Toyota used wrong oil filter, how bad is it?

Y

Yota94

Joined
Jun 30, 2022
Messages
17
Dealership changed my oil even though I specifically said I did not want an oil change and to only perform an alignment and wheel balance on my 2022 4Runner. They didn’t even disclose to me that they changed the oil and I discovered it had been done the next day when I checked underneath my 4Runner and saw oil drips. I decided to change the oil myself at the 25k mile mark (750 miles after they changed it) since they stripped several skid plate bolts (the exact reason I do all my oil changes myself and avoid the dealer) and did a poor job across the board. My gut said I should do the oil change again myself to make sure it was done correctly. Turns out I was right when I found that they used the wrong oil filter which is about an inch shorter than the correct OEM filter.
IMG_2297.webp


I’m assuming that since it’s shorter, it was allowing unfiltered oil to flow through the engine for the 750 miles I drove between services. How bad is this and is it likely any damage was done?
 
Yota94 said:
Dealership changed my oil ... I found that they used the wrong oil filter which is about an inch shorter than the correct OEM filter ... I decided to change the oil myself ... (750 miles after they changed it)
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Yota94 said:
.View attachment 249989

I’m assuming that since it’s shorter, it was allowing unfiltered oil to flow through the engine for the 750 miles I drove between services. How bad is this and is it likely any damage was done?
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Since my car uses the same cartridge filter, my awareness of the issue of poor-fitting filters has been heightened. Like you, I believe the shorter filter allowed unfiltered oil to flow through the engine. I've always been concerned about that possibility, even with the correct filter, so I use filters that have better sealing at the ends.

Good that you caught and corrected the problem when you did. Damage, if any, would truly be minimal. In any case, there's little to nothing that you can do about it now.
 
That sucks. Did oil filter housing cap still have the longer center tube used on 4runner sticking out of the filter? You would think the center tube sticking out of the filter would have an obvious clue.
 
Yota94 said:
Turns out I was right when I found that they used the wrong oil filter which is about an inch shorter than the correct OEM filter.
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The ultimate simulation of a filter with major torn media and internal leaks on steroids. Good thing you caught it early.
 
@Yota94 Did you let the dealership know what happened? If so, what was their response?

Good catch regardless. I have SERIOUS auto trust issues given my prior experiences with dealerships and especially dealership oil changes.
 
Two issues really ongoing here:
- poor dealership service experience
- question about engine damage from unfiltered oil

The former is obvious. Make the service manager aware of the issues and make it known you're unlikely to return, as well as you'll give poor ratings for the service in any survey.

The latter isn't really a huge deal. Presuming they used fresh oil, it was probably fairly clean even after 750 miles of use and therefore any particulate circulating in the system was low in quantity from such a short duration. Certainly this isn't ideal; we'd all agree. But the engine isn't likely to grind to a halt, either. Don't sweat it. Move on. You can always do a UOA and see what the results are; I expect it will be indistinguishable from "normal" wear.
 
Indeed. I would have a face to face conversation with the service manager with filter in hand. Not to jump up and down yelling and screaming, but to point out your displeasure with their not abiding by your specific instructions and that they screwed up what they did anyway. If you will be using this dealer at some point in the future for other longer term service, maybe brakes, shocks, etc., you'll want to have a good working relationship. If he offers a free oil change, I would not take it. Ask instead for the dollar value of an oil change in parts or towards a future service.
 
Egg_Head said:
Indeed. I would have a face to face conversation with the service manager with filter in hand. Not to jump up and down yelling and screaming, but to point out your displeasure with their not abiding by your specific instructions and that they screwed up what they did anyway. If you will be using this dealer at some point in the future for other longer term service, maybe brakes, shocks, etc., you'll want to have a good working relationship. If he offers a free oil change, I would not take it. Ask instead for the dollar value of an oil change in parts or towards a future service.
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Good idea here. I would take the value in parts from their parts counter. Legit OEM toyota parts and don't have to gamble with whatever might happen "in the back" next time.
 
I would say in the grand scheme of things, you drove 750 miles on new, unfiltered oil. That actually means nothing as the oil itself would not physically degrade in that amount of use, and would most like hold any contaminants in suspension. On the other hand, it is an infuriating situation and underscores the way that some people work these days. I would commit to changing your own oil, and in the case of all Toyotas, on 5,000 mile intervals. That way, this will never happen again. The other piece of this is that you need to check the condition of the filter housing, the crush washer, and the actual oil used. You know that the job was half-assed, but you may only be looking at one piece of it. Good luck.
 
Egg_Head said:
Indeed. I would have a face to face conversation with the service manager with filter in hand. Not to jump up and down yelling and screaming, but to point out your displeasure with their not abiding by your specific instructions and that they screwed up what they did anyway. If you will be using this dealer at some point in the future for other longer term service, maybe brakes, shocks, etc., you'll want to have a good working relationship. If he offers a free oil change, I would not take it. Ask instead for the dollar value of an oil change in parts or towards a future service.
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Not sure what this accomplishes. You are looking for a dealer shop to changer their approach. Time shows us that dealerships are expensive, and not really in it for those interested in keeping cars a long time. This particular one has not followed instructions and performed work that worsened the car's condition. By serendipity, no lasting damage was done. My main suggestion is to perform oil changes and other basic maintenance at home. Certainly change dealers. Find a manufacturer-specific independent mechanic shop if you can. They are out there, and if you get the guys who work on Toyotas or Hondas, they have seen everything. As far as giving this dealer another chance, or negotiating some kind of coupon, I would say "no," in the interest of not being a slow learner.
 
There's a 15mm (0.60") difference in length of these two filters. This mistake definitely allowed for unfiltered oil. Whether this causes any harm is debatable. I would mention it to the service manager and hopefully have it logged in the vehicle's service record and then I'd move on. There's absolutely nothing that can be done about it now and letting it eat at you won't resolve anything.

Personally I'd not ever darken their doorstep again unless it was for some expensive warranty work that you couldn't get done at another dealership. It takes a pretty dim bulb to install a cartridge filter that's over a half inch too short into a filter housing. I suspect their pay is sub-par and they employ whatever will apply.
 
It looks like the employee grabbed the wrong vehicle, and was not very savvy about cars. Someone got no oil change and paid for it. The lucky one.
Therefore all Toyota dealers in the USA are going to destroy your car.
 
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