My second toyota care experience

Besides the long ass wait times at their "express" service. The first time i went the techs looked like they knew what they were doing. This 2nd time tho. Good lord.

75% of the techs looked like they were 14 years old max. I just hit 10k miles so i was in for the oil change and tire rotation, cause why do it myself when its free right? First thing one of them said when it was finally my turn was asking someone for help cause he didnt want to strip my lug nuts, fucking what? And then when they were lifting my truck up he has to go find someone and ask "it goes on the frame right?"

They sent me a video inspection after which was just a 7 second clip of part of my front bumper saying everything looks all good.

Where the fuck did they find these kids

 

nothing is free.

10k miles… was it your first oil change?

 

After the first free oil change I didn't go back for the 15K mile service. They had the oil filter and drain bolt on so tight I needed a breaker bar to loosen both.

 

Nobody wants to work anymore and the ones who do can’t tie their shoe laces without help. We’re screwed. Some kid put new wipers on my truck as a treat to it and they streaked. It cost me 52 dollars for OEM wiper blades installed at the dealer during my 25k visit and I won’t be going back unless it’s a warranty issue

 

I skipped the Free ones and did it myself.

 

“Free”
Pfft

I run from “free” it took many of year to learn and get burned, but now I run away and go to someone charging the going rate.

 

My truck has not been to the dealer since I bought it a year ago.
I even asked them not to wash it before delivery (black).
Mine has the toyota "free" services and the SET rip off toyogaurd BS.
None will ever be used under my ownership.
For the record, I changed my oil at 2k, 5k, 10k & 15k. 20k will likely be this month.
20k will be cabin filter for 2nd time and air filter. With any luck I'll never have to let those idiots waste my time again.

 

i always say....its not "toyota" working on your car......its jim, jose, or roman working on your car at the dealership. and jim, jose, or roman might of had a bad day, maybe they are hungover, or maybe he is a dumbass.....

do it right. do it yourself.....if you can.

 

Yea the last 2 times I was there they didn’t even clean it. Moved my work boots out the way to inspect the floor mats though…

 

Manual says every 10k so thats what im going with atm. Would it hurt to do every 5k? No. Will I switch to every 5k in the future? Maybe. Im aware the 5k vs 10k is pretty much a trump v biden debate lol

Idk if my toyota care is still gonna be active when im due for my next service so this probably my last time going anyway.

Like i had no problems last time but this time was all new people. None of them actually talked to me like last time or at my regular lube place. Was a fucking circus

 

I guess. Nobody's trying to be robbed by Toyota paying 3 hours to replace a frame. The folks coming up with that magical time aren't the ones doing it.

Go ahead and rank manufacturers in order. Who you think pays well, has new technology, has work to be done, performance, and is high up. Toyota is not at the top of that list. Their pay and labor times are not at the top of that list either.

Higher makes more money underpaying. Charge the same high amount, but pay a child peanuts to do it.

 

Already had my oil pan replaced, they overtightened to the point the stripped the thread, lost my skid plate bolts several times!!!
I don't go there anymore, lol....

 

Not to start shit but looking at pay rate is a losing proposition. Do it to make money yea but you gotta start somewhere. And pay rate sucks as a new tech. Suck it up and rise above it by doing a better job than anyone else on the floor. Earn your keep. Life is like a frigerator. You gotta put in to get out. People looking for the highest paycheck in my experience aren’t worth the lowest

 

Install a K&N cabin filter. Just clean regularly and save money only after the second scheduled change of the OEM cabin filter.

 

I used to let my dealer do the free 10K and 20K oil change until I read this thread. If I have to drop the filter housing to make sure there is a filter element in there, I might as well do the oil change myself.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/no-oil-filter.748693/

 

Consider the warranty also. If you don’t have the service documented by an authorized shop you may lose the warranty.

However, oil change and oil filter change does not mean just draining the oil and through away the filter. It is prudent to inspect the filter and run the oil through a filter element to identify debris. I inspected my filter last oil change and found non-ferrous debris… will always do a 5K oil and oil filter change.

 

Same. No way those baboons are touching my truck. It’s cheaper and faster to diy at home… oil change and tire rotation every 5k on mine and it’s around $45 for Mobil 1 and an oem filter.

 

Every 5,000 miles. Oil and Tire rotation. Case closed.
Found an independent shop that only works on Toyota's....
Keep all the receipts.
Good people reasonable price, the work is done right.

Same deal with the wife's Subaru. Been taking it to the same independent shop for 7 years.
They only work on Subaru and know them inside and out.
Same crew still works there, excellent work, reasonable price, and I tip the whoever is working on the car.
I tip the owner of the joint too when I pay for the work.
Worth every penny.... they appreciate it, and have on occasion done an extra thing-or-two for no charge
and always push me to the front of the line when I call for an appointment. Basically they tell me to just
come on in anytime that's good for me.

I'd never, EVER let the kids who work at dealerships touch my vehicle unless it's some warranty work or some recall.

 

I don't mind doing my vehicles maintenance.

I let my local dealer do one brake service under warranty, because my drum shoes were rubbing on the backing plate and squealing like a pig at slow speed stops. Barely 12k miles at the time for reference.

All they had to do was hose the drum assembly down with brake cleaner and put a dab of anti-seize or brake grease on the contact points. Probably could have used a screwdriver to pry the pads back for the grease application too.

Specials decided to sand my drum shoes, machine my drum hats and completely forgot to adjust the star wheel. Maybe they just didn't know how.

About 8 hours later I get a call saying the truck is ready and I can pick it up.

One of those 14 year olds drives it out hands me the keys and runs back into the shop to disappear.

As I'm leaving (rolled forward about 5 feet) I hit the brakes and the pedal went straight to the floor. I immediately got out, left it running in park (so all the other customers where stuck behind me and couldn't leave either) and went to have a "chat" with the service manager.

They kept the truck overnight and fixed their mistake, but I haven't been back for service there or elsewhere in years.

Ironically, they left a voicemail a few months ago saying my truck hadn't been in for service in several years and when would be a good time for me to bring it in?

Uh, never.

 

My friend owns the Toyota lot along with a Honda and Subaru lots down the street. I have been dealing with the same dealership for many years. They have a great service dept and techs, very knowledgeable and personable. I too like doing my own oil changes and just had a great friend who retired from there a few years back just do a major service on my 2018 with only 30k miles. He did every fluid from the rear to the radiator and everything in between filter, plugs, belt, full inspection of everything. I did it as a piece of mind that the truck is 6 years old but looks better than new.