Transmission Service?

DavidP wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

FWIW, it's interesting that the majority of mfg either don't list, or have a very long interval between brake fluid flush. IMHO a very bad idea. brake fluid absorbs water easily, leads to brake fade and other issues. That's one area where I go with every 2 years and use DOT4+ fluids rather than the commonly recomended DOT3.

Agreed. I flush my fluid annual. I installed Speed Bleeders, makes it real easy. Brake "feel" stays like new. Amazing how brake feel degrades over time with old oxidized fluid. No doubt water retention in the fluid causes a soft pedal.

Service intervals are getting longer and longer. Car manufactures have geared intervals to cost of ownership. The lower they can make the cost of ownership number the more appealing the vehicle is to many prospective buyers. The winners are the MFG’s and those who unload vehicles early. Losers are everyone else.

YOU COULD NOT BE MORE RIGHT!!!

People who don't understand that the owners manual may just be written with an ulterior motive in mind are either really cheap or just plain stupid. A great example would be when Toyota decided oil only needed changed around 20,000 miles, installed a light to tell the consumer when to do it, and advertised low maintenance cost. Couple of years later they started popping engines at 50,000 miles like popcorn. Go look at a current Toyota owner's manual and check when an oil change is called for. Something good dealers were telling folks all along.

Of course the Service Advisor is paid to make recommendations. Last I looked, most people who show up at their jobs on a regular basis get paid. Who better than the dealer to make maintenance recommendations? They see the cars daily, fix the problems that happen, and generally know how the vehicle was maintained. The engineers who set the guidelines for maintenance at the factory, design the systems and move on to a new problem. Only when their suppositions prove wrong do they then revisit the maintenance schedule.

As someone who spent a career paying people to make service recommendations, I loved it when dumb people ignored what we were telling them. Many systems failures can only be done by the dealer and many of these folks found their way back to me when the problems started. They either paid me to fix their problem or traded for a new vehicle. This way, I made much more money than if they had listened to begin with. So, for all the naysayers who know better...go for it... keep on keeping dealer's business good!