Dealer Oil Change Issues

[Myrunr2010]

Good friend of mine takes his 2005 Tacoma in the dealer still for oil changes because they’re free. Tuesday he picked it up from having an oil change and state inspection. Said he had been driving for ~5 minutes down the highway when he started to smell something and (thankfully) another driver flagged him off the interstate. This was what he saw

YouTube

His oil pressure light never came on. He had it towed back to the dealer. They told him the oil drain plug had come out. They “ran a diagnostic” (I.e. checked it for codes), filled it with oil and sent him on his way.

What would y’all have done (other than the obvious, don’t have the dealer change your oil, lol). The fact that the oil pressure light never came on makes me think he’s probably ok, but it seems like the dealer took it very casually and didn’t do much to check and make sure no harm was actually done.

 

[LittleCaesar]

That is why I do my own oil changes. I have known instances where the engine has seized up due to oil starvation due to either a loose plug or not having it refilled with new oil (no oil light came on).

 

[thegipper]

I would have gotten as much documentation of the incident as possible that way if there were a problem down the road, they'd be installing a new engine in my truck.

Oh and absolutely rip the service manager a new one!

 

[Satter]

I still have my oil changed at the stealership. There have been times when they under filled the oil level, or didn’t rotate the tires. So I've put in some checks before I leave.

Before I leave I check the oil level. I also mark the tires before I take it in so that I can tell if they were rotated afterwards.

 

[mtbtim]

I'm with [MENTION=69868]LittleCaesar[/MENTION] on this one. Do your own oil changes and be better off for it.

Do you think you are getting a 30 year mechanic doing your oil changes at the dealerships? Not a chance. You're getting the distracted punk kid who's more worried about his Instagram status than making sure he's doing a competent job on your vehicle.

When I get my tires rotated and balanced at my local America's Tire, I double check that the lug nuts are on tight and torqued to spec. There's been plenty of instances where wheels go flying off and then very bad things happen.

Do most of your own work and you'll have less to worry about.

 

[TheDurk]

I don't understand the liquid in the video. It doesn't look st all like oil to me, more like old coolant. Was the engine running when that was taken?

As to running without oil, my daughter managed to put a hole in her oil pan parking in a field in my old BMW 735i. She drove maybe ten low-speed minutes until the oil light came on and she called me. I had her get towed from right there and swapped the oil pan. Car was fine for two more years until she wrecked it in a snow storm.

Girl is hard on cars but she did pay attention when I explained the oil light was different than the others. Pull over and call me was the order. Don't park in fields in a BMW was added to that.

You never know, but residual oil can keep an engine safe for surprisingly long, as in a few minutes, not hours or anything.

 

[spartacus]

It is odd for sure. If thé plug was threaded in even by hand it shouldn't have blown out like that.

 

[Endlessblockades]

I would have gone Karen on them and asked for the Manager of Oil Plugs. I would have demanded 10 free crush washers because I would be DIY from then on!

 

[nissanh]

I do all the oil changes and NEVER been to a shop to get it done!

I am with "TheDurk" unless 05 Taco uses some special crazy oil, what I see in that video is not Motor Oil.

 

[phattyduck]

I dunno, hot oil is pretty thin. The color looks right.

-Charlie

 

[Bad Luck]

Looks like hot fresh oil coming out it to me as well.

 

[Yoter]

That totally blows, I would take a sample of the oil to have it analyzed for excessive metal contaminants. In case the engine blows up in the near future; this could potentially provide some type of material document of any damage done by the dealers negligence. Maybe a compression test too?
I would also contact Toyota of north america to file a complaint against the dealer.
Which state is your friend in? In California there is a Bureau of Automotive Repair. They help handle these types of disputes between consumers and mechanics.

While I am generally not a fan of large government bureaucracy, I have had my fair share of headaches from negligent mechanics and in a case like this I think some type of consumer advocacy can be helpful.
I have had an oil filter which was left completely loose by a mechanic after an oil change, I didn't notice until I was back home. I tightened it and drove back, they gave me the run around, topped off the oil and I never pursued the issue further. I obviously never returned to that garage, the car and engine survived but these types of experiences always suck.

I have had so many issues with mechanics messing up more things than they fix that now I just expect it. I just had my transmission rebuilt at a 'reputable' local shop, picked the truck up yesterday, the interior is filthy with grease on everything and ALL the clips in the center consul area are broken/missing, somehow the skid plates are also covered in oil, (did an oil change the day before I gave the shop my 4runner and they were super clean) etc... from my experience most mechanics in the SF Bay Area just don't give a sh*t

 

[gamefreakgc]

Dealerships are privately owned, not some sort of Toyota Factory Service Manual nazi. They don't always do things by the book, you gotta know the dealership. My local dealership, Roseville Toyota has always done top-notch work on my vehicles (3). I would know, because I am a Toyota FSM nazi lol. I want it done right. The only thing they get wrong sometimes is the pricing...

People's experiences will vary with dealerships. No shop is beyond mistakes, as a lot of us on here have made our own mistakes as well. It is pretty hard to get an oil change wrong, so I'd take a guess and say he's not going back there any time soon!

 

[Devbot]

Something to be said about you get what you pay for! Tim said it best; I'd be willing to bet whoever did it isn't old enough to rent a car
When I change my oil I use a mix of Rotella T6 and Marvel Mystery oil. Started doing it on my last truck about halfway through ownership, took it apart before selling it and the valve train was sparkling. Somewhere out there is another forum post talking about how MMO works best over long durations like that, and now I'm a firm believer.
The "toyota tick" went away too

 

[ItsEvan23]

doing your own fluids is simple and very worth the peace of mind..

 

[Ron Burgandy]

My gf in college had her oil changed at a jiffy lube once, i checked it when she came over cause i don’t trust mechanic shops and the dipstick looked like 10k mile diesel oil. I called them out on them using recycled oil or just never drained it and slapped a $1.50 filter on it. They of course denied it, but later found out all jiffy lubes were being investigated for such claims.

moral of the story, change your own oil.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[RAD4Runner]

I'm with [MENTION=69868]LittleCaesar[/MENTION] on this one. Do your own oil changes and be better off for it.


Do most of your own work and you'll have less to worry about.

Yup. Sometimes we do not have a choice but someone said that "having someone else work on your vehicle is like having someone else make love to your woman and paying them for it."

...When I get my tires rotated and balanced at my local America's Tire, I double check ...

Absolutely. Ask me how I know... (Found all lug-nuts on my friend's van wire not even hand-tight)
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[Myrunr2010]

I agree it looks nothing like oil, I had to ask when he sent me the video. I guess I’ve never drained my oil when it’s piping hot like that though.

I recently had a dealership issue on my motorcycle. You only save 10 bucks when having tires replaced if you take them just the tire or the tire on the bike. So I just took them the bike to have my rear tire replaced. About 6 months later I was riding and all of a sudden lost my rear brake. Well you can pull a bolt on the rear caliper to rotate it out of the way to get the tire off. Boneheads must have just hand threaded it back on until they got the tire torqued and then forgot to torque the caliper. Thankfully front and rear brakes are independent on a bike and it didn’t cause me any issues.

 

[TheDurk]

I agree it looks nothing like oil, I had to ask when he sent me the video. I guess I’ve never drained my oil when it’s piping hot like that though.

I recently had a dealership issue on my motorcycle. You only save 10 bucks when having tires replaced if you take them just the tire or the tire on the bike. So I just took them the bike to have my rear tire replaced. About 6 months later I was riding and all of a sudden lost my rear brake. Well you can pull a bolt on the rear caliper to rotate it out of the way to get the tire off. Boneheads must have just hand threaded it back on until they got the tire torqued and then forgot to torque the caliper. Thankfully front and rear brakes are independent on a bike and it didn’t cause me any issues.

Yeah, me neither. I've changed my oil after an hour's drive or more, but it never looked like that, and I've never had a reason to drain new hot oil. So I will concede it is probably oil, but dang, it got hot. Looks like colored water.

 

[Satter]

My gf in college had her oil changed at a jiffy lube once, i checked it when she came over cause i don’t trust mechanic shops and the dipstick looked like 10k mile diesel oil. I called them out on them using recycled oil or just never drained it and slapped a $1.50 filter on it. They of course denied it, but later found out all jiffy lubes were being investigated for such claims.

moral of the story, change your own oil.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I came across a video on YouTube about a jiffy lube type shop pouring regular dino oil into Mobil 1 cartons. Then telling customers it was M1 synthetic, and charging them as such. Such bs.

I’m concerned for folks who drive modern cars. Auto manufacturers have gone to oil filter cartridges. Those plastic casings seem like they can break easily.