What does a Tune Up include and cost these days?

[Yoop33]

The dealer is wanting about $400 to do a "Tune Up" on my 5.4 and is claiming it would include spark plugs and labor.

I was always under the impression a Tune Up included all the basic things under the hood like spark plugs, hoses, belts, filters, and fluids...

 

[Habbibie]

I never categorized belts as hoses as a tune up but thinking about now it makes sense as the intervals for these is a 100k anyways.

But honestly I can't tell you anymore what is considered a tune up anymore before in my early days it was plugs & wires, pcv valve, air & fuel filter and maybe an oil change. Now most cars have COP and built in PCV and in tank fuel filters so the list is much smaller in my opinion but don' forget dealer usually charges $160 per labor hour so...

 

[Yoop33]

I never categorized belts as hoses as a tune up but thinking about now it makes sense as the intervals for these is a 100k anyways.

But honestly I can't tell you anymore what is considered a tune up anymore before in my early days it was plugs & wires, pcv valve, air & fuel filter and maybe an oil change. Now most cars have COP and built in PCV and in tank fuel filters so the list is much smaller in my opinion but don' forget dealer usually charges $160 per labor hour so...

$160 per labor hour!? Holy hell why was I thinking it was more like $55?
Maybe I'll call around a little bit. I usually prefer the OEM/ Dealer stuff but tune-ups seem to be pretty generic.

 

[Adieu]

Plugs and COPs are are an easy DIY job unless you got the couple years with the defective plugs that break apart (07-08 afair).

Most "tuneup" services these days do NOT include COPs.

DIY cost plugs: $8 / plug genuine Motorcraft (Made in Japan) + $10-20 for a good spark plug removal socket with rubber insert helps... assuming you have a ratchet, swivel elbow, and extension already

DIY cost COPs:
$30-60 per set generic, depends on year
$300 per set genuine --- which clues you in that NO it is NOT included in the dealership service lol

Plugs and COPs are a 2 hour job going slow and careful with no prior experience... 30-40 minutes if you do en in one go and dont double check your work by restarting truck inbetween to check that each one was installed correctly.

COPs done later without plugs is a 10 minute job.


Air filter is like 8 or 10 bucks and just pops right in. Add a few minutes to take off the intake clean any crud inside and give the MAF a spray of MAF cleaner

Throttle body --- not a CBU prone engine, takes but a moment with the intake off.

Thermostat: it's like $8 do it while the intake is off it's right underneath. Cheaper to do it than to let it give you problems later.


Hoses:
Heater hoses are 40 bucks or so a pop online, $90 ea at dealership --- so that's not included either lol

Coolant flush:
Doubt they'd backflush it properly for that money, probably just wash out your radiator and overflow tank and add 2 gallons (leaving more than half untouched).... DIY its easy but a pain in the ass to do. Best done right before plugs and coils because accidental coolant/flush water spills into spark plug wells can mess up your COPs.

For proper DIY get a short piece of hose, get a flush tee, undo the heater hose where it goes into the engine and put the tee there with the short piece on the other side going to the block. Dont cut your heater hose unless youre planning to replace it right after the flush, those tees are NOT a quality product that'll last if left on.

Flush cost DIY:
Several bucks for a tee kit
$50ish on new coolant, Zerex G-05 or Motorcraft Gold (concentrate not prediluted)
Several bucks on distilled water.


Conclusion: Spend $150-200 and do it right yourself. If you risk generic coils, save your old ones in your garage and toss one or two of em in your trunk just in case...or just dont do them at all, since the dealership clearly wasnt planning to either

PS outside of the famous "coolant in spark plugs wells" mistake, its a Ford so your chances of breaking anything DiYing this are miniscule to nonexistent...unless you got the version with the defective plugs that break apart.

 

[07xln]

Oil change and plugs. Bout all there is on newer vehicles. I wouldn’t change a belt if it wasn’t needed.

 

[John Christopher]

The dealer is wanting about $400 to do a "Tune Up" on my 5.4 and is claiming it would include spark plugs and labor.

I was always under the impression a Tune Up included all the basic things under the hood like spark plugs, hoses, belts, filters, and fluids...

I have an 03 Eddie Bauer and the back plugs are a nightmare to change. I bought my own wires, coils and plugs for around $200 and my mechanic put them in for $300. If you are talking about a 2003 5.4, I don't think $400 is a bad price from a dealer. Comments welcome.

 

[deweysmith]

I don't understand why people change the coils when they aren't failing. A coil is a coil, it's a fairly binary device. It works, or it doesn't, they fail, they don't wear out. Plugs and oil are about the only things modern engines need replaced at regular intervals, the rest is just as needed. The only other thing I've seen is oxygen sensors, they can start to react slower as they wear out, leading to crummy gas mileage, but that is bound to trigger a warning light eventually.

 

[John Christopher]

I don't understand why people change the coils when they aren't failing. A coil is a coil, it's a fairly binary device. It works, or it doesn't, they fail, they don't wear out. Plugs and oil are about the only things modern engines need replaced at regular intervals, the rest is just as needed. The only other thing I've seen is oxygen sensors, they can start to react slower as they wear out, leading to crummy gas mileage, but that is bound to trigger a warning light eventually.

The problem is that when a coil fails it can leave you in a bad situation, especially if your towing. I had one go out and had it replaced at 82000, then another when a few thousand miles later. I wasn't going to chance losing another one so I did a tune up at about 87000 instead of 100,000. That was over 6 years ago and the truck is still running great with 117,500 on it now.

 

[Adieu]

300 bucks labor??

Damn...

Wonder how long it took him, 15 minutes or 20?

I have an 03 Eddie Bauer and the back plugs are a nightmare to change. I bought my own wires, coils and plugs for around $200 and my mechanic put them in for $300. If you are talking about a 2003 5.4, I don't think $400 is a bad price from a dealer. Comments welcome.

 

[John Christopher]

300 bucks labor??

Damn...

Wonder how long it took him, 15 minutes or 20?

You must have never seen a 2003 5.4 engine to make that statement. The rear plugs are buried and very difficult to change. They go under the firewall. It would take a lot longer than 20 minutes to change the plugs, coils and wires on a regular engine let alone a 2003 5.4. Do some research before you comment.

 

[deweysmith]

You must have never seen a 2003 5.4 engine to make that statement. The rear plugs are buried and very difficult to change. They go under the firewall. It would take a lot longer than 20 minutes to change the plugs, coils and wires on a regular engine let alone a 2003 5.4. Do some research before you comment.

Longer than 20 minutes, but not much. My untrained 16-year-old self did them all in under 2 hours many years ago.

 

[Adieu]

Swivels, extensions, and good ratchets make all the difference

 

[Trainmaster]

The "tune-up" includes whatever the dealer wants it to include. Generally it means spark plugs and an air filter. The price isn't bad. Dealers in New York change much more to change to plugs on that engine. It's a bear of a job.

 

[johnboneske]

I have an 03 Eddie Bauer and the back plugs are a nightmare to change. I bought my own wires, coils and plugs for around $200 and my mechanic put them in for $300. If you are talking about a 2003 5.4, I don't think $400 is a bad price from a dealer. Comments welcome.

How did you buy wires for a 2003?? They dont have wires! Every plug is a coil over. thats a confusing statement...

 

[johnboneske]

It took me about an total to do my plugs and coil packs this past summer. I did Bosch Iridium plugs and new generic coil packs off Amazon for about $35/set shipped to me, runs perfect! I understand people say why replace them if they arent bad. But, mine were factory coil packs and had 180k plus on them. So, I changed them. Now have 200k plus on it and it runs great still!

BTW, plugs only need to be changed every 100K, if you run Plats or Iridiums.

 

[John Christopher]

It took me about an total to do my plugs and coil packs this past summer. I did Bosch Iridium plugs and new generic coil packs off Amazon for about $35/set shipped to me, runs perfect! I understand people say why replace them if they arent bad. But, mine were factory coil packs and had 180k plus on them. So, I changed them. Now have 200k plus on it and it runs great still!

BTW, plugs only need to be changed every 100K, if you run Plats or Iridiums.

I should not have listed wires. My mistake. By the way how long did it take you.

 

[johnboneske]

It took me about an hour to do it. I use 2 short 3/8" extensions to do the back plugs. put one on the socket, slide in the hole, then attach the other one while holding the first one up, let it go down, then attach the ratchet. the passenger side is harder than the drivers side. I also had to remove the power steering reservoir bracket. Its a relatively easy job, just have to be patient. Dont forget dielectric grease for the Coil overs.

 

[joethefordguy]

once upon a time, I did tuneups in 30 minutes from start to finish, including washing my hands after. that was before detroit starting producing assemblies that require an engine to be pulled just to get to the plugs. that POS of shit was a little chevy coupe that was widely considered one of their worst cars. I thought it was just an aberration then, but now it seems more and more manufacturers are finding value in sticking the back of the block under, or in, the firewall where it can't be reached without a space warp. whatever it's worth to them, it's not a good thing.