Dealership BS

Went to the Toyota dealership today for my first complimentary oil change.

They wanted to charge me 125 dollars (the hourly rate) to remove my ARB skid plate.

Its 6 bolts... They said they have to remove all of them to get the first one off (they go back past the T case). Its not true i installed them myself.

Am i an a$$hole for not removing the plate ahead of time or is this some bs from the dealership?

 

BS to me. Keep in mind the service department is where they make their money at.

 

I have the bamf trilogy skids and the dealer I go to never charges me to remove my 80 pound front plate lol.

 

I fucking hate the big plates, but I just do my job and move on to the next one.

The TRD plates are worse, some shops charge extra for them as well.

 

Does it take extra time for the tech to remove the skid plate compared to what the SR5 has stock? If it does then you should be charged for the extra work since the complimentary oil change is based on the truck as it was sold. The dealership is probably like a lot of shops that won’t charge for anything less than one hour of labor.

 

The dealership should have no problem with the mechanic playing a few hands of cards with you the other 59 minutes of the hour you paid for.

 

Forreal man... i double checked and they could easily remove the ifs plate, theyre not interlocking like they claimed. I installed them myself but they had me seconding guessing

 

I get why they'd do that...They are used to the free oil changes taking minimal time and having to remove/reinstall a heavy aftermarket skid plate eats into that. Might not agree with it but it is what it is. If I have to take my truck in for work I can't do myself I always remove my steel IFS skid beforehand.

 

That's why I like my RCI skid there's a hole in the plate for the drain plug. No removable nessecary

 

Lame! I would just remove it to avoid the BS. Or maybe try another dealer if you have one in the area. I'm curious to see if they pull the same crap when I take mine in for its first oil change.

 

@coleman83 What’s really BS is that if you dont have the TRD skid with the little door they have to remove the black gravel guard so its really the same amount of work as a stock SR5.

Also, I was all set to change my own oil yesterday (bought the filter wrench and everything) but realized I wouldnt be able to get the skid back on without using a floor jack (not enough head room). I used my buddy’s floor jack to install it, but now I think I have to go buy a floor jack and jack stands if I want to drop the skid to change my own oil.

 

Been there before, I'd definitely move on to another dealer!

 

@boston23 A motorcycle jack is the way to go if you have one.

 

Update Delta Tire changed my oil no problem with the skids