What did your last oil change cost you?

Today I did something new: I paid for an oil change and tire rotation. I was looking into a position at a shop I wasn't familiar with, so I paid for an oil change to see what kind of operation they were running. Today I learned that the going rate for an oil change and tire rotation for a 5th Gen 4Runner at an independent shop is over $150.00

Breakdown of cost:
Labor $73.04 (hours not given, 0.5 billable is assumed)
Parts $ 70.32 (6.6qt "0w20 full synthetic" for $59.33 and "Oil Filter" for $10.99)
Fees $12.47 ($11.47 "RO fee" $1.00 oil disposal fee
10% Military Discount -$7.30
Taxes $5.80
Total $154.33

What did I get?
-tires rotated in some fashion (I don't know if they were crossed or not)
-new oil at the proper level (service writer didn't know what oil is used..."maybe Mobi1, I think"
-a new oil filter (O'reilly's MicroGard MGL57173 - might be a Wix jobber line)
-a leaking oil filter housing

What did I not get?
-a new drain plug crush washer
-upsold on other services (actually surprised at this one)
-a reach around

Okay so breaking it down, shops need to made money. I get that. In the grand scheme of things, oil changes are generally not moneymakers for shops or technicians. This is part of the reason why there are so many horror stories about oil changes gone wrong, and is not a new phenomenon. To put it in perspective, this job took one tech about an hour. Given 6 bays and a 10-hour workday, this service consumed about 2% of the shops throughput for probably around $100 gross profit. That sounds like a lot, but keeping lights on and paying salaries does not come cheap.

Understanding all of that... holy shit, 96 foot-pounds of breakaway torque on the filter housing! Lug nuts generally were around 90 ft-lb, with one just over 100. Not great; not terrible. Tech needs a new torque stick or needs to recalibrate his ugga-duggas. I have no idea WTF gasket is on my drain plug, but it was close to the correct 27 ft-lb.

In the pics you can see before/after position of the tab on the housing when torqued to 20 ft-lb. I installed a new OEM filter kit but did not replace the drain bolt gasket; that can wait until I change the oil, unless it starts leaking.

 

This is the reason why I do my own oil changes. I know what goes in and how I take things apart and how I put them back together. Oil and filter costs vary by region I would say, so for me it's about $60 for oil (Mobil1 full synthetic) and Toyota filter which is roughly $11. All in about $70 Cdn, or about $50 USD. Much cheaper and I know it was done right with correct spec oil.

 

I agree with you, but in the reality is the materials used were perfectly serviceable especially for my 5k oil change intervals. The real question is "is paying for the service worth the cost?" (value). To you and I that answer is no; there is more value in performing the service ourselves because we have the means to do so. Would I like to pay a shop to perform the same task as I do? Absolutely. Problem is there is no quality assurance that someone is going to put as much care into the work regardless of how much you pay.

To that end, please folks do some basic followup checks after having service performed. I realized this isn't always practical, but look for leaks and check the fluid levels you are able to. And don't get upsold on dumb shit.

 

Ouch! "Vary by region" is no exaggeration. Here OEM filters are $5-7 and I use Kirkland Synthetic at about $3.50/qt. 30-ish bucks all in.
I feel for ya.

 

My grandpa used to say, doing an oil change is probably the only time you would get underneath your car and check for other things . And he was right. In my case, 30 bucks for oil and 15 bucks for the K&N filter no hatting please on the K&N. And 1 hr all in for my slow a$$ moving around. I think I spent more time getting the drinks out than doing the actual work.

Now, here is the issue, I know as I get older my back doesn't do well during these gigs...and I will be dreading the moment I have to go to a place to get this done.

 

What did my last oil change cost me?

It was: Free-99! I had it done under the Toyota Care plan. Go ahead, hate on me all you want for taking it to the dealership. I checked their work afterwards and they didn't strip bolts or fuck anything up the first time they worked on my 4Runner. So I have been taking it back to the same dealership ever since.

But only for the free Toyota Care stuff. Now that it's over I'll pay my local guy to do it for me. Oh, and if want to hate on me for not doing it myself I say this to you: You can kiss the fattest part of my ass. I don't need to get greasy or dirty to prove I'm a man who can do man things. I'm lazy now and make good money, I'm gonna pay someone to do that shit for me.

 

It's about $65 for me to do the 4runner (oil/ filter). I do that myself, but we take my daughter's Murano and the husband's Camry to a local independent. It's around $30 for the Murano (5W30) and $80(!!!!) for the camry (0W16).

 

I change my own engine oil and filter on my 2022 T4R SR5 Premium 4WD. And grease the drive shaft zerks properly when due. I'm doing my oil changes on the 5,000 mile / or every 6 months schedule. How ever, at age 70, this is starting to become a drag- not something I particularly look forward to as I age. Still, once done, I do have the satisfaction of knowing it got done right. I plan on keeping my T4R for the rest of my driving days. Nothing else currently out there floats my boat, not even the 6th gen T4R. If you ask me, I think all of the various auto manufacturers are building over-complicated, over-priced junk these days. And these 5th gen T4Rs are the last of the good ones.

So, I too am dreading the time when I may no longer feel up to crawling under my trusty T4R to change the oil. I'm going to have to find someone or a shop who I can trust. And sadly, that may not necessarily be the Toyota dealer. I wish we had a "Car Care Nut" Toyota specialist here locally. Shitcago is way too far for me to drive to have his shop do it. (from Texas)

 

As I have said many times, find a local shop you trust for everything you might need. My shop does oil for like $80 and takes care of the other stuff on the list. I use Discount for rotation and balancing.

 

Free at the Toyota Dealership. The service manager and I are very good friends. He will take my truck back and come get me when it's done. If I take it in without an appointment he'll take it back and get the work done very quickly.

 

Should we place bets on how many functional skid plate bolts you have left?

 

My skid plate was installed by Chuck Norris, the bolts self heal if over tightened and are made of a metal that will never break.

 

This is critical if you don’t do your own work. You must establish a personal relationship, or there’s a good chance you are going to get hosed. I’d be totally fine with paying $150 for a 5000-mile service if I could trust the person to care about their work as much as I do. But what’s the point if I have to check and correct the work after paying for it.

 

Well since we’re talking oil changes what’s the thinking behind the “or 6 months “ ? I understand and agree to every 5k miles but I only drive mine 5k miles in a year . Maybe 6k .

 

In most cases, time based fluid replacement is not critical; but serves as a guideline to justify a sale.

Time based oil changes are important if you do a lot of short trips or incomplete drive cycles because the oil isn’t so much degraded by shear forces, but the additives work harder to neutralize combustion byproducts that don’t get cooked out from use… mainly water and acidic compounds.

Driving a 1-mile commute to work 5 days a week is harder on oil than a 10-mile commute. In the first scenario, it would take almost 10 years to rack up 5000 miles under those conditions. You would not want to go that long between oil changes.

In other cases, it is more important, such as brake fluid because it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere over time.

 

I believe Toyota dealers have bulk oil they buy for its price. Sometimes their service writer will tell you what they are using if you ask. Obviously to bump up profit.
I personally specify Toyota bottle engine oil and ask them to save me the empty bottles in a bucket I provide.
I also ask for the old filter element in a zip lock bag I provide and have them put it in the box the new filter came in. I know what the filter should look like.
My tires have a paint color marker on the TPMS stem because my Scanguage 2 gives a tire pressure readout and I match the color/tire to the pressure , also I can verify the rear cross rotate I request.

 

The techs must love you. Why not just do the work yourself if you are that OCD?

 

I did decades ago when I was younger. I had the adventure of owning an Austin Healy sports car and a BSA small motorcycle-the only British vehicles I will ever own! Then a couple VW's with the air cooled engines. Then a couple Volvos. Then a period of driving american made company cars. Then I owned gas & diesel engined boats. Then I got my first of 3 Hondas . And now moving into Toyotas. Found a 2019 SR5 for my daughter as she loved my 2017 SR5.
Now illness and injury prevents any serious wrenching on my family vehicles. I am blessed that I can still drive town and highways.

 

I do my own and I think its under $50. Side note housing torque is 18 ft lbs and drain cap on bottom is 9 ft lbs.