I Took My 2022 Toyota Tacoma to the Dealer, and They Told Me I Need $3,325 in Repairs Just To Avert Problems, and What I Need To Get Done

I owned a brand new toyota trd offroad 2018 v6 6 gear manual transmission .paid cash $ 42,000.00.....
It was a bunch of disappointing events ,such as under performing and i had a toyota lift 3" and 18" rims 80 psi dick cepec tires, it . Had several recalls not to mention under prformance issues.. Buy a dodge dakota ,much tougher. Sorry Toyota.!!

Not a single one of these services would I keep...The prices quoted are outrageous and ridiculous to say the least...I do my own maintenance but a independent mechanic is what a person needs...The best and least stressful thing to do is to not pay attention to factory service crap at ALL...Its such a scam !!!!!

You tube cabin air. At back of glove box. 6 minutes at most. This dealership is ran by BG products and all the spiffs that the manager, advisors and technicians get. I called them wallet flushes. Run don't walk away.

Never, ever go to a dealership. Their whole system is designed to take your money, and their workmanship is no better, and frequently worse, than a good local shop. Most of them should be ashamed of what they do to their customers, and it's very telling that they are not.

I did most of these on schedule and paid an extra bit for full synthetic oil for my 2 2006 hybrid Highlanders. One retired at 320,000 miles because the cost of replacing the hybrid battery with a refurbished but guaranteed one was $2,200 and cost of replacing the failing Cat Converter in California was $2,800 (Much less for the 49 state version). I made these repairs for my all wheel drive '06 with 240,000 miles and junked the 2wd.

Maintenance an the dealer doubled total cost of ownership for the 20 years I owned the cars, but I N.E.V.E.R had an engine problem.

I tried a 3rd party shop once. They left parts unsecured that triggered an engine failure light, then tried to blame me. My relationship with the dealer is worth the overpriced services. If you find an independent shop you trust with Toyota training and parts, go there, but for me, the only shop that is consistent enough happens to be a dealer.

BTW, I did not have a good experience with the other dealer in my region and drive twice as far for one I can trust.

Post the dealer so people can avoid that b@stard. Those prices and the aggressiveness is insane

Yeah — that’s a dealer service upsell sheet.

Direct answer:
It’s mostly routine maintenance inflated with overpriced “flushes” and redundant services. You’re looking at a $3,324 quote that includes a ton of unnecessary or prematurely suggested items.

Quick breakdown (real vs. fluff):

Service Real Need Notes

Oil & filter, rotate tires, inspect ✅ Normal maintenance. Usually $80–120 total.
Battery replacement ⚠️ Maybe Only if your battery failed a load test. $297 is steep — retail batteries run ~$150.
Battery cleaning ❌ They’re charging $84 to clean terminals. You can do this yourself with baking soda + brush.
Brake fluid flush ⚠️ Optional Every 3–4 years is fine. $249 is high; should be ~$120–150.
Power steering flush ❌ Most Toyotas use electric power steering (no fluid). Total scam if so.
Cabin & engine air filters ✅ $30–50 each DIY. They’re billing $250 combined. Insane.
Fuel induction / injector service ⚠️ Optional Only if symptoms (rough idle, bad mpg). These are $100–150 tops, not $528 combined.
Spark plugs (V6) ✅ At 65k, might be due soon (Toyota interval ~60–100k). $226 is reasonable.
Front & rear differential fluid, transfer case ⚠️ If 4WD Makes sense around 60k, but their price ($646 total) is padded by 2×. Dealer markup.

Reality check:
If you went to an independent Toyota-specialized mechanic, the same valid services would run around $700–$900 total, not $3.3K.

Next steps:

1. Ask for the factory maintenance schedule for the 2022 Tacoma at 65k — compare line-by-line.

2. Approve only: oil change, rotation, spark plugs, and possibly diff fluids.

3. Decline the “flushes,” “cleaning,” and “fuel induction” lines — they’re high-profit padding.

4. Find an ASE-certified independent shop and price match

Toyota told
Me for years I needed new battery in 07 4 runner. Battery wasn't replaced till several .months after I hit deer in 2018. I believe that the battery was damaged then causing it to fail. Note these batteries come from. Japan in new toyotas a d you can't get them in usa. That's what dealer told me.

Mr Denis,

I don't mean to be quite so ugly sir, but this is Terrible writing! Terrible, with a capital T.

You must be paid by the word.

Repetition, repetition, repetition, ad nauseam.

A dozen or more mentions of the Year 2022, ditto for the price of estimate. A wordsmith your are not.

Nowhere does it simply state what his actual mileage is. Really now? Kinda an important piece of information, don't cha think?

This makes me suspicious that a sizeable portion of this is actually pure FICTION for the simple purpose of expediency.

Crank it out! Crank it out!

God's grace to you, sir.

Geoff Reed

There is absolutely no mention in this story about how many miles are on this Tacoma. I have seen 3-4 year old vehicles with very high miles on them.

Step 1: Don’t go to your dealer for service.

Step 2: Repeat step 1.

i have a 2008 v6 Tacoma 225000 miles , i bought it new. has original fluids , only change oil and filter, air filter maybe 2 times cabin filter 1 time, did brakes front twice rears original, spark plugs never changed , really, i had belt replaced when alternator went out, so i really think you should not do anything , save your money, if the filter is dirty , that is easy for anybody to change, the cabin filter the same, you prob need windshield wiper blades more.

you can go o Reilly or auto zone to get your parts and DIY. get your own diagnostic tool to plug in and check for any errors. 825 for spark plugs? you got to be kidding me. wtf. firestone wanted 40 to replace windshield wipers. stupid a. I was playing dumb to see what they quoted. anyone can replace it not that hard. ugghh..

I refused to read the comments before adding my own, so someone may have already chimed in on the power steering system. The author of this article states that the power steering in the 3rd Gen Tacoma as an electronic system. Not true. It is very much an old school hydrologic system that uses aft fluid.

If you're buying a new battery, you didn't need to clean it, but if still go to AutoZone. A national chain that's not Toyota said that the battery in my 2022 is doing fine at just under 50,000 miles.

You can replace the cabin air filter for way less.

He should check to see if he has the OEM permanent engine air filter. If he has that, and not a paper filter, he needs to go somewhere else. The best case scenario would be that they can't tell the difference between a paper filter and a permanent filter. If he does have paper, he can change it to a K & N for about the same price. It's easier to get to than the cabin air filter.

I have been a service writer at domestic dealerships for over 25 years. Currently trying foreign brands. A good writer advocates for the customer , not his piggy bank. The author here is correct on iridium plugs . Considered lifetime plugs, meaning 100,000 miles. In actuality good to roughly 85 or 90,000. All fluids also lifetime because it's all synthetic. Good to 100,00 miles. Except trans fluids, good to 60,000 unless owner tows then 30,000. Author also correct on power steering fluid, industry wide electric steering assist. If a brake caliper is seized and needs replacement, flush brake system. However be cautious on changing engine filters. If done incorrectly and results in a gap in air cleaner housing, expect a engine light to replace MAP sensor . On fuel system cleanings the author is also correct. My experience though has led me to "Top Tier Fuels". Read up on it and pay close attention to anything regarding detergents. Not all fuels have it. Since the orfice in all fuel injectors are the size of a human hair, contaminates are a huge no - no. If you do use fuel system cleaners, use cleaners that boast "upper cylinder lubrication" . I'm not going to recommend certain brands but read labels and do your homework. On the subject of homework, read your owners manual, only 1% of new car buyers read it. Some of my advice is already in there. Change oil and rotate tires every 7000 miles. Remember though, a vehicle you depend on daily to transport you and your family in some of the worst weather and geographical conditions, shouldn't be going to the "lowest bidder" for routine service. Drive safe, and don't buy a grocery list of anything from a dealer. Writers are on commissions for pay and are starving. It is not their fault that cars that used to be good to 90,000 are nowadays lasting 300,000 miles or more. Thanks for listening to a longwinded service writer. Oh ! Don't forget to bring donuts. They will love you longtime.. ha.

I also have a 2022 Tacoma 4 drTRD. When I took it in for my very last covered oil change on the original purchase, the service advisor presented me with a list of things that would need to be done at 30,000 miles. One of the items was unnecessary and they actually double charged me. The service advisor said well if your truck is a grocery getter, (Im old enough to be her grandmother) meaning I don't drive it all out, you'll need to get this done. I told her sweet under 21 self that number one I drive my truck it's not a grocery getter and now I don't trust you because you charging me for it twice. Read what is written. I went to visit my regular mechanic who took good care of my previous 05 Taco with 300K. He told me it was 100%BS, and none of what they said was needed at that time. He kept my other truck running up to 300K so I have a tendency to trust him

Ok man I don’t know how many miles you have on this vehicle but you took it to a dealership you can do all these services but you don’t need to eventually but you can do one at a time and like I said depends on how many miles you got on the vehicle it’s under 50,000 or at 50,000 none other than the oil change and change your air filter change your cabin air filter. If it’s never been changed you can do that yourself. The dealers are gonna charge you for the services every 15 to 30,000 miles cause they need to make that money to keep that place open no service advisors have quotas and if they’re not at a certain level, they don’t get to keep their jobs so that’s how they get the money by selling you a bunch of services that you don’t need none of them are bad services, but it’s not something you gotta do right away. Your man goes to do your oil changes if your vehicles under 100,000 miles you need to be spending that much money on spark plugs if the vehicle is running bad or missing check it out and see what what’s going on but don’t fix the problem you’re not having I spent 40 years in this business in dealerships and independent shops find someone that’s honest most likely an independent shop and make sure they don’t try to upsell you

What a joke of an article... Was this Ai written? The photo is of a 2024-2025 tacoma, not a 2022. The guys name on the other photo of the repair order is not Jorge, and you have all his personal information including phone # and email address for everyone to see. It's mentioned that spark plugs don't need to be changed until 55k miles yet the repair order says the trucks mileage is 60k+. Torquenews lost ALL credibility, not that they ever had much, and the author (if it's an actual human) should be ashamed for this horrible piece of "journalism".

I really Hope you didn’t do any of those recommendations. Did you even have a battery issue? I work for Toyota and this quote is ridiculous. Spark plugs aren’t due till 96k miles. They don’t get replace based on the year of the vehicle it’s the mileage that is what causes wear not age. The filters OMG you can do both for $100 dollars. Only 0.2 hours labour for the cabin filter and no labour for the air filter. The EFI service lol is a scam. You will spend all that money and the truck will run the exact same way as when you brought it in. Which goes to question was the work actually performed. Good luck