Dealership did not replace oil cap

On April 8th I took it in for it's first service at 3,131 miles and drove it home. As I pulled up op my driveway I noticed it was missing the carpet material that covers the screw hole, contacted the dealer and they were going to "order the part". Weeks passed and I inquired again and was reassured it would be in a few days, more weeks passed and I contacted again and never got a reply. I was not going to make a whole ordeal over a small part worth nothing. Fast forward to today 05/16/2021 and almost 4k miles I was leaving the gym and notice a smell from the air vents, proceed to check under the hood and to my surprise the oil cap is no where to be found! driven almost 1k miles without the cap on the engine. I quickly checked the oil and it seemed to be at the mark. Makes me think what else they screwed up on my truck while it was in the service bay. Now I am livid as this is unacceptable, what should be my plan of action with the dealer? don't think any damage has incurred (I hope) to my truck. I don't even want to drive the thing all the way to Austin TX to have the dealer look at it. As of right now I would avoid the Charles Maund Toyota if you are in the central Texas area. (end of rant).

 

Sounds like the Dealer owes you a new oil cap.

 

If the oil level was okay, then probably the cap wasn't gone for long. I'd still just change the oil just in case because debris could have entered.

Also, of all the dealerships if you really have to go to get your truck serviced in Austin, I'd recommend Toyota of Cedar Park. They are not perfect but definitely better than the others (I've been to all)

 

You should demand a new truck, 2022 Tacoma with an entire box of oil caps included!!

 

Had that happen on my Celica. Took it in to the Toyota dealer for an oil change and rotation. Was driving down the road and got some crap on my windshield. Thought it was some bugs or something. Hit the squirts and then had oil smears. Pull over pop the hood and see the cap laying on the cowl. Took it back and they topped it off and cleaned it all up. What really did it for me was a couple of weeks later I got new rims and was taking the old wheels off and noticed they busted one of the center caps. They did a make shift fix that ended up keeping it on. Last time I went back to them for service though. Blasted them in a review. Owner reached out to ask if they could do anything to make me happy. I just said no. Wouldn’t go back

 

Hmm I would think if the cap was off that long that there would have been a huge mess sooner and a check engine light

 

Doesn't instill a lot of confidence in the Service Department. Would you consider talking to the Service Manager offline, explaining what happened, and asking what he could do for you to help maintain your loyalty? That is, assuming you would go back.

 

Nobody but me has ever been under my hood since new.

I change filters at 5k and run my oil 10k. Last time I was under the hood was a filter swap and top-off.

I drove 5k miles without an oil cap.

No mess whatsoever, no dash lights, drained a little more than 6 quarts out.

I could not believe it.

Your truck is fine, Just let the dealer know they owe you an oil cap.

They cost $15

 

I had two free oil changes with purchase, let the dealership do the first one but I did the 2nd change. I just don't trust people to service my vehicle's. If warranty work or recall work is required I'll go back but otherwise no.

 

Plenty of people on this site have admitted to leaving the cap off after doing an oil change.

I added it to my oil change checklist so hopefully I can avoid doing it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oil-change-checklist-service-record.462476/

 

Since your 'first service' was so early, not sure why the oil cap would even be removed?

Did you ask them for an early free oil change?

Sounds like you might not be underhood often. Maybe your entire ownership has been oil cap free?

 

I went back to the dealer for the 2 year oil changes after that I do my own also service guy stole my sunglasses. Got to love the not responsible for lost or stolen items sign.

 

The people doing the oil changes are most likely the shop kids. The master mechanics are doing other work.

My dealership oil change story. Somebody left a oil catch can in my engine bay. I didn’t discover it until I got home. Picture below. The marks are from where the belt was rubbing on the can.

 

The design of the fill in The v6 Tacoma won't lose any oil if the cap is left off, nor will it make a mess. Do that on a vehicle with the fill on the valve cover and there will be oil everywhere. The fills that incorporate the dipstick are probably the least likely to be left off.

 

I had a dealer leave the radiator cap sitting on the radiator. Left me stranded at about 6am on the highway. And this was after me telling them ‘only change the oil, don’t need anything else checked or looked at’ about three times.

I got a really nice ‘Oops, our bad’ from them. I wouldn’t expect much else.

 

How do you prove something like that a month after it happened, though?

If you pop the hood before signing the paper work and see there's no cap, you can get the manager immediately.

But how is he to know you didn't do some additional tinkering over the last month and simply lost the cap yourself?

I believe you. I don't have a reason to doubt you. But when you call the dealership, the service manager is going to say: "Well, sir, our techs are trained to check the oil cap before releasing the vehicle...."

 

It was a humbling moment for sure, and one of the few times I was super thankful for Toyota engineering!

 

With the long fill tube, I'd guess no big deal.

 

I've read too many of these types of stories on here & exact reason why I've done my own oil changes from day 1.
If you trust some shop kid changing the oil on your $40K truck, then by all means take full advantage of the "free 2yrs maintenance" from Toyota.

 

I wish you could decline the freebie and get a few boxes of filters/drain washers or get the value of the free "floor mat checks" off your purchase price. I know it's supposed to be an incentive to get you back in the door for repeat service.