Dealer service, driveshaft grease fail

03_4x4Runner

03_4x4Runner

Senior Member
I took my 2014 in for its 1st oil change and told them to lube the drive shafts also since I have 2 years of free maintenance. My old 2003 4runner was never at the dealer for anything, I did all the maintenance myself. On my 2011 Avalon I had the dealer did all the oil changes since I had the 2 year free maintenance and I always thought they did a good job. I saw my 4runner on the lift and the guy changed the oil then took it down and headed for the car wash area. Next thing I know he puts it back on the lift and brings a grease gun over to do the drive shafts. I guess he forgot but it made me feel good he was doing it. After I got home I decided to crawl under the 4runner and make sure he got all the grease fittings. Well he only got one out of the 6. He only lubed the rear driveshaft slip joint, none of the u-joints and skipped the front slip joint. I just grabbed my grease gun and greased them myself. I decided to call the dealer to let them know so it did not happen to others and they said they would talk to the tech about it. If any one is relying on the dealer to complete this task you may want to double check that it got completed. It is easy to tell because you can see dust on the grease fitting and no lube coming out of the u-joint seals.
 
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Any way you'd be so kind to take pics to show us less mechanically inclined owners what and where to look for job done? Thx
 
You should feel extremely lucky that you even got 1 out of 6 fittings greased. My 2014 has been in for 2 of the routine services and 0 of 6 for me. Plus the second oil change they only hand threaded the skid plate bolts back on a few threads and left if dangling. Needless to say no more routine service dealer visits for me even is they are free.
 
Those "free" oil changes are not free. Read small print in your contract and ask for money back. I got $450 back. GL
 
It's always wise to audit any claimed dealer services. In my case, I met the conditions to justify the "Severe Operating Conditions" schedule in the manual and requested the designated services via voicemail to the Service Writer, dealer appointment form online, and affirmed again live (being paranoid).

The paranoia paid off once I caught the dealer red handed NOT performing claimed work at AutoNation South Austin Toyota under Toyota Care. The ONLY item on the maintenance checklist completed was a basic oil change. All zerk fittings were dry and untouched - no lubrication service occurred at all. And forget about them re-torquing of the prop shaft and body bolts to spec per the checklist. And last, they lost front skidplate bolts during the oil change which I caught and made them replace. Luckily I crawl under the truck to do an onsite inspection knowing I am dealing with inept and/or untrustworthy people. Be careful out there folks, nobody cares about your truck like you do. Dealerships get paid to get it done fast, not 'right'.
 
<<<< said:
Those "free" oil changes are not free. Read small print in your contract and ask for money back. I got $450 back. GL
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Dealer lingo varies. Would you be so kind as to point out the line item in your sales contract that indicates this? Thanks.
 
There is nothing for "Free". You paid for it one way or another. It's usually hidden in a dealer "pack", or some other verbage on the bump sticker (the dealer added sticker next to the factory window sticker).

If you paid for a service contract or maintenance contract, that would be listed in your finance paperwork


Again, it can be a blessing or a curse for using dealer service departments, depending on the quality of the technician and dealer.

Good Luck.
 
In my case it was the included Toyota Care that is included with all new Toyotas it wasn't a dealer added option?
 
Getting a proper and thoroughly lubed rig back after an oil change has always concerned me. I am not able to crawl under and do it myself or even inspect to see if it was done properly. I can only emphasize the need to the dealer service writer for the lube being done correctly. If I could get it off the ground somehow safely and high enough I'd be very happy to do the job. I'm coming up due again for service and will watch closely but as close as I can get is from a distance away.
Considering going to a private shop for regular pm work. No guarantees there either tho. It's not like they(or the dealer guy) don't want to do it properly, its more like the grease monkey doing it just doesn't give a crap and is in a hurry anyway and thinks who's going to notice? I already have had drive shaft lack of lube issues on my former Tacoma, but the dickheads doing the service were in my former state where I no longer live or I'd have chewed them a new a-hole. I hate fast, careless, no scrupple, don't give a damn it's not my truck, grease monkey jerks .
 
trdsport253 said:
I have 2013 4runner trail. How often are you suppose to grease the zerks?
Click to expand...

I've always greased balljoints and ujoints on past vehicles with every oil change.

Don't go nuts. Couple of pumps with the grease gun will do with a joint that is in good shape.
 
03_4x4Runner said:
I took my 2014 in for its 1st oil change and told them to lube the drive shafts also since I have 2 years of free maintenance. My old 2003 4runner was never at the dealer for anything, I did all the maintenance myself. On my 2011 Avalon I had the dealer did all the oil changes since I had the 2 year free maintenance and I always thought they did a good job. I saw my 4runner on the lift and the guy changed the oil then took it down and headed for the car wash area. Next thing I know he puts it back on the lift and brings a grease gun over to do the drive shafts. I guess he forgot but it made me feel good he was doing it. After I got home I decided to crawl under the 4runner and make sure he got all the grease fittings. Well he only got one out of the 6. He only lubed the rear driveshaft slip joint, none of the u-joints and skipped the front slip joint. I just grabbed my grease gun and greased them myself. I decided to call the dealer to let them know so it did not happen to others and they said they would talk to the tech about it. If any one is relying on the dealer to complete this task you may want to double check that it got completed. It is easy to tell because you can see dust on the grease fitting and no lube coming out of the u-joint seals.
Click to expand...

The funny thing is, the dealers try to encourage you to use their oil change service rather than a Jiffy Lube style place often citing the exact poor quality work you just got from them. In the age of cost cutting, you're not going to get a seasoned trained top level tech changing your oil, you're going to get the cheapest kid they could find who literally knows almost nothing besides where the drain plug is.

As for independent shops, it's the same. Anyone remember the bit Ron White (the comedian) did about "Lug Nut Day" where he had a wheel fall the #@$% OFF because the guy forgot to tighten his lug nuts at a Sears shop? I had that happen to me from an independent shop I'd frequented for years...

Bottom line is, you just never know. You have to watch them like a hawk and double check behind them. If you are able, learn how to do your own maintenance. Keep good records in a log book to make sure they never try to gig you on a warranty claim saying you didn't bring it to them for maintenance too.

Sadly, I've had more problems with tech's than not over the past 10 years. I'm not talking 50/50 either, more like 90/10 where 9 out of 10 issues where there was a real and persistent problem was not solved or was actually made worse.

Best of luck!
 
On my last dealer oil change they either lost or just didn't bother with a skid plate bolt. They fixed it though, put a nice strong zip tie on it! Admittedly is was fairly solid, I would have complained but I had rci skids in the garage at home to go on.

Guess I'll be doing it myself going forward, I hate doing it myself.

:doh:
 
Any recommendations of shops that lube it thoroughly/correctly following Toyota's recommended procedure in the LA/OC area?
 
Answering my own question, Jake Crossett, service advisor at Toyota Irvine, has been fantastic in making sure the u-joing/zerk greasing is done RIGHT.
 
THEROK said:
Answering my own question, Jake Crossett, service advisor at Toyota Irvine, has been fantastic in making sure the u-joing/zerk greasing is done RIGHT.
Click to expand...

Including using the right lube? If so, that's seriously awesome. I have yet to find a Toyota dealer service writer who knows anything about moly vs. lithium. The slip joints (and birfs for solid front axle Toyotas) need moly, but the u-joints need lithium. Owner's manuals and shop manuals are both very clear about this. Every Toyota shop I've been to uses lithium for everything. And then everyone complains about clunking driveshafts in Toyotas after 100,000 miles of no lube or improper lube.

Dan
 
Danimal, since you asked, the side story is, he realized his parts guy ordered the wrong lube so he had someone drive to the dealer who had the right lube this very morning to make sure they fulfilled their commitment to get truck back to me by mid-day.

Jake also has a 4Runner. Dude is legit. Thanks for the clarification point on lube types.
 
Pertaining to an above post, if you have grease squeezing out from around the seals you are over greasing them.

You want them to slightly balloon and back off.

Too much is not a good thing.
 
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