Dealer Maintenance-- AAAARRRRGGGHH!

[CorollaS2011]

Ok, I have to rant a bit.
I guess my powers of verbal communication must be very, very low.
I need to enroll in some type of special ed class to learn how to convey simple messages to people... or so it would seem..

I call our Toyota dealer and ask for an appointment for .. get this.. AN OIL CHANGE!

I show up at the service department and discuss and ask for an OIL CHANGE!

I confirm with the gal taking the order that they would be using synthetic oil on my car during the OIL CHANGE!

My car has just hit 5000 miles and I want the OIL CHANGED.

I sit in the waiting room on the other side of the wall from the service desk for close to an hour. I know they are going to do the regular stuff at 5,000 miles... tire rotation, etc.

I get my car back and sign for the work. I ask what I owe them for the OIL CHANGE I asked for (I know they won't do it for free before the 10,000 mile scheduled maintenance and I'm ok with that).

I am told they did not do the OIL CHANGE because I'm not at 10,000 miles yet!!!! AAARRGGGHHH!! I tell them I'm ok with paying for it, I want it done. I never follow the manufacturer's schedule and want it done early at 5,000 miles... I'm happy to pay, I want to pay I just want an OIL CHANGE like I asked for and confirmed with the service writer!

If they had any problem, I never left the dealership I was within 10 feet of them most of the time. They could have come over and told me they weren't doing it and I could have reconfirmed and wouldn't have minded. No, they just did their thing and ignored the customer's request. They have a new group running their maintenance dept from what I have been told. I want the old guys back!

I won't go into the fact that I checked my lug nut torque on my wheels and instead of 76 ft/lbs that the factory insists on, they were about 140+. I had to run my torque wrench up to 150 lbs. just to move them! I sure hope there isn't any damage to the aluminum wheels from being this tight!

They are going to do a free OIL CHANGE for me on Friday. I am considering having a dealer in a neighboring town do my maintenance if I have any more issues like this. Thanks for listening and my apologies for going over the edge. Just really frustrating...

[SuperchargedMR2]

So they couldn't come confirm with you, crazy crap. Another reason that I do my own oil changes. I changed my own oil on my Prius at 5k miles because the dealers said it wasn't required. The master tech agreed with me though about changing it every 5k miles even though Toyota says every 10k miles.

I just got an email from my dealer that I'm due for my 30k mile check up. I call & asked what they did.

1. Oil change.....do myself every 5k miles
2. Gear Oil change......already did at 25k miles
3. Rotate tires.....do myself
4. Check tire pressure.....do all the time
5. Check fluids....Easily checked

All for $134. Well I guess that I'll go out for dinner after saving myself $134.

[pmesfun]

Yeah, I do all the maintenance on our cars if possible. Both Toyotas have never been to the Toyota dealers in our area for service, they're sketchy as hell. I also hear the way the techs talk when I need go to get parts, no way in hell are they touching our cars.

[Skipandrun]

You can find everywhere on website the how-to do oil change on our cars. Or video like this:

You Tube

You Tube

[Zembonez]

I hate to hear this. Some dealers hire uninformed baboons and simply tell them to upsell everything.

Luckily many dealers are actually good places to go. Sounds like you might want to look at another one.

[Shft99]

Im gonna start doing my own oil changes when it's due next. Does that rubber o-ring come with a new paper filter? Does it really need to be replaced?

[cabur]

Originally Posted by Shft99

Im gonna start doing my own oil changes when it's due next. Does that rubber o-ring come with a new paper filter? Does it really need to be replaced?

It's all in one box. Filter, O ring and instruction. 0 ring is already there, might as well use it.

[diablo2184]

Im with y'all, I do all my maintenance myself. never trust the dealer unless its warranty work.

[tpence2177]

Dad's always changes his on his 2009, but since mine came with the 2 year free maintenance i'm going to let them change it as long as they are doing a good job. I go to church with one of the mechanics at my dealer so i'm sure they will treat it ok. I do agree with the OP that 10000 miles is way to long for the first oil change. mine has 1500 miles and i'm thinking about getting it changed already. Definitely going to get it changed at 5000 at the very most for the first change though. Dad changed his at 500 and if mine didn't have synthetic in there i would have too.

[nitronate33]

some things are really worth learning how to do and not worth taking to a dealer. i can do an oil change in 30 minutes and plug a tire in 20 minutes. it takes me that long just to drive to the dealer and back.

[EWyatt]

I understand CorollaS2011's situation, more and more every week. Customer service is going to Hell in this country because there are illiterates everywhere -- not enough school funding, right? Wrong.

Anyway, off my soapbox for now.... I plan on going the full 10K miles prior to oil change, since that's what Toyota recommends. Changing more often seems like a waste of money, esp if the oil "looks" relatively clean, and it should in a new engine.

[cabur]

Originally Posted by EWyatt

I .... I plan on going the full 10K miles prior to oil change, since that's what Toyota recommends. Changing more often seems like a waste of money, esp if the oil "looks" relatively clean, and it should in a new engine.

I am old school. 10K miles seems a bit too much for my confidence in the 4.3 lits that's in the engine, I replace mine at 8K Km. about 5K miles. Strictly my own preference and peace of mind.

[Lissette]

Hmm.. gotta learn to change my own oil!

[CorollaS2011]

Thanks for the moral support guys. I do know how to change oil and have done so on every car I have ever owned. I am doing it at the dealer as they gave me the free maintenance for the first 20,000 miles or two years. All I would pay is for the oil changes at 5,000 and 15,000. I was ok with that but I am starting to really wonder if I can trust them with the car if simple verbal requests are not understood or followed. Tomorrow AM they owe me a free oil change. The least problem with this encounter and I am taking over the maintenance of the car for the rest of it's life.

News flash!!!!
I just found out from a neighbor that only one of their mechanics there are actually
fully Toyota certified... I am really starting to worry and may just back out of the oil change and keep my baby home in the garage and do it myself. I can't believe a dealer with the supposedly great reputation that this one has locally has only one fully certified Toyota tech in the whole place! I am not going to sleep well tonight. I'll report back in tomorrow. Again, many thanks to all who replied. I needed a place to vent and my new friends on here came to the rescue. You all are the greatest! God bless!

[SuperchargedMR2]

Originally Posted by cabur

I am old school. 10K miles seems a bit too much for my confidence in the 4.3 lits that's in the engine, I replace mine at 8K Km. about 5K miles. Strictly my own preference and peace of mind.

+1 The job of the oil is to pick up contaminates so draining it out helps get rid of small particles that could damage & wear out an engine early. While it won't affect it in the warranty period, it could lead to fewer miles down the road for those of us that want to keep the cars long term.