Go online and you’ll find plenty of people *****ing about Audi dealers too. No one goes to write a good post about a routine maintenance. Most routine stuff is done by inexperienced guys regardless of the shop. Experienced mechanics are busy handling bigger issues. The relatively small number of complaints you read (many of which are just “i read this somewhere” and not first hand experience) compared to the hundreds of thousands of vehicles serviced isn’t statistically significant. I’ve had multiple vehicles serviced at multiple locations and never experienced any big issues. Late model loaners, coffee, juice, snacks, fruit, and car washes are something any dealer I’ve ever been to offers, regardless of the brand.
Do not go to dealership for oil change!
- Thread starter propain
- Start date
Go online and you’ll find plenty of people *****ing about Audi dealers too. No one goes to write a good post about a routine maintenance. Most routine stuff is done by inexperienced guys regardless of the shop. Experienced mechanics are busy handling bigger issues. The relatively small number of complaints you read (many of which are just “i read this somewhere” and not first hand experience) compared to the hundreds of thousands of vehicles serviced isn’t statistically significant. I’ve had multiple vehicles serviced at multiple locations and never experienced any big issues. Late model loaners, coffee, juice, snacks, fruit, and car washes are something any dealer I’ve ever been to offers, regardless of the brand.
jbtvt
New member
The current system is better for trans life, makes getting fluid level dead on about foolproof. They don't even have to drop the pan, just open plug for tube that sets fluid level, pump fluid in fill hole until it starts running out, close drain, run vehicle up to temp, and open level tube drain again until fluid slows to a trickle.
Anyone can do this themselves with Torque app to read the temp, or there's a shift pattern you can do, like between N and D 5 times in 10 seconds or something like that, forget exactly, and when trans is at correct temp to drain overfill a dash light flashes
You can do a full trans flush by yourself in the driveway in about an hour, and then you'll know it's not just a drain and refill like most shops will do. Believe factory trans fluid change is spec'd to 70k, 30k ish used to be for heavy towing only and prob more these days with WS fluid. Don't skip trans flushes!
I'm not discounting that others are *****ing about Audi dealers (or Ford, or Chevy, or Alpha Romeo, or BMW, or Tesla, or ...)
I'm just relating my personal experience over 12 years of Audi ownership, 2008 - present (and 4 separate dealers) discounting the "No one goes to write a good post about a routine maintenance". I'm still driving the most trouble free car I've ever owned (a 12 year old 2008 Audi A4, 3.2L, 6MT).
I've visited the 3 Toyota dealers to try to purchase stuff from their parts counters and have service done for over 20 years that I owned my FJ60, 1999-2019, and the personal experiences have continuously gotten worse. I bought the 2019 4Runner because of what I need and want to use it for, dealer service quality notwithstanding.
My local Toyota dealers do not offer the "waiting room" experience that every Audi dealer has, so my data point on that may well differ from others.
Keep up the good dialog though. It's good to know my experiences are not necessarily the norm.
Blue 4ever Runner
New member
Wow what a nightmare for the OP. Completely unnecessary and avoidable if the dealer had done the right job but they are notorious for screwing oil changes up. This confirms why the dealer will never see my Runner unless it's for a warranty issue or recall.
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propain
New member
Yea, i couldnt make up this story if i tried. Spent most of my morning today power washing my driveway in 40F degree weather. Jesus... baking soda & dish liquid... over and over a few times....i swear, i better not have a fresh oil stain tomorrow morning or else i will flip out. :doh:
** If you noticed it says (6) qt of Mobil1 on the service ticket above.
*** Now look at what it says above on this service ticket.. (6) qt of 0w20 BULK OIL-W and 1 qt of Mobil1. What are they using 0w20 BULK OIL-W for? Makes me think they drained all my Mobil1 Oil, added their shitty synthetic blend, and added 1 quart of Mobil1? I'm Confused
Oil on the top, Tranny fluid on the bottom...courtesy of Sansone Toyota.
** If you noticed it says (6) qt of Mobil1 on the service ticket above.
*** Now look at what it says above on this service ticket.. (6) qt of 0w20 BULK OIL-W and 1 qt of Mobil1. What are they using 0w20 BULK OIL-W for? Makes me think they drained all my Mobil1 Oil, added their shitty synthetic blend, and added 1 quart of Mobil1? I'm Confused
Oil on the top, Tranny fluid on the bottom...courtesy of Sansone Toyota.
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EddieV4runnin
New member
I’ve seen way too many “Master techs” work as sloppy as the newbies. Nobody takes pride in their work anymore, and those titles are bestowed up them means nothing.
EddieV4runnin
New member
Some still take pride in their work. But they're getting harder to find.
yota1976
New member
You guys are scaring me with these horror stories. I've got almost 3000 miles on mine. I'll have an oil change coming soon. I work with a guy who bought his 2019 Tacoma at the same dealership as me. I'll definitely be asking him about their service department. He gets all his maintenance work done there.
propain
New member
Dude, go to a Mobil1 and get it done there if you can't change it yourself.. This thread isn't meant to scare you but to create awareness. If you do a search on T4R you will see there are many mishaps at the dealership. But I think this one takes the cake. The only thing a dealer should do is recall work or something under warranty.
It used to be local mechanics were grease monkies and dealerships did quality work. Now it seems reversed.
Charlievee
Senior Member
So... Pull the plates?
Dynamo
New member
No kidding. Sheesh!
You know, I've never used a torque wrench for an oil change but yet I've never stripped a drain plug. I swear, some of these techs must use nothing but a pneumatic impact wrench for anything.
propain
New member
Yep, they removed the skid plates. And you're not going to believe this, I see a small oil stain on my driveway again, under the TRD Skid plate. I'm so angry right now.
Hoping it is old oil that was laying in the TRD skid plate from them not tightening the oil filter housing.
Crawled under the runner, i saw some oil on the bottom of the TRD Skidplate and you can see a fresh leak on my driveway. Wiped it off. Looked inside the skidplate, and looked at the oil filter housing. Seemed dry. Will keep my eye on it.
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cb1111
Member
Call Toyota and open a case.
DougR
Member
I wanted to verify the dealer was replacing the oil filter. I assumed they would remove the plastic splash guard between the bumper and stock metal splash guard that's held in place by 5 wide flange fender style bolts. So, I used my wife's nail polish to paint a glob on the edge of the two forward outer bolt flanges to indicate if those bolts were broken loose.
The globs were not broken, so I showed it to the shop manager. He said, they only remove four metal guard bolts and let the metal guard hang by the forward hooks while changing the oil filter. At home, I removed the metal splash guard and found it had been wiped down to remove a streak of oil that flowed down and back from the oil filter location.
That's when I started doing my own oil changes because I think allowing the metal guard to hang and flex the plastic splash guard will eventually crack the plastic.
I had to chase the four metal guard bolt threads with a tap and die, and fortunately, all of them appear to be OK.
The globs were not broken, so I showed it to the shop manager. He said, they only remove four metal guard bolts and let the metal guard hang by the forward hooks while changing the oil filter. At home, I removed the metal splash guard and found it had been wiped down to remove a streak of oil that flowed down and back from the oil filter location.
That's when I started doing my own oil changes because I think allowing the metal guard to hang and flex the plastic splash guard will eventually crack the plastic.
I had to chase the four metal guard bolt threads with a tap and die, and fortunately, all of them appear to be OK.
Charlievee
Senior Member
Back to my original point. If you're concerned with them jacking up the skid plate bolts... Pull them yourself. Need to come down to clean the oil off them anyway.
centuridude
New member
After a "Routine" oil change / tire rotation service, as I was leaving the dealership, the front-right tire came off. They FORGOT to tighten the lug-nuts!!
Fortunately the damage was minimal - they had to replace the TRD wheel because it was scratched on the inside. On the bright-side, I had them give me the "damaged" wheel and I plan on using it as a second spare for long off-road trips.
Fortunately the damage was minimal - they had to replace the TRD wheel because it was scratched on the inside. On the bright-side, I had them give me the "damaged" wheel and I plan on using it as a second spare for long off-road trips.
Generalisimo
New member
DougR what dealer in Phoenix did you experience the crummy work?
Was it the dealer in Peoria?
Thanks
Was it the dealer in Peoria?
Thanks
DougR
Member
Camelback Toyota in Phoenix. It's my wife's vehicle and she wanted the dealer to do all routine maintenance while it was under warranty. Now it's under my care :cowboy:
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