Any service technician or service manager that says sealed for life means anything other than marketing blurb is, in my opinion, not worth taking your vehicle to!
Like extended service intervals, it is a marketing slant on the systems used to meet Euro pollution standards, which includes the waste stream from servicing the vehicle. Stretch out the service intervals, claim sealed for life for some components, and you've minimised the waste, therefore this year's model is cleaner and greener than last year's one.
Plus the fact that the dealers know they can get out of most warranty claims for failure of sealed for life components by including fine print to the effect that anything other than what they deem to be "normal" usage should have been serviced under the severe service schedule, which you didn't demand. Off the hook.
I have long given up on the expectation that dealers actually know anything about the vehicles they sell, other than the profit margins.
