salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

Hello my Lexus fellow owners,

I have a question to ask. Is that really necessary to spend the money to have a Lexus dealership maintain my 3IS at 15K, 25K, 35K etc to keep the manufacturer's warranty? The finance manager at Lexus dealership said "Yes, you must follow manufacturer's maintenance plan and since those intervals are listed on the owner's manual not doing them may void your car's warranty." I know that most dealers give some sort of a crap to sell their products and services but his statement left me a little concerned about it.

I also know that 15K, 25K etc intervals do not include any replacement items (other than key battery replacement) and mostly involve the basic inspection so one may wonder how in the world not maintaining my 3IS during those intervals would cause a malfunction in a vehicle so that Lexus have proof to deny a warranty claim. Other than having more odds of catching a problem earlier I see no other substantial reason to maintain my car in between oil changes and paying a lot of money to a dealer.

You do you guys think about it?

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

only if the failure is directly caused due to lack of maintenance. You dont have to do it at the dealer. Most of the items are a joke on the schedule, a lot of "inspections"

davyjordi

what your service consultant or finance manager or whoever said regarding the manufacturer's maintenance schedule was correct. you absolutely must follow it in order to potentially not void your warranty. does the dealer need to be involved, though, when following the manufacturer's maintenance schedule? no. any shop may perform the work. you may perform the work yourself, in fact, although i'd advise to keep all receipts.

there may be something to say about having the dealer perform routinized maintenance, though, and some have the dealer perform what could be done a few bucks cheaper at some other shop. the dealership is likely to help you out much more so on their dime and time if something goes wrong out of warranty or if there is an iffy, on-the-wall sort of issue that requires the warranty to possibly be used.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

you dont have to follow it 100%. It only becomes an issue if there is a failure that was directly caused by the lack of maintenance.

moose66

This gets discussed all the time. Those dealerships want you in there for everything. The service department is the revenue king. Those minor service intervals can be done anywhere. But as previous posters have mentioned, you probably should have the work done somewhere, and you need to keep good records of anything you have done. That's the safest thing to do if you plan on bypassing the dealership for those minor intervals.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

Well then another question would be are those 5K, 25K etc maintenance intervals are necessary to keep the vehicle in proper shape? If there is no maintenance per se is done but rather just an "inspection" is involved why in the world I would even consider those intervals even having other cheaper shops do them. I guess there are two issues/questions that I have.

One - whether skipping those intervals will void a warranty?
Two - do those maintenance intervals actually do "maintain" a vehicle or is it simply pay-for-nothing kinda service?

My gut feeling is One - No, it wont void and Two - just a waste of time and money

davyjordi

look up the maintenance schedule for details on what is done at each interval. more is done, sometimes much more, than just inspections of the vehicle's components.

again, you don't have to have the work performed by the dealer but you should follow the schedule so as to not to potentially void your warranty when you need it due to neglect and to also keep your car running excellently. remember that if you choose to have someone else perform the work to keep all receipts and this goes for those who perform the work themselves as well.

Hermes

The way I see it, we just spent $50,000 on a car, and if we want it to last us as long as possible (at least for myself, this is a long-term vehicle) I don't have a problem investing in those services to increase my cars longevity.

davyjordi

i totally agree. my car is serviced only at the dealership.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

ok as many say the devil is in details. Lets glance quickly at what is done on these minor intervals:

15K Service
Factory Recommended
Replace smart key battery
Lubricate drive shaft, re-torque nuts and bolts
Reset maintenance reminder light
Road test vehicle
Check installation of driver's floor mat
Inspect and adjust all fluid levels
Inspect axle shaft boots
Inspect ball joints and dust covers
Inspect brake lines and hoses
Inspect engine coolant
Inspect exhaust pipes and mounting
Inspect rack and pinion steering assembly
Inspect rear differential oil
Inspect steering linkage and boots
Inspect wiper blades
Visually inspect brake pads, calipers and rotors

25K Service
Factory Recommended
Reset maintenance reminder light
Road test vehicle
Check installation of driver's floor mat
Inspect and adjust all fluid levels
Inspect wiper blades
Visually inspect brake pads, calipers and rotor

35K Service
Factory Recommended
Reset maintenance reminder light
Road test vehicle
Check installation of driver's floor mat
Inspect and adjust all fluid levels
Inspect wiper blades
Visually inspect brake pads, calipers and rotors

and it is the same thing over and over again

The only items that they do is lubricate draft shafts and re torque nuts and bolts everything else is just an inspection, which I have a hard time believing that they actually do inspect the listed items carefully.

Hermes, I totally agree with the notion that a responsible owner of a $50K should follow maintenance schedule properly to increase the longevity of the car but the actual question is do these intervals in fact prolong the lifespan of our 3ISs? Let talk about the details here.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

To be honest you should really check those items at around 30-35K some may say 60K, the other intervals are really not needed its just a way to waste your money, those items you can check yourself as well as some you can do on your own.

FinaLpeace

You don't have to do "ALL" listed on the maintenance interval. You can always avoid the inspection and test driving parts. Just replace oils, filters, and all the fluids etc. They're mainly looking to see if you have replaced the fluids when it comes to having excuses in voiding your warranty. Other than that reasonable excuse to void your warranty, I doubt Lexus wants a bad reputation from cheating on customers.

davyjordi

the perhaps most important action left out of the itemised lists above is the changing of the engine's oil.

as you continue on with the service interval checkpoints, though, more intensive maintenance actions are performed, e.g., the changing of the spark plugs, as an arbitrary example, which can be prove to be difficult for a do-it-yourselfer, particularly on the IS250.

bottom line is to make sure that you do, indeed, change all oils and fluids, lubricate all requisite parts needing said lubrication, replace any wear-and-tear components that may compromise the system, visually inspect the vehicle's components, and absolutely make sure to keep all proof, i.e., receipts, photographs, etc., of work performed so that the lexus can't call foul due to vehicle service neglect if/when you need to use the warranty.

another point to contemplate is whether or not you are qualified to accurately visually inspect the vehicle's various systems and components in order to ensure that all are in perfect working order. the dealership may also deny coverage should you have let a brewing issue fester without addressing it, an issue that would have been caught much earlier at the dealer.

bottom line -- do the work somewhere and keep records. i prefer to have all work done at the dealership for peace of mind. i don't know what your finance / lease payments are and/or what your personal finances demand, although i don't find lexus' maintenance costs to be outrageously expensive. they're pretty reasonable to me.

and, yes, naturally doing the above, in spite of the verbiage used by lexus, will prolong the life of the vehicle. i don't think there's any question as to whether performing routine maintenance or neglecting to do so will have great impact, either positively or detrimentally, on the vehicle at hand. no brainer.

bucanero

I was under impression oil changes weren't done in the x5k's intervals but rather in the "10's".

Anywho, many of us here, including myself, probably already voided the warranty with some aftermarket alterations anyways. Even if your starter goes out, I'm sure Lexus will somehow tie it to that nice injen intake you got under the hood or that magnaflow exhaust...

davyjordi

you're right on the oil changes being tied to the 10s not the x5s. apologies. that said, the rest of the work performed or expected to be performed at the x5 intervals, sans oil changes, is important and lexus can totally deny coverage should they feel there is just cause. and if your car isn't completely stock, as bucanero pointed out, lexus will find a way to link anything gone wrong to any aftermarket part tangentially related, no matter how distant the tangent.