ToyotaCare worth using?

Fuck The Dealer I would presume?

 

I also enjoy doing my maintenance for the same reasons. Gives me a good feel for how things are going (leaks..wear, ect..). I wasn't real sure how well the Toyota warranty would stand up if I did all the service work and not the dealership. I took the risk on my wife's former 2004 4Runner when we purchased it as a demo unit. The dealership was too far away and again, I like to do the work. Given warranties are all about the fine print. I figured that I would try to stomach this at least until the 25K mark. By then I should know if this truck is a real keeper like my old 98 Tacoma. At 30K, I'll take the risk on the warranty issues. I plan to crawl all over if even if the dealership does the first ones. Just too much of an overthinker not to double check. (I'm a mechanical engineer by profession.....now go easy after that revelation.)

Per the Toyota oil guide, the Tacoma's with the 4.0 still use 5W-30 (5.5 qts w\filter if 4WD or PreRunners every 5K). There is a decent Toyota PDF on all the current oil recommendations up to 2014 models. I can upload the file if anyone has not run across it yet. The wife's 2011 4Runner has a 4.0 but it requires 6.6 qts of 0W-20 every 10K. I plan to stick with Mobil1 5W-30 in the new 2015.

Great forum guys....always helps to have so many thoughts on the issue.

 

What about the 2015 v6? When I recently bought the tacoma, the sales guy told me that it used synthetic which I don't think is true.

 

Hey, hotrod, I've been getting under my vehicles for over 45 years to "see what's going on under there" as you put it. Me father was a mechanic at a dealership and as a college student, I worked as a mechanic at a dealership, so yeah, I trust my dealership.

 

I am using the dealer and then when it runs out do it myself

 

Don't trust the salesguy, do the research yourself

 

just because your father and you worked there... doesnt mean the minimum waged paid kid doing your oil change knows his head from his ass. My experience so far with dealers in the area (Ventura CA):

1. (Ventura toyota)Oil change kid forget to put oil in your truck and just about start it, before i caught him as i was standing by my truck due to:
2. (Ventura toyota)Same dealer as above, head mechanic not knowing how to measure driveline angles for tsb, thus causing me to spend an hour under my truck showing him how to do his job... WITH THE TOOLS I PROVIDED as he failed to order the right one
3. (Ventura toyota)Same dealer as above ordered wrong parts, after i highlighted and circled proper parts to order for said tsb
4. (Oxnard toyota)Another dealer in the area telling me straight up, "yeah you dont want us to flash the ECU on your truck for the spark knock tsb, last truck we did a couple days ago we bricked the ECU and had to order a whole new ecu"
5. (Thousand Oaks toyota)Third dealer in the area during a tire rotation put 2 of 5 lugnuts on a tire on my ex gf's car hand tight and she got down the road a couple blocks before noticing something wasnt right had a look around and realized what was wrong

But ya know.... all these dealers are super friendly to take your money.... So go ahead, spent your 3 hours waiting, gas to get to the dealer, and "TRUST" of said dealer to preform a simple oil change that so many have had problems with.... all to "save some money"


(As you can see, I hate dealers and their scumbaggery, your experience might be different)

 

Yeah, I live 5 minutes from the dealer. Oil change and tire rotation and I'm out in less than 45 minutes. Yeah, my experience is different. Guess I'm pretty lucky.

 

yeah see... thats an hour of my time. I could have oil changed, driveline lubed, tires rotated in 30 minutes... and be a couple beers deep before you even got back... but thats just me

 

Well, I don't drink, and that gives me just enough time for me to finish my coffee and read the newspaper.

 

Don't mean to sound like I'm knocking people who "trust" their dealers, but do you verify their work? Sometimes a "visual" might suffice; for other work, you need to "get down under" and see for yourself.

Pull the dip stick and check oil level. Did you examine its condition before taking it in and afterwards? Did they "really" change it? Oil filter "really" changed? Lug nuts torqued correctly? - a "visual" won't work for this.

In my case, both the 5K and 10K ToyotaCare done by 2 different dealers had issues. In the bucu years I've been on this planet, I've never had maint. work done correctly by any shop. That drove me to DIYing years ago. The wife insisted that we use their "free" service; then got to watch me uncover all of the botched work done.

Why? Because they hire unskilled/low-paid people to do it. Do you think a veteran tech with 15 yrs. experience is going to change your oil? A veteran Toyota tech on another forum told me ToyotaCare is billed similar to warranty work - tech gets screwed. Do you think a service mgr. is going to do that to a sr. tech? Nope. The newbie high school kid gets that job.

Be leery of ToyotaCare and any other "maint" work done anywhere - not just dealerships.

I'd trust a NOLA hooker with my wallet before I'd trust a dealer to do maint. work properly.

 

You had a loose drain plug and a forgotten oil filler cap and you are ok using the dealer. Are you trying to get a new engine out of them or an engine cleaning? I have had an oil plug come lose on the highway and my filler cap left off. Fortunately when the plug came out I saw the drop in pressure and shut it down. Also fortunate to be right at an exit so I coasted off highway. I can tell you that running without an oil filler cap will make a mess. I told my dealer that they will get no more of my regular maint. for lesser infractions.

 

Write the date on your oil filter with a white paint marker. Chalk your tires.

My wife took her car to walmart for 3 years to get the oil changed. I never paid attention to it. It was her car, her deal, I don't get involved as she is really good about getting it changed, and the tires rotated.

Well, the belt broke, so I had to take the tire off and inner fender covers to get to the belt. The oil filter was actually rusted on the bottom. I poked it with a screw driver and actually knocked a hole in it. Walmart had "changed the oil" but not the filter for who knows how long? Who knows if they actually changed the oil?

I no longer trust anyone to touch my vehicle unless I am standing there watching them.

 

In Canada we get 4 oil changes and 1 tire rotation. My dealer tried the same thing on my 4th oil change. I laughed. I refused the $289.00 brake adjustment. The service tech checked my cabin air filter all the same and told me that it had been chewed on by a mouse, there were none in stock, so he fished another cabin filter out of the trash that was like new and installed it for free. (He likes my truck.)

As for the brake adjustment, I simply backed up at about 20mph on my side rode and stomped on the brakes. Did this a few times.... there, adjusted!

... as for oil changes, I do my own now with Mobile 1 full synthetic.


(Oh!... and my dealer is 35kms and 40 minutes away, and that chews up my whole Saturday morning as they always overbook. I showed up the last time at 8:00 am as scheduled, then they told me they couldn't get at it until 10:15. I don't go there anymore, unless its warranty work, and even then, they screw that up too, to the point that I had to waste 3 Saturday mornings on a pressure cracked windshield, and now 3 days on a split seam on a leather seat. The service manager has now told me to bring the truck to a professional upholsterer and have them billed direct.)

 

I've been avoiding this thread because in general there is no "correct" answer as it depends on the person and their situation.

But to bring it back to the OP...

It sounds like for *you* that it definitely makes sense you do this yourself and skip the ToyotaCare visits to the dealer. You can do it yourself and being a fussy person you will prefer doing it yourself I suspect. The dealer isn't going to tell you any secrets you can't find out yourself from your Owner's Manual, the FSM and online information on TSBs.

For others the decision will be different of course, and it will depend on that person, their expectations and the quality of their service department.

Personally I'll be skipping ToyotaCare with my new truck because of my specific situation and use during the first two years of ownership. But I'm not above having other people do an oil change. Different vehicle in different situation I might even use ToyotaCare. During busier times of my life I have been more than happy to have a competent shop do the oil/rotation while I'm busy getting something else in my life done.

 

Here is an update on the question I posed about whether Synthetic was included in the Toyota Care plan for 6 cyl Tacomas. I popped into the dealership for my scheduled appointment. I spoke with one of the 3 assistant service managers on duty. I explained that the lady covering their calls had stated that synthetic was used on all 2015s under the plan. I told him that gave me pause and wanted to clarify before going forward. He pulled the VIN # up and looked at the oil cap, then said "NO". I then asked what was required to meet Toyota's warranty requirements. He claimed that as long as I kept a good log with corresponding receipts of the items used, I was OK to service it and meet the warranty requirements.

Enough said for me. The $30~$40 up charge he guessed at is about what I would have in a Mobil 1 synthetic change with a Toyota oil filter included. Drove home with a filter in hand and got my oil at the big box store.

Not trying to start a oil type debate.....
I did not realize that Mobil had come up with several different offerings in the synthetic realm in the recent past. I have always just used the plain Mobil 1 Full Syn 5W-30 badge for 15 yrs. I see on the web that they have been hammered over the "true synthetic" oil claim and must be offering up alternatives to add to the confusion. I've had no issues so I'll continue to follow the course unless their new oil is not fit for service after a few changes. Strange thing is that the Extended Performance type sales for the same price as the Advanced type. Just claims to offer better high temp performance. The data sheets on the Mobil website show very little difference in the published spec data (viscosity wise).

 

Thanks for checking for us.

As far as the different versions of Mobil1, it's a different additive pack so the viscosity numbers between the same grade should remain consistent. The versions that have more additives will use a greater % of Group III base stock as this is necessary to carry the additives in the formulation. Most auto store synthetic oils are a blend of Group III dino-derived and Group IV PAO base.

If you want a true synthetic then you need to step up to Redline or some of the top end Amsoil oils.

The 1GR-FE engine in these trucks is a proven design so really ANY oil will perform great as long as you keep up the maintenance. I've actually decided to go with Pennzoil Platinum instead of Mobil1 as it claims to be 8% cleaner based on lab tests.

 

I am not a dealer basher, by any stretch.

I would trust, but verify as a bare minimum.

 

Yeah, you're right. We need to verify engine oil levels, tire pressures, oil cap and radiator cap. Make sure your drain plug is not leaking. But when they say they changed my oil with the appropriate weight synthetic oil, I have to trust that they are doing what they said they would do.

You see, I don't want to go through life cynical and distrustful of people. When I buy produce at the store that says organic, I accept that it's organic. When the doctor says I need surgery, I believe him. I might get a second opinion, but eventually, I'm going to believe someone.

I understand that mistakes are made...I just choose to believe that they weren't intentional. I've got no vested interest in a dealership, but I have had several good friends who either own a dealership or have owned a dealership. I just thought good experiences have just as much right to be shared as bad experiences.

 

I cannot say that I disagree with anything you have said.

As you have noticed that many in this forum blame the dealer / mechanic first and then no matter what happens next it was intentional or they are all a pack of clowns.

My personal experience has been the exact opposite. They have been helpful and in most cases over and above what I would have expected. I think it boils down to mutual respect from the start.