Had 5K services and Oil Change (Some Drama)

That, and recalls. And that's about it...

 

All the above is a sad testimony of dealerships. I do all I can on my own for this reason.I feel for those who can't.

 

One of the last services I had the Pros do was an 06 Civic Hybrid brake fluid change. They lost the bleed caps, for starters. But much more insidiously:

I wasn't that familiar with the car, so really didn't catch on at first, but started noticing weird stuff. For example, decide to stop on a yellow light, and end up over the crosswalk, with the anti-lock braking going off like crazy, and the car doing an odd left-right rocking motion as it came to a stop.

Eventually what shook out: they had managed to leave one rear corner completely disabled. I finally confirmed by jacking up the back end and having my wife push the brake pedal while I tried to spin the wheels: one side was completely not braking.

Took it back, raised shit, they did it again and this time test drove.

These are the same guys, years back, I'd discovered a cracked front brake rotor: booked an appointment with that specific "customer complaint", brought it in, and an hour later got a call back: "Your car's ready, there was no problems, false alarm". I went ballistic that time too, contacted the service manager via email. He phoned me back an hour later, with the (cracked) rotor on his desk, apologized for his minions...

@Danny An old bug seems to be back: trying to post to a thread: it stalls, finally gives up. A second try, it usually works ok.

 

How many young men these days, do you hear say... "Wow, I'd really like to become an auto mechanic!" I really think it's becoming a dying breed. Many of the dealers and private shops I've been to, are staffed by foreigners and immigrants with minimal questionable skills. (Not to mention a language barrier.)

Have you ever seen those websites, or blogs, "The Secrets of an Auto Mechanic?" Most of those guys absolutely hate their jobs, and all complain about being treated very badly by the dealerships. Lots of them jump from dealer to dealer... ie: going from VW to Toyota; Chevy to Mercedes, etc, with very little (or no) knowledge or training on the new cars they will be working on.

Some dealer websites post the hiring requirements for new mechanic applicants. Unbelievable how little experience is required to get a job. The lowest-paid, least experienced guy is the oil change dude. "Did you have one semester of basic Auto Shop in High School? You're hired!" (For about $12 bucks an hour.) And the position for "Assistant Body Shop Technician" was a trainee job, with very little auto experience necessary! (They will supposedly teach you how to sand fenders.)

I think the dealer mechanics only have to take some kind of internet course once a year, to keep up their "certification?" But at private shops, who knows... anything goes.

I sure wish I could find an honest, reliable, independent hybrid shop. The thought of taking my Prius to a dealer service dept, makes me very uncomfortable.

I was reading reviews on Yelp for the dealers in my area. Owners reporting their experiences with the "Free 2 Year/25,000 Mile Service." A few mentioned that the tire rotation had not been done, and one guy found out that the mechanic did not even change his oil! Or filter.

I've been very skeptical about the "Free" service from the very beginning. If the dealers are not being reimbursed from Toyota, (don't know if they are or aren't) then I'm sure we can expect more shoddy dishonest service.

 

Even worse than unchanged oil filter: they can take the old one out and neglect to put in a new one, just replace the cap. It's happened. That's an inherent weak spot to the design.

 

But...but...they're NOT "mechanics", they're "technicians"...

 

Yep. Another example of the lowest-paid, least experienced "technician" in the service dept. It's a dirty, hot, boring job and I would think the turn-over is high.

(And at one dealership I visit, that same guy is the person who does the "Free 105 Point Inspection." )

I really feel sorry for the elderly, the naive, and some women that get ripped-off by shady, dishonest, lying service writers! (Maybe we should start a new thread: "Horror stories from your Toyota service dept.")

 

Everybody's a technician it seems; it's become the new, ubiquitious, and meaningless, job description.

 

Agreed! I never rotated every 5,000 in the past... more like every 4 years! And my tires always wore just fine. No problems at all. I will go in for the oil change, only. And tell them: Don't friggin' touch anything else!

Another thing I hate, is when the service writer (and tire shops, too) always try and hard sell you on getting an alignment. Even when I purchased NEW tires, I never got an alignment; unless of course there was a problem PRIOR to me buying tires. In my 43 years of driving, I believe there was only one time I actually needed a real alignment. And it was just a minor one. NONE of my cars ever had tire problems, wear problems, or serious alignment problems.

What is it... about the auto repair industry, that causes so many people to become so damn crooked?!? Most dealer service writers work on a commission, or bonus for how much they "sell?"

Forgot to mention, the dealer where I bought my Prius, gives you "Free Oil Changes For Life", and "Free Tires For "Life." But if you happen to go to any other dealer, for any reason, the whole thing is void. And if you don't agree to the "$99 Throttle-Body Cleaning", or the $200 Alignment they keep pushing... everything is void. And if you don't come in every 5K, exactly at 5K, it's all void.

I can see it now... the cheap crappy tires they would put on, for "free." You don't get a choice.

 

To be fair........on my 2005 Prius I did have an alignment done and it was like driving a new car! I could not believe the difference from before and after. I was amazed! Here in N.J. the roads can get pretty "beat up" after a bad winter with "pot holes."

What is it... about the auto repair industry, that causes so many people to become so damn crooked?!? Most dealer service writers work on a commission, or bonus for how much they "sell?"

Lots of industries are "commission oriented." Ever go to your dentist, doctor, stockbroker, insurance agent, realtor, lawyer, mortgage broker, etc, etc. One has to be cognizant of "Buyer Beware."

I once did my servicing at another Toyota dealer on my 2005 and they claimed I needed a "brake job" for $400 if I recall correctly. I politely declined. When I went to another Toyota dealer after that to do a synthetic oil change after having driven 10,000 miles they never mentioned I needed a brake job. I drove my 2005 another 50,000 miles no problems with the brakes.

I think there are reputable dealers out there, one just has to find them. With social media being so prevalent, a good dealer does not want to risk their reputation on line. I read reviews, I am also sure most people on this site do as well.

I do rotate my tires every 7,500 miles. I do not go to Toyota to do this, I use an independent tire store. I always make sure to "tip" the attendant so they know me.

 

I don't have an issue with rotating the tires every 5000 miles. It's likely that the fronts will wear faster than the rears so why not equalize wear so all 4 need replacement at the same time? More convenient.

Same for alignments. I go to an independent tire place and they put it on their computer alignment setup, generate a report (which they give to me) and align it only if alignment is needed. Hitting curbs, potholes, etc can throw alignment out, and bad alignment can affect both how the car feels and fuel economy (especially if the toe is wrong).

Oil changes worry me more. My dealership has glass windows along one wall of the shop area so you can watch the techs at work. Normally oil changes at dealerships are done by pumping oil from a central supply. Most Toyotas take 5W-30 I think, whereas the Prius calls for 0W-20. I wonder if they have a dual supply source, or if they just pump 5W-30 into the Prii? I did notice a small drop in MPG when I had my first oil change. So now I bring along 5 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-20, watch them change the filter and pour in the Mobil 1, and ask for the leftover 1/2 quart to carry in the car, in the (unlikely) event that I need to add oil.

Yes I pay for the Mobil 1, but doing it this way gives me peace of mind.

What has always irritated me about dealers is that they have their own version of the major services, usually involving more work and expense than called for in the manual. When I tell them I want exactly what is printed in the manual, they profess utter ignorance of what is in the manual of the cars they sell! Sometimes I photocopy the relevant page to help them. In a way, it's one litmus test of how customer-friendly a dealer's service department is!

 

Hmm, yeah, I'm only just noticing that my trusty old Gen1 was the last one to have cross rotation recommended in the owner's manual:

Gen 1:


Gen 2:


Gen 3:

(I like the way the Gen 3 picture makes sure you know which way is the front.)

Gen 4:


Puzzling. I guess JimboPalmer's explanation in this other post was that Toyota recommends same-side rotation if any of the tires that could possibly be sold on the car are directional (whether or not the ones originally equipped on your car are). Guess that makes sense....

-Chap

 

Reply to JohnF:

Good post, John. In the past, with my 2 Camrys, I always brought Mobil-1 oil with me. I think I will do the same with my Prius for the 10K oil change. The dealer usually knocks $15 off the price when I bring my own oil. (But I can't see the mechanics working on the car. Just gotta trust them I guess.)

And as for the tires, I can get a simple rotation at a private shop I frequent... and they use a torque wrench on the lugs. I want to avoid the dealer service depts as much as possible.

 

I used to think the dealer may be using 5W-30 oil sometimes, but when I did my own interim oil change between services with my previous Prius(+) using the correct 0W-20 oil, I noticed a small drop in mpg, so I think it's normal with new oil.

 

I took mine for 5K service, I intentionaly set all tires max 44 psi, mark front and rear tires to check if they really rotate my tires, service advisor said, no oil change ti'll 10k miles ( i thought its 5k?) all fluids will be check and top off if needed, tires will be rotated and check air pressure. I waited 45mins car was done, so immediately check service invoice for what was done, tire was rotated for sure but tire pressure was adjusted wrong, they set 35 psi front / 33 rear ? hello? i have an Eco model....and worst to my surprise i check tire pressure myself before i left the dealer and it was still 44 psi ? fraud and dishonest!!! not going back with this dealer from now on.

 

Normally the dealer will set the tire pressures at the door jamb values for liability purposes, but since you checked yours and found them to be at your original (44 psig) set points, I would definitely go back to complain, although it may be too late to get any satisfaction. Is there any way for you to determine if they even rotated the tires? And yes, I would not go back to this dealer, and would even go on Yelp to lodge a complaint.

 

Did you go back and tell them to make it right? I have before when they didn't set my tp to what I asked for!

 

oil changes have been 10k since 2010 gen 3 model with synthetic oil.