mark your oil filter

A newer Corolla may be tough, it has the non spin on filter.

PK

 

lol they wouldn't go near my truck, except for an alignment or a tranny flush.

 

here is what I do



I would never let anyone change my oil - this is for my own reference cause I usually go over 5k.

 

I've never been able to trust a dealer or Jiffy Lube..Last time I went to Jiffy (20 years ago and away from home) found the oil drain plug rounded out like the kid used a friggin pipe wrench on it because he didn't have a metric socket. I also don't trust them to use synthetic. I'm the only one under my truck unless it's a warranty issue.

 

The one time in over 15 years I didn't feel like changing my oil (freezing rain/snow - no garage) I took it in and supplied my own Mobil-1 and filter. I watched the service writer type "owner supplied oil/filter on passenger seat". When I got into my truck it was all sitting there still. I popped the hood, checked the dip stick, and walla freaking morons put in regular oil. I was in a rush so I flipped out at them got a $50 gift certificate I never used and never went back. I ended up flushing it out the next day in the freaking snow while blowing 3 quarts of synthetic... NEVER AGAIN.

 

I'll take that gift certificate....

 

i would mention the dealer, so we can avoid it. i will be taking Toyota up on my 2 years of free oil changes, but i will be marking my filters for sure.

 

lol....that was when I was a Ford man and many years ago.

That dealership took a poop and is now a Toyota dealer

 

I'm taking my truck to an off road shop. I can't trust these stealerships anymore...

 

I have not nor do I think I would ever pay for a oil change, especially after hearing these stories. I can not imagine a Toyota dealer not replacing a filter on a oil change. Thats Not Right...
Its the best half hour I spend with my truck- thats about 1.5-2 hrs a year- to change the oil and filter I want to use, fill the window washer, look over everything, spray a little lube on the hinges, etc. Doing this keeps you rolling down the road with far less surprizes...

 

I always do my own oil changes, even on my wife's new Sienna with the 2 years of free service. It is just something I like to do. I used to own a mobile oil change business in NY, and talked to a lot of people. You wouldn't believe how many folks have had very bad experiences with all kinds of places from Jiffy Lubes to Dealerships.

 

I wish I could remember how it works exactly but all the lazy techs take the easy jobs because they pay the best and they generally don't do shit. My friend worked at a dealership for awhile and he shared the stories.

Unless its something under warranty.... I don't let people touch my truck. I've always had to use a damn screwdriver to get the filters off after leaving Toyota. Fucktards don't know how to install a damn filter and play Hercules wrenching it down.

 

wow....pretty sad that this happens but like i said, its your truck, you have to look out for yourself. cant rely on others. wow, pretty shady.

 

I worked at a dealer for many years and usually the way it works is the kids get the oil changes, because they get paid hourly unlike the techs that get flat rate. The problem actually shows up more with warranty work because the warranty book pays shit times so SOME techs will shuffle it in and out to get another job, hopefully a customer pay job because the book was different. Then comes the UP SELL. That is where most techs and shops make their money, you go for the 30K service which includes all these extras besides the oil change, well the tech will check all that crap anyway hoping to find an issue to up sell. There is alot more to dealer life. Just like any place or any job it is the person that makes a differance so if you find a tech at the dealer that you like ask for him or her by name

 

That's exactly what my friend told me! Thanks for the info!

 

Jiffy Lube oil wouldn't bother me. It's Pennzoil, which is decent stuff.
Jiffy Lube oil filters do bother me. They're Pennzoil, which are Fram.

I always laugh my ass off when I see "disturbed" oil filter boxes at K-Mart and see that someone has swapped a Pennzoil for a Fram filter... paying the Pennzoil price and thinking they're getting a better filter when it's the same thing

 

Took my wife's '00 Echo in to Longo Toyota for the brake booster recall.
They would not release the car back to us without doing a full front brake job (they claimed it needed rotors and calipers, the car was only a year old!)

Took an hour of fighting the manager and finally threatening to call the owner.

 

Took my truck in for it's first free oil change - I was only at 2350 miles but it had been about six months. I didnt want to wait til 5000 miles and have them deny service or warranty or whatever. I marked the filter before I drove there. Drove home and checked it... They changed the filter. Next time I'd like to mark the wheels to make sure they rotate them like they said they did. How do you do that? Where do you mark the wheels, and with what?

 

Chalk on the inside sidewall of the tires, magic marker on the inside of the wheels.

 

If you want to make sure your tires are rotated all you have to do is look at them. For example the tread will wear perfectly flat across on the rear, the front tread will have a rounded surface. This is if your tires are correctly inflated and your getting close to another 5K service. So it should be fairly easy to spot if the job was done without crawling under your car.