SunilP

I'd like to save some money (sensibly) and maintain my car. Any help or advice you can provide would be helpful.

Some history…
I purchased a 2022 ES300 H UL, which was new in December 2021 and already has about 48K miles, so I do a bit of driving. Since then, I have followed all the services as prescribed, adding oil changes every 5000 miles. My question is about the 5000-mile interval services. Lexus prescribes what seems to be only inspections at the 5000-mile services.

For example, 45,000-mile service includes (I don't drive on dirt roads)

• Add EFI fuel tank additive (Hawaii only)
• Inspect and adjust all fluid levels
• Replace Smart Key battery
• Reset scheduled maintenance reminder
• Rotate tires Inspect brake drums, pads and discs
• Check installation of driver's floor mat
• Check HV battery cooling intake filter
• Road test vehicle

Inspect the following:

• Axle shaft boots
• Ball joints and dust covers
• Body
• Brake lines and hoses
• Engine coolant (see page 70)
• Driving on dirt roads or on dusty roads:
• Inspect engine air filter
• Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis
• Exhaust pipes and mountings
• Inverter coolant (see page 70)
• Rack-and-pinion assembly
• Steering linkage and boots
• Wiper blades

This service is $270, without an oil change. Add the oil change, and I'm pushing $400. It seems these items would/should be checked with an oil change. I'd like to save some money and do an oil change every 5000 miles without all the seemingly overcharged "inspections" prescribed in the 45K service.

What are your thoughts on this approach? As a side note, I took the car to a local independent shop, and they used the wrong oil filter. It fell off on a road trip and almost destroyed my engine, so I'd like to stay with the dealer for service. Not a great way to save on maintenance costs!

Thanks again for any advice you can provide.

ESh

I do maintenance on my cars.
When we talk about the 300h, I do the following:

Oil/oil filter TGMO/OEM every 5000 miles.
Cabin air filter every 5000 miles.
Battery intake filter - vacuum every 5000 miles, replace every 20000 miles.
Engine air filter - clean every 5000 miles, replace every 20000 miles.
Rotation/balance every 5000 miles.
Check for leaks, fluid level, brake check...every 5000 miles.
Brake fluid at 35000 miles or 4 years.
CVT oil every 50000 miles.
Wash one or twice a week (1.5h to 2h job).

Wilson2000

ESh, I love your thinking here, so, I copied your maintenance schedule to my "notes" program and will reference it for my own ES300h maintenance. Like you, I do all my own maintenance/repairs.

Much of what owners are paying the dealer for at any particular interval is BS. Too, I just don't believe they are doing all they claim to do, such as, replacing the fob batteries, and "tightening bolts." Like me, they would likely only tighten bolts that were obviously loose. I tried tightening all the bolts one time on my 2011 ES 350, and didn't find any loose ones.

In 13 years and 99K miles, I only had to do routine maintenance on my 2011 (I hope the same holds true on my 2024). I hate to think what 13 years of scheduled maintenance would have cost me at a dealer (over $10K for sure)!

ESh

Same situation here with my ES350. I never found one chassis bolt loose.
Dealers make more money from maintenance then they make from selling cars.

ATL350

I had to look it up , but the EFI fuel additive is a Toyota name for what is basically fuel injector cleaner. It is recommended for Hawaii (I wonder about Puerto Rico) because, from what I read online, gasoline sold in those two locations do not have ethanol, which modern cars are designed to burn with little issue. Supposedly it helps the engine burn cleaner and probably keeps the injectors cleaner. Is it really needed as specified? I don’t know enough about it per se, but I supposed it’s viewed by Toyota as part of proper engine maintenance.

ESh

Put a can of Seafoam in the tank and don’t worry.

Shaboom

Seafoam works wonders. Never believed in additives but I needed it for one of my other cars and it performed fully as promised. I still haven’t used any additives in my Lexus and won’t until warranty coverage ends. I don’t want a warranty claim complicated by use of additives, especially a non-Toyota additive.

Wilson2000

How would Lexus know if you used an additive or not? As long as all scheduled maintenance is done and documented, you're good!

Shaboom

If it were a major claim, they could ask either for informational purposes or to see if they could find a basis for arguing that my doing so contributed to the problem. If they asked, I would have to answer truthfully and I’d rather not worry about that scenario developing.

ESh

No way that you can damage the car by using additives.

Wilson2000

You may be the last honest person in America if you would self-incriminate like this! This is why we have lawyers (professional liars) who tell us not to talk to anyone.

grp52

Hmm... I case you didn't know, Shaboom is a self confessed retired probate lawyer!🧐.

Upon observation what will Shaboom's quantum state collapse to - honest person? or professional liar?

TechNut

You guys are terrible! LOL. In all fairness, I tend to agree with Shaboom, although it may depend on how I feel the dealership is working with me. If I think they are being reasonable, I will reciprocate in kind. I wouldn’t volunteer the information, but I wouldn’t lie to direct questions - unless I thought they weren’t acting in good faith.

Wilson2000

Sorry Shaboom, I was trying to be funny!

Just saying, if I was facing an engine replacement $10K+, I would not admit I used any sort of additive. I agree with ESh...an additive won't cause an engine failure, but, it wouldn't stop Lexus from trying to get out of paying for a replacement!

E46CT

Some people use sea foam in their engines, some dont. I used to back in the day, not sure i would risk it in a newer engine. never know what it may do. I used to pour techron in the gas tank every few tanks or so, some people do it every other tank. it may be overkill or may not be needed, but it gives peace of mind.