Bad experience while getting my car service

[FT-86GOD]

Please report..... I won't ever be taking my car to Toyota for servicing but had this happened to me I would have flipped out.... I would edit ur first post and change the thread title to DO NOT GO TO ###### FOR ANY SERVICING.. The least u can do is name and shame

[ahausheer]

Quality assurance drive for oil and filter? That's a bunch of BS. They would never get anything done because all of their techs would be out driving. They didn't go for a drive they stole your freaken car for 2.5 miles. I wonder if the ECU has a black box that records RPMs id try to see if you could pull that. I would write the owner of the dealership and threaten to take them to court, file a police report, or talk to local news. Of course I would not follow through but that should get the dealerships attention.

[Lonewolf]

OP-You're unhappy...you know what to do.

[yormaX]

I think this is blown out of proportion... The oil change and oil filter was "FREE" anyways. Seriously, what did you expect?

[alex86]

that was sad. they have to tell you everything at the first place before doing anything. i call it BS!

[seannyice81]

Most Toyota dealers don't have oil filters for our cars yet, so that is legit. I'm still waiting on my case to come in after having ordered it 2-3 weeks ago.

As far as them scheduling you for something they couldn't perform AND driving the car over 2 mi... Thats very unprofessional/uncalled for.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by yormaX

I think this is blown out of proportion... The oil change and oil filter was "FREE" anyways. Seriously, what did you expect?

He expected exactly what he should have gotten, the scheduled service performed correctly as advertised. It doesn't matter what it cost. What exactly is your point?

[kwood9000]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

He expected exactly what he should have gotten, the scheduled service performed correctly as advertised. It doesn't matter what it cost. What exactly is your point?

Exactly right. Free shouldn't equate to substandard service. Instead they should use this opportunity to impress you and try to win your business in the future.

I, for one, would never return.

[BRAWL]

The attempt to blackout the mark on the oil filter is bordering on criminal. The joyride (which is what that mileage equates to) is also not far off.

They done themselves more harm than good and will lose business as a consequence.

The way it should have gone is that they call to inform you that they are unable to change to oil filter due to unavailability and ask if you want to just change the oil or leave it until stock has arrived. Apologise for inconvenience etc...

Some businesses just want to fail.....

[haloterence]

Thanks for your sympathy guys. To answer some of the questions. This happened at Power Cerritos. My service advisor never mention beforehand that they didn't have the filter in stock. I wasn't even told about the filter not being changed till I caught it myself. I'm not even sure if they did the oil change since they decline to add the new drain plug I requested.

[#87]

I'm getting my first oil change next week. Thanks for posting this so I can do the same with the mark and trip odometer. I've had good experience with this dealer so far so hopefully they impress me and win me for life.

[BRAWL]

I usually do my own servicing on my current car as an oil change is not that hard and even ECU diagnostics is not that difficult. However, given that it is a new car in warranty, I will almost certainly take it to the dealer for my capped price servicing or another mob (if better).

[Kimsey47]

Sweet, this is a GREAT way to tell if the dealer is being shady with the oil changes... I'm going to do the filter mark EVERY time since it is so easy to do. Considering that this will be my first change coming up I'm going to be pissed if they leave the original filter since it was catching anything that was circulating during my break-in period! I wasn't too pleased when I took the car in to try and fix some rattles so if my dealer screws this up then it is on like donkey kong!

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by LazyZed

I usually do my own servicing on my current car as an oil change is not that hard and even ECU diagnostics is not that difficult. However, given that it is a new car in warranty, I will almost certainly take it to the dealer for my capped price servicing or another mob (if better).

At least this will serve as a cautionary tale for all those who will be taking their car in for service:

1) Always reset the trip to zero AND make note of how many miles you have on the car when you drop it off and pick it back up based on the odometer.

2) I always mark the oil filter with a permanent marker and a numeric code to see if it has been changed (you can catch much more bs service when the filter is down below).

3) Before I get too far away from a service provider I pop the hood to check the caps/condition of the engine bay and oil level, and check all the lugs quickly to make sure they are affixed. This takes less than a few minutes and can save you big headaches.

***I have had techs/mechanics forget to tighten oil caps (which can lead to a big mess), put in WAY too much oil, forget to install a lug on one of my wheels, and forget to torque down ALL the lugs on one wheel...and I discovered this as the wheel was vibrating like crazy on the freeway (imagine what could have happened).

*Before anyone says you should just do all your work yourself...that is what I prefer, but there are times when that is not feasible, or not possible (like warranty work).