Stealership first service experience- another reason to just do it yourself

So my December bought 19 hit 5K this week. I was going to do the rotation myself and I already checked the fluids, but I had to get the radar recall done so I figured I guess Ill let them do it. Mistake made....

So the actual visit yesterday was fine, took an hour. Service advisor was good, didn't try to BS me with extras, gave me a water on the way in. Ran into the guy who sold it to me which I have no complaints about.

So today as I'm pulling in to the garage I hear a faint rattling from the right rear side, had the windows open. I look around and I notice one of the lugs is backed way further out than the others. I grab it and the lug is just hanging on by a few threads, almost lost it. So clearly I needed to check their work. One other lug on right rear was very loose, less than hand tight, and the others are on so tight I couldn't get my 18 inch breaker to get it loose. My neighbor was outside cutting his grass and I knew he had a 1/2 inch 36" long breaker so I borrowed it. It was just enough for me to get the rest of them loose without adding a pipe to it and I had just about all of my 189 lbs on the handle to break them. I was stunned I didn't snap off any bolts. These guys clearly simply used an impact wrench to tighten them down without any care to how tight they were. I went around to all of them with my torque wrench to 83 ft-lb.

BTW while I had the torque wrench out I checked the leaf Ubolts. 5 out of 8 were loose on a 5K mile truck, so thanks to the forum for suggesting that.

Bottom line is if they don't care about the lug nuts, they are not going to care about something more important on the 10K service/oil change or anything else.

Basic maintenance is not difficult on these so if you are capable or you got a good shop around you, I'd highly suggest it and just leave warranty work to the stealership because you have to.

 

No one cares about your lugnuts, I’ve never seen a shop use anything but a 300 ft/lb impact to smash them on.

 

You are going to the wrong shops.

 

Unfortunately this happens a lot, quite a few owners on here have experienced similar and much worse at the dealer.

Also, an impact wrench on the lugs is just bad service. Some of the kids in the shops have watched too many NASCAR pit stops.

Another member on here used his impact on aftermarket lugs and when he attemted to take them off most sheared and broke. He had to drill everything out, it was a complete shit show.

 

So what’s the name of this dealership who provided workers not skilled in the tasks assigned to them?

 

I have a friend who works at a Ford dealer as a mechanic. I asked him if they ever use proper Factory torque on lug nuts and he said they did for sure. He told me this:

-A sedan lugnut gets two ugga-duggas
-An F150 lugnut gets three ugga-duggas
-The Super Duties get four ugga-duggas

Sure enough, the next time I brought my F150 in for service I saw the tech rotating the tires and there he was with his impact tool:

ugga-dugga-ugga-dugga-ugga-dugga

Exactly to Ford factory spec!!!!!

 

This reinforces my fear of Toyota Service Centers.

 

I use my 1/2 Makita impact on lugs all the time. But I also use tq sticks. Recheck with a tq wrench and they're always right on.

 

Autonation in Winter Park (Orlando), FL

 

Never heard of torque sticks before. Gonna have to pick these up, thanks!

 

Auto Nation is the Walmart of dealerships. And lately they're a mess.

 

Man, seems like everyone on TW has the worst experience with any and every dealership they touch. I have had my Tacoma serviced at the dealership since I bought it, and haven't had one issue. Rotated aftermarket wheels and tires, recall completed no questions asked, oil and filter changed properly, etc.
Impacts on lugs are a super common practice, esp in the shop environment, I used to be a technician. I dont think i've ever driven by a tire shop or walked by a buddies bay and saw them putting a wheel back on with a tq wrench.

 

You talking about the guy that had cheap spacers on right? iirc it was the lugs on the spacers that were fubar'd (and he knew they would be)

 

Same, I'll even credit the dealership: Aubrey Alexander Toyota.

Service is fast, the advisers are relatively knowledgeable, and they don't give me shit about all the stuff I've done to my truck. Usually I get compliments from the mechanics on lifting my truck right instead of using a shitty spacer lift.

 

Did you at least let the dealer know why they lost your business? Some service managers dont give a rats ass, but most would really be interested to know if one of their techs botched a job.

Also, I'd recommend continuing on through your 25,000 miles, even if at another dealership. Its something that you already paid for, and its one less thing they can challenge you on if ever you need a warranty repair. (They cant blame your issue on mom n' pop's shadetree garage if all service records were done by toyota certified facilities.)

 

Dare I say it,,,, your nuts will deform over time if they haven’t already. Might want to consider replacing them if they were on that tight.

Did you take pics of the loose ones? Complain to AN?

Maybe they will pony up for a new set...Not likely but worth a shot.

 

I inspect the work before I leave the dealership. Once I picked up my 2016 from the dealer. When I checked his work I found all 24 lug nuts had a circular dent on the top of each one. I immediately contacted the service manager. He had all the lug nut replaced. You must check their work before you drive off.

 

Yeah, OP, I feel your pain and know all about incompetent dealer 'technicians'. Seems like a good dealer service is hard to come by. Or, good, honest mechanics in general.

 

You should apply to be a technician at your local Toyota dealer! Change starts with YOU!

 

I could do that and then show them how to properly change the oil/filter and inspect the vehicle. Apparently, that is a struggle for them.