Stealership service?

[Bumbo]

And there is a catch, as they must perform all other factory service: "Free" oil changes for life.

My dad used to tell me this all the time when I was a little kid...

"There is no such thing as a free lunch."

If one can at least understand that as they navigate though life, you are already miles ahead of most.

 

[StoneDog]

it's 10k miles for oil changes, it follows your service manual

it's possible the dealer is offering the extra oil changes themselves. did the dealership offer an additional maintenance plan beyond toyotacare?

Yeah, they tried to sell all sorts of add-ons once we were in the Finance office - no different from any other new car I've bought... But the sales guy on the floor was apparently saying 4 years prior to that. It must have been part of the "Toyotathon" sales event and they did say it was universal (any Toyota dealership).

The fact that I have no paperwork to prove it is concerning and I'm perhaps in denial that I was ripped off... I'm wondering if there is some sort of Toyota-wide service database that would confirm this.

 

[delloro]

Dealerships (and even independent shops) only steal from the uninformed. Knowing what to expect and having a modicum of understanding of what needs to be done in terms of preventative maintenance on vehicles in general will save you $$$.

People should not have to defend themselves against hard sell tactics or sales overreaching, but it happens all too often. Not all the time, my wife's Hyundai dealer was fair and honest, but I don't trust my local Toyota dealer and I know local shops try to take advantage of people. I have saved coworkers many hundreds of $$$ by reviewing "recommended" work. My local Toyota dealer tried to R&R a cylinder head to solve a rough idle in a car not using coolant. I told them no and had to make my case to their service manager. I didn't pay them a dime for their efforts, but that's because I am a competent mechanic and have done my own work for many years. I explained why they were full of shit and he could not explain otherwise.

Nobody should have to expect that. It's not right. But it happens every day.

 

[delloro]

Can I ask what the rationale is for giving them money for an oil change that isn't deemed necessary?

Before stating any kind of contamination comments, please be able to provide oil test results from new vs that is extracted if you are going to. Broscience doesn't answer questions, facts do.

I'm actually curious if anyone has actual evidence that this is necessary.

Here's a fact Brofessor. Oil contamination and degradation is a sliding scale, not a binary all-or-nothing event. Some people value longevity over perfect oil-change-economy, and thusly balance their efforts.

Keeping in mind such principles as "planned obsolescence" and the fact that Toyota is in the business of making money, not everlasting engines, people are free to value shorter oil change intervals over extended intervals.

Now, before you respond, are you relying upon Toyota marketing for your convictions? Have you seen Toyota's data? Their underlying facts?

Have you done the math? What are your assumptions, objectives, and inputs? Or are you just doing what Toyota tells you to do without reviewing their underlying studies and facts?

If you rely strictly upon data and facts, I wonder if you are a 25,000 mi Amsoil practitioner, as they claim to have more data and studies than anybody else. On what basis do you ignore their facts?

I anticipate you to argue that there is no evidence before you that a shorter oil change interval extends engine life, but I remind you that there is no evidence before you that a shorter oil change internal does not extend engine life.

You can demand all the facts you want, but you really should have some yourself before you require them of others.

I have perused BITOG and I know what a near-useless argument most motor oil discussions become as amateurs bandy about terms and facts they don't fully understand, with no real conclusions reached except for personal preferences.

Motor oil "facts" are overrated.

 

[curmudge1]

I almost always go to the dealer for oil change

I used to change the oil in my 2-door Tahoe, and the Blazer (fullsize, same as 2-door Tahoe) before that, and the K1500 truck before *that*. But, I could just crawl under the Chevy trucks & get to the drain plug and spin-on filter easily. And, I liked knowing what kind of oil (came around to using synthetic oil in the Blazer, it was a diesel) & filter (Purolator PureOne, usually).

But, I can't just crawl under the 4Runner, as far as I can tell. And it looks to be more work. Plus, I don't have a good place to do it.

And, big thing here... the big dealer I bought my 4Runner, used, CPO, from (Hudson Toyota, Jersey City, NJ), pretty much always has some kind of deal for oil changes, which include some multi-point checks. Last Saturday, $40 for oil change & checks, nitrogen fill of tires (I declined) and the email coupon got me a free cell phone charger (little battery pack). They also tell me what other services are due, too, but I don't pay them to do it (i.e., no $50 air filters, as mentioned before).

So I have a record of oil changes, in case of warranty issue for the powertrain (100,000 miles/7 years), and I wasn't outside in bad weather.

I figure the dealership service dept. is trolling for more work, but since I know that, I just go in & get a good deal on the oil change.

Just my point of view, I understand why you would want to do your own work.

 

[Rightside Up]

I won't be going 10,000 miles between oil changes.

 

[Engineer]

I will be going 10,000 miles between oil changes

 

[e60ral]

Here's a fact Brofessor. Oil contamination and degradation is a sliding scale, not a binary all-or-nothing event. Some people value longevity over perfect oil-change-economy, and thusly balance their efforts.

Keeping in mind such principles as "planned obsolescence" and the fact that Toyota is in the business of making money, not everlasting engines, people are free to value shorter oil change intervals over extended intervals.

Now, before you respond, are you relying upon Toyota marketing for your convictions? Have you seen Toyota's data? Their underlying facts?

Have you done the math? What are your assumptions, objectives, and inputs? Or are you just doing what Toyota tells you to do without reviewing their underlying studies and facts?

If you rely strictly upon data and facts, I wonder if you are a 25,000 mi Amsoil practitioner, as they claim to have more data and studies than anybody else. On what basis do you ignore their facts?

I anticipate you to argue that there is no evidence before you that a shorter oil change interval extends engine life, but I remind you that there is no evidence before you that a shorter oil change internal does not extend engine life.

You can demand all the facts you want, but you really should have some yourself before you require them of others.

I have perused BITOG and I know what a near-useless argument most motor oil discussions become as amateurs bandy about terms and facts they don't fully understand, with no real conclusions reached except for personal preferences.

Motor oil "facts" are overrated.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/124761-blackstone-oil-report.html

 

[delloro]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/124761-blackstone-oil-report.html

Those can be informative, but without other similar truck testing at different intervals, we can't know if your copper number is significant.

I have long been tempted to try one if those, but as a single data point I am not sure how useful it would be to me.

I wonder where the copper is in a 4runner oil system anyways?

 

[Calif-4runner]

Can I ask what the rationale is for giving them money for an oil change that isn't deemed necessary?

Before stating any kind of contamination comments, please be able to provide oil test results from new vs that is extracted if you are going to. Broscience doesn't answer questions, facts do.

I'm actually curious if anyone has actual evidence that this is necessary.

There are are probably two car topics that generate more internet banter on every car forum than Oil Change Frequency and Oil Viscosity.

I use the Bob's Oil Scientific Algorithm for my oil changes:
4Runner - Every 5,000 miles (because 2,500 is too frequent and 10,000 seems like a long time)

Boss 302 - Every 5,000 miles cause 2,500 is too frequent and 10,000 seems like to long at 7K RPM Shifts. Lol

I kid but I do tend to prematurely change my oil. Yes I know it's not needed, but it also doesn't hurt anything to change more frequent. I recycle it at the oil changes so nothing gets dumped.

Bob

 

[Kenstaroni]

You said it's a 2017 with 5k and you have put 5k on it in about a month, so you bought it new a month ago right?

I'd definately change the oil. Either yourself or have them do it. New engines are alot better about this but I'd still want to flush any break in metal out. Soccer moms can go 10k on an oil change but if you're out using the vehicle like most of us do on here then I'd consider going 5k intervals. 7qt of 0-20 Mobil 1 at Wally World and a oem filter (less than 4 bucks) are only maybe 35 bucks ish. Buy 2 of the 5qt jugs and keep one around to make up your 1.6qts for a few changes and that will save you some off buying individual quarts.

I have an 18 TRD ORP with 3,600 ish on it.

Oil change at 600 miles (oil fairly dark already but not too bad)
Oil change at 2600 miles (oil cleaner than the 600 mile change)
I'll be changing it again at 5k then going 5k intervals and letting the dealer do their oil changes at 10k and 20k.

Both Diff's and Transfer case flushed and replaced with Amsoil at 3k miles. Rear diff was pretty dirty already, front somewhat, TC was clean.

Remember Toyota only warranties these things to 36k. Wear from long oil change intervals if it occurs likely won't show up until later on in life after Toyota's responsibilities have long since gone.

Everyone is going to have a different opinon on this of course but if it were me and I was planning on keeping it for a long time (and wheeling it..lol) I'd do 5k intervals on oil, 15k gear oil on both diffs, 30k on transfer case. All of those things are super easy to do in your garage with minimal tools.

 

[catrains]

1) Toyotacare includes oil changes at standard factory intervals. For you (and me) that's 1 per 10k mi. Two free oil changes. Better than none!

2) A local dealer offers lifetime free oil changes. Dealers can offer whatever they want as sales incentives. Of course, I doubt that dealer uses factory oil. It's not cheap. And there is a catch, as they must perform all other factory service: "Free" oil changes for life.

factory oil ???? no factory oil gonna go back in my T4R... had sludge under the oil fill cap. perfectly clean now . new 3K miles changed that factory oil .. used mobil1 oil, cap clean no crap etc..ran 7500 miles changed it looked as good as new.

engines are very clean and broken in before shipment.

 

[Rmack]

engines are very clean and broken in before shipment.

Toyota does in fact run the engine and change the oil prior to shipment, but it takes anywhere between 2,500 to 5,000 miles to break the engine in completely. Maybe more depending on driving conditions.

 

[catrains]

Toyota does in fact run the engine and change the oil prior to shipment, but it takes anywhere between 2,500 to 5,000 miles to break the engine in completely. Maybe more depending on driving conditions.

this engine is the cleanest I have ever owned .. oil had no particles and filter housing very clean. just sludge under the oil fill cap..

GM engines new very bad ..this is over 45 yrs ..