Oil filter access Pro skid plate & Toyota Care fail

Can anyone with a pro skid plate tell me if one of the bolt inserts is different from the other three on their oil filter access? It just fell out when I changed the oil and seems damaged. Just had it in for 15k service and I decided to change the oil myself. Toyota dealership did 10k and I didn’t like what I found! I had the Pro skid on my 2016, but never changed the oil myself. Thanks!

 

Nope. All the same. Whomever did your oil at the dealer screwed it up. My stock skid plates bolts were damage due to dealer oil change. I will never take it back to the dealer ever.

 

If you have a skid plate or are adding one to your truck I’ve found that removing it yourself and using a tap and die set to clean off the bolts and threads of the skid and then re-installing was the was the best way to prevent dealers from destroying our vehicles. From the factory the skids are inherently hard to remove and even harder to re-install the bolts. Not sure why, seems like a manufacturing flaw that Toyota never seemed to address or never cared to. The bolts are very “soft” and can shear off very easily. Happened to me on both my new 4runners and Tacoma a while ago until I went on t4r.org and learned of the fix. The dealers on the other hand have no problem fucking up our trucks by not knowing that this is a known issue with the skids. Then they pass the blame to everyone else. I know this may not answer your question but thought while we’re mentioning skid plates maybe this will help someone.

 

Another reason many of us stay faaaaaaaaar away from the Stealership.

 

Yeah, they mangled your shit and probably cracked your filter cover... You can get an aluminum replacement for not too much on Amazon..

 

This is the very reason I will not return for my remaining free services. My access plate suffered the same damaged inserts like the photo. It seems they removed 3 of the 4 bolts and tried to rotate the plate out of the way with one bolt attached damaging the threaded insert. After they failed with the access plate they proceeded to remove the entire plate for the oil change and cross threaded two of the mounting holes. I drove home from the dealership with a rattling skid. Thankfully I was able to repair the threads with a tap. Never again Toyota...they can keep my free oil changes

 

Do as much as you can yourself!, unfortunately they rush and cut corners whenever they can...and they're good at covering their screw ups...

 

We shall see, didn’t have one purchased expecting to find this. I don’t think the drain plug on the filter housing was properly torqued. Emailed my parts guy to see if I can get a new cap nut, I believe is what it is called.

 

They didn't mess up my access plate because they never removed it. They did my free oil change at 20K and didn't bother to change the filter. Never again.

 

I guess the consensus is if you want it done right DIY!

 

I hope it is just the drain plug torque for your sake. There is a thread about replacing the plastic filter cap with an aluminum one and multiple instances of people with cracked housing after dealer service...

I plan on doing all my maint and have thousands of miles to go before my first oil change, but drank the Kool-Aid and already bought the aluminum cap to replace on mine.

 

If you follow the torque spec and don't crank down on it then the plastic one is fine.

 

Yup this x1000.

 

After reading this thread, I think I’ll take the access panel off myself before taking it in to the dealer for Toyota Care.

 

You are 30% of the way there, might as well finish the job yourself at that point.

 

have you ever had the chance to work as a mech,watch people work on your truck? I am retired worked 40 yrs as an aviation mech,worked along side many a co-worker, and watched others work. what I saw,complacency and I was sometimes guilty of it also. But what I see today more than anything is the F****N use of impact drivers. They should ban all impact drivers from being used, if they don't know how. my final oil change I requested they look at the wallard out front skid plate bolts that were jacked up by them from the prior visit.

The bolts were totally galled,the nuts on the sub frame had no threads just about. when I confronted the service manager about it he said the bolts looked normal. I told them change the filter and oil while I watched, then had em put it on the ground, didnt finish the rest of the BS inspection, went home and bought a TRD Pro skid. this picks up all new bolt locations. I could have taken off the stub frames,had new nuts welded on but figured id put the money toward a real skid plate.
The biggest problem is, the lazy F'n mech tried to put my skid plate back on using an impact gun, not finger starting the bolts but sticking the bolt in the socket and reeming into the hole. thats when told them to stop put it on the ground your done.

 

Exactly!

 

Since I torqued the filter housing and filter drain port correctly after doing a 15k oil change that wasn’t necessary all seems good now. The service advisor has offered a new skid plate, couldn’t the bolt insert (cap nut) just be replaced? It did just fall out when I removed it.

 

Integrity and accountability are a lost art in today's society. DIY if at all possible!!

 

Dealer messed up my stock skid plate bolts as well. Put an RCI on and that problem went away, and forget the other free oil change I have...ain't worth them messing it up.

To be fair, those skid bolt plates are a huge PITA to get aligned correctly for some reason, but dealership don't care! Couple ugga duggas and it's good yeah?