alder8

Hi,
I was wondering if 15K maintenance is somewhat of a dealer trick or is it something that actually needs to be done? From the manual it seems like oil change is not needed ( using OW-20 oil) and the only real thing that needs to be done is tire rotation. Is that true, or am I missing something? Does tire rotation even needed at 15K? I will take the car to independent mechanic, but wanted to know what others think in terms of what needs to be done. Any info and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

bigsley18

Waste of time and money if you ask me. I can understand bringing it in if you don't have the tools or confidence to rotate the tires. But everything thing else in the 15k is "inspect, inspect, inspect". I wouldn't pay for that, especially with only 15k on the odometer. Observe the list and inspect whatever's on there yourself: It's also free!

Eppieguy

I agree with Bigsly18 100%. I've only taken mine in for the 1 free oil change and I paid for an oil change since it was there for warranty work anyway. No need to ever go to the dealer unless it's a warranty issue. They rob you blind!

Valley101

Not that you cannot do it yourself, but the 2015 model at 15K also needs to have the drive shafts lubricated and the bolts retorqued. That is the only part of the 15K that I would deem maintenance. As far as tire rotation goes I never rotate tires. I use a high quality tire that gets 60 to 70 thousand miles on them before they need replacing. If you pay the rate for a rotation at every 5K you will have almost paid for half the price for a good set of tires. I have been driving for 57 years and have never rotated a tire and have never had abnormal wear. With Toyota/Lexus products I have been lucky that I have never had a wheel alignment problem.

texas008

good news that no need to rotate the tires.
for my camry i used the Michellin tires and did not rotate them. the result is that the front tires wear out faster than the rear tires since it is front wheel drive..

NewB2Lexus

Not sure how Valley101 does it but even on AWD vehicles the front tires wear lot faster due to the extra force while slowing down and taking turns (maybe he drives mostly on highways). This is especially true in hot Texas weather. If you don't rotate your own tires and want to save money just wait until the front tires show more wear than the rear ones and just swap them, if not directional tires may swap the sides also.

texas008

i experience exactly the same on my Camry, the front tires are not 30% left but the rear tires 70% left. these are good Michellin tires.

Those tires were bought from Sears Auto, they offer life time rotation. but a couple of time when i stop by they had 2-hr wait-time so i did not bother rotate the tires.

Costco tire center's wait time for rotate tires is less than 30 min when i made appointment last time for my other car.

Valley101

Guess I should clarify my previous remarks. First, I do not drive front wheel drive vehicles. I drive rear wheel drive, AWD and 4 Wheel drive. I generally drive two different vehicles, a car and a SUV or 4 Wheel drive P/U. By the time I have 60 to 70 thousand miles on the tires they are usually around 5 years old. By that age, I get rid of them regardless of miles, or condition. I do not consider a 5+ year old tire a safe tire to drive at highway speeds, especially interstates. I am usually light on the pedal from a standstill, but I usually drive 10 to 15 mph above posted limits on open highways. I guess if I drove on winding roads or hills with turns the story may be a little different. I now live in Delaware, where it is very flat, but most of my life I lived in the central valley of California, where it gets quite hot and hard on tire casings, and most of the driving was on interstate highways.

NewB2Lexus

If you do maintenance on your own or take it to an independent mechanic the dealer will have no record of the maintenance. Can Lexus decline warranty service if the maintenance was not done by one of their own services ?

JDSTL

No, they cannot.

bigsley18

If they are a-holes, they might. Or if this was a Honda, probably. Your best bet would be to have all supporting documents should you ever run into such a situation. Change your own oil or had it changed elsewhere?...Keep the receipts. Rotate your own tires?...Jot it down in a log book. While all this proof is up to the dealer's own discretion, there's more proof on your side than the service advisor accusing you otherwise. Just don't videotape yourself pouring coolant in where the engine oil goes and post it online

Valley101

If you have the work done elsewhere or do it your self and keep receipts or in cases of rotation, adding fluids, you just keep a log of it and you are covered by the Magnusson/Moss warranty act of 1975. This is a Federal act that protects you if any event/questions arise from consumer warranties. Also states that if manufacturer states you must use a certain brand product, the manufacturer must supply it free.
For example, if they state you must use Toyota branded oil, etc.

Eppieguy

Legally they can not, unless they can prove that the maintenance that you have done caused the issue that you are bringing it in for warranty service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuso...s_Warranty_Act

NewB2Lexus

Thanks everyone for clarifying!

alder8

I'm still on the fence about 15 K maintenance. I've talked to the mechanic I trust, and he told me that "drive shafts lubricated and the bolts retorqued" part in the maintenance schedule is not needed for a car with 15K. Not sure if I should skip 15k maintenance altogether, considering the recommendations on this board. My concern is that the dealer may question the warranty repairs in the future if 15K was not done. Thanks everyone for your input!