What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

They are great so far. I’ve only driven a few miles on them, but all the usually crap roads in my hood were noticeably less terrible. What made me realize they were shot was an on-ramp I use daily where I would hit a couple of buckled road seams and the truck would skip steer every time. That is completely gone now. Highly recommend. I’m driving it a bit for the next day or two then taking it in for an alignment. This video was helpful.

https://youtu.be/a9N1fvbGAEw?si=S0OJ4y0JgkNRPQcF

 

I got my oil changed at the Stealership yesterday. Out of curiosity I asked for a quote on a spark plug change —— drumroll for insanity please:

$213 parts
$687 labor



These dealers aren’t even trying to hide the theft.

 

If that doesn’t make someone invest in some tools and YouTube University, nothing will!

 

An interesting watch if you're into this sort of thing. None of what is said really surprised me. I always enjoy YouTubers who tell it like it is and aren't looking to clickbait.

Mike Rowe has been saying for years, the number of bodies going into the trades is dropping off a cliff. Don't even get me started on the airline pilot shortage as well....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cfbhxsqW84

 

Got oil and filter from dealer and changed the oil.

Boring but I actually managed to do it this time with almost ZERO drops on the ground LOL

 

I too live in a wildlife area. I had issues with my Silverado, the mice and squirrels, I think chewed the wires. I started putting a handful of moth balls in a nylon (panty hose leg) and leave it under the hood when we would go away. Never had anymore issues. It worked for me.

 

Here’s a hopeful read on the topic.

https://www.nasrcc.org/the-wall-street-journal-how-gen-z-is-becoming-the-toolbelt-generation/

 

My guess is you wanted to quote the post @bassmusic made but all good, I've actually seen that article ironically

 

Here is the thing, as long as you are within the Low and Max points (which is normally 1 quart) you are in the safe zone, now I would not recommend only ever putting enough in it to only hit the Low (minimum) mark, as you have no more safey zone..
You are not going to hurt a 6+ quart vehicles oiling system by not adding the extra 6.4 ounces (0.2 quarts) as you have, with only using the 6 quarts, put 97% of the called for oil in it..
The only downside I can think of right now would be if your engine was using (burning/leaking) oil, then you would just have to check/add the oil sooner...

So NO, i am not adding the extra 0.2 quarts even though I bought it for my 1 oil change to me, now I just need to buy 5 quarts...

Did the sales guy (who may not even wright up/price out spark plug replacements) even write up an est or just pull the price out of thin air??

The V6 spark plug labor is only 2.0 hours so is your dealers shop rate $343.5 per hour??
The $213 is $35.50 each, Toyota's website shows the MSRP price of $19.94, that should be the same price anywhere in the USA at any Toyota dealer (Lexus WILL be different)...

I would call a couple of dealers and ask them a price, I almost have a feeling that the guy you asked doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.. My thinking is whoever got that price for you either looked up the wrong vehicle or flat out guessed poorly and either way IF you would have set an appt to have it done a seasoned service writer, technician or Service Manager and even the parts department would have caught the error and corrected it before you paid the bill... I have caught stuff like that many times over the years...

I am NOT disputing you, just the price given to you...

 

I don't wrench as much anymore as I used to due to back pains so I called around and they wanted around the same for my 2GRFE Highlander so I just did it myself. Came out to around 90 in parts (OEM plugs) + 3 hours of wrenching. Given a different car and motor, but I'd recommend some youtube videos and just doing it yourself

 

Where’s the skewp?

 

That’s strange. The post I quoted was above yours and must have been deleted. Thanks though!

 

Maybe I should wait until I fit them so you get the whole look, my truck has also had the OR decals removed

I am tempted to just throw the sport wheels up for sale come winter time as I have pretty good A/T tires that haven’t failed me in some pretty extreme winter scenarios… reckon I could get $800 for the set…

 

$687 for 2 hours labour, that is ridiculous! This is the reason I did my own. It took 3 hrs but I was not in a rush and had never done it before on this vehicle.
Edit: $213 for 6x plugs. I purchased OEM iridium replacements for $130 Cdn. That markup is also ridiculous.

 

Dang!

I had TRD Lift done in April and the hourly rate was roughly $235/hr in northern Delaware...it's $215/hr in Dover.

I've seen the YT videos and remember that the driver side is more challenging than the passenger side.

Not sure if I wanna do it or have the dealership complete the task.

 

Don't quote me but I think Toyota's dealer labor rate is around $175 an hour at this point. If the tech is making let's say $34-40 an hour, what a windfall for the Stealership. Then you figure the service writer is getting their cut too.

My oil change and rotation was $95. When she added on the spark plug change it was over $1100 - I was thinking just shy of $400 or 500. I also had asked them to send me a quote ahead of time, which they of course ignored.

 

I had made an online appointment through the dealer website. So when she pulled up my appointment it showed the requested items. Then she clicked on each item or whatever, and it automatically put the cost into an estimate. My eyes nearly popped out of my head lol It was north of $1100 after tax.

In my mind, I had a ballpark figure, like $250-300 maybe. And the only reason I wanted to do it now was b/c I am back in the office 5x a week, so car maintenance means: Uber or Lyft to and from the shop, and waking up early, and all that jazz.

I have already reached out to 2 private shops - Precision Tune and The Toyota Expert - I trust to see what their numbers are. They're a bit more out of the way of work, but it will be worth the savings.

There's no way I'm doing this work - 1. I don't own the tools 2. I live in a triplex with a sloped gravel driveway I totally respect you guys who can do the work, it makes perfect sense.

 

I would definitely shop around. The work is not difficult, just tedious. With the right tools most can do it themselves if they have some mechanical skill.