5,000 Mile Service - Almost A Disaster

That was bad. Do you mind telling us the dealer so none of us go there for service? Thanks

 

That's the 1st I've heard about BAD oil service thru a Toyota Service Dept...

I would go directly to the service manager and complain.

I've heard many of the same stories from folks that go to QUICK oil change shops. Typical results: Oil puddles, wrong oil weight, oil filters leaking at seal. You would think that servicing oil is a no-brainer...there is no excuse.

There are only 4 things to re-check...oil filler cap (hand tighten), Oil filter (Hand tighten), and oil pan bolt/seal (tighten with wrench) and of course the oil level via the dip stick (wipe and measure when vechicle is level).

 

Unfortunately, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I change my own oil and I use synthetic oil and Fram oil filters. I have had problems with Dealers with many cars in my life and I just can't take the stupidity and lack of training anymore. I know of a great private garage not far from my house but only the Dealership can do the warranty and recall work so I do the rest myself. I find it to be a bonding experience with my car ( I think I need to go see somebody about this )...........

 

At 5000 I used Valvoline for the first time in my life.. They did a very good job and certainly seemed to know what they were doing. The guy even came around and showed me the dipstick after they filled it, so I could confirm the level.

No puddles afterwards.

Oil weight is written right on the freakin' oil cap, so I can't imagine how anyone could screw THAT up!

 

Don't use the FRAMs, they don't have the check valve that stores oil in the filter like the genuine Toyota filter has. This leaves the engine starved of oil a little longer at startup, which is VERY OFTEN on a Prius.

Your local Toyota Parts dept. should have a cut away of a Toyota filter vs. a Fram. While you are there, buy some genuine Toyota oil filters.

Nate

 

Regarding FRAM Oil filters. Specifically the Fram Toughguard line does have a diaphram and also the highest rating of all the fram filters in terms of particulate size it removes. Have used them for years on a Toyota Pickup, (the std. small pickup not the big Tundra line) now at 150k miles and my Honda CRX at 200k mile. Neither is yet burning oil.

(High milage vehicles is how my wife twisted my arm into getting our '04 Prius.)

Jon

 

Over the twenty five years I was a dealer I can recall this happening two times. I gave free oil changes in all the dealerships so you can imagine the volume. Both times it was with a new employee. I had the drive way and garage sandblasted to clean it up. Talk to the service manager at that Toyota store and find out what happened. If you get bad vibes don't return. In regard to changing your own oil I do not suggest it. Lots of bad stuff in that oil for both you and the environment.

 

Hmm. I don't know that I would agree with that. In my case, the little town I live in has curbside oil recycling, and I try not to actually ingest the old oil ukeright:, so both the environment and I are both safe. And crawling around under my car is both a good way for someone as mechanically inexperienced as I am to become a little more familiar with it, and can be therpeutic. Plus, I get to buy shop manuals and torque wrenches and all sorts of cool stuff. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

 

I'll chalk this one up to dealer bias to get people in the service department. I've changed the oil on all of my vehicles. My Prius is the first one I've decided to leave to the dealership to service. I've also done all kinds of minor repair work on my vehcles. I'm still quite healthy, and no environmental carnage has resulted from my work.

 

This is scary. Is there a directory where we can check up on our dealers to find out who's competent and who's just taking our money and screwing up our cars? I'm not set up to do my own oil changes and hadn't planned on doing that in any case. For 25-29k we should at least get reliable service.
I'll bet a dealer who screws up a few Prii (or any other car) and causes Toyota to have to fork out big bucks on engine replacement, won't be selling many Toyotas after that....assuming, of course, that Toyota watches its dealers like they do their assembly lines.
Dianne? What's your take on this?

 

:mrgreen: My suggestion is that you change your own oil to avoid having some pimple faced tard working on your car. Personally I have met some of the mechanics at my dealer and they seem to be on the ball but when it comes to oil, air filter and other things that I can do myself, I always will so that I know for a fact that Mobil 1 is in my ride.

 

Visit the "Mechan-X Files" section of the Car Talk site for user recommendations: http://www.cars.com/carsapp/national/?srv=...iser_index.tmpl

The majority of these appear to be independents but dealers are listed also.

 

Except for that small issue of turning into a wolf every 28 days ;-)

 

i will not name the dealer, because the gm apologized profusely, and vowed to never let that happen again, but every oil change my 04 has had has been screwed up..... all were overfilled, 2 were the wrong weight. in every instance, this occured "after" i specified what i wanted (done to specs). in each case the apologized, and took it back to make it better (at least on paper). i have been to 3 different dealers in the dc metro area, all were the same. on my last visit (10,000 miles), the put the proper oil in at the proper level and all seemed fine. the nect day, with cold tires, i double checked the tire pressure, and all 4 wheels had different pressures (and not just a little different), both passenger side valve stem caps were missing. that is when the gm (by phone) made her pledge to me. i have since purchasded, stubby chrome valve caps, so they can't forget them without me knowing.

as i have noticed, in each case, it was the toyota express lube guys, who fouled up, the real "prius service techs" are usually to busy to be doing the non prius-specialized maintenance tasks.

that ws reassuring, so i double check everything and read the invoice twice, before i leave, and i always pay wit a credit card

sid

 

ALWAYS check the oil level before you start your car after getting an oil change! The engine you save may be your own. Make sure your car is level when you check the oil.

After my 5000-mile Prius service, the oil level was perfect, but the tire pressures had not been adjusted after the rotation, so the back tries were 2PSI higher than the fronts, which is not great. I adjusted the pressure before I drove away. I prefer 40/38 for a smooth, yet fuel-efficient ride.