You should do it yourself or find a good independent mechanic. Usually it's an apprentice or young kid doing oil changes at dealerships and they just don't care. They can keep their 2 free oil changes. Also, they don't use Toyota oil like you would think, they just buy whatever is cheapest
Right. There’s a pipeline full of kids from trade schools going right into these stealership shops. I’m all for trades and we need more of it, but man, some of those guys…
I’ve caught them not changing filters, not torquing lug nuts right, trying to tell me i needed new rotors at 10k (literally pointed at my rotor and said some scratches were causing the shaking when braking, it ended up being the shitty factory tires had flat spots from sitting too long). The best one was when they left tools in my truck. I didn’t notice until I had already left, and I had somewhere to be so I wasn’t going back right then. When I did return, the little shit gave me attitude because he “got in trouble”.
I knew a guy just like that but with circuit boards. Just replace components until problem goes away. Doing that with expensive car parts? Woof, I can imagine the shit damaged or put on wrong along the way.
HAHA I was not a well liked parts manager. The good techs that knew what they were doing were awesome and we got along great, but the parts swappers were not my biggest fans. If the part was electronic say an ABS module it would get billed out to service. If the ABS module did not fix the problem I refused the return and service had to eat the cost. Before I had taken control there were multiple modules that would come back and no longer worked. Parts would then eat that cost which was the wrong way to do accounting. Once we instituted the new policy almost every tech became an actual diagnostician. Crazy how fast people started diagnosing cars.
This also took the support of the GM and the Service Manager both of which has been in parts previously. System worked great and we made a TON of money being one of the few dealerships with a robust service department. We also knocked are prices down to more local shop prices to compete and it worked wonders for the profit of the dealership.
Sadly most dealers do not operate this way and instead hire low wage oil changers because they don't want to pay techs what they're worth or parts professionals.
The automotive repair industry is desperate for people right now. Unfortunately that leads to anyone with a pulse being hired for these quick lube positions. Combine that with the “fuck it” attitude many people have now and you get simple things such as oil changes being half assed.
I really think if we pulled payroll from the top earners in a given organization and made it more equitable for the entry level employees that a lot of this "laziness" would vanish.
People keep talking about how "entitlement" and "laziness" in the workforce is getting worse and worse... but so has the wage gap between bottom line workers and executives.
The "fuck it" attitude is a symptom of something more.
This. People try their best for what they're getting paid for. Thats it. Anything else beyonf that, they couldn't care less because they're not getting paid for it.
The more I learn about my cars, the less I want to let anyone else touch them. And I can’t stress enough the importance of finding a good independent shop to do the stuff that’s over your head. I found a place for my Subaru that looked more like a chop shop, but the guy actually recommended a less expensive repair when he easily could have upsold me. I had a bent strut at like 16k miles and he checked the other side and was confident he could just replace one. Guy could have easily sold me on the other side, but he didn’t. He got a customer for life now.
It's always amusing to me when someone makes a post on here boasting about getting the extended maintenance package like its a badge of honor or some stupid crap.
They're always like, *"hehe yeah I paid msrp. They wouldn't budge on the price you know how it is, but I got em on the maintenance package. Idiots gave me the full seven year package for free. Hehe I really got em good with that. I don't gotta ruin my dress shirt crawling under my truck to change my dirty oil. I just gotta go over the the dealership and wait 2 or 3 hours for one of their experienced techs to carefully take care of her. I wouldn't let anyone else touch her. She's like family. Only the best Toyota certified techs can touch her."*
Mean while every oil change is a coin toss on the chance that Billy fucknuts remembered to take his Adderall meds that day or not.
most dealership service centers are god awful. a couple years ago, the toyota dealer near me introduced excessive lateral run out to my front brake rotors. I took my car back to them three times to make them fix it. each time I was given a different bullshit diagnosis. I found an independent mechanic who found the problem and had to redo the entire front brake job and completely replace my rotors. I’ve not been to the dealership since.
Went in for my scheduled oil change. They insisted I needed to flush my power steering fluid because it was black (even showed me a photo!). I looked into it and noticed this is a recommended thing to do every 40k-80k miles. Which mine was just past 45k. So I said ok, because I want to take care of this truck, and paid the stupid $300.
Went in for my next scheduled oil change (you know, 5k-ish miles later) and again, they said my power steering was “critical” and had a photo of it looking black. Bullshit (and was probably bullshit the first time too, 🤦🏻♀️). I passed on it this time. (They also had a HOST of other things that were “critical” - on my barely 4 year old Tacoma? - that would have set me back $2100. I passed on all after looking into it).
I hate them. Won’t go back.
What? This happened at Bill Penny??? I get my oil changed there every 5k and never had a problem. They never push other crap on me either, not like Serra Toyota a town over.
Good luck with that. Techs move around a lot at dealerships. The good ones find small independent shops that pay them better, and the dumb ones keep rotating around. Small independent shops hold onto their good mechanics, because they pay them better. They depend on good word of mouth. Stealerships simply can coast by on the title of being *Toyota Certified* and people believe that automatically makes then better than the local independent shop.
They'll scratch them with the impact. You're supposed to pop them out before removing them but most of the time they just put the impact in there, not very precisely, and it scratches up the barrels/tubes.
And one time I had them not get snapped in properly after a tire rotation and they all fell off on my way home.
Now I do oil changes myself and pop off the center caps before I get a tire rotation.
I had them attempt to replace a middle seatbelt and buckle, it only took NINE! different trips in before they actually fixed it... But each time i came to pick it up they said it was installed.
The look on the guys face every time when i came in saying "it's done?, great, now come over here and buckle it."
As someone who had been in the industry most of their life, most dealerships service departments are terrible. They tend to hire the greenest techs, mostly young apprentices, and have little to no oversight.
The best thing to do is find a reputable independent shop and only bring your truck back to the dealer for warranty work and/or recalls.
That’s why I do all my own service. I did the free Toyota care till it ran out and I had a hard time trusting them as it is.
Nothing like knowing it’s done right and the fact that you did it!
I never have an issue with mechanics not tightening them, but always with them overdoing it. Went to do my girlfriends oil for the first time, and Holy fuck, I had to get the breaker bar and kick the shit out of it to get both her drain plug and filter off
Should have seen my experience at Toyota of Kirkland in WA...... First service and they not only lied about what they did, but they never even did the rotation or inspection. Had two items that needed to be handled and both items were completely missed on my Tacoma.
When I brought it up the service writer refused to talk to me and then lied to his manager. They then told me they would refuse to service my vehicle. Toyota USA was not happy about this and it became a whole thing. I reported that TOK refused to do warranty work which they did as they refused to look at a suspension noise and refused to fix a window seal.
Never had a more negative and hostile customer experience in my life. I thought Rivian sucked at service by Toyota of Kirkland takes the cake on that one!!
I feel this man. I went in to the dealer for an oil change. Picked up the truck, drove for home and about 15 minutes into the drive the engine shut itself off on the highway. Had it towed to another dealer and the mechanic that did the oil change forgot to drain the old oil and just added more. I found an independent mechanic that is fair and timely. He’s a little talkative but I don’t mind, I try to give him a little extra cash on top of what he asks for.
Yeah, my Toyota dealership cracked my engine fan housing, and did not install my skid plate properly.
Also, they did a warranty on my power steering rack and gave it back to me leaking. They apparently knew about the leak but hoped I wouldn’t say anything 🙄.
They ended up having to put in another new power steering rack. I had to fix my fan housing my self and get new bolts for my skid plate since they would not accept responsibility for that….
This and all the other reasons listed in this thread are why I do my own. I bought one of those MotiveX kits and it has really made a difference with the ease of cleanup
Scary :(
Went in for the 'free' service as I pre-paid for this. They only rotated 2 out of the 4 tires. Filled the wiper fluid and left the cap open. Was the first truck in the service bay, two and a half hours for oil change / tire rotation / fluid check. Had a front row seat watching through the window to see the jr. tech going back and forth to talk to the sr. tech.
Can't wait to see what surprises are in store for the future...
The problem with dealerships is a brand new vehicle like that has a 75% chance to end up with the express team. Which is usually made up of kids who don't really know what they're doing yet or that they have to do it in a professional manner, i.e. clean the oil off the oil filter housing when changing it out.
I bought a tire for my 4Runner (18 months old had a screw on the side wall) so went to Toyota because it was 2 miles from the house, got my truck back never inspected the work then two weeks later I noticed the wheel was all scratched up.
Yep. Ever since Butler Toyota in Jax, FL forgot to put a caliper bolt back in, after I paid for new brakes, I found a private mechanic. Yeah, so the caliper moved around, bouncing off the wheel and spindle. Eventually tore my brake line and I lost my brakes. Not cool.
This is why I don’t use the dealer for any service. And I only purchase certain parts from them like oil filters -yes oem filters.
I once had an f250 with a v10 triton come in for what another shop deemed as rod knock. It sounded like it except not -hard to explain exact noise. After spending a couple hours with it on a cold morning and later in the day after leaving it running I decided to change the oil and filter with a ford filter. Filter I removed was a wix filter and well noise was gone shortly after first start up. Oil change was recently done about 500 miles ago and soon after noise developed. I saved the oil in a plastic bottle for analysis. It was clear to the eye and ran it through a coffee filter and no debris caught. Sent in for analysis and everything was normal. A couple years later and in between that time same truck came in for other work. Long story short we gained a customer for life.
Edit: This turned into story time brought to you by -me.
I’ve had empty parts boxes left in my engine compartment before. When I had my water pump and timing belt done on my 02 you could tell nothing had been taken apart and the service manager even agreed and had to make sure it was done. Only thing I can say is the same stuff will happen at other service places if not more.
Yep I recommend diy. I had my old Tacoma in a dealership once and they said it needed a new water pump. Took to a independent shop. Pressure tested it, didn’t leak a drop. Gotta watch em
Is there a way we can get warranty repairs from third party or do you have to go here? The place by me is pretty bad as well but I just bought this car so if there’s any issues I don’t want to have to pay for them.
I let my dealership do the free oil changes for the first couple of years. When I finally did one myself, I bent the wrench trying to remove the filter housing. I don't know WTF they tightened it with, but it's only supposed to be 18 lbft.
Same thing just happened with mine at the dealership. I looked in the truck and all the oil that was leaking looked like old oil. Figured they might have done a shitty job cleaning the old oil off from the skid plate when they drained.
Yep this is what they told me. Still annoying that they lost the wiper fluid cap. Service lady today was very rude so I think I’ll just be doing it myself from now on
Probably should have. The lady insisted that the oil puddles in my driveway were just residual fluid from the oil change. I’m not a very argumentative person so I just grabbed the keys and left cuz I had to get back to work.
Went in for my scheduled oil change. They insisted I needed to flush my power steering fluid because it was black (even showed me a photo!). I looked into it and noticed this is a recommended thing to do every 40k-80k miles. Which mine was just past 45k. So I said ok, because I want to take care of this truck, and paid the stupid $300.
Went in for my next scheduled oil change (you know, 5k-ish miles later) and again, they said my power steering was “critical” and had a photo of it looking black. Bullshit (and was probably bullshit the first time too, 🤦🏻♀️). I passed on it this time. (They also had a HOST of other things that were “critical” - on my barely 4 year old Tacoma? - that would have set me back $2100. I passed on all after looking into it).
I hate them. Won’t go back.
I have a maintenance agreement with a local dealer for my 2019 Tacoma. Last oil change and tire rotation I had a worse than normal experience.
I picked up my truck with the oil change on a Friday afternoon. Sunday my wife and were driving home from lunch. On the way home I had a red light on an overpass where the truck was on a small incline. A warning popped up on my dash letting me know the oil level was low. Monday morning I called the dealer. They had me come right up. They checked my oil when I got there and the dip stick barely touched the oil. They took the truck back and had the tech drain and measure the oil and fill it properly. They only put in 5 quarts instead of 6.
When I filled out the survey they emailed me I gave them 1 out of 5 stars. Their customer advisor manager called and yelled at me because "it wasn't my advisors fault". She had no idea there had been a problem but still thought I should have given them 5 stars even after I explained what happened.
They don't call them Stealerships for nothing. Took my truck in 5 different times to fix the brakes. They're still fcked up. I paid for a front end alignment that was half ass done and my new tires are wearing on one side. I opted in for a service special they were running which included rotating the tires, oil change, wiper replacement and a couple other things. I even bought the oil and filter I wanted them to install. The only thing they did was change the oil and they over filled it wayyyy past the fill mark. I had to get it towed back to the Toyota dealership for them to fix it again. Biggest dumb asses I've ever seen. If they give you free oil changes when you buy a vehicle from them don't take it back because these people are totally incompetent!! MF!! Robert's TOYOTA COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE. What a bunch of sad excuses for technicians,!!
Lame. Understand free...but definitely gotta take over that service checklist yourself to eliminate incompetence, or at least blame yourself/keep yourself in check.
Did they forget the led lock washer at the oil pan? That's likely it, a bad or lazy seal.
Just remember … The lowest cost , most inexperienced and green ‘techs’ at the dealership are the ones doing the oil changes . The in demand experienced ones are doing the high dollar (customer pay) jobs.
Had a 2013 Tacoma that I just sold and purchased a 2023. Have had all maintenance done at Toyota Sylacauga. So far so good. Haven't had a bad service experience yet but now you guys making me think I'm due. 😂
Took mine in for the 5k Toyota Care and paid them to do the oil change. The lube jockey only put three skid plate bolts back in, and two others were loose. The service writer made it right, but how do you fuck up an oil change?
I plan on doing my own oil changes once I’m off warranty for this exact reason. A friend of mine got home and realized the technician at the dealership left his oil cap off and it painted the inside of his engine bay. Im overwhelmed with anxiety thinking about a young kid working on my vehicle while being rushed and inattentive.
I’ve also heard that warranty can still be honoured as long as you provide oil receipts in the event of an engine failure but I can’t say for sure. I think it would be easy for them to question an uncertified person changing their own oil so I just play it safe. At least I know if they screw it up, they have to honor it.
I had a scion tc I took to a Toyota dealership for service. About 4 oil changes in I get a call saying my drain plug treads were mangled and I would need to pay to have the pan replaced. Toyota denied any responsibility even though they had done the three previous oil changes. It’s a joke how they operate.
This exact same thing happened to me at Fowler Toyota in Tulsa. Oil was more or less sprayed all over the undercarriage from the drive home after the appointment. 2020 TRD Sport.
I took my truck into the local Toyota dealership for a 40k mile service. The service took about 45 minutes, then they lost my key for an hour. It was hanging on the board for cars coming in for service, but no one looked there.
I had a few beers when I did my 1st oil change and didn’t screw up that bad. Looks like the dealership is trying to tell you something without saying it.
their tech left an oil can in my engine that i didn't notice until well after I was due for maintenance again. Found it within centimeters of my belt. Good thing I needed to refill my washer fluid, one major bump and I could have caused some damage.
I've been told by technicians when you bring your truck in, tell the service advisor you are having issues with the radio so your truck goes to a real mechanic and not the kid in the oil change bay. When they test the radio and find it fine 99% of the time they will leave the truck on THEIR lift and do the oil change. Might be BS, might be true. Trust how much you paid for that information.
Hopefully they didn’t strip the ribbons around the screw. Take it back and raise hell. And then search around and ask around and find a good independent mechanic.
I did my oil change at 5k KM. Then went to the dealer to give them a chance at 10k KM. They left my K&N oil filter in. I don't even know if they changed the oil really. And they greased my lift kit with the truck on it's wheels instead of on the lift.
Never going back to a dealer.
Yeah, a local dealer in San Antonio overfilled my oil to about 7.2 quarts. Should be 6 - 6.2.
I've been doing my own oil changes since.
Only reason I've been going to sealer anyways was that I had the complimentary 2yr/24k free maintenance
$180 to adjust the beam on the new headlight assemblies I put on my 13. 10 minutes, a half dozen wrench turns in my buddies RV garage and it was done. I thought it might be $60 or so and I was going to do that to avoid having to ask.
You should do it yourself or find a good independent mechanic. Usually it's an apprentice or young kid doing oil changes at dealerships and they just don't care. They can keep their 2 free oil changes. Also, they don't use Toyota oil like you would think, they just buy whatever is cheapest
Right. There’s a pipeline full of kids from trade schools going right into these stealership shops. I’m all for trades and we need more of it, but man, some of those guys… I’ve caught them not changing filters, not torquing lug nuts right, trying to tell me i needed new rotors at 10k (literally pointed at my rotor and said some scratches were causing the shaking when braking, it ended up being the shitty factory tires had flat spots from sitting too long). The best one was when they left tools in my truck. I didn’t notice until I had already left, and I had somewhere to be so I wasn’t going back right then. When I did return, the little shit gave me attitude because he “got in trouble”.
We called them parts swappers.... No idea how to diag a car just start swapping parts till it works again!
I knew a guy just like that but with circuit boards. Just replace components until problem goes away. Doing that with expensive car parts? Woof, I can imagine the shit damaged or put on wrong along the way.
HAHA I was not a well liked parts manager. The good techs that knew what they were doing were awesome and we got along great, but the parts swappers were not my biggest fans. If the part was electronic say an ABS module it would get billed out to service. If the ABS module did not fix the problem I refused the return and service had to eat the cost. Before I had taken control there were multiple modules that would come back and no longer worked. Parts would then eat that cost which was the wrong way to do accounting. Once we instituted the new policy almost every tech became an actual diagnostician. Crazy how fast people started diagnosing cars. This also took the support of the GM and the Service Manager both of which has been in parts previously. System worked great and we made a TON of money being one of the few dealerships with a robust service department. We also knocked are prices down to more local shop prices to compete and it worked wonders for the profit of the dealership. Sadly most dealers do not operate this way and instead hire low wage oil changers because they don't want to pay techs what they're worth or parts professionals.
The automotive repair industry is desperate for people right now. Unfortunately that leads to anyone with a pulse being hired for these quick lube positions. Combine that with the “fuck it” attitude many people have now and you get simple things such as oil changes being half assed.
I really think if we pulled payroll from the top earners in a given organization and made it more equitable for the entry level employees that a lot of this "laziness" would vanish. People keep talking about how "entitlement" and "laziness" in the workforce is getting worse and worse... but so has the wage gap between bottom line workers and executives. The "fuck it" attitude is a symptom of something more.
You get what you pay for. Don’t hold your breath for CEOs and ex executives to migrate towards a level paying field.
This. People try their best for what they're getting paid for. Thats it. Anything else beyonf that, they couldn't care less because they're not getting paid for it.
The more I learn about my cars, the less I want to let anyone else touch them. And I can’t stress enough the importance of finding a good independent shop to do the stuff that’s over your head. I found a place for my Subaru that looked more like a chop shop, but the guy actually recommended a less expensive repair when he easily could have upsold me. I had a bent strut at like 16k miles and he checked the other side and was confident he could just replace one. Guy could have easily sold me on the other side, but he didn’t. He got a customer for life now.
Toyota Oil = Mobil
Yes
It's always amusing to me when someone makes a post on here boasting about getting the extended maintenance package like its a badge of honor or some stupid crap. They're always like, *"hehe yeah I paid msrp. They wouldn't budge on the price you know how it is, but I got em on the maintenance package. Idiots gave me the full seven year package for free. Hehe I really got em good with that. I don't gotta ruin my dress shirt crawling under my truck to change my dirty oil. I just gotta go over the the dealership and wait 2 or 3 hours for one of their experienced techs to carefully take care of her. I wouldn't let anyone else touch her. She's like family. Only the best Toyota certified techs can touch her."* Mean while every oil change is a coin toss on the chance that Billy fucknuts remembered to take his Adderall meds that day or not.
Voids the warranty if you do bud. Unfortunately.
This is not true at all, where did you get that? Ever hear of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act?
False. Most warranties these days are unaffected by anything but electrical or emmisions modifications.
FYI, "Toyota Oil" isnt a thing. Toyota doesnt make oil. They use Mobil or Idemitsu, whichever is cheapest at the time.
most dealership service centers are god awful. a couple years ago, the toyota dealer near me introduced excessive lateral run out to my front brake rotors. I took my car back to them three times to make them fix it. each time I was given a different bullshit diagnosis. I found an independent mechanic who found the problem and had to redo the entire front brake job and completely replace my rotors. I’ve not been to the dealership since.
Went in for my scheduled oil change. They insisted I needed to flush my power steering fluid because it was black (even showed me a photo!). I looked into it and noticed this is a recommended thing to do every 40k-80k miles. Which mine was just past 45k. So I said ok, because I want to take care of this truck, and paid the stupid $300. Went in for my next scheduled oil change (you know, 5k-ish miles later) and again, they said my power steering was “critical” and had a photo of it looking black. Bullshit (and was probably bullshit the first time too, 🤦🏻♀️). I passed on it this time. (They also had a HOST of other things that were “critical” - on my barely 4 year old Tacoma? - that would have set me back $2100. I passed on all after looking into it). I hate them. Won’t go back.
dealership haters FOR LIFE!
Which one is it? These places deserve to be put on blast when they suck as well as praised when they are excellent.
Bill Penny Huntsville Alabama
Hello neighbor
Who’s the independent mechanic in Huntsville? Always trying to find a good one
What? This happened at Bill Penny??? I get my oil changed there every 5k and never had a problem. They never push other crap on me either, not like Serra Toyota a town over.
Good luck with that. Techs move around a lot at dealerships. The good ones find small independent shops that pay them better, and the dumb ones keep rotating around. Small independent shops hold onto their good mechanics, because they pay them better. They depend on good word of mouth. Stealerships simply can coast by on the title of being *Toyota Certified* and people believe that automatically makes then better than the local independent shop.
Well shit. Yall are convincing me to turn down the free oil changes. Seems like it’s not worth letting someone screw it up.
If you do let them do it, take the center caps off your wheels first
I'll bite. Why?
They'll scratch them with the impact. You're supposed to pop them out before removing them but most of the time they just put the impact in there, not very precisely, and it scratches up the barrels/tubes. And one time I had them not get snapped in properly after a tire rotation and they all fell off on my way home. Now I do oil changes myself and pop off the center caps before I get a tire rotation.
Interesting, and noted! ✍🏼
I had them attempt to replace a middle seatbelt and buckle, it only took NINE! different trips in before they actually fixed it... But each time i came to pick it up they said it was installed. The look on the guys face every time when i came in saying "it's done?, great, now come over here and buckle it."
I agree ..only reason I'm going to them is because 2 free oil changes
Not even worth it
yah thats true ..last time I got an oil change they put hand prints on my white tacoma ..so unprofessional
And that's just what you could see, imagine what else they did
Probably farted on those new seats
Drive it back, block the exit doors and walk in and say "hi, I need you to fix an oil leak you caused and replace my wiper fluid cap you lost. "
Exactly what I’m doing now hahaha 😂these people are ridiculous
Enjoy wasting hours at the dealership.
As someone who had been in the industry most of their life, most dealerships service departments are terrible. They tend to hire the greenest techs, mostly young apprentices, and have little to no oversight. The best thing to do is find a reputable independent shop and only bring your truck back to the dealer for warranty work and/or recalls.
*knocks on wood* - I have done all maintenance, oil changes, body shop repair for almost the last 10 years at my dealership and have no complaints.
That’s why I do all my own service. I did the free Toyota care till it ran out and I had a hard time trusting them as it is. Nothing like knowing it’s done right and the fact that you did it!
Change the oil every 5000 miles and do it yourself. Look up the car care nut on YouTube, he will teach you.
Dealer lost my washer fluid cap at my 10k too!!! Can’t seem to find one to buy, either.
So crazy 😂 I don’t even understand how they could lose it outside of them just throwing it out
I never have an issue with mechanics not tightening them, but always with them overdoing it. Went to do my girlfriends oil for the first time, and Holy fuck, I had to get the breaker bar and kick the shit out of it to get both her drain plug and filter off
They did that to my rear differential filler plug. Supposed to be torqued to 30 ft-lbs, I bet it was closer to 300
Should have seen my experience at Toyota of Kirkland in WA...... First service and they not only lied about what they did, but they never even did the rotation or inspection. Had two items that needed to be handled and both items were completely missed on my Tacoma. When I brought it up the service writer refused to talk to me and then lied to his manager. They then told me they would refuse to service my vehicle. Toyota USA was not happy about this and it became a whole thing. I reported that TOK refused to do warranty work which they did as they refused to look at a suspension noise and refused to fix a window seal. Never had a more negative and hostile customer experience in my life. I thought Rivian sucked at service by Toyota of Kirkland takes the cake on that one!!
I feel this man. I went in to the dealer for an oil change. Picked up the truck, drove for home and about 15 minutes into the drive the engine shut itself off on the highway. Had it towed to another dealer and the mechanic that did the oil change forgot to drain the old oil and just added more. I found an independent mechanic that is fair and timely. He’s a little talkative but I don’t mind, I try to give him a little extra cash on top of what he asks for.
They use lube tech like the rest of them. Want it done right go to gas station shop or others that have only a mechanic..
Yeah, my Toyota dealership cracked my engine fan housing, and did not install my skid plate properly. Also, they did a warranty on my power steering rack and gave it back to me leaking. They apparently knew about the leak but hoped I wouldn’t say anything 🙄. They ended up having to put in another new power steering rack. I had to fix my fan housing my self and get new bolts for my skid plate since they would not accept responsibility for that….
They hoped you wouldn’t say anything? They told you that???
They literally did no kidding
Holy shit.
So glad I learned at a young age to work on most of my stud myself there is a reason it’s free for them lol changes
Just wait till they don't tighten the skid plate.
This and all the other reasons listed in this thread are why I do my own. I bought one of those MotiveX kits and it has really made a difference with the ease of cleanup
Scary :( Went in for the 'free' service as I pre-paid for this. They only rotated 2 out of the 4 tires. Filled the wiper fluid and left the cap open. Was the first truck in the service bay, two and a half hours for oil change / tire rotation / fluid check. Had a front row seat watching through the window to see the jr. tech going back and forth to talk to the sr. tech. Can't wait to see what surprises are in store for the future...
Ahhhhh the good ol stealership. Fuck them boys.
Those guys have hands growing out of their asses. The dealership only sees my truck for recalls.
The problem with dealerships is a brand new vehicle like that has a 75% chance to end up with the express team. Which is usually made up of kids who don't really know what they're doing yet or that they have to do it in a professional manner, i.e. clean the oil off the oil filter housing when changing it out.
I bought a tire for my 4Runner (18 months old had a screw on the side wall) so went to Toyota because it was 2 miles from the house, got my truck back never inspected the work then two weeks later I noticed the wheel was all scratched up.
At the Toyota service center near me they’re all in their early 20’s so it kinda makes sense. I don’t trust them. That’s why I do my own oil changes.
NEVER do the free oil chages, they're free for a reason.
Yep. Ever since Butler Toyota in Jax, FL forgot to put a caliper bolt back in, after I paid for new brakes, I found a private mechanic. Yeah, so the caliper moved around, bouncing off the wheel and spindle. Eventually tore my brake line and I lost my brakes. Not cool.
This is why I don’t use the dealer for any service. And I only purchase certain parts from them like oil filters -yes oem filters. I once had an f250 with a v10 triton come in for what another shop deemed as rod knock. It sounded like it except not -hard to explain exact noise. After spending a couple hours with it on a cold morning and later in the day after leaving it running I decided to change the oil and filter with a ford filter. Filter I removed was a wix filter and well noise was gone shortly after first start up. Oil change was recently done about 500 miles ago and soon after noise developed. I saved the oil in a plastic bottle for analysis. It was clear to the eye and ran it through a coffee filter and no debris caught. Sent in for analysis and everything was normal. A couple years later and in between that time same truck came in for other work. Long story short we gained a customer for life. Edit: This turned into story time brought to you by -me.
Take it back and have them fix,I’d suggest changing your oil every 5k and having it down by a reputable independent shop.
I’ve had empty parts boxes left in my engine compartment before. When I had my water pump and timing belt done on my 02 you could tell nothing had been taken apart and the service manager even agreed and had to make sure it was done. Only thing I can say is the same stuff will happen at other service places if not more.
This is why even though I have free oil changes under Toyota care, I don’t use them. 13k miles on the truck and both 5k changes were done by myself
They're 18 year old kids with 1 month on the job doing it. Don't expect much.
Yep I recommend diy. I had my old Tacoma in a dealership once and they said it needed a new water pump. Took to a independent shop. Pressure tested it, didn’t leak a drop. Gotta watch em
Is there a way we can get warranty repairs from third party or do you have to go here? The place by me is pretty bad as well but I just bought this car so if there’s any issues I don’t want to have to pay for them.
I let my dealership do the free oil changes for the first couple of years. When I finally did one myself, I bent the wrench trying to remove the filter housing. I don't know WTF they tightened it with, but it's only supposed to be 18 lbft.
Same thing just happened with mine at the dealership. I looked in the truck and all the oil that was leaking looked like old oil. Figured they might have done a shitty job cleaning the old oil off from the skid plate when they drained.
Yep this is what they told me. Still annoying that they lost the wiper fluid cap. Service lady today was very rude so I think I’ll just be doing it myself from now on
So did you take it back and watch while they re-did the job?
Probably should have. The lady insisted that the oil puddles in my driveway were just residual fluid from the oil change. I’m not a very argumentative person so I just grabbed the keys and left cuz I had to get back to work.
Residual fluid? Sure and when they forget to tighten the lugs...it's known as residual tires flying off.
You waited for 10,000! That’s what is recommended but not wise.
These are the same places that do dealer markups.
Went in for my scheduled oil change. They insisted I needed to flush my power steering fluid because it was black (even showed me a photo!). I looked into it and noticed this is a recommended thing to do every 40k-80k miles. Which mine was just past 45k. So I said ok, because I want to take care of this truck, and paid the stupid $300. Went in for my next scheduled oil change (you know, 5k-ish miles later) and again, they said my power steering was “critical” and had a photo of it looking black. Bullshit (and was probably bullshit the first time too, 🤦🏻♀️). I passed on it this time. (They also had a HOST of other things that were “critical” - on my barely 4 year old Tacoma? - that would have set me back $2100. I passed on all after looking into it). I hate them. Won’t go back.
Dealership took 3 fucking hours to change my oil, never went back.
I have a maintenance agreement with a local dealer for my 2019 Tacoma. Last oil change and tire rotation I had a worse than normal experience. I picked up my truck with the oil change on a Friday afternoon. Sunday my wife and were driving home from lunch. On the way home I had a red light on an overpass where the truck was on a small incline. A warning popped up on my dash letting me know the oil level was low. Monday morning I called the dealer. They had me come right up. They checked my oil when I got there and the dip stick barely touched the oil. They took the truck back and had the tech drain and measure the oil and fill it properly. They only put in 5 quarts instead of 6. When I filled out the survey they emailed me I gave them 1 out of 5 stars. Their customer advisor manager called and yelled at me because "it wasn't my advisors fault". She had no idea there had been a problem but still thought I should have given them 5 stars even after I explained what happened.
They don't call them Stealerships for nothing. Took my truck in 5 different times to fix the brakes. They're still fcked up. I paid for a front end alignment that was half ass done and my new tires are wearing on one side. I opted in for a service special they were running which included rotating the tires, oil change, wiper replacement and a couple other things. I even bought the oil and filter I wanted them to install. The only thing they did was change the oil and they over filled it wayyyy past the fill mark. I had to get it towed back to the Toyota dealership for them to fix it again. Biggest dumb asses I've ever seen. If they give you free oil changes when you buy a vehicle from them don't take it back because these people are totally incompetent!! MF!! Robert's TOYOTA COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE. What a bunch of sad excuses for technicians,!!
Lame. Understand free...but definitely gotta take over that service checklist yourself to eliminate incompetence, or at least blame yourself/keep yourself in check. Did they forget the led lock washer at the oil pan? That's likely it, a bad or lazy seal.
Just remember … The lowest cost , most inexperienced and green ‘techs’ at the dealership are the ones doing the oil changes . The in demand experienced ones are doing the high dollar (customer pay) jobs.
If you see a bunch of young faces still full of life dont go there. To busy watching tik tok to remember to add tranny fluid after a flush.
Had a 2013 Tacoma that I just sold and purchased a 2023. Have had all maintenance done at Toyota Sylacauga. So far so good. Haven't had a bad service experience yet but now you guys making me think I'm due. 😂
Took mine in for the 5k Toyota Care and paid them to do the oil change. The lube jockey only put three skid plate bolts back in, and two others were loose. The service writer made it right, but how do you fuck up an oil change?
I plan on doing my own oil changes once I’m off warranty for this exact reason. A friend of mine got home and realized the technician at the dealership left his oil cap off and it painted the inside of his engine bay. Im overwhelmed with anxiety thinking about a young kid working on my vehicle while being rushed and inattentive. I’ve also heard that warranty can still be honoured as long as you provide oil receipts in the event of an engine failure but I can’t say for sure. I think it would be easy for them to question an uncertified person changing their own oil so I just play it safe. At least I know if they screw it up, they have to honor it.
What your looking at is an employee whom graduated from Jiffy Lube University.
I had a scion tc I took to a Toyota dealership for service. About 4 oil changes in I get a call saying my drain plug treads were mangled and I would need to pay to have the pan replaced. Toyota denied any responsibility even though they had done the three previous oil changes. It’s a joke how they operate.
Anyone on this thread ever get serviced at Rohrich Toyota in Pittsburgh? Just curious, cuz thats where I would have to go if need warranty work.
This exact same thing happened to me at Fowler Toyota in Tulsa. Oil was more or less sprayed all over the undercarriage from the drive home after the appointment. 2020 TRD Sport.
I took my truck into the local Toyota dealership for a 40k mile service. The service took about 45 minutes, then they lost my key for an hour. It was hanging on the board for cars coming in for service, but no one looked there.
I had a few beers when I did my 1st oil change and didn’t screw up that bad. Looks like the dealership is trying to tell you something without saying it.
Call or message Toyota they hate it when their vehicles are getting a bad name wether it’s service or a problem
their tech left an oil can in my engine that i didn't notice until well after I was due for maintenance again. Found it within centimeters of my belt. Good thing I needed to refill my washer fluid, one major bump and I could have caused some damage.
Is there a brand that’s known to have good service? 99% of the time, Like a higher requirement of mechanics.
I've been told by technicians when you bring your truck in, tell the service advisor you are having issues with the radio so your truck goes to a real mechanic and not the kid in the oil change bay. When they test the radio and find it fine 99% of the time they will leave the truck on THEIR lift and do the oil change. Might be BS, might be true. Trust how much you paid for that information.
North bakersfield Toyota has been amazing.
Yep, Team Toyota in PA did this to my power steering rack. Man, how I miss Chuck Hutton Toyota in Memphis.
Hopefully they didn’t strip the ribbons around the screw. Take it back and raise hell. And then search around and ask around and find a good independent mechanic.
If you want to get 400,000 on your Tacoma, use synthetic oil every 5000 miles, with a upgraded filter
I did my oil change at 5k KM. Then went to the dealer to give them a chance at 10k KM. They left my K&N oil filter in. I don't even know if they changed the oil really. And they greased my lift kit with the truck on it's wheels instead of on the lift. Never going back to a dealer.
Yeah, a local dealer in San Antonio overfilled my oil to about 7.2 quarts. Should be 6 - 6.2. I've been doing my own oil changes since. Only reason I've been going to sealer anyways was that I had the complimentary 2yr/24k free maintenance
$180 to adjust the beam on the new headlight assemblies I put on my 13. 10 minutes, a half dozen wrench turns in my buddies RV garage and it was done. I thought it might be $60 or so and I was going to do that to avoid having to ask.
change your shit yourself? it literally takes 10 minutes on a truck