I just left my local Toyota dealership where I used the last of my free oil changes up and they gave me a list of things to fix. I called my Dad to get his opinion and he said some of the stuff they listed as “URGENT” was probably fluff. I’m now at a locally owned shop, that I purchased my tires from, having them do a 45,000 mile check of everything.
For my own piece of mind, could I get some feedback about whether or not these “necessary” maintenance issues are actually necessary? My car is a 2008 2-door Yaris with almost 45,000 miles:
Fuel Injection and Throttle Body Service $229
Brake Flush/Clean & Adjust Rear Brakes $169
Look at the maintenance schedule that came with your car. It’s probably in your glove compartment with the owner’s manual. If these items are on Toyota’s maintenance schedule, and they’re due now based on the schedule, do them. If not, the dealership is just trying to generate extra income at your expense.
If the car isn’t running roughly, you don’t need throttle body cleaning or fuel injector service. Changing brake fluid is a good idea though. You need someone else to look at the rear brakes. BTW, those free oil changes weren’t really free. That’s a way to get you in the door so they can sell you other services.
I’d run from that dealer. There is almost no chance you need any fuel injector cleaning and if they are attempting to sell you that I’d pass on the brake work too. If you do get that done a dealer won’t be the cheapest place.
I don’t clean the injectors unless I diagnose that they are partially plugged
If the idle is rough, a throttle body cleaning is one of the first things you should do
If the idle is smooth, you have good power, and the check engine light isn’t and hasn’t been on, I would forget about the injectors and the throttle body for now
As far as adjusting the rear brakes, that’s a tough one. The mechanic who inspected the car should know if they need to be adjusted. You have self-adjusting rear drum brakes, but if everything is dirty, rusted, or frozen in place, that function may no longer be working.
I can certainly understand that there’s theoretical merit to the theory that brake fluid should be flushed and replaced every 2-3 years, and I used to do that on my Ford truck. But it didn’t seem to accomplish much. The master cylinder and wheel cylinder still needed to be replaced every 5 years. Contrast this to me 20 year old Corolla . I’ve never flushed the brake fluid on that car. Ever. Well, except when replacing the front pads one time 10 years ago or so, I gave the front lines a good bleeding, but definitely not a complete flush of the entire system.
My theory is that whenever you mess with the brakes— except to fix something that isn’t working or worn out —you open them up to contamination in the process and have as much a chance as harming them as making them better.
If this were my 2008 Yaris and it was running fine and the brakes were working fine and the front pads and rear drums had been inspecting and meet dimensional specs, then I’d do nothing further, and for proactive maintenance, only do those maintenance items suggested in the owners manual per the appropriate schedule. My driveway amateur view: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I might add that the fees quoted above seem reasonable. But I wouldn’t advise doing them, not simply to save money, but to avoid causing other problems in the process.
Regarding brake fluid changes, it’s not just a matter of whether brake hydraulics outright fail.
With aged fluid the boiling point goes down and this increases the stopping distance.
So potentially, that extra 20 feet of stopping distance due to aged fluid might be what leads to a car ramming the under-ride bar on a tractor trailer.
I would agree that the FI and throttle body service could probably be put aside for now if there are no obvious symptoms.
Thank you for all the feedback! This is really helpful The tire place I took my car today checked everything out and came back with none of the issues Toyota originally listed. The mechanics at this shop ran through a list for a 45,000 mile Toyota Yaris and rotated my tires for free–for just stopping by. Between all the advice here and this little shop in Los Angeles, I feel more confident about getting affordable, honest service.
Sounds like you found a good little shop. If you have ABS, then the brake fluid should be flushed every 3 years, but without ABS, you should get the brakes flushed when ever you have the front pads changed. The flush should be for all 4 wheels even though the rear shoes are probably good.
Every time you pull up on the parking brake handle, you adjust the rear brakes if they need it. You should use your parking brake every time you park, even on level ground.
