Poppa

Took my 2013 ES in for the 15K mile service today..... I provided my own synthetic oil ( bought a bunch of mobil 1 when I caught it on sale at Walmart awhile back ) and the total bill was right at $151 bucks... I don't know if the price was good or bad.. i know they changed oil / filter, replaced the engine air filter / differential service ( whatever that is ) / and rotated and balanced my tires...... .. and yes I know you can go 10K miles between oil changes, but I'm old school... I still feel more comfortable changing it every 5K.... .. the mechanic did find one issue... he came out and told me that he noticed a transmission fluid leak on the front drivers side axle seal.... said it wasn't a big problem, had to special order a part but not to worry about it because it will all be covered under warranty. I expected that much, but still a little surprised to see a transmission fluid leak on a car that is only at 15 thousand miles. Anyone else run across this issue?

Poppa

dchar

$151 for an oil change (with you providing the oil) is a lot, but normal for dealer service price. You must really like the snacks and coffee at the dealer I guess the 15K also includes tire rotation, topping off fluids, and inspections, but I wouldn't bother taking it to the dealer for that. I usually just skip those in-between services, and dealer has told me that it doesn't affect warranty. It probably wouldn't have made a difference if they caught the leak at 20K service rather than 15K service; they still would've fixed it under warranty.

I've seen shops that will do for $80-90 for synthetic oil and filter change (oil included). There's also probably not much fluids that needs to be topped-off after 5K miles. Places like America's Tire or Costco will rotate and balace tires (usually free if you've bought tires from them in the past).

bc6152

I have to agree with Dchar regarding the price paid for an unnecessary 5k oil change - where you supplied the oil. Add approximately $30.00 for the oil to the $151. and you paid about 180.00 for an oil change and tire rotation. Tires do not require rebalancing unless you had a flat or lost a weight.

LexBob2

That does seem quite high. It sounds like the dealership made up for the lost revenue from you providing your oil, in other areas. If you are satisfied with the service and experience, that might soften things a bit.

lesz

I agree with the others.

First, with full synthetic oil, there should be no need whatever to change the oil at 5000 mile intervals. Even the Lexus recommendation of 10,000 miles is quite conservative for full synthetic oil. Vehicle manufacturers like BMW are now using 15,000 mile intervals for full synthetic oil changes, and I can't imagine that BMW's production tolerances or lubricants are so superior to those of Lexus as to allow them to use those longer intervals without issues.

But, even if you insist on changing the oil at 5000 mile intervals, those prices are ridiculously high. My local Toyota dealer will do a full synthetic oil change on my ES using the same filter and oil as the Lexus dealer, and the cost is $52, which is about 1/3 what the OP paid using his oil.

While the Lexus 5000 mile, 15000 mile, etc. service intervals basically call for only tire rotations, even the tire rotations at 5000 mile intervals are not really needed. I've regularly rotated my tires on all of my vehicles at 10,000 mile intervals, and I've never experienced either premature tire wear or uneven tire wear (assuming that I haven't done anything to cause the wheels to go out of alignment). If 10,000 mile tire rotation intervals are sufficient even for the all-wheel drive vehicles that I've owned, they would certainly be sufficient for the ES. With my ES, I rotated the tires for the first time at 10,000 miles. At that time I had about 1/32 more wear on the front tires than the rears. By the time I do the next rotation at 20,000 miles, I expect that the wear on the fronts and rears will have evened out.

The bottom line is that the cost of service at a Lexus dealer is, I think, excessive, even considering the waiting room amenities. And even the amenities at the Lexus dealers are no longer head and shoulders above those at other dealers in the way that they might have been 15 or 20 years ago. Even my Toyota dealer now has a waiting room with a big screen TV, free Wi-Fi, Starbucks coffee, donuts, etc. About the only difference between what I get at the Toyota dealer and what the Lexus dealer would have given me is that, if I need a loaner, I'll likely be driving a Camry from the Toyota dealer and not a Lexus ES from the Lexus dealer.

Considering how many people spend many hours trying to squeeze a few hundred dollars of extra savings when they buy a vehicle, I've often found it curious that many seem to be willing to give those savings back to the dealer in their first couple of trips to the service department.

Poppa

I wasn't really upset about the oil change.. that was my call... now if you say every 5 k is overkill, you wouldn't ;necessarily get an argument from me, especially with mobil 1 synthetic... but again, for me it's more of a peace of mind thing.... and I'm fine with that... the two things that kind of ticked me off were:

1- The $39.95 charge for rotate and balance... when I dropped it off, I was aware they would rotate the tires.. I wasn't aware they would re-balance the wheels that didn't need to be re-balanced.. also about 5 or 6 months ago, when I dropped it off for the 10k mile service, the charge to rotate the tires was 10 bucks.... so I assumed that's what it would be this time... did not know about the rebalance with a charge of $40 instead of $10....

2- the second thing that got under my skin was the differential service.. I think ( not sure because I don't have the paperwork in front of me ) that was also 40 bucks..... To be honest, the service writer did tell me that was part of the 15K mile service so I just accepted that as fact... but when I got home I looked in my owners manual, but nowhere in there that I can find, does it say the differential should be serviced at 15k miles...

so I ask, is it common practice for a lexus dealership to "make up" service requirements.. I just assumed that the dealerships maintenance schedule would coincide with the Lexus schedule.. but apparently not.... I will be bringing this up the next time I'm in there... I'll also be checking my owners manual from here on out to find out what services should be performed and when they should be performed.

oh, 1 other thing, someone mentioned they get their lexus serviced at a Toyota dealership for a lot less then Lexus charges.. Tried that already, but the man that owns the lexus dealership also owns the toyota dealership and the toyota service dept. told me they were not allowed to service Lexus vehicles...... There is another Toyota dealership I could go to, but it is way the heck across town... but I may do that anyway...


Poppa

bc6152

Unfortunately, dealerships do take advantage of customers by "recommending" various service issues that have nothing to do with the factory maintenance schedule. It's important to know that service writers, in many dealerships, get a percentage of what they write for customers. I have always, for 40 years, gone by the factory recommended service schedule. I think that in your case you might want to find a private garage to do your maintenance according to the Lexus schedule. There are honest mechanics out there, some that specialize in Japanese cars only. You will save a lot of money and also not be taken advantage of.

lesz

It sounds like the "differential service" is a charge for how much more they add to your bill to get the profit differential that they want to make.

As Bob said, even if the Toyota dealer won't service your ES, there should be some independent mechanics who will do quality work on the ES and do it for a fair price.

Mike728

Are you saying they charged you $10 on your free 10k service?

bc6152

Whoaa, nice catch Mike...

LexBob2

I think at one time or another, most drivers have fallen victim to these nickel and dime charges at dealer service departments.

My last one was when our Audi was in for routine service (oil, filter & rotation). The SA said, "do you want us to reset the service monitor/reminder?" I said yes, only to find a $30 charge for the "procedure". Yeah, the tech had to hook the car up to his computer, but you'd think that would be included with the service. I remembered this incident for future visits..

Arty101

I brought my 300h for her 20k service. The indie charged me a whole $100 and change for the service, incl synthetic oil change. Big diff between the dealer. However, I didn't get my Starbucks, pastry or car wash. I can live with that.

jollick

Just had the 20k service done on my 2013 ES300h at my Lexus dealer, the total price with tax was $118.08 I got my wash and other goodies. Did not need loaner, they gave us a shuttle ride to the mall where my wife wanted to do some shopping.

Arty101

My dealer would have charged me $50 more, and try to sell me on an interior air filter for another $50+. I guess its location and dealership you deal with.

bc6152

I know that you do the cabin filter change yourself Art, but for those who haven't done it yet, I just did it today. Went onto youtube and watched a video on procedure, then went to Walmart and got a Fram for $13.99. Switched it out in less than 10 minutes and saved about $35.00.