15,000 Mile Service - Am I Getting Gouged?

[devgeek]

Question for someone who is more mechanically inclined than myself...

I just hit 15,000 miles in my 2014 Mazda 3 a couple of weeks ago, and now the lady's 2014 Mazda 6 also just hit 15,000 as well.

The Mazda dealership I take both cars to is recommending a few things as part of the 15,000 mile service that aren't mentioned in the Mazda owner's manual for this service interval. I have NO problem paying money to keep up on meaningful preventative maintenance on a vehicle. I try to take good care of them. However, I do not want to get tricked into spending money on completely unnecessary maintenance items. Unfortunately I don't have enough depth of knowledge to determine how beneficial certain procedures are, so I figured I'd ask the opinion of people on this forum. I already went ahead and did the extra things on my Mazda 3 a few weeks ago because I didn't have enough time to research it before my appointment. I figured I'd try to determine how necessary they are before I do it again on the 6.

1.) Replace cabin air filter: The manual seems to indicate this doesn't need to be done for another 5k-10k miles? I asked the service rep about this discrepancy and he said that it is because Phoenix AZ is so dusty (which is true). Still, it seems to me that you could inspect a filter to determine if it is too dirty and needs replaced, rather than just going ahead at a set early interval based on region? Anyone have thoughts on this? It's not really that expensive so this one doesn't matter as much to me as #2 below.

2.) Fuel injector service: This doesn't seem to be in the manual at all? From my research it seems that there is potentially some value in this type of service at much longer mileage periods...I'm sort of confused that they recommend it as part of their 15,000 mile service. Again, I asked the service rep about this one and he said that gasoline in Phoenix tends to be not the greatest quality (not sure if that is true or not. I suppose a higher dust region could potentially have more sediment issues? seems like nonsense). Again, if there is legitimate benefit to this service I have no problem forking over the ~$150 for it. Research on the subject seems to indicate that this could potentially be useless though.

So I guess the question is....are these normal things I should expect to be doing as part of my 15,000 mile service, or is the dealership trying to take advantage of the fact that people will usually do whatever is recommended as part of "standard service" on new cars that are still under warranty? Also, if it turns out that the fuel injector service is bogus, will I be in any sort of trouble with my warranty if I decline that particular service?

Like I said, I'm not strapped for cash and I have no problem performing these maintenance items if they are legitimate. I just don't want to throw money away on something if it is useless.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide, I appreciate the knowledge base provided by users on this forum!

 

[joe427]

Cabin filter may be an easy two minute change like the CX.
I never fall for the fuel injector service.Buy a bottle of Techron and added to the gas tank.

 

[cxpmaz]

Those are all logical questions to me and are suspicious.

I see no reason not to ask to see the cabin filter and visually see if it needs changing?
What about the air filter? If AZ is so dusty, shouldn't this be checked/replaced also?

Gas is mostly the same except for some additives each company may add.
Gas is also fairly sealed (no?)
It comes from a sealed tanker to a sealed truck to a sealed tank in the ground. You then pump it into your sealed gas tank. How much opportunity is there for dust to get in?

I guess it is possible?

 

[concept]

You definitely do NOT need fuel injection service. I would recommend replacing the cabin and air filters. At 15,000 miles, those in my wife's Lexus were very dirty, here in San Diego. Those are easy to replace, yourself, if you so choose.

 

[ceric]

Yes on the cabin filter but DIY, not paying $69 for dealer to put it in 1 minute!!!
No on injector service. I pop a bottle of gas treatment every 2 tanks of gas.
Not sure this is even useful for Skyactiv due to direct injection.....

P.S. the so-call "cleaning" is not to clean up the dirt in gas, but to clean the carbon buildup from gas burning.

 

[devgeek]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I'm going to forego the fuel injector treatment, especially upon considering ceric's above comment that it's to clean up carbon buildup and wouldn't be impacted by dirt in the gas anyways. It seems to me like a very high margin thing for the dealership which is probably why they try to get you on it...if I recall from the service receipt it was like $25 for the supplies they use and then $125 for the labor, but I'd have to go back and check on that to be sure.

I'll also look into how to change the air cabin filter, sounds like it might be pretty easy to do myself.

So am I correct in understanding that declining the fuel injector service won't have any impact on the car's warranty? I obviously don't want to do anything that would cause trouble in that department.

Again, I appreciate all of the feedback. You are all so helpful.

 

[concept]

...no impact on the warranty. Most gasoline blends have plenty of cleaners in them, so at most, I'd say throw in a can of Techron, every year.This is what I did with my 89 MX6 GT and it never had injector issues in the 17 years I owned it.

 

[devgeek]

Thanks concept!

 

[devgeek]

Wow...you guys weren't kidding on the cabin air filter. I looked up how to do it and couldn't believe it. Literally 30 seconds. Squeeze sides of glove box to let it fall off the hinges, reach back behind it and pull out the old filter. How can they justify charging more than $5 to install this thing? I realize that older models were a slight amount of work...removing pieces of panels and some screws and such. These new models make this a trivial swap...shouldn't they account for that in the installation charge? I'm kinda shocked. I'm definitely replacing this on my own in the future.

Dealer charged about $35 for the filter itself and $45 to install. Maybe i'm misreading the receipt? It said something about replacing HEPA...is there more than one cabin air filter in the 2014 Mazda 3?

 

[idmd]

I NEVER do anything outside the what is specifically recommended in the maintenance schedule and I've NEVER had a problem. These dealers who are pushing services on their own "dealer recommended" schedule are the scum of the earth IMO and that alone would be reason to not return. They prey on the fact that for many people their cars are their second biggest investments and the "what if I don't do it" thinking that is easy to fall for when you have to make a decision on the spot. It's a car...no matter the make or model it is the WORST depreciating asset you'll ever purchase. Don't over think it. Keep to the factory recommended schedule and don't waste a dollar of your money on this stuff because it WON'T make ANY difference in the long run other than lightening your wallet. As is the case with the cabin filter....if it is excessively dirty due to your location.....sure replace it but DIY. The fuel injection cleaning is totally bunk and a blatant attempt to rip you off!

 

[concept]

Many vacuum cleaners have a hepa filter in the front, so it may very well be that our cabin filters are hepa filters, as well. All it means is that the filter can trap particles down to a certain micron-range size.

 

[devgeek]

You make some very good points idmd, I can definitely find a lot of truths in that perspective.

I decided to ask the service rep about the labor charge on the air filter (he clarified for me that the $45 was in fact the labor charge for installation) and he was pretty shocked when I showed him how you change the filter. He even pointed out the same things I did....that the labor cost more than the labor for a tire rotation or an oil change which are much more involved. He also pointed out that they don't charge labor for installing engine air filters, so he was as baffled as I was that the charge for the cabin air filter was so much. Best he could figure is that the cost carried over from previous models where there was actually some work involved (still not too much work though).

He said it was too late to refund the charge (I had it done a couple of weeks ago on my mazda 3) but that he would make it right and make up the difference in my next oil change / tire rotation service. All in all it was a pleasant exchange. They didn't give me any grief about turning down those services on the Mazda 6 either, so that was good. Again, I really appreciate the advice given on this thread.