TRD Pro, should I just let the shop do the oil change?

Let me start by saying, I do all of my maintenance, but I am on that freebie maintenance plan which for some reason does an oil change at 10k miles.

I normally do 7k mile oil changes on personal vehicles. At 5k, apparently, I get a free tire rotation....

I am contemplating having the shop just do a 5k oil change except I stumbled upon some horror stories that Toyota shops have never seen a TRD skid plate before and F-up all the threads on the bolts?

What do you guys do on this freebie maintenance plan?

 

When I had my Pro they didn't tighten all the bolts on my skid plate. I only did one of my free ones. I just did my first free one on my SR5P and they seemed to do it correctly.

 

Thanks for commenting.

My fear seems less on performing the oil change, I just don't want them to F-up my threads on my skid plate or where it connects to the car.

 

I just check the fluid and have them do it. It is free and also, should you sell it down the line, dealer servicing is thought of as a good thing to most.

 

I have a great Toyota dealer/service dept here that did changes on my tundra, but when I bought my 4runner with 7 miles, I did everything on my own

 

I personally would pass. I asked my dealer for the filter and oil and said I would do it and they declined. If you want scratched rims when they yank the wheels to inspect brakes, stripped bolts, to much or little oil, scratched radio screen(yes it happened) and one guy here even had to get new paint and I think a mirror.
You don't get top mechanics doing the work, under skilled people who generally don't give a chit about your personal property and a door ding is meaningless is what does the oil changes

 

I take mine to a mechanic I trust. I've skipped all the freebies on this truck.

 

If you like the service department at your dealer, use it.

Tires should get rotated at 5K. Also, based on the manual, you should change the oil at 5K if you use the 4Runner for basically anything besides highway driving.

 

The main concern is the skid plate so you could pull the forward skid plate and the drain plug access cover on the rear skid plate.

My dealership stripped a couple of forward skid plate bolt holes and forgot to reinstall the drain plug access plug on my second free change.

I didn’t notice till I got home and had to drive back to dealership to get my plate back.

 

If you want to use the dealership for the oil change, you might consider just taking the skid plate off before taking it in and put it back when you get back home.

 

I have the dealer do changes, but I take all of my plates off before taking it in. It keeps them from screwing it up, while also allowing me to clean the plates and such, since they like to collect dirt and sometimes rocks.

 

Horror stories abound. So as not to create offense, I will only say that many pejoratives exist for the person tasked to oil changes.
And at least, with all the horrors listed above, the vehicle will still be worth stupid money.

 

If you want to use the dealership for the oil change, you might consider just taking the skid plate off before taking it in and put it back when you get back home.

2 the dealer strip my bolt had to tap the rear holes and purchase a thread restorer file for the bolt.

 

No idea what pejoratives means, and i dont give a fuck if my vehicle is worth dick, if i go to a place, pay them money for services, dont dick my JUNK up. You do shit work at your job??

"The vehicle will still be worth stupid money"
Im keeping my vehicle untill the wheels fall off, and dont need to pay to have it helped along.

Tell that to doctors, dentists, air line pilots, i could go on,..

Dude...

 

I imagine that there are thousands of Toyota owners who use the 'free' Toyotacare who will never check to see if skid plate bolts are cross threaded, loose, or even missing altogether (3 out of 4 is good enough, right?)...when they next visit the dealer, the oil change tech can just impact wrench off/on another bolt...as long as the skid plate appears to be on there, that's all most would think or care about. Forum members, who are most likely a small percentage of owners, do care, and are very careful to check. That's where the horror stories come from.

 

i get weird looks from the dealer when I bust out my torque wrenches to check the lugs and go under to check torque on the drain plug…But I am not driving off until I at least make sure they cannot blame me if something was done wrong.


But yeah, we are probably in the minority. I can only imagine how they would put on my 1 bolt that i slightly bent the anchor bracket for when I tested the skid plate on a rock. It’s tough because it slightly rubs the side of the frame hole, not cross threaded or anything, just really hard to finger tighten.

 

It really sucks that you have to double check their work like that! I stopped with dealer services after my 10K oil change/paint scratches were performed.

 

For sure I have not looked at the skid plate for damage. Absolutely check oil level prior to leaving the dealership.


All that said, I am not in disagreement with either of you about the merits of changing one’s own oil. Just, the reasons why I do so as the OP was asking. Much of my reason for not is that I am still dealing with the effects from my ORP getting flipped last year.

 

Pass on the dealer oil change.

I changed my mindset over the years away from trying to preserve (and leave a paper trail) the warranty and manuf good will by doing sched service at dealership. Over the last two long term cars I've owned have found that 9 out of 10 issues were caused by substandard workmanship at the dealer.

My new mindset is that I alone am accountable for the health and longevity of the vehicle and would prefer to take my chances with a bit more friction should I require warranty service on a bigger issue.

Over 30 years of building classic/antique motorcycles I've learned an important lesson: A person who really cares with less experience will get a better outcome than an "expert" who DGAF.

2c

Jason

 

Do the oil change yourself. I have aftermarket skids (RCI) and they always use the impact wrench on the skid bolts. I've had stripped bolts, missing bolts, edges rounded off, them not understanding there is a small access panel in the skid to get at the filter so you don't have to remove it.
Install a Fumoto valve and oil changes can be done really quickly with limited mess. https://trail4runner.com/2021/08/04/fumoto-drain-valve-5th-gen-4runner/

 

I skipped the freebies with my TRD Pro, as well. Doing oil changes AND tire rotations at 5k (ish) intervals and don't want to risk issues with dealership maintenance.

 

Do it yourself or find an independent mechanic that is trustworthy. The horror stories you hear about can and will happen. Most of the ‘easy’ stuff like oil changes are done by kids who are expected to crank out as many in one day as possible. Google a recent news story about the jeep owner who got sued after a 19 year old kid with no license, and no manual transmission driving experience, did an oil change and killed another mechanic at the jeep dealer. He hit the clutch after starting it and crushed a coworker when the car rolled forward. An extreme example but it just goes to show who actually performs these free services.

 

Why would the owner get sued for the kid's screwup?

 

Google the article. I believe it was due to Michigan law that holds any vehicle owner responsible for anything that happens involving that vehicle. Driving or not if you hand the keys over you are responsible. The mechanic’s family couldn’t sue the dealership or the 19year old. Ridiculous I know. Main point being a 19year old kid with no license was allowed to work there.

 

I'll skip the article. If that's the law in Michigan, it's ridiculous, and reading about it would just piss me off.

 

For sure. ^^^

 

Skip the “free” oil change. The probability of them screwing something up is very high.

 

I'm on the same page as @glwood54 here.

Regardless of the law, I can't imagine how anyone could hold the vehicle owner responsible. And, how the hell would the dealership not be accountable for allowing people who can't legally drive operate customers' vehicles?

Just ridiculous!

 

https://www.motortrend.com/news/jeep-owner-sued-oil-change-dealership-michigan/amp/

Ridiculous Indeed. Do your own maintenance.