Dealer just recommended $423 worth of maintenance - is this necessary?
 

I took my car in for an oil change and the dealer recommended I get the following done to my 06 RX-8 with 8k miles on it:

engine air filter replaced - $70
coolant fluid flush - $140
ac cabin filter - $78
brake fluid flush - $135

He said these should be done every 2 years or so and I'm overdue. Is all this stuff really necessary? This car is my baby and I want to keep it in top working order, but I don't drive it a whole lot so I'm not sure if all this is needed.

Thanks!

I would say yes - but do it myself for less than 1/4 of that amount

There is about $100 in parts/fluids or less ( if you don't get them at the dealer :) )....the rest is labor....

If you have minimal skills all are easy to do....

Hmm.. I don't have a driveway or a garage. It's hard to work on my car on the side of the road outside with cars whizzing past. Are these pretty easy to do or would I need a lot of specialized equipment? Maybe I could have them do the hard replacements and I could do the easy ones myself?

None of them are very hard to do. Just look in the DIY threads and you will find out how. Don't waste $300 you don't have to. The only one that would really be inconvenient to do in the street is the brake fluid flush. But you can take it to any lube shop and they will be able to do it for you for a lot less than the dealer.

Contact your local RX8 friends, they may have a driveway or parking lot that you can do the work in. They may even lend a hand in exchange for sharing an adult beverage.

this can be done by a mechanic in less than two hrs . So ask your dealer what their hourly rate is and add the $100 or so parts . That is what it should cost .

if you have no tools jack driveway or garage then its not a terrible idea to just have them do the two fluid changes. The two filter changes are reallllly easy and dont take any tools, nor jacking up the car.

OK thanks for the advice guys. I'll do the filter changes myself and have a shop do the fluid changes.
:cool:

Marvel,
Actually, everything the dealer said is way overkill. You've got long life coolant; why take a chance of getting air (causing hot spots) or wrong fluid can cause fast corrosion.

Air filter gets dirty maybe in 30,000 miles. Take out now, and see if its really dirty. It all depends on your local conditions. I don't think Hawaii has dirt storms like Texas unless you live on a dirt road.

Cabin filter never needs unless your AC smells bad a lot or not much air flow.

You have some of the best brakes on any car. When you need front pads at about 50,000. miles you can tell them to run some fluid through it.

So, to recap:
When you check your oil make sure you have full coolant, and brake fluid. When you rotate tires when they look about half worn, check brake pad thickness.

The main thing especially in humid Hawaii, change your oil at least every 5,000 miles or sooner if you're picky.

Don't worry, be happy!

I don't consider myself very mechanically inclined or skilled as far as DIY vehicle maintenance goes and even I have been able to do all the basics on this car...plugs, coils, and the fluids. The only one I haven't done myself is the brake fluid which I had the dealer do when I got new pads. This was all made possible by the great DIYs with pics forum members have posted on here. If it wasn't for that I would not have attempted any of them....plus I was more inclined to want to learn how to do these things anyway, after many have made posts about what some dealerships are charging for some of this stuff. If you are uncomfortable, just take your time and be very deliberate and thorough with everything and it is not that hard. Now I actually enjoy doing it...knowing I am saving an assload of money in the process. The only thing I am still afraid to attempt is the re-soldering fix for the heater dial.

Yup. I checked out the DIYs and these two look SUPER simple:

DIY: Aldehyde (Cabin Air Filter) Installation:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=8353.html

Video: How to change the air filter:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...air+filter+diy

So I figured I could to those on my own.

Or at least pull them out and visually inspect them to see if they need replacing :fingersx:

Here's another good cabin air filter DIY: http://www.hi-impact.org/ryang/modif...ir_filter.html

My gawd! All of those items can be done with basic hand tools, a jack and a single jack stand. The brake fluid flush IMO is worthless to do unless the vehicle has gone over 50,000 miles without a fluid change. Brake fluid changes depend mostly on the kind of driving you do and the environment you live in.

An air filter can be had for $20 from your local parts store and installed for free by yourself. You don't even need tools for that one. Coolant flush can be done with a Phillips screwdriver and a socket set. Cabin filter can be had for about $30 + shipping and installed without tools.

If you skipped the brake fluid flush you can easily do it for under $100 for everything.

Not sure how long life coolant should last but I would still change after 4 yrs

Re getting air causing hotspots - the only thing you can do wrong after changing the coolant is forgetting to top off the tank once it has done a couple of miles (with heater on) . Every mechanic should know this.




Both good points

Disagree - you should change brake fluid regularly . 4 yrs is too long .

Buy the engine air filter so you can immediately pop the new one in if the old one looks dirty, and not have to do all that shoving a second time. The cabin air filter is so easy that a dealer should be ashamed to charge more than a dollar for the labor.

FWIW, when I've had brake fluid flushed at independent shops, it usually ran around $100. Maybe I'm getting old, but having done that myself more than enough times I thought it was money well spent for someone else to do it.

Also, FWIW, fluid lifetime tends to be by time, not mileage. Especially brake fluid, which absorbs moisture just by sitting unsealed. Filters go by mileage, since it's quantity of air flowing through them.

Ken

Thanks; you just saved me some pain.

Oh, good to know.

Hey, we have the same car! :rock:

Related question: Are the K&N engine air filters worth the price difference from a standard engine air filter? What is the claimed advantage? Performance? I doubt an air filter can make any perceptible difference, but then again I'm not experienced at this sort of thing.

EDIT: after reading this thread, I think I'm going to stick with a normal paper filter:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...amp%3BN+filter

Coincidentally, this is one of the few things I would feel comfortable doing, since I'm an electronics hobbyist.

not that hard to re-solder the heater dials. did this last month only scary thing is that if your not good at soldering... gets a little sketchy! lol

I sensed that you were a man of discerning taste, worthy of sound advice. :)

Ken