I see in the 'WARRANTY & MAINTENANCE GUIDE' that the oil change interval is 5K / 6 months. I also received a 'TOYOTA Maintenance Guide' from Toy of Lompoc, where I bought the car, and in that glossy cover booklet it says the interval is 5K / 4 months. I'm a relatively low mileage driver so will most likely run out of time before miles. I think I remember reading somewhere that the dealer may impose maintenance requirements which exceed the factory requirements. Does this mean that if I wait for six months, rather than four months, I will not be in compliance with the warrantee requirements? Anyone know for sure? tnx, radio
Is the "Toyota Maintenance Guide" dealer specific? If so, follow the manufacturer's recommendations and go w/ the 6 month intervals.
Does one really face 'out of compliance', warranty breaking consequences by not doing the 6 mos. service - if still under 5k? Seems to me that a rig just sitting around should not have any wear n tear happening.
The warranty booklet says the following: Toyota recommends obtaining scheduled maintenance for your vehicle every 5,000 miles or six months, whichever comes first. And: However, damage or failures caused by lack of proper maintenance are not covered under warranty. So if you have an engine failure and didn't follow their service recommendations, you're not going to be in a good position.
I used to arbitrate this sort of case. Under the NY lemon law and also private agreements with the BBB (who I arbitrated for), disputes involving failure to perform under warranty were very frequent. I would buy back a vehicle (well force the manufacturer to) if the customer was "reasonable" in following mantenance. Toyota "recommends" 6 months/5,000 miles. I had a case where a guy claimed his Buick (I think) was a lemon because the engine died at 15,000 miles. We asked for proof of mantenance. He had none. The next step was to have an independent shop open up the engine and see what caused the damage. In this case, it was clear the oil was never changed, or topped off. If you use the suggested 0W 20 synthetic oil, there is very little chance that you will damage the engine at 12,000 mile oil changes. However, since the suggestion is 5,000, that is the smartest thing to do. In my experience, car manufacturers are usually pretty reasonable about maintenance that is close to what they suggest.
