# Required Maintenance @ 60k?



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

Hello guys, 

my name is Wilmer and I own a 2009 White Routan S. The road was bumpy in the beginning as I bought the vehicle certified and the VW Dealer I purchased it from never really certified it. By this, I mean that I had to go back the first 6 weeks of ownerships to get a replaced headlight, replaced front and back brakes and a bunch of other things. 

Anyways, despite my bad experience with the dealer I love my van and bring it to the dealer whenever it needs an oil change and maintenance. 

It now has 60,000 Miles but I can't find the Maintenance Schedule. I called the dealer and they told me that @ 60,000 have a schedule maintenance which consists of flushing the engine fluids and replace with new ones, rotate tires, 36 point inspection, oil change, air filter, polan filters, etc. All this for about $399 + tax. 

Does this sound like a something reasonable and also, do I need to do this maintenance? I was simply going to go for an oil change until I heard of the 60.k mile maintenance. 

Your input is greatly appreciated.


----------



## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Here's a good link: 

https://wiki.bentleypublishers.com/...-+2009+-+Jetta,+Jetta+SportWagen,+Rabbit,+GTI 

Really just a oil change w/ other filters. Bentley manual calls for the following 60k mile service for 2009 Routan: 


- oil & filter change (comment: depends completely on where you are in the current OCI based on most recent oil change). 
- rotate & balance tires (comment: depends. see above) 
- replace engine air filter 
- replace a/c air filter (a/k/a pollen filter behind lower glove box - _if applicable_) 
- Change ATF and filter if fleet or heavy duty usage such as towing** 
- Inspect brake linings 


I don't know why you wouldn't go ahead and inspect front suspension, CV joints & boots, exhaust system, etc. 

** Also, I don't think any autotragic transmission is designed for ATF to really last much past 60k miles or so. I called two VW dealerships about having it done when I hit 60k miles, and not only did they say it wasn't necessary, they both said "not recommended" as if it were a bad idea. The normal recommended interval is 120k miles, and I can't get comfortable with the thought that OEM fluid can run that long without needing a change. Just my $0.02. I have 62k on ours and I did everything listed above myself, and I plan to take it to the shop to have the transmission pan dropped and a fluid & filter change. Should get about 60% of the old fluid out and refreshed.


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

*thank you*

I'm going to go ahead and do that. Is true what you said about the ATF. Actually, the dealer just told me that recently they added this to their 60.k maintenance. I've had two VWs in the past and both times the dealer told me that they do not touch the ATF unless it is EXTREMELY NECESSARY. I myself don't see how can fluids last so long. 

I'm just going to ahead and get it done, after all it can't hurt and if something goes wrong, VW Technicians were the only ones who laid their hands on my vehicle.


----------



## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Interesting they added it to the 60k maintenance sked. I was a little reluctant to have it done after the dealerships said "not recommended" b/c our Routan transmission has a horrible shift when it's cold and it's under extended warranty to 100k miles. If the transmission craps out under warranty, I don't want a denied claim b/c I had it serviced against recommendations. Again, a 120k interval is nuts in my opinion, and conveniently out of warranty - even the extended warranty. 

Just as an example, for the '05 Passat automatic transmission, VW says it's a lifetime fluid and recommends _against_ changing it, but the manufacturer of the transmission (ZF) recommends 60k interval for ATF/filter change on that exact transmission. So that tells you something about where VW is coming from. Every ATF is lifetime in the sense that if you never change it, it will last until the transmission dies. I just don't think of ~100k miles as the target "lifetime" for an automatic transmission. If you service the transmission at regular (reasonable) intervals it should last much much longer.


----------



## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

BTW, if you have a Routan S trim line, I don't _think_ you have the pollen filter. The owner's manual has a good diagram about how to remove the lower glove box to access where the cabin air/pollen filter goes, so I'd suggest doing that before you head to the auto parts store just to confirm whether or not you have it. It's not a particularly cheap filter either, although one of the big auto parts stores was recently running a promotion for cabin and engine air filters. Purolator if I recall, so it was probably Pep Boys or AAP.


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

I'm going to go ahead and get it service today around 1 pm (EST) and once the job is done i'll post on here exacly everything that was done.


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

*60k Review*

Ok, so everything totalled $335.63 @ Linden VW. I'm happy they gave me a 20% discount on labor and on parts. These were the services performed: 



60k Service with Synthetic 

Oil/filter 

Rotate Tires 

ZReplace Pollen Filter (Fuel/Filter) 

Checked Brakes 

Perform Engine Fluid Exchange 

Inspected Emissions 

Shifting & Suspension System 

Adjust Tire Pressures 

Top Off All Fluids 

Multipoint Inspection 

Complementary Carwash  

 

Overall I am very satisfied with their work on my Routan . 

I can definetly feel the van riding more smooth and don't have that sudden shift issue most routans have while shifting into different gears:thumbup:. 

I think the fact that they did the engine flush is a HUGE thing that should be done to all vehicles.


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

The only suggested repair was to change the pads/rotors since the brakes have 2 mm left on the pads. That job will probably run for about $500 including the replacement of the brake fluid and everything. 

Being tha tthey've done a good job so far, I will most likely go back to them to get the brakes down just to be on the safe side. 

By now they know my vehicle and I have not brought my van anywhere else for service anyways.


----------



## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Was "engine fluid exchange" just the ATF? Or did they do other stuff like coolant flush, power steering fluid, transaxle fluid, etc.? Just curious. 

As to brakes, if you recently bought it certified you might want to push them on it for selling you a certified van with the brakes mostly worn and see if they will give you a break on the price. If not, obviously up to you, but the VW dealerships are priced way too high for brakes, IMHO anyway. And they're just going to put on more Chineseum rotors that are not likely to have a very long life. For $500 on one axle, I'd be looking after-market for sure. But if you go with dealership, make sure they use the true OEM parts. VW (and most other) dealerships have two separate part numbers on pads and rotors. One is the true OEM like what was installed at the factory, and then they will have a crappy cheaper quality rotors & pads at a lower price that they will also call "OEM" to allow the dealerships to compete with the Meineke and Brake Plus types of places that advertise those ridiculously cheap $79 "brake jobs". Don't let them stick you with the cheap crap if you're paying $500 per axle for a brake job. I posted the part numbers in another brake thread quite awhile back, so you can search for it. (The suffix may have changed on the part numbers if they've updated the part since then - e.g., from -A to -B or from -B to -C.)


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

Thanks for the information. I will def. look into it. can I get better brakes aftermaket (rotos, included, etc) for $500? If so, I'd rather go with that.... As for it being certified, when I purchased the van back in 2011 they gave me new front and back brakes. I've put more than 30.k in two years so I think it is fair for the back brakes to be on their last sprint. 




Zambee500 said:


> Was "engine fluid exchange" just the ATF? Or did they do other stuff like coolant flush, power steering fluid, transaxle fluid, etc.? Just curious.
> 
> As to brakes, if you recently bought it certified you might want to push them on it for selling you a certified van with the brakes mostly worn and see if they will give you a break on the price. If not, obviously up to you, but the VW dealerships are priced way too high for brakes, IMHO anyway. And they're just going to put on more Chineseum rotors that are not likely to have a very long life. For $500 on one axle, I'd be looking after-market for sure. But if you go with dealership, make sure they use the true OEM parts. VW (and most other) dealerships have two separate part numbers on pads and rotors. One is the true OEM like what was installed at the factory, and then they will have a crappy cheaper quality rotors & pads at a lower price that they will also call "OEM" to allow the dealerships to compete with the Meineke and Brake Plus types of places that advertise those ridiculously cheap $79 "brake jobs". Don't let them stick you with the cheap crap if you're paying $500 per axle for a brake job. I posted the part numbers in another brake thread quite awhile back, so you can search for it. (The suffix may have changed on the part numbers if they've updated the part since then - e.g., from -A to -B or from -B to -C.)


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

Zambee500 said:


> Was "engine fluid exchange" just the ATF? Or did they do other stuff like coolant flush, power steering fluid, transaxle fluid, etc.? Just curious.


 The receipt says *"PERFORM ENGINE FLUID EXCHANGE"* but there is no mention of the power steering fluid, transaxle fluid, etc. It simply says *"TOP OFF ALL FLUIDS."*


----------



## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

White09RoutanS said:


> can I get better brakes aftermaket (rotos, included, etc) for $500? If so, I'd rather go with that....


 Check out some of the brake rotor threads here. You can get a pair of premium rotors & pads for $150-$210 from rockauto.com or anythingauto.com or brakeperformance.com. Rears are a little bit cheaper too. An independent shop should be charging somewhere in the $75-$125 range for labor. I think it'd be fair that they might bump the labor up a little bit b/c it's common for shops to make a little bit on parts too, and you'd be taking that away from them. And they might not warranty the work if you supply the parts, but most brakes are only warrantied for a short period like 6 mos/6k miles, so I don't know how much that is worth to you. TireRack also has some decent prices on Hawk and Akebono, and they have affiliated local independent shops they can refer you to who might warranty the work.


----------



## White09RoutanS (Mar 14, 2013)

Ok, I will surely look into that.. 

Regarding Meineke, you said you do not recommend them right?


----------

