How can I tell if the dealer changed my oil?

[DougR]

Did Dealer Change My Oil Filter?

On my 2011, the skid plate has two bolts connected to a hard plastic splash guard between the skid plate and bumper. I discretely painted nail polish on those bolts to see if the dealer changed the filter. The vehicle was returned to me with those bolts undisturbed. I showed it to the shop foreman and he assured me that they could remove four bolts on the skid place and lower it without removing the splash guard. I think this would have allowed oil to run down over the skid plate. I removed the skid plate and I wasn't absolutely certain that oil had been wiped off. I don't have a lift, so I was unable to verify that the skid plate can hang straight down from the splash guard and not get oil on it when the filter is changed. Shop foreman told me they find ways to save time changing oil.​

 

[KANGZ]

I also got the free maintenance for my 4runner!
I am going skip the free service and still do it myself!
It is hard to trust anyone anymore especially what you read on social media!
Everyone is always trying to sell you more than what you need!

If your vehicle is still under warranty, it's better to at least pay a shop to do oil changes . That way if engine goes bad, you have prove that oil changes have been done

 

[Hans Moleman]

Apart from the always random rogue smart ass that will appear in every thread at some point, I don't think there is really much of a need to tell everyone to lighten up, pretty civil here by most standards

The bullets points are exactly a lot of peoples dealer service experience, that is literally what made it seem so humorous. You could seriously joke about it is so on point.



OP I should have read your post a better, now I see your concern.

I didn't catch that first time around. You have to watch those fkr's like a hawk. I pulled out into the lot expecting they gave me full 1-year service when I took mine in under similar circumstances. I looked over the invoice before leaving in customary fashion... what wasn't there, an oil change, after I specifically told them to do it.

As I mentioned earlier, this is the final reason I went back to doing all my own work. If I were driving and trading/selling every couple years I certainly wouldn't care as much. I would like 20 years out of this thing

Yep. I’m afraid the dealer might not have changed it because it has 5000 miles even though the invoice says they did. I’ve had it for only a year and put 5000 miles on it.

When I checked the oil myself at 2000 miles it didn’t really look that dark either.

 

[jrandom]

[MENTION=141815]Hans Moleman[/MENTION] you could send a sample in.

yeah oil really didn't seem to get that dark until after my second and last "toyota care" oil change. First change was right around 7000, still "looked" pretty fresh. Checking after a few months it was definitely getting darker than the same period prior. Just before second it was easy to read on the dipstick, meaning it was dark enough to see the level. Haflway through that change it was pretty dark, much darker than halfway of last.

I know clarity is not a real good indicator of an oils state. I do do quite a bit of dusty off road driving, not quite baking powder but dusty. Could explain it some of it, I guess. I should have sent in a Blackstone prior to when I started servicing.

For what its worth, since I have been doing my own changes, the clarity has improved dramatically through the change cycle, to the point that I had to score (well dremel) chevrons on the backside of the dipstick to read the level.

 

[Axix23]

Apart from the always random rogue smart ass that will appear in every thread at some point, I don't think there is really much of a need to tell everyone to lighten up, pretty civil here by most standards

The bullets points are exactly a lot of peoples dealer service experience, that is literally what made it seem so humorous. You could seriously joke about it is so on point.



OP I should have read your post a better, now I see your concern.

I didn't catch that first time around. You have to watch those fkr's like a hawk. I pulled out into the lot expecting they gave me full 1-year service when I took mine in under similar circumstances. I looked over the invoice before leaving in customary fashion... what wasn't there, an oil change, after I specifically told them to do it.

As I mentioned earlier, this is the final reason I went back to doing all my own work. If I were driving and trading/selling every couple years I certainly wouldn't care as much. I would like 20 years out of this thing

Same thing that happened to me.

 

[whtout]

Welp, I spoke too soon it seems.

My recommendation to check the filter just changed after learning we have a canister filter - ha!
With that said, I'll happily skip my "free" dealer services and do it myself.

Checking the oil for transparency and marking the drain plug is great and all, but without evidence of the filter being replaced, best to do it yourself. Even removing things to check the housing for cleanliness is enough to validate DIY.

 

[kenwilliams0803]

On my 2011, the skid plate has two bolts connected to a hard plastic splash guard between the skid plate and bumper. I discretely painted nail polish on those bolts to see if the dealer changed the filter. The vehicle was returned to me with those bolts undisturbed. I showed it to the shop foreman and he assured me that they could remove four bolts on the skid place and lower it without removing the splash guard. I think this would have allowed oil to run down over the skid plate. I removed the skid plate and I wasn't absolutely certain that oil had been wiped off. I don't have a lift, so I was unable to verify that the skid plate can hang straight down from the splash guard and not get oil on it when the filter is changed. Shop foreman told me they find ways to save time changing oil.​

I believe this to be conceivable. If it's on a lift, that thing can hang almost straight down.

Not so much when on ramps in my garage.

 

[TrijiCog]

Pretty sure the dealer isn't going to change the oil on a free service before its due,at least that was the case with my moms Rav4.

Other than that,check the dipstick when you get home,the oil color should barely change.

 

[TrijiCog]

I believe this to be conceivable. If it's on a lift, that thing can hang almost straight down.

Not so much when on ramps in my garage.

My stock skid plate will just hang loose still connected to the splash guard,my truck is lifted though. If it wasn't lifted it would still hang but probably get in the way of an oil change.

 

[CavPro]

Pretty sure the dealer isn't going to change the oil on a free service before its due,at least that was the case with my moms Rav4.

Other than that,check the dipstick when you get home,the oil color should barely change.

1) the OP timed out he did'nt mileage out. 10K OR 12 months.

2) I know when my vehicle was new It was very hard to see the oil on the dip stick, you had to look for the glare line. It got easier as the miles rolled on and after my change at 5k it is back to being as hard to see as the first go-round.

 

[macscac]

If your vehicle is still under warranty, it's better to at least pay a shop to do oil changes . That way if engine goes bad, you have prove that oil changes have been done

for most people this is true.
however, receipts with dates and mileage of the vehicle for each service will suffice as well.

I will state that, yes, things are much easier to get warranty work done and (certainly) goodwill after the warranty expires if you have done ALL the recommended services at the same dealer that you purchased the car from.

 

[jrandom]

I will state that, yes, things are much easier to get warranty work done and (certainly) goodwill after the warranty expires if you have done ALL the recommended services at the same dealer that you purchased the car from.

Pfft, if you are willing to pay what they charge after your warranty expires, they will always do work for you. Not sure what good will you are referring too? The one where you spend over $1600 to get a loaner? Or the one when you pay for a new steering rack that shells out two days later and they want to charge you for labor, fluids, and shop supplies to replace it? I gave that whole theory a go with my 3rd gen (that I bought and serviced through the same dealer), it was shit. If you're decent and you give anyone a lot of money and they will treat you well, for the most part.

Warranty work works this way, they have to prove what you did or didn't do in order to deny a warranty claim. I know this having thrown a rod through my hilux 22re block at 33,000 miles... of course I had to wait 7 weeks to get my truck back, it did come back with a "new" motor.

 

[macscac]

I'm referring to a 'normal' dealership.. sure there are bad ones out there but..

the store I work at for example..
we have a client who's engine just failed... cannot be rebuild... 13k outside of warranty.
They have performed all scheduled maint with us.
The dealership and the factory are picking up 75% of the parts and labor.
client at 25%

that's all i am saying...

 

[jrandom]

That is pretty stand up. :thumb:

Thats the thing I thought the dealership I chose was ‘normal’. They have good reviews and I had heard positive things. I literally gave them scores of chances to live up to the reputation. Every time, failed in one way or another, not little things either.

I don’t even use their parts department anymore, even though they were fine enough to deal with.

Out of the three I proximity only one has been decent, incidentally the same one that replaced the Hilux motor 25 years earlier, new ownership, but a lot farther away.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

On my 2011, the skid plate has two bolts connected to a hard plastic splash guard between the skid plate and bumper. I discretely painted nail polish on those bolts to see if the dealer changed the filter. The vehicle was returned to me with those bolts undisturbed. I showed it to the shop foreman and he assured me that they could remove four bolts on the skid place and lower it without removing the splash guard.​

I can't speak for all 5th Gen 4Rs, but mine has S hooks on the front. I've seen 4Rs on the rack at dealerships with the skid plate hanging down. The S hooks keep it attached. All 4 12mm bolts removed. I suspect Toyota did the S hook thing for just this reason - expedite dealership oil changes. Apparently the shop lube techs are able to reach up inside and access the oil filter canister.
Being a driveway mechanic, I always pull mine off completely as I do all of the oil maint. with the 4R flat on the ground. Very easy to get the SP off using a small bottle jack as an extra pair of hands. Same with SP reinstallation.
I used the so-called "free" 10K rotate and oil change back when. They performed the oil change, but after I got home and let the tires cools, I found all tires to be WAY over inflated and the PSI varying a good deal. One tire had something like 38 PSI, another 42 PSI, and so on. None were close to being the same. My guess is the lube tech(s) just shot some air in each tire w/o bothering to check the results.
I passed on the "free" 20K service.
Lube techs are at the bottom of the pay scale. It ain't a mystery.

People who have their oil changed anywhere should consider themselves lucky to drive out with oil in the engine.​

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Pull the dipstick... If it's black, take it back.

Even at 5k, your oil will be dark brown/black.

Nope. Our '14 SR5 has 175K miles and I change the oil every 10K miles. It is never dark. At worst it's clear honey colored. We're using synthetic 0-20. Never consumes any oil.

 

[1000MPH]

You still gotta remove all the skid plate bolts but it can hang down on the hooks. The front plastic "Lower bumper" cover is bolted to the skid plate on the back end so it will just flex down with the skid plate. Leaving it hanging is fine if you're on a lift but still in the way if you're crawling under from the front.
I remove mine to rinse the ton of crap that's always in there.
My 4R oil is never very dark either but the same oil in my GFs Rav4 get dark very quickly, <5000 miles.

 

[RuRunner]

Thanks

 

[RuRunner]

I think I've learned the hard way that even though dealer oil changes are free for first 20K miles, they aren't worth it. They just don't care. They forgot to include an oil filter and just figured it out 6K miles later. They also didn't tighten the nuts on the cover plate and only tighted 1 lug nut on each of my wheels after a rotation. I drove 10 miles on the highway going 80 mph. Good thing I didn't die. Lost 3 lug nuts per wheel.