My 2017 GMC Sierra SLT 4wd (has towing package but no electronic brake controls) is a truck I hope to keep a while. I bought it because my accountant told me to at the very end of 2017. In 17 months, I have 38,000 miles because of a few road trips and a 50 mile round trip every week day.

I did dealership oil changes/ maintenance every 5-7000 miles (depending heavily on my schedule, etc) but to this point that has been standard lube/ oil, one cabin air filter, one engine air filter and 7k tire rotations.

At the 34000 mark, I had service done and they recommended $300 worth of stuff, including a fuel injector cleaning. I declined and got the $70 oil change plus let them do the cabin filter because getting under the dash is a pain for me.


It got me wondering since I would like to keep this for a while, should I just follow the maintenance schedule in the manual? I mean, I would think that would be fine- even if I do some myself since I am out of bumper to bumper warranty anyway.


Can I keep records of fluid/ filter purchases to satisfy warranty claims on the powertrain? (which I think is only warrantied to 50k anyway on this.)


Anyway, I would love to hear generic advice on maintaining this.

I honestly don;t know what I have as far as off-road. Growing up, I had a car and drove the woods with friends- learned to rock out of the mud, winch out, use manual lockers, etc- but have no idea if a 4wd Sierra is LSD or what.


Any info and advice- even pointing me to threads that I overlooked would be appreciated.

No hurry- people have real problems here that should take precedent but I didn't want to forget to ask you guys before time for my next maintenance.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BigNC,

DIY would be fine if you can. If not, I'd find a local indie before going to the dealer. The mfgr can't deny warranty claims for not using dealer service, and the manual maintenance schedule is all you have to show as being performed.

They can’t void or deny you warranty coverage for DIY maintenance. Just keep receipts and log the date and mileage of all service. I do all my own maintenance and have never had a problem since I caught a dealership not changing the oil filter on one of my cars years ago.

I later found out that not changing the oil filter and only the oil itself is a common practice at lube shops and dealerships to save money. Happens all the time.

Fuel injector service is a waste of money unless the vehicle is not running correctly.

I would follow all the dealer required maintenance for the duration of the warranty personally.

Moss Magnusson act prevents them from denying your warranty claim of you use another mechanic but it might not be worth the headache.

You don't have much time left so it's up to you.

In this case, I would read up on the fuel injector service and see what it entails. My guess is it's inspect the system and add a can of BG fuel injector service juice.

Two engine air filters in 38k seems like a lot, but then I didn't see the old filters either. A lot of service places like to sell you a fresh one every oil change or two. Don't know about your Jimmy, but my F350 has an indicator on the filter housing that turns red when it is needed due to restriction. Ford says not to change it until then. That said, a clean one certainly can't hurt anything.

Keep doing what you are doing, oil change and tire rotation wise.

Cabin air filters literally cost $12-14 online and the dealership charges $79-$99 to change them. You can change them yourself in about 3 minutes after watching a YouTube video if you dont know how to do it. Its a HUGE profit item for the dealership. And a complete and total rip off.

Fuel injector clean means they dump a $10 bottle of fuel injector cleaner into your tank and charge you $150 to do so. Again, another rip off. NEVER buy this service. Ever. I have a million miles driven and have not used even a single bottle of fuel injector cleaner ever. Not needed.

And yes, they got you on the engine air filter. You should still have the stock OEM one in, and it would be fine. No need to change them every 15k or 20K miles.

$70 oil change.... that's likely just plain Dexos certified (GM spec) conventional oil. Ask them what their labor rate is for an oil change if you supply the oil and filter. Most places will charge $15 to $20 for the labor on an oil change. Then buy your SYNTHETIC Dexos approved oil at Walmart and the same exact ACDelco oil filter at Walmart and have them use that. This will get you a synthetic oil change for cheaper than the conventional oil change that the dealer charges. When you buy the oil/filter from them, they mark it up big time. When you buy it from Walmart, you save a ton of money. And they still do the labor. Nothing changes, except you pay less (or the same) and you get better oil. (I do my own synthetic oil changes and it cost me less than $10 for a full synthetic oil change, always. I buy clearance/rebate/sale oil when its a good deal and stock up)

This is what I do and recommend...

Spark plugs every 100K miles
Engine air filter every 50K miles.
Transmission fluid pan drop and filter change every 60K miles if towing (75K if not towing)
Transfer case drain and fill every 60K miles. (Its 2 quarts, cheap, and easy to do)
Front and rear differential fluid change every 100K miles
Coolant every 100K miles
Brake fluid flush/change when the brakes are done.

I'll be honest. The dealership is not really doing you right. They are ripping you off. The "service advisers" are commission based, so they are not really in your camp. They will upsell and offer you services that you really don't need (fuel injector cleaning, engine air filters, cabin air filters) because they get a substantial portion of the upsell in their paycheck. Just say no to all upsell services. Change the oil, rotate the tires, give me my truck back. Thats it.

quote:

Originally posted by Watergoat:
Two engine air filters in 38k seems like a lot, but then I didn't see the old filters either. A lot of service places like to sell you a fresh one every oil change or two. Don't know about your Jimmy, but my F350 has an indicator on the filter housing that turns red when it is needed due to restriction. Ford says not to change it until then. That said, a clean one certainly can't hurt anything.

You guys are correct- I remembered wrong- I did NOT ask them to change it. I went to the truck and pulled up my Napa receipt- I changed it at 35k even though the schedule says 95k (EDITED: 97,500 actually) (to be honest, I only recently thought to pull the maintenance schedule from online.)


Bubbatime, you are right- $70 was total. They do a $56 OTD "regular" oil change service and charged me $15 for the Cabin filter. I am a big dude and just gave them that one.

I have almost the same truck, 28,000 miles. I would just DIY with most at this point. I ran out of dealer oil changes, so I do it myself, rotate tires, etc. At this point of life it shouldn’t need a whole lot.

At some point after 2-3 years I change out the transfer case & differential fluid.

As poster above, if you need help check out some how to videos.

Thanks all.

I got back in to using the dealer a few years ago- on my Ford Expedition, the oil cost $40 and for $49 + tax, the dealer would do the whole deal.


I have a local guy that enjoys doing them so if I get lazy, will use him- he is who we go to when something breaks anyway and is VERY reasonable.


I will go back to doing it myself for most stuff- again, unless I am feeling lazy.


Thanks everyone!

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
This is what I do and recommend...

Spark plugs every 100K miles
Engine air filter every 50K miles.
Transmission fluid pan drop and filter change every 60K miles if towing (75K if not towing)
Transfer case drain and fill every 60K miles. (Its 2 quarts, cheap, and easy to do)
Front and rear differential fluid change every 100K miles
Coolant every 100K miles
Brake fluid flush/change when the brakes are done.
Change the oil, rotate the tires, give me my truck back. Thats it.

BT- are you talking specific to this truck? I haven't looked at the Diff or Transfer case and am not sure how easy it is. I have done it on a Tundra and on a TJ Jeep (and put the good stuff in the Manual Tranny) but for some reason, all the dang computers in this Sierra are freaking me out.

I take the mileage of the scheduled maintenance and cut it in half and do it then along with the scheduled mileage.
Oil and filter is changed along with tires rotated at 5,000 miles using a synthetic blend unless a synthetic is specifically called for.
I do all the work myself. I have a binder with every receipt and documented mileage of the work I do. Many cases I take pictures of the old parts next to the new ones when possible and add that to the binder.
My last vehicle purchase came with a lifetime/unlimited mileage powertrain warranty. The caveat being scheduled maintenance must be performed by an ASE certified shop, the oil must be changed every 5k Miles, and the service department at the dealer where I purchased the vehicle must inspect the truck every 5 years.
I have my local Ford dealer do the oil change and rotation every 5k I usually have a $24.99 coupon that includes rotation. I can buy oil and filter for $22 so $3 to have someone else rotate 33”
tires is fine by me.
I have an independent mechanic do the bigger required scheduled maintenance stuff to save money over the dealer.
If it was not required for the warranty I would do it all and not have the dealer do the oil or big scheduled maintenance.

I follow suggested maintenance and use Edmunds online tool for reference.

I used to take both cars to dealer or shop for oil changes but between the sales pitch and having no idea what kind/quality oil and filter they were using I started doing myself on the Honda...The Kia is a different story as it has a huge splash pan that I dont want to mess with and the local deader always has great specials

I'd be anal about tire pressure and rotation. Keep them even and high. Protect thy windshield. Clean the wiper blades. Swab the windshield with plenty of soap and water if it is grimy, then a bucket of water, then the wiper blades. Care with the headlamp lenses. That's about it. A clean interior makes the truck run better. I also skipped the injector cleaning.

I'm at 80k in my SLE, have done nothing yet, just about to do rear brakes for the first time, fronts are at 50%. I'll do a full brake fluid flush. Replaced the battery at 6+ years - preventative. Kept more than one shop employee from wiping off my headlamp lenses with a rag; one shop even said they were scuffed, and tried to sell me a buffing restoration package. They were only dirty; glad he didn't scratch them up with a towel.

That is about it. 38k is sort of early to have any preventative maintenance.

I agree with all those suggesting to do it yourself and FOLLOW the manual. These are not the cars of yesterday. The people that built the truck knows the most about it. Follow the manual!