BEWARE of Dealer oil change deception!!!
05-05-07, 11:43 AM
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BEWARE of Dealer oil change deception!!!
I took my 2006 IS350 to Toyota for the 10,000 mile oil change ($27.95 as opposed to $60.00 at Lexus). I was concerned the oil filter was never changed, even at the 5,000 mile oil change because I tried to do it myself and busted a tool trying to break the housing for the filter free. Because it was so tight I thought that maybe it was that way from the factory because a dealer tech would never crank it down that hard. So....I decided to take it to the dealer for the oil change to see if they would have a problem changing the filter. I marked it prior to taking it in with a marker to ensure they would, in fact, change the filter. Well, as it turns out, when I got my car back I checked to see if the marks still lined up and it turns out they did. Which tells me that they never changed the filter, only the oil. So I brought this up to the service rep and he tried to tell me that it would always line up the same way no matter how you put it on (which is total bull). So to appease me he went to ask the tech that changed my oil about it and to my surprise the tech admitted that he DID NOT change my oil filter because he did not have the correct tool. So all he did was change my oil. the service rep was as shocked as I was to hear that so they told me they would give it to an actual mechanic not just an oil change/brake tech. I stood there and watched him change the filter and to his surprise it took quite a bit to break the housing loose. The tech said it would never be that tight from a tech but couldnt say for sure if it was changed at 5,000 miles or not. So they did change my filer with me watching and did not charge me for the oil change. Now that it has been broken loose I can change it myself in the future.
So you may want to ensure the dealer you take it to is actually changing the filter. It seems like so many techs are unaware of the new filter setup and do not have the proper tools. Just a heads up. You need to stay on top of these guys to protect your car.
So you may want to ensure the dealer you take it to is actually changing the filter. It seems like so many techs are unaware of the new filter setup and do not have the proper tools. Just a heads up. You need to stay on top of these guys to protect your car.
05-05-07, 12:00 PM
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oh im scared now, they could have not changed my filter all this time...... since my first time was the dealer then i took it to an outside oil change service..... oh wellz.
05-05-07, 12:01 PM
#4
I took my 2006 IS350 to Toyota for the 10,000 mile oil change ($27.95 as opposed to $60.00 at Lexus). I was concerned the oil filter was never changed, even at the 5,000 mile oil change because I tried to do it myself and busted a tool trying to break the housing for the filter free. Because it was so tight I thought that maybe it was that way from the factory because a dealer tech would never crank it down that hard. So....I decided to take it to the dealer for the oil change to see if they would have a problem changing the filter. I marked it prior to taking it in with a marker to ensure they would, in fact, change the filter. Well, as it turns out, when I got my car back I checked to see if the marks still lined up and it turns out they did. Which tells me that they never changed the filter, only the oil. So I brought this up to the service rep and he tried to tell me that it would always line up the same way no matter how you put it on (which is total bull). So to appease me he went to ask the tech that changed my oil about it and to my surprise the tech admitted that he DID NOT change my oil filter because he did not have the correct tool. So all he did was change my oil. the service rep was as shocked as I was to hear that so they told me they would give it to an actual mechanic not just an oil change/brake tech. I stood there and watched him change the filter and to his surprise it took quite a bit to break the housing loose. The tech said it would never be that tight from a tech but couldnt say for sure if it was changed at 5,000 miles or not. So they did change my filer with me watching and did not charge me for the oil change. Now that it has been broken loose I can change it myself in the future.
So you may want to ensure the dealer you take it to is actually changing the filter. It seems like so many techs are unaware of the new filter setup and do not have the proper tools. Just a heads up. You need to stay on top of these guys to protect your car.
So you may want to ensure the dealer you take it to is actually changing the filter. It seems like so many techs are unaware of the new filter setup and do not have the proper tools. Just a heads up. You need to stay on top of these guys to protect your car.
If you did, they should have "broken loose" the housing ?
05-05-07, 12:13 PM
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I would like to trust than having to watch the service but I guess this world is becoming more corrupted by the day! So I choose to watch now or byebye.
05-05-07, 01:18 PM
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thanks for the info..
That's why you NEVER take your Lexus to Toyota for service because only at a lexus dealer could you be guranteed that they have the proper tools to diagonose and service your car. Good thing you caught it though!
That's why you NEVER take your Lexus to Toyota for service because only at a lexus dealer could you be guranteed that they have the proper tools to diagonose and service your car. Good thing you caught it though!
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05-05-07, 01:24 PM
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I took my IS350 to Toyota for an oil change. I bought the oil filter and plug washer from lexus so I took them and Toyota removed the price difference. I saw them change the oil filter without a problem. The tech must have had the correct tool. The talked to him after and he said it wasn't hard at all. The service rep did tell me that some Toyota dealers don't carry the correct oil filter but they did. Lexus charged me $3 more for the exact same oil filter. I checked the parts numbers. Next time I'm goign to call ahead and make sure they have the oil filter available and buy it from Toyota.
05-05-07, 04:23 PM
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Marking in an inconspicuous place would lower the possibility that your mark was 'removed' by the tech. either purposely or accidentally (oil or solvent might remove a sharpie mark).