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Brake cleaning $75

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So my MS is in for service (fourth annual). I have the prepaid service plan. The service center in Rockville recommended to have a brake cleaning done which would run me $75. They say because the brakes are used infrequently it would be important to clean and lubricate them. I asked why that would not be included in the service plan as it would seem a typical maintenance item but was told it is not.

What do you all think?
 
I'm not sure what they mean by clean/lubricate the brakes. Perhaps they want to clean/lube where the brake pads rest on the caliper slides? Brake pads are a wear item, so this could be lumped in with it and also excluded.

Several here have commented on rusted/locked up brakes, but I can't seam to locate the threads quickly.

This might help alleviate that problem. Guess it would depend on how much exposure to things like road salt over the past 4 years. Can they show uneven wear and/or rust on the caliper slides?

edit: changed "will" to "might" in the last paragraph. I wouldn't spend any $$ on it unless I could be shown an actual problem.
 
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Agreed that it is most likely for disassembling the calipers to clean and lube the caliper pins and possibly the pistons. Depending on the miles, and especially the area driven, I would definitely recommend doing it.
As far is it being included in the service plan; I haven't read the details of the plan, but based on the purpose of the plan and the normal operation of the vehicle, it sure seems like they should have included this in the normal plan.
 
Agreed that it is most likely for disassembling the calipers to clean and lube the caliper pins and possibly the pistons. Depending on the miles, and especially the area driven, I would definitely recommend doing it.
As far is it being included in the service plan; I haven't read the details of the plan, but based on the purpose of the plan and the normal operation of the vehicle, it sure seems like they should have included this in the normal plan.
That sounds nice, but it's almost impossible they're dissembling the calipers to clean them, right? For $75? Their labor rate is $150 an hour. You'd have to be a wizard to get four (six including parking brake? 16-20 total pistons?) calipers disassembled, cleaned, and reinstalled in 30 minutes.
 
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That sounds nice, but it's almost impossible they're dissembling the calipers to clean them, right? For $75? Their labor rate is $150 an hour. You'd have to be a wizard to get four (six including parking brake? 16-20 total pistons?) calipers disassembled, cleaned, and reinstalled in 30 minutes.

If they are assuming they already remove the wheels and flush the brake fluid in year 4 service, it wouldn't be unreasonable for someone that knows what they are doing and has done it before.
 
That sounds nice, but it's almost impossible they're dissembling the calipers to clean them, right? For $75? Their labor rate is $150 an hour. You'd have to be a wizard to get four (six including parking brake? 16-20 total pistons?) calipers disassembled, cleaned, and reinstalled in 30 minutes.
If they are assuming they already remove the wheels and flush the brake fluid in year 4 service, it wouldn't be unreasonable for someone that knows what they are doing and has done it before.
Both really good points, but yea, even the Tesla pit crew would need 10 minutes per caliper to do a good job. That would be an hour. Probably best for the OP to get a detailed quote from the service center. I know I'd be interested in what they have to say.
 
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I think Gizmotoy and brkaus are on the money. time wise I cant see more than 5 min each caliper, if the wheels were already off. we are talking about fixed monoblock calipers.

the pad retaining pins and pads would be out within 1 min. clean/buff pins, lube the caliper body and sides of pads, reassemble- start next one.

Where the issues start is if you live in the rust belt and have to break the rust off the pins with penetrating oil and punch them out. sometimes they just dont want to come out. I think $75 standard flat fee seems fair, I bet they have lost a few dollars in labour with really rusty ones.
 
Well I had them perform the brake service,as it is probably a good idea in our area where there is a lot of salt on the roads in the winter. During the cleaning they found an issue with the calipers and ended up replacing them. Good thing they looked. The folks at the Rockville service enter are really good at what they are doing.

Now as far as the charge for this, here is the response from TESLA headquarters:

Thank You for contacting Tesla Motors Technical Support. Unfortunately this is not part of the Extended Service Plan, and there is in fact an additional charge. I spoke directly with Rockville MD on your behalf to address these concerns and ensure there was no oversight. I apologize for any inconvenience.
 
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It could be far worse ... :cool:

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Hmm I'm not sure I get the point here. EV ownership came with promises of low maintenance costs. The OP actually prepaid for the super over priced service. And that plus warranty and they still want more.

I'm not sure how comparing with a Bugatti helps. For one, I didn't buy a Bugatti. For seconds, Bugatti never promised "low cost of EV ownership".