2005 Outback service

krispysimp

I took my car to a AAA Car Care Center for an oil change. They also have a list of items they inspect; upon their inspections he recommended 3 additional services:

Transmission flush
Throttle Flush
Power Steering Flush

The total for all this is roughly $415. Does this seem reasonable?

I bought the car used and it has almost 200,000 miles. I have no idea if any of these things have ever been done before.

bob192

I'd try to find an independent guy in my home town. He has to sit next to you in church on Sunday. These big chains are as bad as the dealers. Sounds like a wallet flush to me.

ateixeira

Throttle flush? What? Are you sure?

They are up-selling things that don't exist.

krispysimp

Yea, he called it a "Throttle Body Flush" but I asked him to write it out and written down its called "Complete Injector and Fuel Service" = Complete fuel injector and induction system cleaning ... for that the quote is $130

Power Steering fluid exchange quote is $100

Transmission fluid exchange is quoted at $175

Apparently all the oils/liquids are dark brown, almost black.

ateixeira

Ok, that's better.

I had that done to a 626 we had that was hesitating and it did help, but is yours running well now? I'm not sure I'd try to fix what ain't broke.

xwesx

I would, however, change out your fluids! I don't think either of those (power steering or transmission) is unreasonable, as long as they aren't doing one of those power-flushing deals to them. You just need to get all the old fluid out and replace it with new.

I'd take a close look at the brake fluid as well, as that imbibes water over time. If the transmission fluid was neglected, there's a good chance the brake fluid was also neglected. I would also throw the differentials into that mix. Basically, give yourself a new base line on the vehicle's fluids.

At close to 200,000 miles, you don't want to neglect a vehicle or its lifespan is sure to be short.

ateixeira

No argument there.

When I bought an 8 year old Miata, I bled the brake fluid, changed the oil, the gear oil in the rear diff, and the manual trans oil. I tested the coolant because it looked new (and the seller had receipts).

The gear oil from the rear diff was in awful shape. The rest were OK. Luckily the limited-slip was not damaged.