There are 3 things I let the dealership do as far as regular servicing goes, brake flushes, fuel injector cleaning, and coolant flushes. I do oil & filter changes, air filters, cabin filters, etc.

I have a 2008 A4 2.0t FWD cabrio that I bought CPO in Nov. of 2008 from Champion Audi in Florida w/ 7000 miles. Build date was 03/2008, the dealership never titled this car, I remember them saying it was a dealer car or something.

Anyway, point is, I've owned the car since almost new and have maintained it religiously. CPO expires 02/2014 (in 6 months). Burns no oil, very few issues others than some service campaigns.

Brake flushes are a no brainer, every 2 years, dealer charges $119.00. (I always wait for there $50 off coupon and use that so I pay $80)

But I have questions about the other 2.

Coolant flush. Dealer recommends every 2 years. Really? Anyone's thoughts on that. Seems like overkill, although I've had it done every 2 years. Dealer charges $109.95, again I always use a discount coupon.

Lastly, the fuel injector cleaning service. Dealer recommends every 12 months. I've always wondered if this was just a $10 bottle they dump in the gas tank. Is this really necessary when using premiums gas? And does anyone know exactly what they do? I ask and they have never really explained it in detail.

I really have followed these guidelines so as to have no issues with the manufactures base warranty & the CPO warranty. Never wanted to give them a reason to deny a claim should something arise.

But now that my CPO will be up soon, I wanted to see what some others here thought about doing these services at the recommended intervals going forward after the CPO expires.

I guess what I really am curious about is, not that I would stop doing them altogether, but on the injector cleaning and the coolant flushes, would any one here think going longer between these service would be ok?

 

Personally, I don't see the point in regular brake flushes. It's a closed system and as long as you're not losing fluid or it's looking bad, I don't consider it a no brainer. Check it, do it if it's dirty.

I am also highly suspicious of the two fuel system services they just recommended for me. Fuel injection system cleaning and fuel induction system cleaning--$200 each! Sounds like easy money for them.

So, I'm curious to hear what others here say as well. I'm not opposed to doing maintenance items to keep the car in top shape but that seems pretty exorbitant.

 

I perform the brake fluid flush and anti freeze flush every 2 years for the following reasons.

Brake Fluid Flush is done as this fluid will attract moisture over time which causes corrosion on the internal parts (I see this quite a bit in aviation).

Coolant flush I discovered if not done on time will create a residue in the system which can clog the radiator. I discovered this after I saw the residue in the coolant tank fortunately a good flush cleared my radiator out and there was quite a bit of debris.

So I will be performing these replacements of fluid on time to prevent any future issues.