Did the dealership really change my oil??

[dannyg]

I went for an oil change at my local Toyota dealership, I had a 20% coup.
After waiting a while, the tech servicing my 4r called me over to go over a long list of services I need, including:

- replace PCV
- replace main engine seal as oil is leaking in the rear

I told him just to do the oil change and that I would change the PCV my self.
I asked when it would be done since I doubt they even started the oil change without knowing if I wanted them to replace the main seal or not.... It has already been over 1 hr. at this point.

Service tech said it wouldn't be much longer. ~ 30 mins later my vehicle is ready.
Paid the $70 (pennzoil full synthetic oil change w/ 20% off) but driving off I notice they didn't give me a new service reminder sticker, I went back to get one. Couple of days later I notice my maint light wasn't reset either.

Fast forward two weeks to today... I was replacing the PCV and decided to check oil. Is it me or does it look dirty for having been changed less than 300mi ago?? It had been just over 5,000 mi since my last. Do you think the dealership really changed my oil?
Is there any way to know for sure?

 

[mavrick1903]

Does look dirty


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[mpyle]

Hard to tell without knowing your vehicle. It looks a little better than my V8 oil at 5K but not after an oil change. Is the filter new? And $70? If you offer me a good IPA or two I'll do it for the cost of mobile 1 from walmart and an OEM filter.

 

[Nate_GB]

Looks like pretty new oil to me. You could send a sample to an oil analysis company like Blackstone Labs and they will be able to tell you with pretty good certainty if the oil has 300 miles on it or 5300. Downside is that you'll have to take the sample while draining the oil which means you'll need to change the oil again.

But to be honest, that oil looks new to me.

 

[simple]

So, this was years ago but I once changed my own oil and realized I had over filled by a quart. I had run the engine maybe a minute when I realized my error. So I went under and started draining the extra oil by backing off the bolt just a bit. I was really surprised when the oil had come out looking like the oil I had just drained. It was crazy.

 

[Ralph Blake]

This is a good reason i still do my own filter and oil changing, i know others hate this dirty and messy work, but i don't trust the service Rep.s and the people who do the oil and filter changing.

 

[85straight]

If you continue to take your vehicle somewhere for services get some tamper seal. You would know for sure if the filter was changed or plug removed.

 

[Ralph Blake]

If you continue to take your vehicle somewhere for services get some tamper seal. You would know for sure if the filter was changed or plug removed.

If you have to do this it means you don't trust your service Dept. and if you don't trust someone why keep dealing with them?

What i really dislike about all service Dept.s around my city, is you are not allowed to view or even speak to the people doing any work on your 4runner.

 

[85straight]

If you have to do this it means you don't trust your service Dept. and if you don't trust someone why keep dealing with them?

What i really dislike about all service Dept.s around my city, is you are not allowed to view or even speak to the people doing any work on your 4runner.

That was kinda my point, but if someone was still insisting on not doing their own oil change tamper seal is not a terrible idea

 

[catrains]

the reason I do my oil changes IS they do not drain all the oil out. so now they add new oil and then the new oil does get discolored quickly.

my suggestion is drop the covers and inspect that the oil filter and plug was messed with . if its dirty then they did not drain it or perhaps just changed the oil but did not do the filter.. etc...

 

[Gatafly]

I am guessing they did drain the oil, but not thoroughly. Provably pulled plug to get bulk of it out and replaced right away. I use eitger Amsoil or M1 and let it drain almost an hour. My oil is hard to even see on the dipstick for the first few hundred miles. That oil on yours looks like kine after 5k miles. Do yourself a favor and start changing your own.

 

[catrains]

I am guessing they did drain the oil, but not thoroughly. Provably pulled plug to get bulk of it out and replaced right away. I use eitger Amsoil or M1 and let it drain almost an hour. My oil is hard to even see on the dipstick for the first few hundred miles. That oil on yours looks like kine after 5k miles. Do yourself a favor and start changing your own.

I also drain for 45min engine hot. until it does a drip every 30 sec..
I have a 175K V8 GM vehicle 10K oil changes same deal. oil is very light brown so much so I have to tilt the stick to see if its at the full mark.
time is money so I agree they did not fully drain it so it looks bad.

 

[Bumbo]

I am guessing they did drain the oil, but not thoroughly. Provably pulled plug to get bulk of it out and replaced right away. I use eitger Amsoil or M1 and let it drain almost an hour. My oil is hard to even see on the dipstick for the first few hundred miles. That oil on yours looks like kine after 5k miles. Do yourself a favor and start changing your own.

Now that you say it, it sounds like the most likely scenario.

I have a friend who works at a dealer and its pretty easy to see these guys are all about speed, flagging hours, and closing tickets.

I'm not saying they don't do the services right, but with time is a factor, they do it fast. White gloving cars is a solid way to make less money.

 

[natevans65]

If you are going to change your own oil like I do, I would recommend that you do an Amsoil Trans/Oil flush prior to draining. You dump the product in the old oil, run it for 10/15 minutes and it breaks down all the old crap that has built up over the years, let drain all the way out, button it back up and put whatever brand you want to put in, the flush just ensures that it gets all the gunk out with the old oil. Been doing this for 13 years on my 04 V8 and I am convinced it has helped by cleaning out the unwanted contaminates that just a "drain" does not address. Just my opinion.

 

[dannyg]

If you are going to change your own oil like I do, I would recommend that you do an Amsoil Trans/Oil flush prior to draining. You dump the product in the old oil, run it for 10/15 minutes and it breaks down all the old crap that has built up over the years, let drain all the way out, button it back up and put whatever brand you want to put in, the flush just ensures that it gets all the gunk out with the old oil. Been doing this for 13 years on my 04 V8 and I am convinced it has helped by cleaning out the unwanted contaminates that just a "drain" does not address. Just my opinion.

Would you recommend seafoam in addition to this? Or just one or the other?

Thanks everyone for all of the input. I guess I'll give the dealership the benefit of the doubt :suspicious: ... but I'll be doing my own oil changes going forward.

 

[Bumbo]

Don't overthink it... just change the oil regularly.

I don't go out of my way to throw in additives or anything like that. If I feel like doing something nice for it I just change it a little sooner.

 

[Montego Murph]

Talking on oil changes and additives... something I've always wondered about.

Years ago I used to work for a courier service. Had a fleet of F150's and Econoline vans, they would cover 150-200 miles a day on our routes.

Our shop mechanic was an old timer and had quite a few tricks up his sleeve. One morning he was checking the mileage logs on the fleet to see which ones were ready for an oil change that night, and added 1/2 quart of ATF to those engines. He said that since ATF is a hydraulic fluid with a high concentration of detergents, adding some fluid 200 miles before an oil change would help break crud in the engine free and clean things out. Seemed reasonable.

Then in my Miata corner of the planet, there's something we do for ticking hydraulic lifters called the "2Twisty Flush." Between oil changes once every few years, you fill the engine with 3 quarts ATF and 1 quart 50w oil, then idle the engine for some period of time. Same as above, this helps clean out the passages and eliminates the ticking hydraulic lifters.

Anyone have current thoughts on these theories, or done anything like this with 4Runners?

 

[MrRoo]

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT put anything in your oil. Just change it. The Sea Foam is great stuff and has it's place in GAS and GAS only. It severely thins oil. I've seen several engines become scrap by people putting Sea Foam and other additives in the oil. My 2003 Accord V6 I bought for a killer deal because the owner put Sea Foam in the oil thinking it would help his oil consumption problem. It smoked the mains and rod bearings. It needed a PCV valve. I've seen all the snake oils and additives from working at the dealers for 14 years.

 

[alhang]

That looks like old oil, was the filter changed? The last time I was pressed for time I had pepboys change my oil and I checked it afterwards, noticed the old filter was still on there and the oil was black. That was the last time for me, people are just lazy sometimes.

 

[Bumbo]

Talking on oil changes and additives... something I've always wondered about.

Years ago I used to work for a courier service. Had a fleet of F150's and Econoline vans, they would cover 150-200 miles a day on our routes.

Our shop mechanic was an old timer and had quite a few tricks up his sleeve. One morning he was checking the mileage logs on the fleet to see which ones were ready for an oil change that night, and added 1/2 quart of ATF to those engines. He said that since ATF is a hydraulic fluid with a high concentration of detergents, adding some fluid 200 miles before an oil change would help break crud in the engine free and clean things out. Seemed reasonable.

Then in my Miata corner of the planet, there's something we do for ticking hydraulic lifters called the "2Twisty Flush." Between oil changes once every few years, you fill the engine with 3 quarts ATF and 1 quart 50w oil, then idle the engine for some period of time. Same as above, this helps clean out the passages and eliminates the ticking hydraulic lifters.

Anyone have current thoughts on these theories, or done anything like this with 4Runners?

Personally there is no way I would do that to my personal vehicles... its just not worth the risk. If I was itching for more detergents in my oil, I would buy a better quality oil with more detergents in it. Start shopping for a syn with a heavy detergents package if that's what you want.

As far as that other mechanic is concerned... I guess its pretty easy to do things like that when its not your money, or your cars. Even if something happened it's someone else fronting the bill.

Not saying it doesn't work, but its a bit hard explaining to someone why you put ATF in something where the cap says 5W-30. Billy Joe at the Fold dealer doing it on their fleet vans isn't good enough for me.

I tell people all the time, just because it works doesn't mean its correct.