Road Rage

Are you saying that a business which makes money servicing cars is refusing to do a service which is not illegal and which can in no manner harm the vehicle, nor affect the warranty? That is hard to believe.

I would call up, make the service appt, tell them what you want, and then verify it was done (Apply some White Out on the drain plug which will show that the bolt was removed).

I think dealers screw people who are not knowledgeable about cars with these "15K Service" deals. They usually will quote a flat rate, say $250. They almost never itemize the work, and most people ASSUME that it is the service defined in the owner's manual. But assumptions are guarantees of zero. I have personally found that they either do not do all the things they are supposed to do, and then if you point it out, they will give some BS answer like the one you got. I had a Mitsubishi and because of work demands, had no time to change out my rear diff (it was an AWD Eclipse). I did mark the bolt, and guess what? - they had not replaced the fluid, nor was the fluid to replace it on the misc parts listing. When I squawked, they said the same BS your dealer told you - but the rest of the services were an air filter, an oil change, and lots of "checks" - for $225! I doubt they did half of them - I can see why they make money on service.

I would be wary of a dealer that refused to do work - find a good independent garage and stick with them. There are plenty of good guys out there trying to make a buck.

Destiny2002

KennyS2K

to refill the diff, go to any marine supply shop and buy a Mercruiser / Mercury Marine / Quicksilver outdrive fluid replacement pump. it will run you 'bout six bucks. it is a hand pump, like on a soap bottle, that screws into a standard one quart sized oil bottle, or any oil bottle with that neck size as the pickup tube's length is adjustable, and has a length of hose with a threaded adapter on it. The threaded adapter fits the drain plug on a mercruiser outdrive and is too small for the s2k diff. clip it off or use it as a nozzle. nice and neat, no spillage, pump comes in handy for any garage. Pumps sae90 g.o. no problem.

cthree

you can get a fluid pump at any auto parts store, just make sure it's not too wide to fit in the bottle.

Flyin Wedge

I went in for my 15,000 service and showed them a coupon I got in the mail that said 64.95. They refer to it as a "coupon service" and it says on it "must be presented before service is done" I could see the tec working on my car (I always like to watch when I can) and he never went near the rear of the car other than to inspect the brake pads. I ended up paying less than the 65.00 bucks,but at the same time got less of a service. TW,you say they refused to change the fluid. Did they give you ANY kind of reason why they won't do it or BS you saying why it's not necessary?

TWashburn

Hey guys,

Thanks again for all your responses. Since there is about 6 inches of snowoutside...i might go the jiffylube route just his time.. After reading Xviper's thread, I will definitely be changing my own diff in the warmer months (once a year should do, if I only do about 8K (miles) a year)?

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I've been changing the oil and automatic transmission fluids in my other cars for a while, I now feel a lot more confident on doing some routine maintenance on the S!

|T

Flyin Wedge,

They claimed that the diff fluid change is totally unessary at this point and it would be more advisable at 30K. I tried to tell them that I think I fall into the severe category, but it was clear that I wasn't getting anywhere...

Woodson

I had mine in for the 15k service and told the guy not to bother with the diff fluid as I had already done it.

He told me I wasted my money. I told him he should read the manual.

Hockey

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Woodson
I had mine in for the 15k service and told the guy not to bother with the diff fluid as I had already done it.

He told me I wasted my money.

honda606

Nope. That's only a requirement if you want to be a tech at an Acura dealership.