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

[BDuane007]

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

I don’t mind doing it but since it’s free for a while, I feel safer letting them do it. I figure if I do all of my service there, (I have a really great Toyota service department), and I ever have issues, they will not be able to blame me for anything. Taking the advice of the Car Care Nut Channel guy, I will change every 3,500 mikes using Mobile One Full Synthetic and 5W-30 weight. I called Toyota in California and have permission to do this. They took all of my vehicle information plus my dealership information and said I could use it. Plus I went to my dealership and they said no problem bringing my own own oil. I will use their filter of course.

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[SouthCoast]

I don’t mind doing it but since it’s free for a while, I feel safer letting them do it. I figure if I do all of my service there, (I have a really great Toyota service department), and I ever have issues, they will not be able to blame me for anything. Taking the advice of the Car Care Nut Channel guy, I will change every 3,500 mikes using Mobile One Full Synthetic and 5W-30 weight. I called Toyota in California and have permission to do this. They took all of my vehicle information plus my dealership information and said I could use it. Plus I went to my dealership and they said no problem bringing my own own oil. I will use their filter of course.

I’m extremely surprised a dealership authorized you switching to 5w30. Did they provide this in writing and indicate any “damage” caused by the oil switch would still be covered?

 

[AdFour]

I’m extremely surprised a dealership authorized you switching to 5w30. Did they provide this in writing and indicate any “damage” caused by the oil switch would still be covered?

I believe the manual says you can use 5w20 but should go back to 0w20 immediately on the next change..

 

[SouthCoast]

I believe the manual says you can use 5w20 but should go back to 0w20 immediately on the next change..

Yes, it does, but It mentions nothing about changing the hot oil temperature viscosity from 20 to 30 though. While changing to a 5W 20 may not incur warranty void instances, I would be surprised that OEM would not take that opportunity to say this is on the owner just in order to not pay for a repair

 

[AdFour]

Yes, it does, but It mentions nothing about changing the hot oil temperature viscosity from 20 to 30 though. While changing to a 5W 20 may not incur warranty void instances, I would be surprised that OEM would not take that opportunity to say this is on the owner just in order to not pay for a repair

The point is if a relatively safe 5w20 change is frowned upon, why would you consider a 5w30

 

[CO/ZA]

I believe the manual says you can use 5w20 but should go back to 0w20 immediately on the next change..

The difference in 0w-20 and 5w-20 is negligible if you live south of Canada.

5w-30 is spec'd for the 2.4 turbo in other world markets where CAFE requirements aren't so strict.

Once my warranty is up I'll switch to 0w-30; Denver is "hot and high" during the summer which adds strain.

0w-20 is fine for a daily still though.

The B58 turbo six in my 340i let you use anything from 0w-20 to 5w-40.

 

[BDuane007]

I’m extremely surprised a dealership authorized you switching to 5w30. Did they provide this in writing and indicate any “damage” caused by the oil switch would still be covered?

Actually it was Toyota in California that has the final say in warranty issues, as the lady told me. I spelled out everything for her to understand especially the part that I towed a lot and needed good protection. She was gone for a bit asking her boss I’m sure, but came back and said, “No problem“, just please tell me all about your vehicle, current mileage, dealer name and address, etc. she said our conversation and all of this new information will be in my file with them. I even said, “If I ever get into trouble with an oil issue, you are gonna have my back, right? She said, Absolutely “. I was amazed how easy it was but if you think about it, she now knows me as an owner who is going to take special care of my vehicle, which most people don’t, right? She is probably happy to have me as an owner, I would be.

 

[BlueBird]

Planning on draining the factory fill around 1k, and then having the dealer do the normal service at 5k
I generally do my own maintenance, but I’ll certainly use the complimentary changes. I do also like to have my vehicle at a shop periodically, if for nothing else to get a second set of eyes on it

 

[Tony.636]

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

As an Automotive Technician having worked at a Dealership for 12 years, I don't trust anyone to work on my vehicle.
But as long as the vehicle is under warranty a big stack of service receipts from the dealership trumps everything else in the eyes of the manufacturer.
That stack of Receipts can get you courtesy mayor repairs even after the warranty has ran out.

 

[kekecarioca]

I got the first 2 free ones done at the Dealer. Afterwards I played for one at the Dealer since I had to go anyways for the last Toyota care tire rotation. Not doing that again...I had to correct them on 5.9qt vs the 7qt they had on the bill....

Did my 4th one yesterday at home and it is a breeze if you got some experience, but also very easy to learn if it's your first time. The filter is in a very easy location to remove and not make a mess. Mine was WAY over tight and had enough room to bring the good old pipe wrench to get the first loose turn....

Currently @ 16.6K and on the 4th oil change.

As other mentioned, there are good write ups out there too.
Cheers

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

I got the first 2 free ones done at the Dealer. Afterwards I played for one at the Dealer since I had to go anyways for the last Toyota care tire rotation. Not doing that again...I had to correct them on 5.9qt vs the 7qt they had on the bill....

Did my 4th one yesterday at home and it is a breeze if you got some experience, but also very easy to learn if it's your first time. The filter is in a very easy location to remove and not make a mess. Mine was WAY over tight and had enough room to bring the good old pipe wrench to get the first loose turn....

Currently @ 16.6K and on the 4th oil change.

As other mentioned, there are good write ups out there too.
Cheers

Thanks for sharing. Are you using wheel ramps or jacking it up... Or simply leaving all 4 wheels on the ground & shimmying underneath it to do the task?

 

[kekecarioca]

Thanks for sharing. Are you using wheel ramps or jacking it up... Or simply leaving all 4 wheels on the ground & shimmying underneath it to do the task?

Yes, forgot to mention that. I did 4 wheels on the ground but had just enough space to remove skid plate ( 6 bolts) and do the rest, etc....with ease. I have a TH, so maybe the factory lift adds just a hair more space than a TRD OR.
For sake of more comfort while doing it next time I might just drive over 2 pieces of 2 x 6 on the front end. I might also add a 3/4" plywood on the driver side only tilt the truck just a bit : drive side higher than passenger. This might help drain the last bit of oil faster at the bottom of the oil pan since the bolt sits a bit of to the side. When i did my change yesterday, it sat there dripping for a gooood while..... hard to explain without looking at it, but hope it makes sense.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Yes, forgot to mention that. I did 4 wheels on the ground but had just enough space to remove skid plate ( 6 bolts) and do the rest, etc....with ease. I have a TH, so maybe the factory lift adds just a hair more space than a TRD OR.
For sake of more comfort while doing it next time I might just drive over 2 pieces of 2 x 6 on the front end. I might also add a 3/4" plywood on the driver side only tilt the truck just a bit : drive side higher than passenger. This might help drain the last bit of oil faster at the bottom of the oil pan since the bolt sits a bit of to the side. When i did my change yesterday, it sat there dripping for a gooood while..... hard to explain without looking at it, but hope it makes sense.

Very helpful info. Thank you. I'm a novice at changing my own oil & I'm gearing up to do it soon. I want to be fully prepared to do it the best way & without any problems to figure out. I do know I'm going to replace the drain plug with a ValvoMax like I have on my Tundra to make things cleaner & easier for future oil changes. Great device to have.

 

[CO/ZA]

Very helpful info. Thank you. I'm a novice at changing my own oil & I'm gearing up to do it soon. I want to be fully prepared to do it the best way & without any problems to figure out. I do know I'm going to replace the drain plug with a ValvoMax like I have on my Tundra to make things cleaner & easier for future oil changes. Great device to have.

Only thing I don't like about those or the Fumoto ones is that you are leaving a little extra oil in the pan due to the nature of how it works and is sized for the bung.

You can pull the plug as usual and oil flows out of a 1/2" hole, or use the valve insert and you now have only a 3/16" hole - therefore some additional oil remains below the opening for the valve.

 

[kekecarioca]

Very helpful info. Thank you. I'm a novice at changing my own oil & I'm gearing up to do it soon. I want to be fully prepared to do it the best way & without any problems to figure out. I do know I'm going to replace the drain plug with a ValvoMax like I have on my Tundra to make things cleaner & easier for future oil changes. Great device to have.

Nice, It should all go very smoothly. Those Valves do look tempting as well.!

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