VDC Driver is spot-on about the manipulation of maintenance schedules to make vehicles look maintenance-free. Of course it gets worse with newer Toyotas - they don’t even recommend transmission fluid changes on many (if not all) of their vehicles anymore - they simply put in an entry in the schedule to “inspect” the fluid. That way, when Edmunds has its true-cost-to-own, transmission fluid changes don’t add a cent to the overall cost listed in that shopping guide. A serious cop-out, when the fluid changes can be relatively pricey… and you’d better believe that the dealer will tell you that a fluid change is needed all the time, and if you don’t do it when the dealer says it needs done, they’ll void your warranty.
And many manufacturers do this exact same junk.
Interestingly, though, I found the maintenance schedule for my Mazda6 almost overly aggressive. Brake fluid changes every 2 years? That’s the most aggressive I’ve ever seen (Toyota doesn’t recommend any changes, by comparison).
And what does this all mean? Here are the 5 year maintenance costs according to Edmunds’ True Cost To Own measure, for 3 midsize sedans, two of which are very similar:
2011 Toyota Camry : $2848
2011 Ford Fusion: $3078
2011 Mazda6: $3848
If you ask me, all those costs are high, but there is no way that there should be that big of a spread - it tells me that if you stick by the recommendations, you’re likely neglecting the Camry and Fusion some…