How do I know the dealership changed my oil?

[1000MPH]

I'm moving to Iowa!

 

[Jeremy556]

I know oil changes are a cash cow for many auto mechanic places. I predict you will soon see a sealed engine system, like transmission fluid, that is good for 100,000 miles plus. Maybe it already exist somewhere.

I highly doubt oil changes are a cash cow for any shop. Pretty much every shop does oil changes as a loss leader to hopefully upsell profitable work.

Unless there is a switch to a non ICE, or a major revolution in engine design, or at least piston ring sealing, there will never be 100,000 mile oil changes.

 

[dsfra]

And speaking of upselling...

Got an oh-so-warm-and-fuzzy e-mail regarding "Courtesy Clock Adjustment" from my Toyota dealer inviting me to com'on down and "get your car's clock adjusted as a courtesy from us to you" to handle the daylight savings time change. And would you like a 1-minute $60 cabin air filter replacement to go with that? And maybe adjust the valves and set the points too?

 

[flyrv9]

Antman has an excellent tutorial on the 5th Gen oil change here; in case you're interested in doing it yourself.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/116417-oil-change-5th-gen-how-lots-pics.html

 

[NoDak]

Just slightly off subject....my dealer here offered free oil changes for life (for the original purchaser). They discontinued that as of Feb, 2014. The salesman said it cost them $90,000 a month and really cut into their profit.
Wow, that's a lot of cars! :twitch:

haha, guess someone didnt do the cost/benefit analysis correctly/deep enough

 

[Americas High Five]

...my dealer here offered free oil changes for life (for the original purchaser). They discontinued that as of Feb, 2014. The salesman said it cost them $90,000 a month and really cut into their profit....

A local Toyota dealer still offers oil changes for life on new purchases but the catch is you HAVE to perform any recommended maintenance they recommend. So when they offer you that recommended "throttle body cleaning" for $125, you need that done in order to get your "free oil change" :roll:

 

[LandCruiser]

If there's oil all over your engine block and transfer case, the dealer probably changed your oil.

 

[dclark2171]

I highly doubt oil changes are a cash cow for any shop. Pretty much every shop does oil changes as a loss leader to hopefully upsell profitable work.

Unless there is a switch to a non ICE, or a major revolution in engine design, or at least piston ring sealing, there will never be 100,000 mile oil changes.

True they are a loss leader. I use to work for GM/Delphi. 10,000 mile recommended oil changes would have happened many years ago. However, the dealers raised such a stink back then that GM (probably other makes as well) kept the suggested intervals at 3,000 -5,000. Even for Corvettes that had synthetic oil from the factory. Over time, the intervals increased slowly.

 

[nevada]

I haven't read all the responses, but to the OP. if you don't trust they are changing the oil, go somewhere else, or do it yourself.

 

[cbielat]

Just look inside the skid to see if there's a shit ton of oil all over it. They never clean it afterwards.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

Stripped and or missing skid pan bolts is also another indicator...that is if they bothered to change your filter.

 

[1000MPH]

Stripped and or missing skid pan bolts is also another indicator...that is if they bothered to change your filter.

Yep.
FYI...
Skid Plate Bolt: 90080-11373 BOLT, W/WASHER $0.071
Lower Cover Bolt: 90109 06330 BUMPER COVER BOLT $0.071

 

[eddiebx]

I drain out all of my oil and remove my filter before I drop it off for an oil change, so that way I know for sure they replaced it.

If you're that paranoid, maybe you can put a marking on the drain bolt so you can tell if it's been moved or not :noidea:

But I agree with everyone else, if you can't trust that they actually changed the oil, maybe you need to find a place that gives you better vibes, lol.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

I drain out all of my oil and remove my filter before I drop it off for an oil change, so that way I know for sure they replaced it.

If you're that paranoid, maybe you can put a marking on the drain bolt so you can tell if it's been moved or not :noidea:

But I agree with everyone else, if you can't trust that they actually changed the oil, maybe you need to find a place that gives you better vibes, lol.

Can you really trust any of them though? They all use minimum wage "Lube Techs" who have little to no training, and a high turn over rate. Even if a dealer had some good lube techs, there is no guarantee you would get the good one each time.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

Can you really trust any of them though? They all use minimum wage "Lube Techs" who have little to no training, and a high turn over rate. Even if a dealer had some good lube techs, there is no guarantee you would get the good one each time.

The only difference between a dealer lube tech and a Jiffy Lube tech is redundancy. The dealer grease monkey sees the same make/models all day long and hopefully gains experience much faster from the repetition. The Jiffy Lube lube tech deals with countless makes/models.

 

[eddiebx]

Can you really trust any of them though? They all use minimum wage "Lube Techs" who have little to no training, and a high turn over rate. Even if a dealer had some good lube techs, there is no guarantee you would get the good one each time.

I understand what you are saying...having larger shops working on your vehicles is not for everyone...if you're the paranoid type then it just might not be for you. Probably better off going to a small mom and pops independent shop, so you can see exactly who is working under the hood and what they are doing.

Tiny shops are not necessarily a bad thing these days. You get your message straight to the tech and there's much less chance for mis-communication.

 

[cbreze]

Just look inside the skid to see if there's a shit ton of oil all over it. They never clean it afterwards.

I thought it(skid) had to be removed to do a proper oil change. My Tacoma was that way anyhow. The dealer's tech would remove it and clean it!. Watched him do it.(he didn't know I was watching either) That's small town Oregon for ya though.