debbiejans

The dealership recommended brake cleaning on my 2016 Maxima Platinum. It was $200 for the service. Is it worth it?
Thanks in advance.

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

ask...what do they do exactly? how does this benefit my vehicle from this service?

honestly...aside from spraying a strong stream of water through the wheel not sure what "cleaning" they are doing. personally i rather spend the 200 on something something else,

debbiejans

It says they:
"Remove all shims, clean & lube.
Remove all cages, clean & lube
Remove all pads,
Service all calipers, lube all caliper pins
Reassemble & adjust
Road test
$184.95
Brake ABRSV/CLNRS $12.00"
Says it improves function and brake life

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

they forgot ...lightens wallets.
are your brakes making any unusual noise? are they low?
if not then i would pass on this service....BUT it's your money and your vehicle so you decide.

Ed Hanson

How many miles are on the car? The regular servicing intervals should dictate what needs to be done at what time. I have a 2016 Maxima SR (same car) and I'm just shy of 36k. The Nissan dealer I have my service done has never recommended a brake cleaning service up to this point. It's too soon, unless you're drifting and powersliding all over the place... lol. My brakes don't squeal, chirp or quack. Well, maybe some quacking since I ran over that duck the other day. (kidding)

If your Nissan dealer is trying to get you to do something that isn't within the recommended service interval and unnecessary, then you may want to question that. You need to ask them to show you why they think you need a brake cleaning. If they don't have a logical answer, find another Nissan dealer to service your car. By the way, everytime you service your car you receive a CSI survey via email, or mail. I would encourage you to take the survey and note that you're questioning this specific dealer's motives. I have worked in the automotive industry for 30 years and I can tell you, the CSI score is vital to the good standing between the dealership and the manufacture. If, in fact, a dealer is failing consistently on their scores, it can lead to the that franchise owner losing his/her license to sell that brand. That is worst case scenario. Most of the time bad scores manifest results pointing to fewer allocations for certain models. Also, not taking the survey is considered a failing score for the dealer. This is why the dealer is persistent in having you take the survey. Many dealers had a practice of bribing the buyer with a free tank of gas to do the survey for you. That bad behavior has been addressed and it doesn't happen as much as it used to.

A "brake cleaning" doesn't make sense at this stage of your car's life. Would it hurt anything if you had the service done? No. But, is it necessary at this point? This is the question I would be asking. Also, it would behoove you to read up on the service intervals and what is done in those intervals. You need to know so you can have an intelligent conversation with the dealer.

Please post back and let us know what you find out. I would like to know personally.

MadMax07SL

All that would be done if you were getting the pads replaced, just gotta pay a little more for the parts, and the rotors being turned. A full brake job runs around $300 give or take. Not sure why anyone would offer that experience you just listed.

I will say, getting the brake fluid flushed out about every 3 years is worth it, but even that is only around $90...

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

I bought my '99 off the dealer showroom floor and have never been confronted with the need to have the brakes "cleaned".

I do wash the car regularly, which includes the wheel, tire and wheel well areas, and up now in its life (almost 20 years) that level of attention has been perfectly adequate.

Don't get me wrong ... in association with the brake system servicing I've done over the years, brake parts and surfaces have received some periodic attention but I have never found any reason to request that my brakes be cleaned as a separate service.

Dealership service personnel assume, these days, that everyone that relies on them for vehicle service are complete dumb-sh**s when it comes vehicle maintenance and service ... which I find offensive.

Have a look at your owner's manual or the FSM appropriate for your vehicle. I'd venture a guess that they say absolutely nothing about a brake cleaning service ... mine sure don't.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

when i was a tech if my boss wanted to follow dealership maintenance AKA it was slow at the shop/wanted money he would sell the brake maintenance stuff. honestly the only thing i agree with is lubing the caliper pins to prevent seizing which is a 1hr job to do yourself with a jack and tools

debbiejans

I also wash my car/wheels as often as possible when weather permits, but this Fall/ winter thus far has been snowy rainy and gloomy. Plus we live in a rural area with a ton of mud on the roads from farm machinery.

TableRocker

This is mainly a dealer uh...incentive...that, while it hurts nothing, doesn't really DO much. Oh sure, I suppose if you live where it snows a lot and/or otherwise gets a lot of salt on the road, this could be a mildly beneficial service but...it's a stretch. These cars are "torture tested" in rigorous outdoor testing to ferret out any potential flaw in the various systems. And if during these pre-production tests it was shown a "brake cleaning" extended the life of the brakes and/or improved their performance, I am sure it would be on the list of scheduled service items.

Assuming from your screen name you may be female? If so, unfortunately a lot of the more unscrupulous service departments basically prey on anyone they feel won't challenge them. I've seen this with my kids' cars and service appointments; service manager sees a 18 year old kid and just starts in on them with various nightmare scenarios and how they "really should consider" a muffler bearing oil change...right after total blinker fluid drain and fill.

carblogger

Agreed... for the most part, brake cleaning is a scam. I haven't had my brakes cleaned on any car I've ever owned.

Then again, I drive my cars a lot, so I wear out the pads before I need to clean anything.

debbiejans

Live and learn. Won't fall for that one again.

MichMaxFan

On my 2000 I used a synthetic high temp brake lube high dollar for the pins. Never again.

That lube got sticky in 12 months. Repeat. Sticky again. Read online about 3M silicone grease/lube and I have not had to redo them in 3-4 years since I put it on the pins. Awesome stuff. I mean butter smoooooooth.

So....even if one had a good intention of lubing the pins, the product used will be important. What would the dealer use in this case?

​ The dealer could actually make matters terrible since the pins may not have been bad at all if good stuff was used at time of assembly.

JvG

Brake cleaning and similar stuff is motivated by greed.

I call it:

The Automatic Wallet Sucker.

They look for suckers. They place the vacuum cleaner in that person's wallet or purse.
The final step is to switch the AWS to the High position.