Spark plugs changed at 30k on a 2004 Sport V8 ?!?

[Fins_UP]

Dropped my 2004 Sport V8 off at the dealership this morning for the 30,000 mile service which runs about $300.00 (ouch!). Dealership calls me later this morning to tell me that in addition to the 30k service, since my truck is a V8, that the spark plugs need to be changed as well, which is another $100. Apparently the V6 only needs to be changed every 120k.

I know nothing about engine maintenance... does this sound right or am I getting taken for a ride... ?!

Thanks for any input...

 

[toybox]

Dropped my 2004 Sport V8 off at the dealership this morning for the 30,000 mile service which runs about $300.00 (ouch!). Dealership calls me later this morning to tell me that in addition to the 30k service, since my truck is a V8, that the spark plugs need to be changed as well, which is another $100. Apparently the V6 only needs to be changed every 120k.

I know nothing about engine maintenance... does this sound right or am I getting taken for a ride... ?!

Thanks for any input...

I thought it was the other way around with the V8 getting the long life plugs. I'd search in here for more info.

 

[tkr128]

That's not right. The V8 has the long life plugs. V6's need to have the plugs changed every 30k miles.

 

[sharp4runr]

Yeah the newer V8s got the 100K plugs, while the early 2003 models started with the 30k plugs. The V6 need to have the plugs changed out every 30K. I hope you didn't pay for the change when you didn't have to.

 

[Fins_UP]

Picked up the car tonight from the dealership. Total charges came to about $285-ish. Should have been about $400 if they did the spark plugs, which I questioned them about over the phone. Looked on the write-up and it looks like they did not change the spark plugs after all - I'm not sure as to the reason. :awais:

 

[jharris2]

Yeah the newer V8s got the 100K plugs, while the early 2003 models started with the 30k plugs. The V6 need to have the plugs changed out every 30K. I hope you didn't pay for the change when you didn't have to.

According to the scheduled maintenance guide (http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/guides.php?v=1&y=2004&int_id=6) fort the 2004 models, the V6 needs plugs changed at 30,000 miles. Looks like the dealership got confused but did the right thing.

 

[Fins_UP]

Yeah, that's what it looks like - thanks for all the replies!

 

[toybox]

Yeah the newer V8s got the 100K plugs, while the early 2003 models started with the 30k plugs.

I never heard this before, can you give me more info? How is it determined what kind of plugs are in my '03 short of pulling one out?

 

[greasefingers]

To the best of my knowledge, all fourth gen V8 runners have the iridium plugs in them, so there is no need to change them until 90 to 100 k miles.

But like Joe stated

 

[jharris2]

I never heard this before, can you give me more info? How is it determined what kind of plugs are in my '03 short of pulling one out?

I just looked at the product introduction paper (University of Toyota) and it says that the V8 comes with iridium-tipped plugs that are good for 100,000 miles.

 

[Fro-Runner]

They also have the iridium-tipped plugs for the V-6 now. These and the V-8 plugs are now available in the aftermarket supply circuit. I will be moving to the these at my 30k interval.....the stealership is going to be mad that I am not taking thier cheapo sparks. I will also move to synthetic based oil at this time. The 30k checkup is probably the last time I take my truck to the dealer for maintence.

 

[toybox]

I just looked at the product introduction paper (University of Toyota) and it says that the V8 comes with iridium-tipped plugs that are good for 100,000 miles.

Thanks John. That was easier than pulling one to find out. I never thought about looking at that manual. That was out pre-introduction so I'm pretty sure now they got them right from the begining

 

[Cougar]

03' V-8 Sport- Spark Plugs

I too recently went to the dealership for an oil change, I currently have 89,000 miles on my 2003 V-8 Sport 4-Runner. The service advisor told me that my spark plugs needed to be changed every 30,000 miles. I told him I thought he was wrong, that they were 100,000 mile plugs. He again said they were only good for 30,000.

I wasn't going to let the stealership change them, I had my oil changed, and then proceeded to the auto parts store. I bought 8 new NGK Iridium Laser spark plugs. When I removed my old ones, they were all the same (Iridium) NGK's- which tells me the service advisor was wrong!

I was pretty pleased with how easy they were to change out. The only thing I had to do was duct tape my spark plug socket to my extension, so I wouldn't lose it.

 

[jeober]

Those of you planning to change plugs the first time at over 100K miles might want to "practice" the change much earlier for the main purpose of applying anti-seize to the threads. I have a V-6 but I assume the V-8 has aluminum heads and you might find it a bit scary to apply a huge torque to break loose a virgin spark plug with a breaker bar after it's been sitting for a number of years.