minotaar

2023 ESh, lux model here.

I brought in the car for a 20k service. It was 410 dollars, and the only substantial thing they did was oil change and filter, clean the EV filter, and balance the front tires (as if anything is needed). Seems like I should have just brought it in for an oil change.

sderman

Asking for a "X mile service" is just giving them a blank check. Outside of warranty service I bring my ES and RX to our local Toyota dealer and tell them what to do.

bc6152

I don't know how difficult it is to clean an EV filter, but your tires didn't need rebalancing unless you bent a wheel or had a flat. You got screwed by paying $410.00 for an oil change...

E46CT

If it needed the hybrid battery filter, they can probably be pricey so I imagine or I hope that's part of the cost, in addition to the associated labor to remove it.

Perhaps for that 20k service cost, they also inspected items such as transaxle fluid condition, brake pads, 12v battery check. Sometimes they will do these extra services with the oil change packages. Agree it's probably excessive but sometimes people don't know how to perform car work like oil changes and associated inspections.

minotaar

ive read that the ev filter cleaning can be done with a vacuum cleaner. Is it somehow hard?

im going to go back to getting service on an a la carte basis.

dezymond

No it's not hard at all, just vacuum around the filter area and you can remove the cover yourself to check how contaminated the filter is.

You definitely got overcharged for what was basically an oil/filter change, unnecessary tire balance unless you something was wrong, and either a cleaning or swapping of a $15-20 paper filter. This is why I don't go to the dealership to get maintenance done.

Arrowrock

Did your dealer give you an itemized list of services performed with the cost of each for parts and labor?

Apparently, the thing you called an EV filter is called a different name by Lexus (HV Battery Cooling Intake Filter). The tire balance is not a normally required service item at that interval and why just do the front? Were just two tires unevenly worn? And was that the front tires when you arrived or after they rotated the tires?

Here is the recommended service list for a 2023 ES300h. The only parts to be replaced are engine oil and filter and cabin air filter. Oddly, the list failed to mention check tire pressure and fluid levels and add if required. I saw that the fan filter is to be checked every 5000 miles/6 months, but cleaned at 20,000 miles/24 month intervals. Did you pay the dealer to do a 15,000 mile/18 month service? That service called for checking the fan filter, which would require the same amount of labor to remove and reinstall the filter, but no vacuuming.

It may pay to learn how to do that item yourself if the dealer charges what you think is too much. Try You tube. I found a video of a very easy disposable rubber and paper filter replacement on some Toyota hybrid (in the back of the driver's seat). But then I found a video of a Lexus IS with the expensive-looking metal mesh filter buried in the right side of the trunk with lots of parts to remove to get to it. The video maker thought the Lexus engineers messed up. But there is hope. If your air intake is below the right hand rear seat, It looks like a simple job to get to the filter, which is on the cheap side. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/17...age=428#manual

On my Toyotas, I changed the cabin air filters myself once the free services ended. It was very easy, but I have not looked at what it will take to change the one in my new Lexus. I have two years until I will need to do it.

Source: https://www.lexus.com/My-Lexus/servi...nance_schedule
FACTORY RECOMMENDED SERVICE FOR 20K MILES / 24 MONTHS

• Replace Engine Oil And Oil Filter (Reset "Maint Reqd" Light If Equipped after maintenance at every 5,000 miles.)
• Rotate Tires
• Check Installation Of Driver's Floor Mat
• Replace Cabin Air Filter (If Equipped)
• Reset Scheduled Maintenance Reminder
• Reset Oil Maintenance Reminder, if Oil was Changed
• Perform Road-Test on Vehicle
• Inspect Wiper Blades
• Visually Inspect Brake Pads, Calipers and Rotors
• Add EFI Fuel Tank Additive (Hawaii only)
• Clean HV Battery Cooling Intake Filter

Shaboom

Each service interval, I check the included items and have my independent mechanic of 40 years do the important ones. I inspect the wiper blades, check the floor mates, etc. myself and pay out a small fraction of $410.00 or whatever is the Lexus price might be for that given interval.
It’s worked fine for me over the past 50 years. But to each his own.

ESh

The battery filter is less than 10 dollars so that one did not raise the price.

ATL350

Well, if you were driving some other brands (my memories of my last car, Mercedes E350) you’d be happy to have escaped with that price, about half of what the MB dealer would have charged.

But it still seems really high for a Lexus. Did you service writer even tell you about the balancing? That’s outside the scope of the normal 20K service and he should have asked you first.

alextv

Accessing and cleaning the HV filter is extremely easy. Could be there labor rate is real high.

bc6152

A trusted independent mechanic, especially one that you've known for 40 years, is money in your pocket. No need to use dealership for routine maintenance issues. There's a reason they're called "stealerships"... I've mentioned this before but a member took his car in for an oil change and the writer asked him if he wanted the rear differential service. Problem is our car doesn't have a rear differential... Service writers get a per cent of what they write so there's the incentive to offer unnecessary and expensive jobs on your car. I see the dealer once a year for state inspection that's FREE...

Shaboom

Did that with an Acura we bought new—-Free inspections for 18 years. All they got me for was a set of wiper blades!

grp52

For those who may not know it, the procedures along with accompanying illustrations for accessing and cleaning the hybrid battery air intake vent and filter are found in the 20XX Lexus ES300h Owner's Manual in the "Cleaning the hybrid battery (traction battery) air intake vent and filter" section of the "6-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance" subchapter (the page number varies by model year). It is located immediately following the "Air conditioning filter" section with the procedures along with accompanying illustrations for changing the cabin air conditioning filter.