Who does your oil change?

Ever since I was a young boy and my dad taught me a fair bit about general automotive maintenance, I have always changed oil & filter, transmission and differential gear lubes myself. I still do on my Tacoma, hopefully will be able to continue doing so for as long as I own motor vehicles.

 

I am letting the dealership do the free ones but once that is done it will most likely be going to a very good independent shop that I have been using for other vehicle for a few years now. They have taken great care of our vehicles, have great warranties on parts and labor, and if something takes longer than about 45 minutes or so they will let me drive one of their vehicles which depending on what they drove that day can be quite fun.

 

So, I just bought my 2017 Taco in June, with 37K on it, and was hit by another driver who wasn't paying attention a week after I bought it. I got it back in August and now have 40K and brought it to my local dealer for oil change, rotation and 40K inspection.

Found out they want over $100 to change oil and rotate tires!!!!! Went through with it, as I took the afternoon off and needed the "Maint Required" code reset. Also like that all maintenance done by the dealer is tracked on Toyota owner's page (but not sure it's worth it, now)

Seriously rethinking next oil change since I like doing the maintenance myself and only went to the dealer for warranty purposes. So, my questions are:

1) If you DIY, how do you reset the code?
2) What is the typical DIY total cost (synthetic oil, filter, etc)?
3) Any tricky challenges to be aware of? (This is my first Taco, but I have had some other vehicles with serious challenges getting filter off / on)

Thanks!
AZJim

 

dealership has been doing mine, but i think it's time to start doing it myself again like i have with all of my other vehicles... this last time they told me i needed to schedule a $100 diagnostic appt with them because my oil drain plug was leaking..... and they asked who did my service last. I told them they did, and it sounds like maybe they didn't tighten the plug. I asked if it was low on oil, the kid didn't know. I'm guessing the fluid film I sprayed all over made him think there was a leak.

on my old 4runner i was attempting to change my wheels to my snow tire wheels this weekend and found all of the lugs to be at least 100 ft/lb torque, and one was crossthreaded when i tried to remove it so the wheel stud snapped off. forgot that i paid to have brakes done on that not too long ago, the service guy must've zipped the lugs back on with an impact. i was pissed but went and got a new wheel stud and fixed it myself. i'm all done having them do basic stuff for me!

 

Having Toyota do it every 5000 miles, rather have them do it so they have record of it in case there's a problem plus it's only $55

 

1.) In my TRD OR I can reset the maintenance due light in the settings menu behind the steering wheel.
2.) I spent < $30 on 6qt of full synthetic oil (AmazonBasics) and I bought OEM filters in bulk. You might spend more if you want Mobil-1, but the stuff I use is to spec and I'd rather do more frequent changes (every 5k miles).
3.) Buy the Motivx oil filter wrench tool and watch some YouTube videos to see how to empty the filter/what the different pieces are:

$30 Motivx Tools Oil Filter Wrench for Toyota Camry, Tundra, Tacoma, 4Runner, RAV4 and More - 64mm 14 Flute Precision CNC Machined Aluminum Oil Filter Removal Tool

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XTAGHU0/

Overall, it's easy enough that I plan on doing all oil changes myself from now on. The cheaper full synthetic oil is cheap enough to consider doing it on a severe duty schedule (every 5k miles) instead of the regular 10k. Saves me a 20+ mile trip to the nearest dealership.

 

I'm going to let Josh at Toyota do it, but remember his mind is somewhere else like what color knickers is Rachel wearing in marketing today. The senior techs keep reminding him that she's the owner's daughter and to tread lightly. He's also in a LTR with Sarah at Friday's. I hope Josh doesn't try and tighten my drain plug with his ChiWaulki Fuul 18V impact that someone told him to buy on that garage website because it was just like Milwaukee Fuel

 

Mobil 1 offers $12 Rebates off a 5 quart jug several times a year, get the oil filter cartridge in bulk from EBay or Amazon for around $5 each and your supplies come in under $20 per change.

 

I'd check out another dealer if they charge $100 mine is only $60 for synthetic oil change and technically if you buy the conventional oil change you are still getting synthetic as long as they use the Toyota 0W-20 as it can only be synthetic.

Resetting your maintenance light
https://seventrumpet.com/2018-toyota-tacoma-oil-maintenance-required-soon-light-reset/#targetText=Press and hold the Trip,the maintenance light turns off.

Synthetic 0W-20 is around $15 to 30 dollars for a 5.5 quart bottle and probably another $5 on a filter. I'd get a set of Rhino ramps those plastic drive up ramps as they are light, cheap, and your car won't slip off like the old metal ones. Though our trucks are high enough I'm not even sure you need them.

Ramps
https://www.walmart.com/ip/RhinoGea...icle-Ramp-Pair-12-000lb-GVW-Capacity/19526658

I4s have a traditional can filter, V6s have a cartridge filter which needs a special tool I believe to spin it. I usually buy filters from https://www.rockauto.com/ as you can buy a bunch for 2-3 bucks each, shipping is usually around $6.

Dealers also tend to honor coupons from competitors like Jiffy etc.

 

ME

 

I get free lifetime oil changes with my purchase, not a bad deal. They also extend the factory warranty to 42 mos and 42k miles.

 

I always do my own. I don't like the Toyota dealer near me and the one I do like is a 90 minute drive one way.