Free 25,000 mile sevice from dealer

Do I have to take advantage of the free 25,000 mile free service from the dealer in order to keep my warranty intact?

 

Unfortunately, yes. I just had my 5000 mile service and they scratched my truck.

 

I knew about the disclaimer in the Magnuson-Moss warranty act about free service. Thank you for the answer.

 

Uh no, you can do your own maintenance or have a private shop do it. Just need to keep receipts for proof of service.

 

You can do your own? For real?

 

Yes

 

No you don’t have to take it to the dealer for anything to have your warranty.

 

Were you under the impression that in order to keep a warranty 100% of the service had to be in the dealers shops?

 

You can do it yourself or have any shop do it. Go to Toyotaowners.com or download the app and input the service completed along with mileage. It will not void warranty if you do your own maintenance and can prove it. Also keep receipts of items in case the dealer does give pushback.
Edit: Also note that the 6 month 5k mile service is nothing more than rotate tires and check that damn floor mat.

 

I was aware you could pay a 3rd party shop and stay under warranty.. I had no idea you could do your own maintenance and stay under warranty.

Goodbye to more dealer scratches!

 

There is one possible exception. Some dealer provided 'lifetime warranties' put you on the hook for every recommended service, forever, on time, to keep the warranty intact.

But if you are under Toyotas std corporate warranty, you never have to darken their door.

And the only reason you have to keep oil receipts is if you have an oil related warranty claim. Pretty rare stuff

Keep in mind, if its for 6 qts of whatever from WallyWorld, you still can't prove that it was put in your truck. So there is potential for disagreement there. But not enough that I'd worry. Piles 'o miles in my vehicles over the years and never an oil related issue.

 

According to the Magnuson-Moss act a dealer CAN require you to use their vehicle service IF that service is provided to you free of charge. I sent an email to Toyota to ask if I must take advantage of their free 2 year 25K service to keep my warranty intact. I'll post their reply when I receive it.

I took delivery of my new 2018 Tacoma double cab long bed TRD off road on 7/16. So far the tires were over inflated, the engine oil was over a pint low, the power steering fluid 4 ounces low and that is as far as I've had time to check. I can't wait to see how the rears, transfer case and transmission check out. The truck shifts well, so possibly the transmission level is within spec.

 

Do they ever actually change the rears, transfer case or transmission? Looking at the manual, the only thing recommended is the rotations and oil changes, everything else is only listed under hard use type conditions.

 

Not within 25k miles, that’s why they conveniently have it end right before 30k.

As you know, you can do all your own gear/trans fluids affordably even with synthetics.

 

Yeah mine goes up to 75K, but really that's just 7 oil changes, and whatever that is for tire rotations. Already did an oil change at 5k myself because I wasn't going to wait till 10K on a brand new engine. Getting them to do the transmission would be awesome, Tacos are a pain in the butt.

 

Correct Answer !!!

 

Going to any manufacturer to ask this question is like having the fox guard the hen house. The answer is clearly no, they cannot void your warranty if you use someone else for maintenance. If I recall correctly Hyundai tried this early on and it didn’t end well for them.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

 

Relax, you are overthinking this.

 

The official word back from Toyota:

"Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
We appreciate the opportunity to address your inquiry.
Toyota recommends that regular maintenance is performed at an authorized Toyota dealer. If you prefer to have your vehicle serviced at other independent repair facilities, we recommend you retain all receipts related to maintenance on your vehicle, along with a maintenance log of the work performed.
Using an independent facility, or performing your own oil changes, does not void your warranty, however, Toyota does not warrant work performed by other establishments. Toyota may deny warranty coverage if your vehicle or a part fails due to abuse, neglect, improper maintenance or unapproved modifications."
Please refer to your Warranty and Maintenance Guide for more information regarding warranty coverage.
If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact_us.

So long story short, you can do your own maintenance on your truck.

 

You can't void your warranty by taking it someplace else, but car manufacturers may deny a warranty claim or not cover particular components if it is shown (or rather, NOT shown by no proof of receipts) that you haven't been taking care of regular maintenance.

Matt