Am I crazy for not using my complimentary oil changes ?

I asked and they just won't do it

 

thats just lame i remember when i bought my 10 trd off road they were like trying to make themselves sound so wonderful that my purchase would receive a lifetime guarantee of oil changes.

 

I've been on both sides of this discussion. Now I find the expense of time and inconvenience, not to mention trusting others to do it right, costs more than me doing it myself vs. the free ones from the dealership. I already have a case of filters and gaskets, and the oil for my first change, and it only has 2500 miles on it. I'll do it myself because it costs me less overall than taking it to the dealer for the free ones.

 

Yup

 

I'v got 2 more left, haven't had any problems with this particular dealership. I'll be putting in my own synthetic soon.

 

Well I guess I'll share my experience.

I feel the same OP, I've done my own for many years now. I decided to go ahead and use the "free" ones. IDK why, just getting lazy I guess. First one was fine, no problems. So I thought. Then one day I notice a very small scratch on the fender right where the filter is. This was a week or two later. I thought I looked the truck over very good but missed this. It was too late I'm sure and wasn't big enough to bitch about it. Besides, what would they do, repaint the whole fender? No thanks. It's very small, not a big deal. But I know it had to come from the tech leaning over to get to the filter and one of the buttons on his shirt got it, I have no doubt in my mind about that.

So then came my wheels and tires. Had just had them put on right before I was due for the next one. I told the SA that I didn't need rotation since I just had them installed. He proceeded to tell me that was great because they don't like touching aftermarket wheels anyway and wrote in big letters across the invoice "do not rotate". So I felt good about this. My wheels have the spline drive lugs which use the tool for them. I forgot to take it out of the console before I left. But it was in the bottom underneath stuff so it was hard to find. Get in the truck after and as I'm driving down the road I then realize the spline key is laying in the cup holder. Also at this point I realize the truck is vibrating and riding like crap. I don't know if the balance when they rotate? But it rode kinda bad.

Luckily Discount tire mounted them so I have free rotate and balance. So took it to them the next day and all was good again. Luckily I didn't see any scratches or anything.

I probably should have been done after this but did go back since I had the dreaded fan tick so I went back and got the fan tsb done while there. No problems this time.

Went back for number 4 and got the rear leaf tsb approved and again no problems.

2 days after getting the rear leaf tsb done my battery dies. WTF? They replaced it under warranty. Idk if that was coincidence or what? 2 years old and just under 20k and the battery dies?

So my 24 months are up so I'm done with them either way. Just thought I'd share.

 

Same here, do not use it. plus they are a bunch of dumb asses. I like to work on my truck and oil is cheap.

 

Now this would be nice!

 

They typically use bulk oil. I'd take the filter though, since the Toyota OEM filter is well-built and has the largest filter media area based on dissection results.

 

As long as it's free and the truck is under warranty, I let them do it. Their fault if something goes wrong.

Quality of work seems to vary a lot from one dealer to the next. I only found 2 out of 7 around Atlanta GA that seemed good when I lived there a few years ago. 1 of the 2 I've been to in Memphis is worth going back to.

Actually, it seems like a lot of auto shops in general are crap now. Not just dealers.

Most of the time when I've gone in to do work myself on something that the dealer has done in the past, I've found mistakes.

Engine oil drain plug had 3 used washers on it the first time I drained it myself. Differential drain plug had 2 crush washers on it. Really? How hard is it to remove the old single use washers before putting on new ones?

Had dealer do TSB for ticking exhaust manifold and I got about 10 miles out and noticed rattling. They had left some bracket plus bolts and washers just laying in the wiper cowl. When I got back to the dealer, also found that they hadn't tightened a few nuts.

I checked torque on lug nuts after a tire shop installed new tires for me. 3 wheels were at 130 ftlb. The other wheel was at 35 ftlb. And they rounded the corners on the lugs and chipped the wheels where the air gun got away from while using the wrong size socket. Even though I get free rotate and balance for life of the tire, not going back there.

 

BYOOC bring your own oil container ahahahahah problem solved

 

Flushing through 1/2 qt of new oil is unnecessary. And if the old oil has degraded far enough, flushing 1/2 qt won't be effective anyway.

I suggest you go the dealer and check out their oil change service bays and the people. Use them if they seem competent. The dealer I use has a dedicated ExpressLube line that is organized as well as a Toyota production line. The line is separated from the customer area with a glass wall, so everything is visible. They put a plastic sleeve over the steering wheel to keep it clean. One guy in the pit drains the oil and checks the undercarriage. Second guy changes the filter and fills the oil. Third guy sets tire pressure... They check everything, including stuff DIYers often neglect, like greasing door hinges and checking battery voltage. There's a car wash built into the end of the line (which I tell them not to use). The whole process usually takes 30-45 min during busy hours.

 

I got the Toyota Care with my 2010 & used all of them without any problems. At 30K I went back to the same dealer & bought the 3 oil change/tire rotations for $75.00. Again no problems. My dealer is in walking distance of the USAF base I work on. I don't need an appointment, they use the correct weight oil, a Toyota oil filter & drain plug gasket. While the wheels are off they measure the meat on the brake shoes & pads and do all the under truck inspections. The truck gets run through the car wash when it's done & I don't have to clean up afterward.
I feel for you members that don't have a trustworthy dealership, that sucks.
Edit: I do have a quick look under the hood then make sure my lug nut key is put away before I drive off.

 

I get free oil changes for life from the dealer where I bought my truck...I don't trust them or feel its worth the hassle. Plus I run synthetic, Bought a case of OEM filters on Ebay for a good price. Takes 20-25 minutes for me to do the oil change including clean up.

 

In my 2006 I did myself thanks to the DIY oil change sticky here.
In my Tundra it came with the maintenance plan, only needed to be changed at 10k so the dealer did it for it wasn't so easy no sticky
In my 2013 Tacoma I will let the dealer do it.
It is super convienent, they just upgraded the service dept to a brand new huge bldg w/ express lanes.
The H team they call themselves
(those frame replacements musta made them big bucks! they were pros!)
plus the have a really nice lounge area, surf the web, drink their cappacino, people watch. Plus 6 months out of the year here the cold and no heated garage makes it a pain.

 

NO, I don't think you're crazy.

I never used the free oil changes either. I like doing my own oil changes and always rotate tires, lube the zerks, even touch up the fender wells with rattle can black. It's therapy for a guy like me.

 

I'm not sure if I would take advantage of them...don't trust anyone with my truck.

 

I've already made my point about getting the value out of something already baked into the price and watching them like a hawk while it's free, but I can respect this.

 

Beer, oil and fun.

 

Toyota care is not free. Its not listed as a fee, but its certainly rolled into the cost of every car and truck that rolls off the assembly line. Toyota is banking on people not using the service to recoup profit.

Toyota expenses the service of the vehicle at cost to Toyota. Spreading the cost of the program among all the cars produced makes Toyota's cost to the dealers extremely cheap. The dealer bills Toyota when you bring in your "Toyota car appointment". Any unbilled "appointments" are then dropped into profit.

BMW has a similar program, though much more extensive. Its 4 years 50,000 miles and includes wear items like tires and brakes and wiper blades and all fluids on the vehicle. Again this is rolled into the cost of the vehicle.