Do you change your own oil or have Toyota service center do it?

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Had a friend that lost an engine due to them forgetting to tighten the oil drain screw. By the time he found out it was too late. He managed to drive it there and after much haggling they told him to stop harassing them or they'll call the cops so he had to tow his car out of there.

I had that happen to me but fortunately caught it in the nick of time. I had driven 45 minutes to work & parked leaving the engine running while I ran inside to clock in as I was running late. As luck would have it my co-worker was outside & noticed oil leaking under my Tundra. He immediately told me to shut off my truck which I did. We looked under there & the damned oil pan drain bolt was missing...presumably worked it's way loose! It had to have happened very close to my work because the oil pressure light didn't illuminate during my commute. We had to go buy a new drain bolt & some oil so I could get home. I returned to the shop that had recently changed my oil & gave them an earful. They cut me a check for the cost of the oil change they did & the supplies I had to buy because of their incompetence. The idiot that did the oil change was fired soon afterward. It's just one of many times that has caused me to distrust anyone working on my vehicle. I have a real problem trusting anyone to do the job correctly & without causing damage.

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[HVLA]

Do you guys change your own oil, or do you just take it to a Toyota service center?

The dealer will never touch my vehicle unless there is a TSB or warranty work.

 

[bancroftdg]

I have had great luck at Toyota of Dartmouth (Mass) with a number of my Toyotas over the years and will continue to service there for my 6G. For me its not worth the hassle of chaining my oil roughly twice a year. Maybe if I was younger (I'm 65) and had a garage

 

[Captain_Hook]

Wow after hearing y’all’s stories, I think I’m
Lucky haha. Of course I could make a mistake doing it, but I’d rather own up to it than have to fight a shop.

 

[6thGen1419]

Running boards and chin strap make it tight but doable on level ground to access skid and oil filter
I take off passenger side mud flap to access oil drain plug and turn wheel all the way to left no lifting vehicle.

I took off the chin strap front air damn. Makes sliding under the OR from the front for the oil change easy and roomy. I'm 6'2" 265. Taking off the grid plates is easy. They even have little hooks that hang in their own holes so you can hang the plate giving two free hands to get the bolts and ratchet them back on when putting the plates back on after the change.

 

[6thGen1419]

I have had great luck at Toyota of Dartmouth (Mass) with a number of my Toyotas over the years and will continue to service there for my 6G. For me its not worth the hassle of chaining my oil roughly twice a year. Maybe if I was younger (I'm 65) and had a garage

I feel your pain. I'm 67 with bad hip and knees and no garage. I found doing the oil change super easy once I took off the front air dam for easy access from the front. 12mm for the grid plates (not very heavy) and 14mm for the drain plug. Had to use a wrench on the filter the first time since toyota puts it on so tight at the factory. But access to the plug and filter is good and easy.

Now that I've done it and have what I need, I can change the oil in about 45 minutes, whenever I want.

 

[Peter_Offroad]

Do you guys change your own oil, or do you just take it to a Toyota service center?

I did one at about a 1000miles, and then when Toyota would not change the oil at 5000 miles I did it again. I am taking it in for its 10,000 mile service Monday, where they should do it. Then I plan to do it myself at 15,000miles and have Toyota do it at 20,000miles. After I have had them do all the "free" ones, I will do it myself. I have always changed my own oil (and brakes etc) on all the vehicles I have owner. Seems strange to give it to someone else. Plus I get to see what is going on with the car, when I do it. When you pay someone else, you never know what they actually do. Example: At 5000 miles service, I told the dealer that 2 bolts had come out of the chin spoiler. When they were "done" with the truck, I looked and they had not put new bolts in. I had to take it back in again immediately and have them do it. Note: one of those bolts has already fallen out again. I will probably lose the chin spoiler soon - its a pain.

 

[SouthCoast]

I did one at about a 1000miles, and then when Toyota would not change the oil at 5000 miles I did it again. I am taking it in for its 10,000 mile service Monday, where they should do it. Then I plan to do it myself at 15,000miles and have Toyota do it at 20,000miles. After I have had them do all the "free" ones, I will do it myself. I have always changed my own oil (and brakes etc) on all the vehicles I have owner. Seems strange to give it to someone else. Plus I get to see what is going on with the car, when I do it. When you pay someone else, you never know what they actually do. Example: At 5000 miles service, I told the dealer that 2 bolts had come out of the chin spoiler. When they were "done" with the truck, I looked and they had not put new bolts in. I had to take it back in again immediately and have them do it. Note: one of those bolts has already fallen out again. I will probably lose the chin spoiler soon - its a pain.

The air sam isn’t worth it. I tossed mine in the recycle as soon as I got home from the dealer. Two retaining tabs had already fallen out by that point though. Zero negative affect on mpg.

 

[Peter_Offroad]

The air sam isn’t worth it. I tossed mine in the recycle as soon as I got home from the dealer. Two retaining tabs had already fallen out by that point though. Zero negative affect on mpg.

Interesting that fuel economy did not change - that is the only reason to have it. Mine will go soon....

 

[perryj101]

Do it myself.

 

[HedgeHog]

The dealership I bought the Toyota, gives free oil changes twice a year for life, so long as I perform Toyota's recommended service intervals, so I'll be letting them do so until at least until the warranty ends.

 

[chouser]

The dealership I bought the Toyota, gives free oil changes twice a year for life, so long as I perform Toyota's recommended service intervals, so I'll be letting them do so until at least until the warranty ends.
[/QUOTE

The dealership I bought the Toyota, gives free oil changes twice a year for life, so long as I perform Toyota's recommended service intervals, so I'll be letting them do so until at least until the warranty ends.

Many people mistakenly believe that when they take their car in for an oil change that the master technicians are the ones doing the job. They are not. It's more than likely that some high school kid who has 15 cars to do that day is the one fooling with the car. Good recipe for all kinds of bad things to happen. Do it yourself or hire someone you know to come to your garage and do it. And another thing ....they don't drain it, they suck it out. Have to wonder how much is left behind.

 

[6thGen1419]

Many people mistakenly believe that when they take their car in for an oil change that the master technicians are the ones doing the job. They are not. It's more than likely that some high school kid who has 15 cars to do that day is the one fooling with the car. Good recipe for all kinds of bad things to happen. Do it yourself or hire someone you know to come to your garage and do it. And another thing ....they don't drain it, they suck it out. Have to wonder how much is left behind.

Wouldn't sucking out all the oil be even better than draining because they can suck out the stuff at the bottom of the drain pan that never makes it out the drain plug when draining?

 

[Peter_Offroad]

Wouldn't sucking out all the oil be even better than draining because they can suck out the stuff at the bottom of the drain pan that never makes it out the drain plug when draining?

No sucking is slow and only in one place as they likely go down the dipstick. They may not even reach the bottom. The oil drain plug method has the oil coming out fast - and at least the gunk near the drain is seeing a lot of flow to push it out - this flow will decrease with distance from the drain hole, but still will be reasonable over the pan.

 

[s3lekta]

No sucking is slow and only in one place as they likely go down the dipstick. They may not even reach the bottom. The oil drain plug method has the oil coming out fast - and at least the gunk near the drain is seeing a lot of flow to push it out - this flow will decrease with distance from the

interesting, wondering if anyone uses an extractor here.

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