15k Service

S

shoe11

New member
All,

My 2006 Sport 4x4 is due for it's 15k service. Called dealer service and left a message to request an appt for late afternoon this week to have it done. I received a voice mail back indicating that they would need the vehicle no later than 9am in order to perform the service which surprised me. Is the 15k service a major one? I'd appreciate any feedback on what exactly that 15k service involves. Rather surprised to hear that they will need the vehicle for such an extended period of time on what to me is still basically a new vehicle. As this is my first Toyota, maybe this is routine, but it just doesn't seem right to me.

Have to say that I'm not sure I'll purchase another Toyota. While I completely love the vehicle, the service support has been poor. I mean the maintenance gets done with no problems, but I'm having alot more hassles scheduling appts/getting the work done than I've ever had coming from Acura vehicles.

~Shoe
 
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No, 15K is not a major service according to the book. It's just oil, filter, tire rotation, lube, and a lot of inspections.

But you should never, ever call a dealer and just ask for the "x-mile service". Each dealer makes up their own service schedule, and by asking for something vague, you're giving them a prime opportunity to sell you things you don't need. I'm surprised you never ran into that with Acura, as Lexus dealers are notorious for this. You must have had a good Acura dealer!

Look at your maintenance guide and talk to the service rep about getting the specific items you need done and get a price quote.
 
Well what threw me off is that at 15k I was expecting just the usual oil, filter, lube, rotate the tires, etc so given that they are open until 9pm I figured dropping the car off around 4pm would be plenty of time to get it done. So I was quite surprised when they called me back to say that I'd have to drop it off no later than 9am. Plan to call them today to get the full details. Just doesn't sound right.

As for my Acura comment, let's just say that the level of service I received for my Acuras has been much better than that which I've received for my Toyota. I have no gripes with the Toyota service folks on the work that they do, but the level of hassle to get things done with them is quite a bit more. I feel like I have a quality Japanese vehicle yet sub-par American customer service. Didn't feel that way with my Acuras. I was worried before I bought the 4R that my service support wouldn't be as high as with Acura, but really liked the 4R so much that I had to get it. Sadly now I'm noticing the lower service level I feared.
 
I will agree that the luxury brands put more effort into customer service, but I'd also say that the price is proportionally higher.

Lexus dealers have "service consultants" with offices, generally same-day service, free car wash, leather furniture, buffets, free rental cars even for just a couple of hours, and one near me even has televisions by the urinals. I can say nothing bad about Lexus service... they always bent over backwards to make sure I was happy.

However, they get that money back - that fancy service comes with a price. $99 is going rate at Lexus for oil, filter, and tire rotation. Minor service intervals are $200-$300, and a slightly more interesting service (like 30K) can be over $500.

As you might imagine, one of the reasons I went back to Toyota from Lexus is the cost of the service. A Toyota dealer can do the same things on a Toyota with the same powertrain for half those prices. Sure, the Toyota dealer is not as plush, and I also agree that the level of service is quite different, but I'm willing to deal with it to pay reasonable prices for service on an equally-nice vehicle (that was also less expensive initially).
 
Yeah I would agree with you on prices. I definitely paid more for Acura service than I have for my 4R service so far. Not a great deal more, but some. The Toyota services have actually surprised me by being so cheap. I'm far from needing the plushness of TV's in the bathroom, but when the Toyota service rep says he can't do the 15k service on my 4R later than 9am in the morning that just doesn't seem right. At 30k I could understand, but not 15k. Again maybe I'm just missing something as I'm used to the Acura minor/major service routines, but needing a fairly new 4R not later than 9am for 15k service doesn't make sense. The inconvenience of not having the vehicle for a whole day doesn't add up to the relatively minor service that needs to be performed on it.
 
shoe11 said:
Well what threw me off is that at 15k I was expecting just the usual oil, filter, lube, rotate the tires, etc so given that they are open until 9pm I figured dropping the car off around 4pm would be plenty of time to get it done. So I was quite surprised when they called me back to say that I'd have to drop it off no later than 9am. Plan to call them today to get the full details. Just doesn't sound right.
Click to expand...

Interesting situation. One night a week my Toyota Dealer's service dept is open until 9pm. I scheduled an appointment for an oil change, tire rotation type service (5 or 10K) at 6pm and let them know I would wait for it. I arrived just before 6pm and found out there were maybe 10-12 other people there for service also. My 4Runner was done in about an hour and 20 minutes. While I waited I got some work done on my laptop PC.

Not sure why your dealer told you to drop off at 9am.
Are you sure that the service dept was really open that night until 9pm and not just the sales dept? If service was really open until 4:30-5:00pm I can see why they would not want cars dropped off at 4pm.

Are there any other Toyota dealers in your area that you might try for service?
 
The service department is open at my dealer from 7:30am to 6pm every weekday. From 6:30pm to 9pm it's after dinner oil change service. Before 6pm they require an appointment, afterwards it's first come, first serve. Now the last time I called for the 10k service and asked for a 4:30pm appt, I was told just "come on in" and of course when I got there I was told I needed an appt, BUT they happened to be slow and could fit me in. So this time around with the 15k service, I contacted the exact service rep who told me I needed an appt for the 10k service and requested an appt again at 4:30pm. This time he's now telling me that they only do larger jobs at the end of the day and thus if I desire to wait for the vehicle I must bring it in by 9am. So it's an illusion that you can schedule regular service appts at the end of the day apparently even though I was able to get the 10k done in the afternoon as well as the 5k before 6pm. Even though I understand the 15k to be fairly routine maintenance, perhaps to them more time is needed. At the least I could have been offered say 2pm or 3pm.

Anyway love the vehicle, and have no complaints with the work the service department actually does, but the runaround/restrictions of getting the work scheduled is sub-par customer service. Never had a single problem with Acura or Honda for that matter when scheduling service. With them I could get basic routine service done at any time they were available and if not at the time I wanted they always offered a time that was workable for me.

At the very least I doubt I'll purchase from this dealer again and may consider going to another dealer for service for this one.
 
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Well this is my 3rd Toyota (just got my 4Runner 3-4 days ago). While the service has never been standout, I've really had no complaints either. I like the product Toyota provides and if I have an issue with a particular dealer, I would not exclude myself from buying Toyota again, only from that particular dealer.

As far as Acura and Honda, my wife is on her 2nd Honda (with a Toyota in-between). I can tell you that she would be driving a Toyota again, instead of that Honda, if I would have known in advance of the utter lack of customer service that Honda was going to provide around that vehicle. It is the worst car-based experience that I, personally, have ever had. I even have a "formal" (whatever that means and for whatever good it will do) complaint open with American Honda. All this from one of Honda's President's Award winning dealerships.

Therefore, in my book, Toyota customer service is superior to Honda's.
 
It really torques me when you look in your maintenance schedule in the owner's manual and compare it to what any given dealer tells you what "really needs to be done" at each service interval. All you need to do is what is in the manual. Of course, it never hurts to do more, but it generally jsut a huge profit center for the dealer to have them do what they want to do. I follow the manual. If it is what Toyota (or any manufacturer says) that is what I do. I hate dealers / stealers!
 
I just got an oil change for my 15K mile service. I put on a lot of miles and spent the big bucks for the 30K service.

I'll be doing the 60K in pieces. Having the dealer flush the Tranny, I'll do the diffs, coolant and a few others.
 
Just to add some food for thought to this discussion, if Toyota provides us all warranties and tells us what services are recommended, why would you do anything more? Dealers always are recommending changing a bunch of fluids that the owners manual does not say to change for quite a while. I have always operated under the assumption that if I follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual, then I should not ever have a problem with a warranty claim. Never tested my theory and hope I never need to.
 
Unfortunately, for customers, the economic facts of life for a dealer is that 50% of the profit comes from Parts and Service.
New vehicles sales account for 25% and used vehicle sales the last 25%.
That generally means that dealers focus on upselling services (which usually increases parts sales as well).

Most of the service techs and service writers that I know that work at dealerships tell me the same story.
They are constantly being told to increase their profitability by upselling customers on services.

Personally, I follow the maintenance schedule from the manufacturer.
When it comes to my 4Runner I simply print out the manufacturer maintenance schedule, give it to my service writer
and tell him that is what I want done AND ONLY THAT.
So far, they have been doing what they have been told and I am a satisfied customer.
 
Just as a reference, I had my 15K service done a couple of months ago. I brought them the maintenance book, pointed to the items listed under the 15K service and asked them how much it would cost for those items. Without even really looking at the list, they told me it was $239.

With the book still open, I then pointed to each item and had them give me individual prices. Oil/Filter change... $29. Rotate tires... $19. Retorque & grease zerks, plus other inspections... no charge. I requested to pay for the services a la carte so it would cost $48 rather than pay the "package" price of $239.

I understand they are just doing their job, and don't hold any hard feelings against them for it. I probably get better prices in general because other people who don't know better overpay the service department to balance it all out. I just don't know how that will serve me if I ever need warranty/TSB work done... they may be more likely to do it for somebody who tends to pay their goofy package prices for things rather than somebody who selectively does their service work.
 
There are two Toyota dealers in my area, and let me tell you, the way they treat their customers is like night and day. Your dealer REALLY makes the difference between a happy Toyota customer and a RETURN Toyota customer. My first tip off: when they were selling FJ's and were in HUGE demand, one dealer was marking up, while the other did not. The same first dealer made me ask for help to look at cars, while the other was very courteous and willing to talk in dealer invoice prices. I have just recently moved, and I drive an hour north (when I'm up there anyway) to the dealer I like.

FIND YOURSELF A GOOD DEALER. YOU WILL BE INTENSELY SATISFIED.
 
your truck is so new that you could just do it yourself, oil change, tire rotation, new oil filter as for the inspection part, dude again your truck is still new. what is there to inspect, the dirt underneath? the inspection listed is something you can do as well.
 
gRunner3 said:
With the book still open, I then pointed to each item and had them give me individual prices. Oil/Filter change... $29. Rotate tires... $19. Retorque & grease zerks, plus other inspections... no charge. I requested to pay for the services a la carte so it would cost $48 rather than pay the "package" price of $239.
Click to expand...

Great post. I hope others may save money here.

Also, don't be afraid to ask the parts counter guy for a discount when buying parts. Just say you bought the vehicle there. I'll bet he gives you something off.
 
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