30,000 mile scheduled maintenance

kodac81

I took my Milan for 30,000 mile scheduled maintenance today. I was surprised to be told that it would either cost $350 or $600. I learned that the lesser price was what the Owner's manual called for and is what is necessary to keep the warranty in force but that they recommended the higher price which included transmission and brakes and cooling system things. It sounded necessary but I stuck with the lesser amount. The guy said that the items in the higher service will never be performed in the maintenance schedule.

I'm not knowledgeable about auto repair. Did I make a mistake taking the lesser service?

blumstein

That sounds very suspicious to me. It sounds like whoever you took it to is trying to get more revenue. I've been going by the book and not one of the 2 dealers I took it to or other repair stations ever said it needed anything beyond that.

Kind of reminds me the news story about a dentist caught drilling healthy teeth.

explorerx4

personally, i would not do the transmission service unless it needed it.
check the fluid when the car is warmed up. if it is pinkish, it is ok. if it look brownish, change it.

temj12

I have a 2008 SEL V-6. I just changed the transmission fluid at 54,000. It still had some pink color, but the brown was beginning to come through. Transmission fluid is subject to a lot of heat which causes the wear in the fluid. The previous post regarding the color is right.

akirby

I have a friend who used to be a Ford transmission engineer who changes his fluid every 30K miles no matter what. Others say it's not needed until 150K in some cases (depending on the vehicle). I plan to do mine somewhere between 30K-60K just to be safe.

My advice is to have them do only the things in the maintenance guide that says should be replaced. Brakes, tires, etc. should only be replaced when they're worn out. A lot of the labor cost in these pre-packaged services are simple inspections.

newowner10

I believe that the additional services depend on how long/Far you plan to go.
If you do nothing extra you are good to over 100K if you are going to try for 150K then you may do additional services. I have never had anyone ask for my service records when I have traded in my cars. Once they get over 100K if it running good that is all that people care about. Once any car gets over 100K you can not guarantee it will make it to 125K. I had a 2001 Mercury Sable and I changed the transmission fluid every 30K and the transmission broke around 90K. Would it have broken sooner if I had not done the maintenance will never know.

kodac81

Thanks everyone for your reply. I have the sheet here that the guy gave me to choose from. Here are the choices:

1) $349.99
Motorcraft Synthetic Blend Oil Change
Rotate and Balance Tires
Replace Fuel Filter
Replace Air Filter
Transmission Flush
Complimentary Vehicle Inspection
Car Wash

2) $599.95
Supreme Plus Oil Change Using Motocraft Full Synthetic Oil
Tire Rotation
Replace Fuel Filter
Replace Air Filter
Fuel Injection System Flush
Transmission Flush
Brake System Flush
Power steering System Flush
Check Front End Alignment
Complimentary Vehicle Inspection
Car Wash

Brake System Flush and Power steering System Flush is about the only difference seems to me.

newowner10

Brake System Flush -No
Power steering System Flush -No
Check Front End Alignment -No (Tire wear even?)
Complimentary Vehicle Inspection -Free
Car Wash -Free

Unless you have problems this is what I would do.
If $500 to you is worth the feeling of well being than do it.
$500 to me is a lot of money to me for services that are not in the maintenance schedule

stephen987

Fuel filter <$20

Air filter <$20

Oil change worth about $30

rotate tires <$20

subsidizing your dealership's retirement fund: priceless

You're being invited to a robbery, and you're the guest of honor. Allowing for taxes and waste disposal, this service ought to cost around $100.

jeffyscott

Previously you said: "lesser price was what the Owner's manual called for".

But does the owner's manual call for:
Balance Tires?
Replace Fuel Filter?
Transmission Flush?

I do not know, but I would guess it does not. If so this goes beyond trying to sell you extras, they are lying to you about what the owner's manual and Ford specify. If they are lying, then I would probably take my business elsewhere, if you have other Ford or Mercury dealers in your area.

Re-balancing the tires may be called for if you have a vibration problem that seems to be due to wheel balance, otherwise I would probably just rotate (assuming the tires have enough life left to justify this).

Changing fluids, even if not called for in the schedule, may be worthwhile but changing transmission fluid at 30K mi is, I think, overkill these days with (I presume) synthetic transmission fluid.

The manufacturers that do specify brake fluid changes usually specify somewhere in the range of every 2-4 years for that. PS fluid, I don't know, but I am thinking I may choose to change that about every 6 years in my cars???

explorerx4

regarding changing the transmission fluid, i would skip it unless the fluid color is not pink.
changed the fluid in my 02 explorer @30 and 60k, it failed @89k.
to be fair, considering the driving conditions, i was not completely surprised.
changed the fluid in our 04 escape @30k and 60k, it never shifted as smoothly as before changing it. about 80k on it now.
still have the original fluid in my 91 mustang, has about 35k on it.

student22

On my 2008 Fusion V6. There is not even a Fuel Filter that is servicable to my understanding. Check your maintenenace schedule and see if it is listed. Also the rotation can be included with an oil change for a few bucks about $40 or so and the air filter even the Motorcraft one can be ordered from Oreillys for less than $20 and changed in about 5 minutes. There really is not much to it other than inspections and the transmission flush. I think the interval is 60,000 but I would not go any further than that. What enigine do you have? I believe the flushes are about $150-200 alone.

jeffyscott

I'm sure there is a fuel filter, there just is not scheduled maintenance for it. I'm not sure that any car lists the fuel filter in the maintenance schedule. This just means it would be unscheduled maintenance and the normal procedure would be replace it when there is a problem.

blumstein

Looking at edmunds.com (Tips & Advice-->Maintenance Costs), they recommend a fuel filter change on a 2008 Milan 6 cyl every 30,000 miles.

newowner10

I would ignore Edmond's information.
Look at the service information that came with the car.

Maintenance beyond the book that came with the car is not needed unless you are keeping the car for 200,000 miles. If you pay $200 each time you change the Transmission fluid in 120,000 milles you have spent $800.

blumstein

I keep cars for 13 years which is about 150,000 miles. Changing transmission fluid is cheap compared with changing transmissions. And, I don't find Edmunds excessive at all. The car mfg'r has little interest in your car once the warranty expires. Matter of fact, they'd love me to buy a new car sooner than I currently do.

As you imply: if you don't plan to keep your car long, feel free to abuse it.
If you wish to keep your car running longer, be prudent about maintenance.

newowner10

If you listen to the dealer you are getting ripped off. They will use the severe service schedule. If you follow what is in the book that comes with the car you should be fine.
I changed my transmission fluid every 30K miles in my 2001 sable. The transmission broke at 90K miles. Would it have broken sooner if I had not done this I will never know.

Early maintenance assume that what was in the car was not protecting the car fully. Your theory would say change you oil every 1000 miles since 1000 mile oil is better the 3000 mile oil.
I use synthetic oil there is no reason for me to use synthetic oil it just makes me feel good the car would probably go 200K with conventional oil.

If it makes you happy do the additional maintenance,

explorerx4

Ford does not have a part number for a fuel filter for a Fusion/Milan.
Just hit 30k, got the tires rotated and oil changed.
Next week I am getting an air filter and some new wipers.
That's it.

student22

Looking at the online manual for trucks/vans/suv there is a schedule for changing the fuel filter as early as 30,000 miles under operating in dusty conditions I believe. however for the cars section it says change fuel filter except fusion/milan whatever the lincoln models are and edge. It appears that there are several different service schedules for different types of F/L/M vehicles.

jeffyscott

I see some things online that mention that the fuel filter is part of the fuel pump. The things I saw were referring to 2006 and 2007, so not sure if they continued with that design.

explorerx4

in owner's manual. MY 2007 page 244 - not a maintenance item.

pod

Many cars have a screen filter "in the tank" to catch any large particles. Most "fuel filters" are outside the tank as the principal filter against small particulates. In my last car I decided to change it at 140K miles just to learn how to do it. The Mercury Sable had no symptoms and changing the filter (which was black and sooty) made no difference since there were no power issues at full throttle. Toyota has done away with scheduled fuel filter changes on the new models and regard it as a lifetime part. I think the gas supply is much cleaner these days than in olden times and it is likely that any interval shorter than 50K is unnecessary. The symptom of a clogged filter is stuttering power on heavy throttle applications. It is an easy part to replace and usually located along the passenger-side rail about a third of the way to the engine compartment. They are inexpensive and easily replaced in about twenty minutes so no economic or engine harm from changing it as frequently as you wish. Barring a load of bad fuel it probably is not a necessary routine maintenance item. Some sites recommend more frequent replacement if the car is used in dusty, dirty environment but I can't understand how that would affect the fuel filter. Air filter certainly but dust doesn't get into the fuel supply so I don't understand this recommendation.

jeffyscott

I don't think they are easy or cheap to replace when they are part of the fuel pump, such as the design Ford has apparently used.

The last time I replaced a fuel filter was on a 12-13 year old Windstar. The reason for replacing it was that the metal housing had corroded and gas was leaking out as a result.

akirby

That's a good reason to replace it......