maintenance required light is on?

[jbosques]

I just hit 10,000 miles on my camry it was an "executive car" so i got it with 8000 miles. The Maintenance required light is on i suspect it is calling for an oil change. I called the dealer and the sevice guy said it is 10000 mile maintenance check up and want to charge me like 115 bucks. Have you all heard this before and has anyone got it done or is it just a simple oil change and they are trying to screw me. just a bit curious i will probably still get it done but just wondering if this service guy is liying? thanks in advance.

[Mike Gerber]

I agree with doing the oil change but one thing SuperGoop mentioned hit home. At 10,000 miles it certainly is time to rotate the tires, if you haven't already done it. Most tire shops recommend tire rotation at either 6000 or 7500 miles.

Mike

[mancusoproject]

My girlfriend just bought a 2010 camry SE from carmax in late august, and the maintenance light just came on today. My first guess is that it would be an oil change. I would also assume that an oil change is something they would do before they sold her the car. That aside, could a needed tire rotation throw the maint. light? Or what else is there, that would make that light come on??

Any info on this would be great. I've been in the mechanic shop my fair share, but I've also only dealt with Chevy's.

[bandit]

Never got a maintenance light for tire rotation or check ups. Maintenance light only comes on for oil change. If the car is bought used, maybe they did do an oil change but never reset the maintenance.

[Donald E. George]

Did you check to see if the Scheduled Maintenance Guide was with the car? I would never consider purchasing any automobile if it didn't have the maintenance records available.

[mancusoproject]

Thanks for that tip, Donald. I will check that as soon as I get home from work. I never thought of that....

[mancusoproject]

bandit, do you know if there's an easy way to go about resetting the maintenance light??

[arabianobsession]

2010/2011 maintenance light will come on every 5000 miles even when the oil changes are 10,000 miles-reminding you to have service done every 5000 miles (tire rotation/inspection).

Resetting the maintenance light is in your owner's manual, but it's easy. Either Trip A or Odometer (I think Trip A), turn your car off and hold the button in. Turn the key to the on position and watch as your odometer reads "-----". It will blink until all the dashes are gone, then it will show "000000". Now it's reset.

[Paul3637]

Originally Posted by jbosques

I just hit 10,000 miles on my camry it was an "executive car" so i got it with 8000 miles. The Maintenance required light is on i suspect it is calling for an oil change. I called the dealer and the sevice guy said it is 10000 mile maintenance check up and want to charge me like 115 bucks. Have you all heard this before and has anyone got it done or is it just a simple oil change and they are trying to screw me. just a bit curious i will probably still get it done but just wondering if this service guy is liying? thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by arabianobsession

2010/2011 maintenance light will come on every 5000 miles even when the oil changes are 10,000 miles-reminding you to have service done every 5000 miles (tire rotation/inspection).

Resetting the maintenance light is in your owner's manual, but it's easy. Either Trip A or Odometer (I think Trip A), turn your car off and hold the button in. Turn the key to the on position and watch as your odometer reads "-----". It will blink until all the dashes are gone, then it will show "000000". Now it's reset.

*********************************

As usual, arabianobsession is correct. The light comes on evry 5K miles so you take it in and they check all fluid levels, etc. in addition to tire rotation. They probably want you to bring it in 5K intervals since 90+% of car owners never check under the hood and don't own a tire guage (thank goodness for the TPMS light).

But what happenend to two year "free" toyotacare which includes 2 free oil changes. ????
http://www.toyota.com/toyota-care/

I can understand it not being "transferrable" if you didn't buy it from a Toyota dealer, but I assume since it was an exective car (Toyota executive?) and you bought it from a dealer, geez - why wouldn't they throw that in?

I assume you have an I4 which is spec'd for 0W20 synthetic oil. The $115 price they quoted you for an oil change is a complete rip. The Lexus dealer the "ex" and I went to in Kansas City (before my move to Florida) never ever tried a rip off like that. [She ditched her last Lexus for an AWD V6 2011 Highander spec'd for 0W20 10K oil changes .. and her maint req'd light came on at 5K miles and her trip to the dealer was free.]

Call around to other dealers if yours won't do it for free. Click on the link below and look at my 40K service and see what Bob Tyler toyota charged me for a full 0w20 Toyota brand synthetic oil change plus multi point inspection in a 2GR-FE V6 that takes 6 quarts .... $62.05. OK, now back off the charge for the 6th quart and it's more like $55 for a 4 banger. Add about $20 for tire rotation and you should get out of the dealer for about $75 plus tax and a few bucks for "shop fees."

http://s586.photobucket.com/albums/s...40KMaintp1.jpg

[note: The V6 spec'd for 5W30 ..... which is what I watched them pour in from the plastic bottles .... but the service writer just hit the wrong key on the computer.]

Joe Myers Toyota there in Houson offers a Mobil 1 Synthetic oil change for $59.99.

http://joemyerstoyota.com/Schedule-An-Appointment/

Genuine Toyota oil has better specs if you care, but Mobil 1 0W20 meets your warranty requirement.


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2387368

[arabianobsession]

Cars sold before January 1st do not have transferable Toyota Care, Cars sold after January 1st do have it transferable. (I'm talking used cars, not new). That might be the silver lining.

Also, you can get a 5 qt. jug of 0w-20 Mobil 1 at Walmart for $25. That's more than you will need for the 4 cyl. Take that into your dealer and they shouldn't charge more than $15 for labor on it. That's $40. Add $20 for tire rotation-you've got $60 and some pennies.

Just another option.