Good input, Ken, thanks.
Don’t you know 80% of auto mechanics and 120% of dealerships are crooks? (heavy sarcasm)!
And who has not taken a pen home from work, so many criminals!
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[quote=“Barkydog, post:64, topic:155291, full:true”]
And who has not taken a pen home from work, so many criminals!
Agree but I had that problem in reverse in reverse before I retired I had a small fleet of truck’s doing local work the wife had a bunch of advertising pen’s made up & I would drop them off at all the store’s & Fuel stop’s in the area hoping the customer’s would steal them but had very few ever taken.
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Just my humble opinion, but I think this lack of oil change scenario is way overblown.
In general the oil change guys are one on salary. They have no reason to shortchange anyone and if they are not quick enough they are usually gone PDQ. Sandbagging an oil change for half an hour I doubt.,
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At the best shops mistakes can happen. I have 2 decades of training and experience with auto mechanics. I always check oil level after a oil and filter change service before leaving. I also check after backing up for any leaks on the pavement. I don’t feel guilty in any way for doing that.
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Here is another method you could use. Since the major difficulty with changing oil in a modern Toyota is the filter, you could drain some of the oil and see if it looks any different right after you take it in. I would have all the oil you need of the correct spec on hand just in case you lose it all. Even if you do, the filter will still be there and if it is clean, you won’t need to replace that. It will just be the oil.
When you look at oil on the stick, you are only looking through a very thin film. It may not look any different because you are looking at such a small amount of oil but some dirt will be there. Pull the plug and watch the oil pour out into the pan. If it looks like honey, it is probably new oil. If it looks dirty, it probably is dirty. In either case, try to hang onto the plug (do this with the engine nearly cold to help with that) and try to put it right back in. If clean, refill with the amount lost and go on with life, knowing that the oil was changed. If dirty, top off with just enough to make it to another shop and have it done right.
Take a look at this video about Toyota and its oil changes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNww28gEIJ4
As you can see draining the oil isn’t a big deal. It is the filter. I asked a buddy with one of these truck about it and he is like “I just pay the dealer to do it” so he didn’t know.
I believe op made it quite clear he’s not going to crawl underneath the vehicle . . .
And he’d be doing 90% of the work it takes to do his own oil change. Twice!
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Here’s another relatively easy way to check: Run a thin tube down the dipstick hole and withdraw a pint or so with a suction pump, these can vary from a $10 plastic hand-held unit from an auto parts chain to a ~$60-100 extractor pump that holds a gallon or more (you have one, right? very convenient for assorted jobs.) With the oil in a clear glass or plastic jar you should be looking through sufficient volume to detect the difference between newly changed oil and 3000mi. oil. As others have mentioned, even the new oil will be slightly discolored from virgin oil due to residual old oil.
It looks like the hard part is the filter not the oil if it is like the video I posted a link to. I guess that if he doesn’t want to get under the car at all, my idea wouldn’t work. I would do it once just to see but I guess putting nail polish or tape over the plug would involve getting under the car as well.
The cheap suction pump is probably the best idea without getting under the car. You could also take a small amount out with the pump and put it in a jar. I am talking a small amount that wouldn’t hurt the engine to be without. Keep that jar then drive to the dealer and have it changed. Do the same when you get home and you can pour the new oil back in the engine as it is clean. There WILL be a difference between the new and old oil in the two jars.
If he doesn’t want to get under the car and get his hands dirty . . . then he’ll just have to continue assuming the worst, without being able to confirm or dispel his theory
that’s how I see it
I see a somewhat simple “solution” to his lack of trust in these quickie oil change shops . . .
Don’t take your car there for an oil change
Bring it to a reputable independent shop
And walk in there like this “I heard you guys were very good, and I’m considering bringing my car to you for maintenance and repairs.”
That should work better, versus going in there like “I don’t trust any auto shops. I’ll be watching you like a hawk”
If I were a shop owner and somebody walked in with the latter attitude, I’m not sure I’d actually want to start a business relationship with him. As far as I know, shops are allowed to refuse to provide services. I’ve seen that sign up in many shops, and I suspect it’s there for good reason(s)
Wanna bet? There are several unscrupulous dealers around here who have been called out for doing the same thing. They charge for services that were never done.
I have the solution for Steve . Since he only does this once a year just have one of those mobile oil change services come to his house . That way he and his paranoia can set in a lawn chair and watch .
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I was in for Knee surgery over a decade ago at one of the top rated hospitals in the world (Boston General). The following day I was rushed back in because of high fever due to infection from surgery.
My insurance also has that option to have elected surgery in India. It’s cheaper for them to pay to send us there and then convalesce in a nice hotel for a week (also paid for by insurance). I wouldn’t judge them too harshly, Their hospitals in the cities are extremely good with extremely skill doctors (many who trained in the states). They are also fully staffed with RN’s…not one RN per floor and the rest LPN’s or techs like most hospitals here in the US.
That’s very reassuring, Mike. Thanks.
Between my car being a Toyota and my not driving it much, I haven’t needed any repairs made, just regular preventive maintenance like fluid changes.
I WOULD like to use a “reputable independent shop.” I like the idea of the owner of the shop keeping a close eye on everything under his roof.
But it’s not as easy finding a good shop as we might think. I no longer trust Yelp or its equivalents. Asking my neighbors is statistically unreliable. At least the dealer isn’t going anywhere and has too much to lose by doing bad work.
I’ll be using the “suck some oil into a bottle” plan to purge my paranoia (or quiet my concerns, as I like to think of it). Next oil change is due in about four months. I’ll try to come back and describe what happened.
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I wouldn’t worry too much about whether or not the oil change was performed, but what quality and grade oil was put in. Nothing keeps them from filling their 50 gallon drum with the cheapest stuff on the market.
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Well, I don’t need to worry about being called “paranoid” any more. Believe you’ve won the crown.
No, the dealer wouldn’t do that. Maybe in some third-world country, but not in America. Not yet anyway.
What I was/am worried about is a lot more likely: the low-level worker coming to work with a hangover, or stoned, or just looks at my oil and the 3000 miles since I last had it changed … and decides to try pencil-whipping the work order.
That’s not the case for hospitals with Magnet certification (which is almost all of the hospitals in the US), most of them have gone towards 80% RN-BSN. There will still be LPNs in most hospitals (mine actually doesn’t use any LPNs except on the med history team and IV Teams), but they can do almost anything an RN can do outside of IV Push medications and chemotherapy (and power port accessing).