Voiding Warranty by Changing the Oil Yourself?

Horse Pooey!

You can change your own oil, just keep receipts showing you bought oil and fill in the Passport data when you change the oil, showing the milage. There is a Camry Hybrid site associated with this one, as well as a Camry forum, but they are all HSD vehicles, so welcome!

I don't know about the Camry, but the Prius maintenance is mostly just oil changes and inspections, nothing you can't do yourself. Rotating your tires regularly is good, though a little hard to do yourself.

If you are interested in an extended warranty, you have 36 months/36K miles to decide, and you can buy it here at a substantial discount. It's a genuine Toyota service contract, directly from Toyota.

Welcome to Prius/Camry/HighlanderChat...

 

<div align="left"> I agree with Bill.

This guy was either trying to sell you junk you didn't need or was woefully misinformed.

First thing I would do is pay a visit to the service department and ask them if your changing your own oil will void of otherwise impact your warranty. If they say "yes", find ANOTHER place to have your service performed (and be sure to mention it on the Customer Survey Card from Toyota). If they say that all you need are receipts, etc, just speak with Sales/General Manager about the BS.

As far as your warranrty: It will not void your entire warranty (even if you really botched the job). It could void that part of the warranty relating to the engine. And they would have to prove that it was something you did.

So, if you add lowering springs to your car and then your electrical system goes out, they can't void your engine or electrical system warranty. They could, though void areas dealing with suspension, claiming that the modifications impacted the suspension.

Another thing -- check any make sure you're using the right grade of oil. My 07 Camry Hybrid uses 0-20 or 5-20 oil. (I think that is the correct weighting. I know it uses 0 or 20-something.) I believe most 07's will be using the same weight.

As far as Hybrid forums that Bill mentioned, I also haunt the GreenHybrid http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/forumdisplay.php?f=49 Camry Hybrid forum.
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That's a good method to convince new buyer to stay with the dealer service center.

If I get the same comment from my dealer, I will try to convince them that I will evaluated based on that BS speech. :lol:

 

Changing your own oil, keeping excellent records, including receipts can be superior to allowing a dealer to change oil. Too often, even with a certified Prius mechanic on staff, dealer service centers tend to overfill oil, not change the filter - actions that could lead to voiding the warranty.

In one case, where I brought the vehicle to the dealer in response to a recall fix, the Toyota service manager told me, "We changed the oil because we couldn't tell how long ago the oil had been changed." The oil change was indicated on the service invoice at no charge. I had just changed the oil prior to going to the dealer and a printout of the service record was on the front passenger seat, the "maintenance needed" light was not indicated on the front panel.

Upon inspection it was clear the oil had NOT been changed (same non-Toyota filter, old-looking oil). This was disturbing because this particular dealer (Michael Toyota) was obviously "padding the book" to receive credit for work not done. I wrote a letter to Toyota corporate detailing the nonwork. Other Toyota dealers (Bingham) have been exemplary.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(khanh007 @ Mar 12 2007, 11:42 PM) [snapback]404722[/snapback]</div>

I have heard this for 30 years - doesn't matter the make or model of car. It was BS then, and it is BS now.

NOTHING YOU DO CAN VOID YOUR WARRANTY UNLESS YOU BREAK SOMETHING THAT YOU THEN WANT FIXED. And then only that one aspect may not be covered. Nothing "Voids the warrant" as a universal thing.

Whew. Do you know who changes your oil at the dealership? It ain't one of the highly-trained mechanics! This and tire rotation are usually (I'm sure it isn't universal, but I'm confident in "usually") performed by the lowliest of flunkies on staff.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(khanh007 @ Mar 14 2007, 02:11 PM) [snapback]405674[/snapback]</div>

You mentioned in your first post about the dealer doing a "resetting." While it is true they do a reset, it's something you can do after you change the oil. That is, reset the "Maintenance Required" reminder that kicks in about 4500 miles after the last reset. It's easy to do and I think the instructions are in your manual.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Mar 14 2007, 03:23 PM) [snapback]405681[/snapback]</div>

Yep. That begins on page 122 of the '05 manual. Oh. See he doesn't have a Prius, so I wouldn't know if his manual would have the information. However, for the Prius it's in the section on "Operation of Instruments and Controls". Maybe they have a similar layout for the Camry.

Dave M.