Toyota dealer on METH

Came in to get a transmission fluid flush and filter change THEY wanted 667 after tax parts were 115 and labor was 552!! It can’t be that hard right?? Ordering parts now

 

Are you in AZ?

 

That's your problem in bold. It sounds like they are charging you around 5 hours worth of labor because changing the filter requires dropping the pan. They have to remove the pan, scrape off all the 20 year old FIPG, then change the filter, carefully reapply new FIPG, and carefully bolt it back up. It may not take them 5 hours but it's not fast either. I recently did the same job on mine and it took me at least 3 but I was moving slow and careful.

Personally, changing the filter was a complete waste of time for me. I would just do a few drain+fills of your transmission and call it a day.

 

I've done the job myself on my old v6 Tundra, it's time consuming due to fipg gasket cleanup. My screen looked clean after 100k miles.

Unless your having transmission issues or a pan leak, I'd skip dropping the pan for the screen filter and just do drain and fills more frequently.

 

Agreed. The A650E is a superb transmission that requires minimal maintenance. Same bullet proof trans used in the LS430 until 2004.
Drain and fill is the way to go..

 

they try and get you on things you may not "need" but could help. Especially with our old trucks, minimal maintenance doesnt make them any money.

Im currently sitting here at the stealership, i like letting them do my oil, because i dont want too....i could say i dont have time, but really, i just dont want to for the cost they can do it. Plus they have a wicked sandwich bar....but thats beside the point. Came in today, and they give me the usual, wanna do anything from your laundry list today? I go like what? they say, You needed an air filter last time... i say, yea i replaced that. I also did spark plugs....them, OK i can remove those...what about radiator hoses? Me, what hoses? you guys just did them a few years ago, did you not do them all? Them, i dont see that....Me, it was like 2 years ago, they were dry rotted. Them, Oh i see that now...yes we did them all. The tech noted they were seeping last time you were here....Me, after they were replaced 2 years ago? I dont have any fluid on the ground...Them, ok lets monitor that.
Me:

My point being, they wanna get you, just make sure you know your shit better. Now you can go back and say, do a transmission fluid service, i dont need the filter.

 

Sounds like they wanna charge you for how long the goop takes to dry.

Drain and fill buddy. I do it at least once a year on my truck.

 

That's a good point. That FIPG has to cure for x amount of hours before you can refill the transmission, and then x amount more before you drive it. Just to be safe I waited 24 hours before I refilled it.

 

I don't remember having to use FIPG when I did my transmission filter. I just checked my Rock Auto order history, and this is what I used. It comes with a gasket.

Am I remembering wrong? I only remember using FIPG when doing my timing belt. Is this a 4 speed vs 5 speed thing?

 

Interesting. It does look like that kit came with a rubber gasket. I went by the book and used FIPG.



http://www.skjos.net/toyota/trans/tranny.html

 

i've also heard of folks having trans issues after a flush and advise to just to drain and fill. thoughts there?

 

I went in before Christmas for an airbag recall. The guy asked me if anything else was needed so I said yes, can you please scan the check engine light and give me an estimate. He said you just want us to fix it if we can? I said no, just scan and estimate for now. He said okay, but i have to charge you for half-hour labor rate. I said I understand, how much will that be? He said labor is $170/hr, so $85 to scan it. Whoa.

 

DEX/Merc costs $14 a gallon. Drain and fill is about 4.5 quarts so buy 2 gallons. Do a drain and fill and use a turkey baster to suck and fill your Power Steering Fluid with the same.

Timmea Toyotas has a pump a quart fill a quart technique video. Check it out. Looks easy with 3 gallons ($42).

Skip the filter drop as most say its not necessary.

 

$170/hr for a dealership is not unreasonable at least in the Silicon Valley. Not saying I agree; just that it is what it is.

 

Those are the going rates here on Fantasy Island, as well.

 

Legend has it if your trans has gone a long time without having fluid changed, then doing a flush can cause harm. The rumor is that somehow gunk in your fluid is keeping the trans working, and cleaning that gunk out will break your trans. I think if your trans is hanging on for dear life, a change in fluid didn't kill it, it was already dead.

Some guys are fine doing the buckets and hoses method to flush at home. I don't think it is worth the trouble, doing a few short term drain and refills is fine if your fluid is bad. More importantly don't let your fluid go bad.

 

I'm in the wrong business.

 

Hand Modeling fetches $225 an hour, currently. Minimum 8 hours blocks plus all expenses paid.

 

This. I did my research. My 02 sequoia has 85k on it (i know, its low) but never did a ATF change. I will be doing a drain a fill in a couple days and another drain and fill when i change my oil next. Im doing 2 relatively close together to make up for not doing one at the designated 60k miles. Pulled my dipstick and the oil is still red so im not too worried.

through my research ive found horror stories of peoples transmissions failing after a flush. It dislodges stubborn sludge and it puts it in places that can cause your transmission to fail.

 

Pumping the old fluid out of the radiator cooler hose and filling it at the Dip Stick a quart at a time seems safe to me. Seems like no different (stirrings) than a drain and fill at the Dip Stick as the fluid is pushed out by the Transmission Pumps natural force.

I’ll be doing one sometime between February and May this year.

Either way you’ll be good.

 

I would not trust a dealership that pulled all this crap to tell me it's daytime let alone work on my truck.

 

Id be careful dropping the pan. Not really necessary and can just cause more issues

 

Yea, dealers are expensive, but look around at their overhead. Everyone there gets a pay check, has health care benefits, and maybe a retirement plan, not to mention the rent for all the square footage, it's really hard to make a profit probably. The service bay is where they do it, new sales not so much. If one can't or doesn't want to pay, then we do it ourselves. I just did shocks and strut assemblies on my Tundra yesterday. It took about 4 hours, but it saved me $1200.00 over the dealer quote and parts mark-up.

 

I completely agree. I dont trust any dealership to be honest. But I was burned hard by a local mechanic who replaced parts that didnt need to be replaced and over charged me. I was traveling for work so I trusted them to tell me straight. After that I went to Toyota dealers only. At this point I trust them to catch things I wouldnt. But when it comes to things that need to be done, I never blindly say yes.

Yesterday after picking up my truck they said my valve covers need to be replaced. "Heavy Dripping" is what they said. I literally checked them the day before. Drivers side is worse, but Heavy Dripping....that would indicate theres oil on the ground to me. Yea they were loose for a while, but ive since tightened them. See pics.

They all do it. Thats where they make money, maintenance. Hence why we call them Stealerships lol. At this point, i let them change my oil and check everything over, take their suggestions, do my research, and have them fix something if i rather not try or dont have the skills. Im a graphic designer, not a mechanic, but having a mechanical engineer for a father, i grew up working around cars. Mostly british lol so not much help. Like yesterday, I ususally call my dad to chuckle at the faces they make when i prove them wrong or they realize i actually look under the hood of my truck, unlike 95% of the people who go in.

Once they realized I wasnt trading this truck in, this crap started. I dont blame them, only myself if they get me haha!

 

Did the xmsn "flush" myself on our 06 sequoia around 75k miles. flushed/refilled with Toyota WS. We towed a travel trailer good bit and wanted the peace of mind. Studied the procedure, it's been 3-4 years ago but recall disconnecting line on the tranny cooler. No dipstick on the 06 so bit trickier. Used a heat gun to know I was in range for the overfill check - now I would use a OBDII tool. I didn't get the oil analyzed but smell and color was still decent but not bright like new fluid. It may have been flushed before we owned it dunno. Wouldn't own the Tundra without the incredible experience with the Sequoia. I will plan to do drain/fills on Tundra some day. And no plans to get rid of the Sequoia and finally had the timing belt done this year. Cheers and noice rig!

 

The guys who write the service up are also paid on Commision usually so.......

Smarter Dealers might have young attractive Women offering to write your "Service" too.

I know one dealer that I do work for does this and she is ALWAYS the busiest writer in the shop!

 

I notice a lot of fast food places do this in the drive thru. They put the cute girls in the window.

 

Just do drain and fill 3 or 4 times and you are good to go.

 

Yep, if it is screen you would be wasting your time dropping pan. I dropped pans on F150 and replaced filters only when they were paper but they all had cork or rubber gaskets. Last f150 had a reusable gasket.

 

Chicagoland area, were 150 an hour these days..