Why you should never trust a dealership

My favorite one lately is when I bring my own oil and oem filter to a shop. They only charge $25 or so that way, but they'll try the "Did you say you brought your own oil and filter? We can't find it anywhere."

My response, "It's right on the passenger seat where I left it. You better go look again."

 

Yes and no.

I just checked and the recommended engine air filter service is to inspect every 5k under Special Operating Conditions, and replace at 30k under normal operating conditions.

At 15k miles, the dealer should be inspecting and replacing if it needs it - and given the OP had already changed the filter, clearly there was no inspection.

 

True

My example was the cabin air filter, For a 2023 Tacoma the recommended change is 10,000 to 20,000, 12 to 24 months.

 

Okay that makes sense.

Worth noting that for 2024+ it's a 30k replacement with the note: "Driving in certain conditions such as heavy traffic areas or urban areas or dusty areas or desert areas or dirt roads may shorten air conditioning filter’s life. Therefore, it may need to be replaced earlier"

All said, dealers will vary - some good and some shysters. In this case I'd question why the dealer was recommending replacement when it's not called for and they hadn't inspected.

It could be they just know their local driving environment and that most vehicles they see need the filter at 15k, or they could be advancing unnecessary replacements. Given the OP already replaced the filter at 15k because it was dirty, the first is certainly possible.

 

The dealer lube tech remembered to put oil in the engine and didn't clip the building on the way out (or worse, run over a coworker). Take it as a win and move on...

 

Similar thing happened to me about 35 years ago...but at an independent shop, when I was in the phase of finding a single fucking independent shop that I could trust. The first test was always a simple service that included oil change. I brought the filter and oil, stated it up front, told them it was on the front passenger seat. In my case, I picked it up, the filter and oil were gone, and the bill charged me for oil and a filter. This was pretty much pre-internet and things were much more trial-and-error or word-of-mouth.

After that I got seriously DIY, including adjusting valves on the 22RE, which was a fun challenge.

Quality work and quality people are sadly difficult to find in any walk of life.

 

I was fortunate when I started driving that my folks had a good place they'd used for a while, but agreed there's a lot of bad ones. Not so much bad places, bad people as well. I had a great relationship with one Chevy dealer until there was some turnover and it went from great to outright lies and thievery.

 

Nobody takes care of your money OR your car/truck better than you do.

having said that, sooner or later, you will be at a dealer, and I’ve always valued already had a relationship with a dealer and especially a service writer…….

value the good ones, and “train” them that you can tell good from bad on every visit.