My wife has an '03 forester with 31,000 miles. The dealer, bless his heart has told her Subaru recomends about $1000 worth of maintanance. Do we really need to flush the power steering, drain and replace the transmission fluid, both transaxles, etc. Further we are told this needs to be done every 30,000 miles. She loves her Subaru but Questions so much recomended service. Just how much work do I need to pay for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ken in Omaha.

I'm going to have to side with you here. I would question the price of the dealership too.

Check your service manual. When I had my 30k done, I paid 3XX.xx$ for it. It was only about 50.00$ less than the dealership asked. I don't see any reason for 1000.00 worth of work. If there is anything "wrong" with the car, it should be covered under warrenty. Is there another mechanic that you trust in town? Perhaps even having an independent import place take a peek or do a 30k service on it would be advisable. It will not void your warrenty if you go somewhere else to get your required maintenance done. (As long as the required fluids are changed and checked) If there are any leaks or other- then take it to the dealership and have them fix it.

My wife has an '03 forester with 31,000 miles. The dealer, bless his heart has told her Subaru recomends about $1000 worth of maintanance. Do we really need to flush the power steering, drain and replace the transmission fluid, both transaxles, etc. Further we are told this needs to be done every 30,000 miles. She loves her Subaru but Questions so much recomended service. Just how much work do I need to pay for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ken in Omaha.

When my Forester hit around 30,000 miles I had:

1. both diff fluids changed
   
2. the air filter replaced
   
3. the ATF fluid changed along with the filter
   
4. the fuel filter changed
   
5. new plugs
   
6. replaced the coolant
   
7. drained & replaced the brake fluid
   
8. oil change & filter
   
9. tire rotation
   
10. PCV valve replaced
    

Does the car need this much service? Well in my opinion if you want to keep it for a while you have to treat it right. For instance I have been told that the brake fluid should be changed because not doing it can damage the ABS system which would cost $$$. How much did this all cost? Around $800.

 

~Howard

Some dealers have extra services that they "recommend" along with what's prescribed in the manual. Kinda like the ADA "recommends'" you visit your dentist twice a year. Hell, they'd tell you to visit your dentist once a month if they thought everybody would believe them.

 

Anyway, you can save money by only having the services in the manual done. The others are just preventative maintenance. You can have them done or not.

Howard's list covers what I would do. I do that stuff every 30k. Let me break down what it would cost if you did it yourself, with OEM parts and synthetic lubricants. This stuff is easy, especially with the USMB at hand. I am going from memory and estimating on the high side.

1. both diff fluids changed $40
   
2. the air filter replaced $15
   
3. the ATF fluid changed along with the filter $65
   
4. the fuel filter changed $30
   
5. new plugs $10
   
6. replaced the coolant $20
   
7. drained & replaced the brake fluid $10
   
8. oil change & filter $30
   
9. tire rotation $0
   
10. PCV valve replaced $10
    

Total of $230.00.