free oil changes at Toyota dealer

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lamont cranston

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My wife has a 2007 Toyota Sienna with 3.5 v-6. I put in a magnetic oil pan drain plug at the first change, and changed oil 3 times with Toy filter and Pennzoil YellowB 5w-30 every 4000 mi. Almost nothing on the magnet each time I changed oil.

Then I used a free oil change coupon at the dealer. When I changed oil after 4000 miles on the dealers oil, the magnet had a whole bunch of the "silver black goo" on it. I changed that oil with the same Pennz YB 5w-30 I had been using. The other day I changed oil again with Pennz YB, and the magnet had almost nothing on it again.

So I don't think I'll use any more free oil change coupons at the dealer.
 
Good idea. I would not let those goons touch my car. The real techs or top guys in the shop are not the ones changing your oil. Usually it's some guy who barely has a clue, making $8/hr. "Let's see, do I use the 5W-20 on this car or the 5W-30? The 5W-20 hose is closer and it works a lot better...I'll use the 5W-20. Who cares, right?"

BTW, I have a couple of nephews with the same last name as yours. They're from Pittsburgh, PA.
 
Way back in December of 1987, I bought a new '88 Cougar from an auto dealer in Dallas, Tx. One of the perks that help me to sign on the dotted line was that this car had free oil changes for every 3K miles for the life of the car from the same dealership.
After about the 4th or 5th oil change, I noticed a drip under the car. Sure enough, the oil plug was stripped out. I took it back and they drained the oil into a dirty container, put in a new plug and put the oil from the dirty container back in the car.
I drive the car home, changed to oil to put in clean oil and I never went back there, with the exception of a recall fix on the catalytic converter. I made sure that they never did a lube change on that car ever again.
 
I took our Toyota Highlander Hybrid to the Toyota dealer for a quick warranty repair the other day and they went ahead and changed the oil.

They do NOT drain the oil via the pan. They suck it out the dipstick and then change the filter. Why? They can do it quicker, get more oil out (about 5-8oz more they said) and reduce the risk of messing up the drain plug threads in the pan.

Also, they took me back to their bulk oil drums (since I asked what they used) and they had 5w-20, 5w-30 in Valvoline drums.

Have to say they did a good job. Still would not pay their labor rates...

Bill
 
Originally Posted By: lamont cranston
My wife has a 2007 Toyota Sienna with 3.5 v-6. I put in a magnetic oil pan drain plug at the first change, and changed oil 3 times with Toy filter and Pennzoil YellowB 5w-30 every 4000 mi. Almost nothing on the magnet each time I changed oil.

Then I used a free oil change coupon at the dealer. When I changed oil after 4000 miles on the dealers oil, the magnet had a whole bunch of the "silver black goo" on it. I changed that oil with the same Pennz YB 5w-30 I had been using. The other day I changed oil again with Pennz YB, and the magnet had almost nothing on it again.

So I don't think I'll use any more free oil change coupons at the dealer.




Interesting. I have the same engine in my RAV4 and the dealer's oil change boys are notorious to overfill it with oil. Last time when I drained the excess oil (almost a quart) there were metal shavings in NEW oil. There is something funky going on in Toyota dealerships. I'm sure they don't prefill the oil filter with oil, but that is not enough to produce extra wear.

By the way, where did you get the magnetic plug?
 
Originally Posted By: lamont cranston
My wife has a 2007 Toyota Sienna with 3.5 v-6. I put in a magnetic oil pan drain plug at the first change, and changed oil 3 times with Toy filter and Pennzoil YellowB 5w-30 every 4000 mi. Almost nothing on the magnet each time I changed oil.

Then I used a free oil change coupon at the dealer. When I changed oil after 4000 miles on the dealers oil, the magnet had a whole bunch of the "silver black goo" on it. I changed that oil with the same Pennz YB 5w-30 I had been using. The other day I changed oil again with Pennz YB, and the magnet had almost nothing on it again.

So I don't think I'll use any more free oil change coupons at the dealer.




Amen, can someone sticky this thread under the heading Why Not To Use Dealer Oil Changes?! I mean, my first oil change I took my own Drive Clean 5000 bottles and made sure I was present the whole time to ensure integrity in the process. I just had to bite the bullet and be right in the middle of things as opposed to being docile and subordinative. I wish everyone on BITOG would put DIY oil changes once in for all!!
 
IMO, if you are physically able, you should change your own oil. Paying someone between 8-15 dollars to do a job that any idiot with a couple of wrenches can do (and if you go to a dealer or jiffy lube, an idiot will be doing the job, trust me), does not exactly make a lot of sense.

Also, when you pay someone to do an oil change, it's pretty hard to be sure that you are getting the oil or filter that you are paying for, until the job is done.


Dave
 
I get the first 3 oil changes free at the dealership and they extend the warranty to 7 years or 100,000 if they do all the work but I am seriously considering changing my own oil. Previous cars I had hand prints on the roof liner door and area below the steering wheel and stains on the floor by the pedals on different ocdasions at the same dealership even though i raised the roof each time. My thoughts were that if anything happened under warranty they had no excuses. I leased a 97 Mazda 626 and they changed the oil and it was a half inch over on the dipstick and when I questioned it they said it was fine it was only a slight amount over. I might just pass on the extended warranty and free oil changes and have peace of mind knowing it is done right and exactly what is being put into it.
 
thing is, even if you use a dealer to do the servicing they will try to screw you over when the time comes to get out of the warranty responsibility... do might as well do the maintenance yourself or take to a trusted mech for things you can't do.
 
Originally Posted By: crinkles
thing is, even if you use a dealer to do the servicing they will try to screw you over when the time comes to get out of the warranty responsibility... do might as well do the maintenance yourself or take to a trusted mech for things you can't do.



Fact of life.

OE's barely cover the cost of the replacement components, and typically not even half of the mechanic's wage.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Dave, some of us have new cars with warranty to protect.


I have a new car with a warranty to protect and so do many others on this site. Keep good records and receipts for the oil and filters and you will be fine, just follow the manufactures OCI recommendations and stay clear of the dealership. Odds are your car is going to last longer, especially if they are filling it with oil containing metal filings, or the wrong oil like others have posted here.

JMO,
Frank D
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Dave, some of us have new cars with warranty to protect.


I understand that, but even so, the Dealer can't say you didn't properly maintain the car if you had an independent mechanic do the work, and keep the invoices. I'd much rather have an indy do my work than a dealer tech, usually.

(Or, you can do like I do. Buy a box of garage work orders from Wal-Mart, and get a custom stamp made at Staples saying A&B Service, or any other non descript shop name that doesn't identify you as the owner, and make a full invoice out every time you work on your car. I've actually been able to get a labor time refund on a defective part from Advance with one of my invoices
wink.gif




Dave
 
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Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Dave, some of us have new cars with warranty to protect.


Same here but I do my own oil changes so I don't have to worry about warranty work.
56.gif


Oh and a dealership can't deny you warranty because you didn't get your oil changes through them.
 
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Look,boys! Free is Free! Dealer change is one less issue if you have a warranty claim. Take your own torque wrench,your own filter,and/or your own oil,watch them if you want........but Free is Free!! Geez!
 
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I've been doing oil changes on my 06 vibe since new, I haven't been back to the dealership since I drove off the lot. (knock on wood)
 
Free is free, but I'll take a pass on free oil that's filled with metal filings.

I used to just take my vehicles to Iffy Lube for convenience, but I've gone back to doing my own oil changes since coming to this site and reading some of the horror stories.
 
Have had 12 new cars over past 25 years, including couple vetts,turbo trans am[89] maxima etc always my own change , NEVER a issue with the engine...good luck or great maintenance???Mobil 1 for me....
Stay away from the stealerships.......
 
I've done it myself for the last 8 years. My car is still covered under warranty and will be for the next 33,000 miles. They can't deny you a warranty claim because you didn't go through them for the oil changes.

I got a 5,000 and 10,000 oil change coupons but I'm not going to use them. I already changed my factory fill out at 1,800 miles to synthetic and I'm not going to use their oil or have their guys work on it.

If anyone messes my car up, it's going to be me. LOL.
 
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