And should I go aftermarket parts on bushings and sparks or stick to OEM in order to maximize my baby's life?

Control Arm Bushings $465
Fuel injection service $120
Brake fluid exchange $133
Battery $163
Spark Plugs $295
Wheel alignment $85

I'm at 102k miles. Had the 105k service done including timing belt. I'm pretty sure I switched the brake and tranny fluid about 10k miles ago, not sure why brake fluid is dirty again, but I know I need power steering fluid, it's just not up there. Also, I was eyeballing the fastline control arm bearings on endlessrpm.... any good? I guess I can take em to the dealer with me and have them install it? Thx a bunch.

 

everything is bullshit except the bushings.

your injectors are not likely to be clogged, which wouldnt warrant a service....BS
you said, you just changed brake fluid about 10k miles ago....brake fluid is time sensitive and heat sensitive...every three years it needs to be changed. if you're tracking the car, the brake fluid can boil. disregard if you dont track the car but it needs to be changed every three years because it can collect water, as brake fluid is hygroscopic....
battery can be found cheaper.
spark plugs do not cost 295 with labor...
probably dont need wheel alignment, unless you change out those bushings

 

Are you a DIYer at all?

 

I concur with justn on the bushings. Those should be done and if you don't have access to a press, you won't be able to do it yourself.

A new battery for $163 is a ripoff. Go to Costco and get one for half of that price. You can swap it out with nothing more than a 10mm wrench and 4 minutes of your time.

Injector cleaning sounds like a gimmick. Do not do.

Wheel alignment is fair enough. Not bad to get it redone once a year, or so.

Spark plugs is a bit pricey. Do you have a smaller torque wrench? If so, I'd just do it myself. It really isn't that hard at all and there are plenty of walk throughs on AZ on how to to replace them.

Bleeding brakes is super easy. All you need is a 3 ft long hose, a pop bottle and some new fluid.

 

Yah that's what I though. Just wanna confirm with y'all. I did notice my avg MPG went down from 22-24 to 21. Wheel alignment could be out of whack and that's due to the bushings, right?

If there's a detailed enough guide and I don't need too many tools or too much time, yah.

 

No press I could probably do spark plugs myself. OEM or aftermarket? Battery is fine but there's low voltage. I think it's because I have too many things hooked up - the halos on the headlights, the ipod for music, some other lights, charging my iphone is very slow.

 

It shouldn't matter that you have a few things plugged. You can check easily with a voltmeter if your battery + alternator are in ok working condition if needed.

Agree with Justn, these are bullshit. Dealership? Bring your business elsewhere if you don't want to do it yourself.

If you bled the brakes yourself there's no reason why you couldn't do it again. Although I doubt that's needed. "Brake fluid ripoff" is a classic move by shady garages and dealerships even. At $133, this is one of the most expensive brake fluid service I've ever seen though!

 

$133 for brakes isn't bad. $10 worth of fluid, plus an hour of labor. Makes sense to me.

But is it needed is the better question.

 

The battery is only used when starting the car, or when the engine is off, but the key is still partially turned, letting your radio play, etc.

Otherwise see the car's power supply is solely coming from the alternator. You could even remove the battery after starting the car and it would run just fine. If your alternator was crapping out though, you'd get a light on your dash, indicating so.

 

True, but judging from the bill they're trying to get going on, you'd think they'd discount their hourly wage a tidbit for a brake fluid replacement. It doesn't take an hour to do that once the car's already on the lift.

 

So when should I get the bushings done? And go with OEM or flastline?

 

Why would they discount it? They're still going to charge the hourly rate it takes to do the work. They're in the business of making money, not friendships. C'mon, :pb:...

 

Up to you, man.

I went with oem this summer because I didn't want a harsher ride.

 

Because it takes half the time they quote you for once the car is the air, but I digress, this is why I don't go to the garage/dealership unless needed.

 

Right, and if an engine swap is supposed to take 15 hours, by the book, you are paying for that 15 hours even if it took the mechanic 1 hour. That's how every shop I've ever come across works, unless you know the shop owner/manager and he cuts you a deal.

 

I've rarely heard of garages that won't cut you "a deal" if you have multiple repairs lined up though.

 

das not the point canucks, stop bickering amongst yourselves and assist the OP!


OEM bushings but fastline if you don't mind a little harsher ride.

 

We already answered his questions, so stfu!

So ashamed...

 

bushing and alignment is a must, however other stuff is BS. I would ask them how they know the injector are dirty? lol. My lexus dealer recommend my to "cleaning throttle body" service until I ask the service manager "did the technician open and look inside the throttle body? so either you guy are lying or trying selling a BS services" he just turn around and walk away.

 

Wrong:

https://acurazine.com/forums/problem.../#post14334091