I just scheduled the 15,000 mile service for my 2012 Kia Sportage. The details of the service can be found here.
It costs $272, plus tax. That seems… excessive… to me. Is that a ripoff, like I think it is, or is that a legitimate thing I need to do?
I think I’m going to take it to my normal quick-lube place for a $25 oil change instead.
Depends on what the service consists of, but that that’s very high for oil change, lube and maybe tire rotation. Check your vehicle manual to see what’s included, then get an estimate from your local garage.
The only thing I saw that you couldn’t really do yourself is a tire balance. Unless it voids the warranty, I’d do everything else myself then take it to a tire shop for the balance.
LOF - lube, oil, filter changes on schedule (preferably every 3,000 miles for dino oil, 5,000 miles for synthetic oil) are always a good idea. Air filters changes are good. Helps your car breathe and can improve mileage if filter is clogged. Cabin air filters changes are good too. Why not breathe as well as your car engine. BG treatment for oil and injection cleaners… not a terrible idea but not as critical as the regular oil changes. With direct fuel injected engines, cleaning the valves from carbon deposits will help overall performance and fuel economy. I assume the Kia service includes cleaning the throttle body as well. If so, this can be done as a DIY thing if you’re handy. Fuel additives can be done DIY when you fuel up. Just tip a bottle of BG or STP or whatever injector cleaner is recommended and count the service done. Belt inspections, CV boot inspections… all good things but if those are worn or wearing, there is no preventative maintenance to make them last longer. They will need to be replaced. It would suck if your belt broke and left you stranded at the side of the road if you didn’t catch it in time. So inspection = good, no inspection = bad.
Is it worth $272? Depends on whether you can do some of this yourself and what your time is worth vs. having the dealership do it vs. neglecting it and risking a possible breakdown or unnecessary wear requiring additional tow and repair (+ the inconvenience).
Is the car leased and you’ll be giving it back in 3 years? If so… do the minimum and don’t worry about it. If the car is a keeper, err on the side of recommended maintenance.
Yes it is important to see what your manual actually says is needed versus what the dealership is selling as part of the “15,000 mile service”. I would be kind of surprised if “install BG oil life extender” and “install BG CF5 fuel system cleaner and conditioner” were actually part of the manufacturers recommended services, but I could be wrong. Unless you are using crap gasoline, I think the merits of getting your fuel system cleaned at only 15,000 miles are dubious at best.
This post is a little long, I do not know how to answer your question in less space, sorry. OK here goes!
Check your warrenty, It may require you to have this service done at the dealership.
If not, then go to a local independent shop NOT a Jiffy lube for this service. The Jiffy lube hires kids straight out of high school that have vertually no training at all on your Kia, or as to what they are looking at/for in reguards to maitaining your Kia. They usually can change your oil and top off your fluids, not allways correctly or with the correct fluids, but they usually get the job done in a short period of time.
An Independent shop will almost allways have trained, certified, experianced mechanics doing the work on your Kia. They will know what to look for as they do a lube job.They will spot problems before the problems gets to be major issues. They can intelegently determine what you need to repair, lube and/or replace on your vehicle. They will not be cheap (25.00), but they will give you quality service. Once again you get what you pay for. Around here $272 is a tad high, but I do not know what your local tax structure is, nor do I know the local going pay for qualified mechanics.
At 15K you should not need much replaced or repaired. Some adjustment may be needed on some items, but not much. Be sure to bring the dealers check list for the 15K mile lube/inspection to this shop for them to accurately comply with Kia’s requirements.
IMO Quality independent shops will give you the best quality service, followed be the dealer, and last and least quality is the “Jiffy Lube” kind of specialty shops.
Of course you need to find a quality Independent shop. The best way to find one is by word of mouth. Ask your friends and co-workers as well as other Kia owners if you know any. I can not help you in your area as I do not know anyone there. Once you find a good shop, use them almost exclusively. That way they get to know your Kia and they get to know you and what you want and expect from them. It is indeed a relationship that you want to build with them. They can be much more reliable then a girl/boy friend. Your Kia depends on this relationship!
IHTH, Matt W.
This. There are all sort of things that my dealer’s service dept. recommends to be changed at the same mileage point that the manufacturer recommends to simply inspect, depending on driving conditions.
Rip-off!
Change engine oil and oil filter - OK but a quickie-lube company can do it cheap
Inspect fluid levels and adjust - See the above
Inspect tire pressures and adjust - See the above
Inspect air filter condition - Look two lines down.
Inspect wiper blade condition - Do it yourself.
Replace air filter - Why did they inspect it above and then change it? Maybe they are talking about the cabin air filter?
Inspect steering linkage for wear - At 15K miles? BS
Lubricate suspension, latches and hinges - No lube fittings on suspension. Latches and hinges don’t need lubing that often.
Balance 4 tires - OK - probably about $45 at lube joint or brake place.
Perform BG battery service - WTF is BG? Not KIA product.
Install BG oil life extender - See the above
Install BG CF5 fuel system cleaner and conditioner - See the above. Go buy a bottle of some premium fuel system cleaner like Chevron Techron for about $9.
I own a KIA Spectra5. My oldest daughter owns a Soul and youngest daughter owns a Forte 5-door. My son owns his second Hyundai Elantra. I do the vast majority of the work on them, and they seldom need any besides regular oil and filter changes.
A 2012 KIA Sportage can go up to 7500 miles before an oil change in ideal conditions.*
A $25 LOF (lube oil filter) would typically include:
Change engine oil and oil filter
Inspect fluid levels and adjust
Inspect tire pressures and adjust
Inspect air filter condition
Inspect wiper blade condition
Lubricate suspension, latches and hinges
I have no idea what these shenanigans are:
Perform BG battery service
Install BG oil life extender
Inspect steering linkage for wear (only needed if you’re having actual issues)
These are separate:
Balance 4 tires-prices fluctuate, but with coupon could be about $50
Replace air filter-Do it yourself and save $30 labor for a $12.91 part.
Fully aware of this and support your right to run the car longer between oil changes. But since regular oil changes are just about the best form of engine maintenance you can do for your car, and since they are relatively cheap compared to expensive repairs due to wear,I find longevity and reliability improves with more frequent oil/filter changes. It may be my anecdotal experience but unless there is a down side (other than the expense over the lifetime of the car) I find it helps my cars run better and longer than those that follow longer interval schedule changes.
Well, there’s this:
Yes.
Sounds like a disposal and treatment problem. Much like the problem with CO exhaust of running cars on fossil fuels. We probably shouldn’t hijack this thread into an environment debate. What do you think?
Ignoring the environmental angle, here are more supporting voices:
“Although oil companies and quick-lube shops like to promote this idea [that engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles], it’s usually not necessary. Go by the recommended oil-change schedule in your vehicle’s owner’s manual. Most vehicles driven under normal conditions can go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Some models now come with a monitoring system that alerts the driver when the oil needs changing. Depending on driving conditions, these can extend change intervals to 10,000 or 15,000 miles.”
– Consumer Reports, December 2006
“…for the vast majority, 5,000-mile oil changes will help your engine last to a ripe, old age.”
–Tom and Ray Magliozzi, hosts of NPR’s Car Talk, on MSNBC, April 17, 2006
“Most manufacturers now recommend changing the oil every 7,500 miles. We recommend doing it every 5,000 miles, because we tend to be more cautious about protecting the engine. Very few people recommend changing the oil every 3,000 miles anymore. It’s just not necessary, and the environmental cost is too high.”
–Tom and Ray Magliozzi, hosts of NPR’s Car Talk, in the Detroit News, April 6, 2005
“Conventional wisdom has held that the oil should be changed about every 3,000 miles. This notion has been ingrained into people’s heads for decades, in part as a marketing ploy by oil companies. The 3,000-mile interval made sense when engines used single-grade nondetergent oils. But with the latest oils and car designs, it’s no longer necessary to change oil that often under normal driving conditions.”
–Steve Ritter, in Chemical & Engineering News, March 13, 2006
“Synthetic oils, because of their better properties, need to be changed less often, at intervals up to 25,000 miles or more. In the end, the best advice on the type of oil to use and the frequency of oil changes is to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation in your car owner’s manual.”
–Steve Ritter, in Chemical & Engineering News, March 13, 2006
“Most major automakers agree: The adage that you should change your car’s oil every 3,000 miles is outdated, and even 5,000 miles may be too often.”
–Tom Krisher, Associated Press, in the Deseret News, March 26, 2007
“I remember getting my first car (a hand-me-down) and how my father kept telling me how important it was to change the oil every 3,000 miles. A lot has changed since then. Today’s oil is much better, and it can last a lot longer. Here’s what to do: Check your owner’s manual and follow the manufacturer’s recommendation.”
–Herb Weisbaum, MSNBC ConsumerMan, April 17, 2006
How exactly do you find that? The trouble with these sorts of claims is that there’s basically no control group. Barring overheating, or running without oil or extreme lapses in maintenance, a modern engine will almost always outlive the car it’s placed in. Pointing to cars you may have babied with half-interval oil changes that ran fine for years and years isn’t meaningful because a car with regular interval oil changes will do the same thing.
And, as for the down side, in addition to the wastefulness it means more chances for someone to over tighten a drain plug, double gasket a filter, forget the oil cap, etc. That’s probably a lot more likely to kill your engine than it wearing out from only doing the minimum recommended maintenance.
Look, stpauler, that’s all wonderful. I completely agree that the average car owner would be well served to follow manufacturer’s (not dealer) recommendations for oil changes provided the car/truck/whatever falls into regular duty/use parameters, and nothing more.
I no longer do my own oil changes but when I did, I would regularly stick my fingers into the used oil I had just drained and I could feel the metal particulates in the bottom of the previously clean disposal container. So I CHOOSE to not let that stuff float around my engine too long and change the oil more often. I’m aware that the oil is far from breaking down at that point, but I keep my cars a long time and I am admitedly a little obsessive about their maintenance. As a result, they tend not to strand me at the side of the road. YMMV - pun intended.
Follow what your manual says; the people who made the car know what’s best for it. Unless you’re driving in extreme conditions, there’s no reason not to follow the manual.
Ignore the advice from the dealer; they want to gouge you, and will insist on doing things that cost you money and give them profit but are probably completely unnecessary.
Changing the oil every 3,000 miles is a waste of a natural resource, destructive to the environment, and unless your car is very old, does nothing to help it last longer or run better.
No warranty I’ve ever heard of requires any work be done at the dealer. I could be wrong about this, but if I am, I’d sure like to see a citation for it.
if you had metal particles you could feel after every change, your engine would be worn out in 500 miles. Either you don’t know what it was you were feeling or you’re exaggerating. Or lying.
what, your cars didn’t have oil filters? Even the cheapest filter can trap particles far smaller than you can feel by hand.
the advice you’re giving is wasteful if not downright bad. Especially recommending oil additives. There is NO REASON WHATSOEVER to use oil additives in a new car. NONE. Modern motor oil is an engineered fluid, a fluid whose properties the engineers took into account when they specified it for the engine they designed. The average numpty does not have the knowledge to know what is in an oil additive nor what it will do once he dumps it into his engine.
I have owned several cars over the years. My daily driver is now 12 years old with 185,000km on the odometer. It runs exceptionally well and I’m fairly confident it will reliably see my daughter through her last year in high-school and probably through college.
My fun car is newer and a bit special and it’s got less than 50,000 miles on the odometer. It’s a proper performance sport sedan. I hope to continue to keep it in excellent running condition for some time to come and so I’ll change the synthetic oil every 5,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first.
Calm down. I never suggested the use of oil additives. I suggested the use of fuel injector cleaners added to the fuel. And only if recommended by manufacturer and only as part of scheduled maintenance.