especially at 15k miles. An oil change is $70-120 depending on your car, including the oil and filter. Air cabin filters are BS and can usually just be cleaned with an air compressor and a few minutes of work.

 

I don't know what model Lexus you have, but $500 for the 15,000 mile service is ridiculous. Absolutely not.

 

bumping a 4+ year old thread is ridiculous

 

OK here is my perspective. I was a dealership mechanic on flat rate commission for 23 years. The service intervals are the gravy incredibly easy money for the service department. Not only are they fast and easy to do, the interval brings the customer in so you can sell them even more overpriced maintenance work they probably don't need. This was why my wife didn't have to work while our kids were young. So if you like helping others thrive financially get your services done on schedule. If not find an independent shop and piece meal your oil changes and filters etc. And as far as alignments go, if your tires are wearing good you never need one. I never align my cars.

 

Follow the manufacturers recommendations for service. That has always worked for me with Toyota