Toyota Dealer Confidence

Having a newish Tundra I have read quite a bit on this very helpful site. Something I have noticed was the lack of dealer confidence on basic jobs like oil changes.

Being that my truck came with ToyotaCare I was ready to get it in for my free oil change. Before I scheduled it I decided to check the site out and found that Toyota dealers seem to have a lack of confidence by some owners. This could be anything from an oil mess on the skid plate, brand of oil used or putting on the oil filter cap on too tight.

After reading all the replies I decided to do the oil change myself, and done so with no issues.

Now I am wanting my tires rotated and I read about how not torquing the wheels correctly could cause issues with the rotors. I find myself looking into floor jacks to do it myself, only because I don't have confidence in my local dealer after my experience in the past.

 

You are better off learning and doing it yourself. Buying the tools is an initial investment that will pay dividends in years to come. Most shops are hacks including Stealers with multiple layers of BS to wade through. The time you spend at a shop you can do most basic fluid changes at home in the same or less time.

 

I’ve never had any issues at dealers with oil changes or tire rotations. You can always check their work afterwords. Post where you are in IN and maybe someone can recommend a good dealer if you want.

 

What PHM said ^^^.

For me it is the 100,000% satisfaction knowing that it was done to my expectations and standards and therefore was done correctly.

You should know that I also don't let other people brush or floss my teeth.

 

The dealership I purchased mine from never changed the oil filter on my 1st oil change.
Guess he was too lazy to remove the skid plate.

Never went back.

 

You need to do your homework. Some dealers will be as reliable as any other trusted auto shop. But there are certainly a significant percentage that are very poor - including the down right dishonest cheats. Yes, it's good to learn how to do your own, but it's ALSO good to know who you can trust for those jobs you either don't want to handle - or just plain can't. The dealer I use is not the closest to my house because of what I heard from people around here. The one I use has excellent ratings and recommendations but I am still cynical and back check everything they do. I am using them for my free services because I'd rather discover some reason not to trust them on simple stuff rather than get royally screwed on a big issue.

 

I trust Toyota parts in my truck. Now I do have to find a dealership I like when I have moved. But like anything else, there are good and bad in everything and you just need to find the dealership that you feel most comfortable with.

When I got my truck, it took me going to 3 different dealerships to feel comfortable and confident in my service writer.

 

The problem is bigger than this though.

Most dealers use children and other unskilled labor to do routine jobs like the free oil changes and tire rotations to maximize profits where they can.

There are people eager top do it right and then there are people who could not really care at all and there are people everywhere in between.

So lets say one time you go in and some kid does your routine job well but the next time a different person does it badly.
I have had my Oil Drain screwed completely by this and then they had the nerve to try to charge me for the repair too!

It is a complete crap shoot unless you have a relationship with your service writer where you can talk about this honestly up front and I have had better writers then suggest that I go somewhere else as they have ZERO control over who will do your work.

In the end you can not really trust anyone except yourself or personal friends maybe to do it correctly.

 

It is a big problem, I agree. The saddest part of the whole thing is Toyota is offering free oil changes and tire rotations and people still won't let them touch their truck. Dealers really need to question this.

 

Sort of depends...obviously gotta do your homework. My first Tundra, I drove over an hour to take it to a specific dealer because the neighbor of a close friend of mine was a mechanic at that dealership, and I took it only to the service advisor for the "team" that he was on. Eventually, he retired, and I had enough miles on the truck that nothing was covered under warranty any more. At that point, I started to do the work myself, but I'm a busy guy and there are a lot of other things I find more joy in than changing my own oil and remembering what all I need to lube/check/tighten/change. And I didn't have the tools or experience for things like brakes and anything more complicated. So I started to take it to other dealers that were closer...but never really got the feeling any of them cared about my vehicle or my truck. One tried to convince me I needed more than $10k worth of work done on it!

Then I got lucky - my daughter started dating a guy who is totally into cars, and who's dad is a fleet mechanic for a large electrical utility. They've got a great shop, and Jared (the boyfriend) takes care of our cars like they were his own. The first thing he found when doing the oil on my wife's '17 Forester was the oil drain bolt head stripped, and the lug nuts all over-torqued. On my 2008 Tundra, when he went to do my brakes, the bleed screw on one caliper snapped off when he went to loosen it, and the other one had a crack in the casting and started leaking as soon as he touched it. Needless to say, no one touches our cars except him...and currently I took my Tundra in for the first oil change because I've already pre-paid for them under Toyota Care. But I'm not sure I'll bother with the rest of them, except maybe only to ensure I don't have any issues with any warranty claims.

 

The lack of dealer confidence is not a Toyota thing. Some guys don't trust any dealerships.

For me, it depends on the dealership. I got tired of the one near my house telling my wife that something on her 2013 Corolla was broken every time she took it in but the one across town where I bought my truck seems good.

 

Me ^^^.

Four (4) new-from-the-dealer Toyotas since 2016 and not/never/no dealer "free" oil change. Though they spent a crap pot of money sending me mailers, e-mails and blowing up my cell phone ("we don't sell your phone number." Yea.).

 

I trust nobody for maintenance other than myself.

If it was a lease, that would be a different story. They own the vehicle, if they F it up, they can fix it themselves. In the end they get it back and can’t complain about their own repairs.

 

Yup. My wife leases an outback. It’s a rather stress free experience for the reasons you stated. Though they did try getting us to come in every 3000 miles for oil changes- got me one time ha bastards. I was in a jam this summer and had Toyota change my oil, they could barely do that, wtf. Always so much bullshit involved. I would try to find a local mom and pop shop.

 

My girlfriend leased an Isuzu Rodeo in the past and got into an accident. She brought it to the dealer to do the repair and they did a horrible job painting it where the bumper was almost two shades off. When she brought it back at the end of the lease they had the nerve to complain about the repair!

When she told them their dealership did the work, they quickly shut up about it. I almost pissed my pants laughing since I was there to see the whole ordeal unfold.

 

Haha can’t make this stuff up.

 

To be fair, it's not just Toyota. The short list is that in 25 years I have found one Jeep/Dodge dealer in a small town that did excellent work without any BS (unfortunately, they went out of business - I assume due to low volume location). Also found a Honda dealership that did excellent body work. Other than that, it's been mostly a slew of disappointments, a couple full blown ordeals, and a few "just OK" experiences mixed in.

 

I do for two simple reasons:

1. They've never, not once, screwed me over.
2. I've asked them if I could watch them perform the maintenance in the past; they said "sure" and pulled up a chair. LOL

 

NOPE ! Took mine for an alignment (STUPID IDEA), was told when I picked it up that the rack got it to 90%, and when they swapped the 2 front tires it was perfect. I was skeptical but paid $138 dollars and went on my way. Well it was doo-doo, I called and complained and they found it hard to believe because D**rick was their top guy and he would never do sloppy work. I took it to a local guy and he said it was WAY OFF, showed the paperwork to the dealer, they didn't bat an eye. How do we know you didn't hit something and knock it out of alignment. I won't be returning..

 

DITTO!

22 years servicing my trucks, and my local Toyota dealer continues to earn my business

 

Bought my truck and it came with lifetime oil changes and tire rotation and they have a service where it's 35 mins or less or they'll top off your tank. So I'm there for all the maintenance!

 

My local dealer in Mburg Ohio doesnt have my confidence, just sayin.

bought my 16 CM there and during the 3rd oil change the hit the right leading edge of the bed and that aluminum running board so hard
that it tore a hole in the rock/chip guard plastic piece and dented the panel and warped the running board on that side.

I showed them the damage before I left the lot and they fixed the bed but denied any part in the damage to the running board
which was brand new mind you.

Went back just a month ago for the wife's RAV4 TPMS issue, noted here in the ask the mechanic section and got the run around.
Not going back. Will take the truck to a dealer in Cinci before I drive 10 minutes back to them.

Their service advisors are teenagers except one that Im aware of.

 

I tried to get an oil change a a dealer recently as my regular guys shop got the 'Rona and I couldn't wait for them to get to it.
So only 1 dealer here cold even do it within the week but said it would be a 2 hour wait if I wanted an appt?
I asked about the time and they said it just takes that long and if I dont want the appt too bad.

So I waited for my guy to be back online.

Its not just that they dont care it seems like they want to piss me off?!

But obviously there can be a good one anywhere and they can also change at anytime the trick is how do you know which it is?

 

It all depends on you and the dealership. Before I bought my truck, I talked with the service manager. We sat down like gentleman and I basically interviewed him to ensure that I knew he understood what my expectations are. I asked that, no matter what, a Master Technician of my approval, would be the only person in the dealership to touch my truck. ( This especially means NO PORTERS!). I pull in park my truck where I like, walk into my Tech's bay and hand him the keys with a $20 bill and say thanks.
Never a problem.

 

This is true too. I did not get lifetime oil changes.

I did, however, get a lifetime engine warranty, which is equally acceptable. LOL (And it's TRUE lifetime, as in unlimited miles/unlimited time.)