[GoGiants]

I called the dealer today to book an app't for an oil change (reg. maint) and to get my summer boots put on, and they then asked if I wanted to "optional" but "recommended" brake service where they take them apart and ensure everything is lubricated and functioning, etc.

I declined and of course they came back with "If it is not done and something happens down the road, the warranty may not cover it because this wasn't done". I still declined - after 16 months, there shouldn't be any issues.

That got me thinking - what other "recommended" maintenance they like to throw out at people.

Has anyone done this "recommended" brake service/maintenance? What about other "recommended" fluff?

 

[redtr6]

Had my dealer try and sell me injector cleaning ($79.95) with only 13000 km on the odometer, I guess there must be enough people out there that just don't know better and get it done.

 

[KLS]

I declined and of course they came back with "If it is not done and something happens down the road, the warranty may not cover it because this wasn't done".

Ask the lying crook to point out to you where it says that in your manual. Or where it shows in any paperwork he's got from Kia.

Usually some salesman of a machine that cleans injectors or flushes engines with solvent or something similar convinces the general manager that this gizmo will be a big profit maker. Then the service writers are pressed to sell the service. Or the mechanics don't have enough work to do (they get paid piece rate, so if they're not working they're not making anything, plus no money is brought in to cover overhead), then these services are sold harder. I wonder how many of these are never touched, just billed???

Do the service writers get paid salary or commission on the services they sell?

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

I've never had the brakes touched until they needed new pads. Perhaps bleed the hydraulics, but not as often as scheduled. Never had a brake problem in any of my cars, except for a wobbly rotor fixed under warranty.

If they did actually "take them apart and ensure everything is lubricated and functioning", you could likely get problems. BTW, there's not much that needs lubricating in the brake system.

I'd like to add that I inspect the brakes each time the wheels are rotated or tyres replaced. We live in a friendly environment; no salt, no floods, very little dust.

 

[Sauron]

Wow...just wow. It's dealers like this that give the entire industry a bad name and one of the reasons why I don't go to a dealership for anything other than warranty work.

 

[Izzy]

I agree, but dealers make their profits by adding services. I don't know why people seem to be unaware of this. Plus, how many owners spend the ten minutes looking up and reading the maintenance section of the owner's
manual. KIA's is real easy to understand.
It's up to the car owner to read his manual to see what maintenance is really required to have the 60-100k warranty upheld on a $25K-$45K vehicle. You know " buyer beware".

 

[greatauror28]

Yeah, I agree that most car owners doesn't even take a look or two on their car's manual. I should know coz it's just after 8 mos that i read my manual LOL.

Even so, car owners should be aware of the SA's job - to sell more and make money.

 

[KLS]

New car sales are the smallest profit section of a dealership. Used car sales bring in more profit. The service department is the gold mine.

 

[phillyguy]

I've never had the brakes touched until they needed new pads. Perhaps bleed the hydraulics, but not as often as scheduled. Never had a brake problem in any of my cars, except for a wobbly rotor fixed under warranty.

If they did actually "take them apart and ensure everything is lubricated and functioning", you could likely get problems. BTW, there's not much that needs lubricating in the brake system.

There is no denying that most people can get away with doing this (not servicing the brakes at all), but caliper pins can seize, and pads can be a real pain to get off if not serviced every so often.

My personal policy is to clean/lube the pads and flush/fill the brake fluid every 2 years. This ensures that everything is functioning well with the brake system, and gives me a chance to measure the pads/rotors to know if they need to get replaced or not.

Now that said I would absolutely *not* pay the dealer to do this (at least as often as I do it). Servicing these things yourself will cost you $10 (max) every 2 years. The dealer would probably charge you $150 to flush/fill the fluid and clean/lube the calipers. Servicing the brakes is really easy to do. Watch a youtube video or two and you'll see its not too hard. If however you are not comfortable with doing that yourself I probably would not consider paying to have that done more than once every 4/5 years.

 

[scoutyjones2]

There is no denying that most people can get away with doing this (not servicing the brakes at all), but caliper pins can seize, and pads can be a real pain to get off if not serviced every so often.

My personal policy is to clean/lube the pads and flush/fill the brake fluid every 2 years. This ensures that everything is functioning well with the brake system, and gives me a chance to measure the pads/rotors to know if they need to get replaced or not.

Now that said I would absolutely *not* pay the dealer to do this (at least as often as I do it). Servicing these things yourself will cost you $10 (max) every 2 years. The dealer would probably charge you $150 to flush/fill the fluid and clean/lube the calipers. Servicing the brakes is really easy to do. Watch a youtube video or two and you'll see its not too hard. If however you are not comfortable with doing that yourself I probably would not consider paying to have that done more than once every 4/5 years.

What do you lube on the pads???

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

What do you lube on the pads???

Certainly not the friction surfaces! If you are keen, you can take the pads out, clean the general area, and make sure the pads slide easily. See this generic video:

 

[phillyguy]

What do you lube on the pads???

Back of the pads to reduce squeal.

 

[Sauron]

Back of the pads to reduce squeal.

Not really. Too much opportunity for contaminating the pads/rotors. The stuff to use is this:

NAPA AUTO PARTS

It firms up into the consistency of window caulk so it can't "travel" to the wrong side of the brake pads or rotors. Highly recommended.

 

[KLS]

I used to have a Volvo 850 with perpetually squealing rear brakes, so I know all about this....

There are several products for brake lube. Caliper lube is a moly additized high temp grease for the sliding pins and other sliding parts. This is relatively long lasting, but people in regions that salt their roads in winter will need to clean and lube these parts more often. The steel backing plates of the pads on some brakes can develop a high frequency movement that results in a squeal. There are several possible attempts at a cure including the rubbery stuff above, spray on glue-like stuff, teflon coated steel shims, stainless steel shims, more moly lube, and some other items.

Our Kia calipers do have cast iron sliding parts, but I don't think it'll be a problem unless you live in a region that uses a lot of salt. I've only had one stuck caliper in many years, an old Ford truck. When I got on those brakes the truck bucked like it wanted to jump off the road. Rusty, stuck, in-need-of-cleaning-and-lube caliper.

 

[phillyguy]

Not really. Too much opportunity for contaminating the pads/rotors. The stuff to use is this:

NAPA AUTO PARTS

It firms up into the consistency of window caulk so it can't "travel" to the wrong side of the brake pads or rotors. Highly recommended.

I don't care what product you use, I was just telling the OP that its not a terrible idea to clean/lube brake parts and flush/fill the fluid every couple of years, provided he does it himself to not get scammed by the dealer or a shop. I use silglyde for everything. There may be better solutions out there, I have not exhaustively tested all products in all conditions. The "best" product is going to depend on operating environment, whether you have shimmed/unshimmed pads, and probably a variety of other factors I don't even know about.

 

[Sauron]

I don't care what product you use, I was just telling the OP that its not a terrible idea to clean/lube brake parts and flush/fill the fluid every couple of years, provided he does it himself to not get scammed by the dealer or a shop. I use silglyde for everything. There may be better solutions out there, I have not exhaustively tested all products in all conditions. The "best" product is going to depend on operating environment, whether you have shimmed/unshimmed pads, and probably a variety of other factors I don't even know about.

I also use silglyde on caliper pins, but don't recommend lubricant on the back of the pads since it's very easy (especially for an inexperienced person) to contaminate the pads/rotors with it.

Best,

 

[Czech]

Back on topic, my dealer wanted to sell me 8000 mile checkup for $200. I asked what they did for that money, was told 'a multi-point check'. No, it had nothing to do with warranty, but I had to ask many times. I get really tired of the games.

 

[Sauron]

Back on topic, my dealer wanted to sell me 8000 mile checkup for $200. I asked what they did for that money, was told 'a multi-point check'. No, it had nothing to do with warranty, but I had to ask many times. I get really tired of the games.

Indeed. When I had my Sorento in for a warranty repair they tried to sell me all kinds of crap (tire rotation, oil change, air/cabin filters, nitrogen in the tires, blah blah). They even said they "were required" to balance the tires if I had them rotated (for $80). I threw them a bone and said "sure, go ahead and change the oil" and they filled it with 5W-30. Idiots.

 

[mbutkus]

Thieves... really, they are !

I had a Hyundai Santa Fe.. at 35K the dealer said there were these "required" maintenance items. I still have the flyer. It cost some $350..
at just 35K they wanted to: Change the front and rear end lub, transmission flush, brake flush and a few other things...
I pull out the official service book and ask the guy "show me where it shows that". THEN he states they only highly recommend these items. I declined and kept the car for 56K and sold it for the 2011 KIA for the GPS (that I just updated) and built in Sirius/USB as we take long trips. Many suckers jsut say O.K. and I don't know why the companies put up with that nonsense. I tried to contact a lawyer for a class action suit against them... didn't get response.
Subaru sued their own dealers (or something like that) as they were putting in this aftermarket oil additives. They were warning their dealers that they would refuse warranties if these cars were having additives added to their oil. They don't do that anymore...

 

[Sauron]

Indeed. When I had my Sorento in for a warranty repair they tried to sell me all kinds of crap (tire rotation, oil change, air/cabin filters, nitrogen in the tires, blah blah). They even said they "were required" to balance the tires if I had them rotated (for $80). I threw them a bone and said "sure, go ahead and change the oil" and they filled it with 5W-30. Idiots.

Update: The dealer reacted to a Kia survey response (not particularly negative, but I did mention the improper oil used and otherwise gave them very good marks) and said "Kia recommends 5W-30". Sure, they recommend it if 5W-20 isn't available. Why a DEALER wouldn't have the factory recommended oil is a mystery. I won't be going back. And I declined to revisit my survey responses after they "cleared the air" about what "Kia recommends" and asked that I update my survey responses. And this dealer is one of the better rated ones in the country.

Idiots.

This is why I only go to dealers for warranty issues.

Reader's Digest version: Bulk 5W-30 oil is cheap. They'll use that if/when they can get away with it. 5W-20 tends to be more expensive, but still widely available. The service manager even conceded that they "only have bulk 5W-30 available." Congratulations...they saved a couple of dollars, at best, on the oil change (which they charged top dollar for...even though I was in for a warranty repair). However, they lost a customer. I drained the oil out when I got home and replaced it with Pennzoil full synthetic 5W-20. That's what I get for trying to be "nice" and letting them change my oil.