Hi all,

I just took my RX300 to a Toyota dealership this weekend. I took the RX300 to the closest Toyota dealership to my house (as opposed to another Toyota dealership that I have used before, which is about 45 minutes away) just for convenience. I brought my own filter (the YZZB9 filter made in Japan) and my own 5 quarts of Mobil1 5W30 synthetic. At this dealer, I cannot see them work on my car because the oil change shop is in the back, out of sight from the average customer. To make a long story short, I get my RX300 back, go home check the oil level and get the trouble light out...cuz I just wanna see if they indeed used my supplied parts...

I discover that the oil filter part # sitting in my engine bay ends with 02011 (the USA made filter)...it appears to be new (cuz there is no dirt on it and it looks like it has been changed). Of course there is black oil dripping on my garage floor when I park it overnight. I am assuming this is the leftover old oil squirting out from changing out the old oil filter. I am now thinking also...what oil did they put into my baby?

I now think that these people most likely did NOT use my Mobil1 5W30 and they most likely did NOT use my YZZB9 filter...I am sitting here thinking I have been had. The tech probably took this stuff home with him and laughing all the way home.

How much trust can you place in a dearership when you, in good faith, give them your baby and give them all the good parts and supplies, and in the end...ya get screwed? I have just lost my faith completely in this dealership now. I will never go back to this Toyota dealer ever again. The other Toyota dealer that I used previously...at least I could actually watch, standing outside the pit area, the tech rotate the tires and pour in the 10W30 (the standard dealer oil...before I decided to switch to Mobil1).

I will now just get off my lazy butt and change it myself. Because I know for damn sure...I can trust my own handiwork.

Anyone else had similar experiences? Please chime in. Thank-you everybody. Sorry all...I just needed to vent.

 

had a similar experience last week with my local Toyota dealer (no local Lexus dealer although I don't think they would be any different given the circumstances). My wife goes to the dealer with my five quarts of Mobil 1 with instructions to the service writer to use our oil. When she picks the car up the 5 quarts of oil are still in the car! The instructions to use our oil are on the ticket! She returns the car and they then supposedly drain their oil and use the Mobil 1. Any bets that was actually done?

 

My Toyota dealer in Mexico City will allow you to go right next to the mechanics and watch them change the oil. However, I have been taking my RX to local mechanics and having them to the oil change for $10, bringing a K&N filter and 5 quarts of Mobil 1 15W-50 (due to high altitude). It is pretty easy for a mechanic to do, once you explain that you have to open the lower cover and then access the oil filter. I use the K&N filter because it is better quality than the Toyota and also has a **** on top which anyone which a wrench can turn.

 

If my RX is with anyone other than the dealership, I make sure I am watching them. Fortunately for me the Toyota dealership that is a mile from my home has a glass window so I can see while I wait. Apart from making sure they use my Mobil 1, I also make sure they change the gasket/ring and rotate the tires in the order I ask them to do.

Now that I have heard your stories, I might consider watching my RX even when its at the Lexus dealership. I go to Lexus only for 30k services so that shouldnt be a big deal. For reg oil changes etc, try to stick to one Toyota dealership that has provisions for you to watch them do the work.

 

The guys who change oil work for minimum wage. They have little training etc. I refuse to have anyone change my oil, or work on my Lexus if it is something I can do myself. I am very picky, like most Lexus owners. If you really want to watch what is done, like putting in your own oil and filter, you will have to go to a small shop who will let you watch. I always take the entire lower engine cover off when changing oil, and then squirt simple green cleaner all over the lower and upper top engine. I then hose it all off, and start the engine so as to heat-dry the engine and not let the water stand on the engine and electrical parts.
I also rotate my own tires using a couple small floor jacks you can purchase at Wal Mart for 20.00 each. I hate it when the tire shops or dealer will not use a torque wrench and always over thghten the wheel lug bolts. I also check my tire pressure often so that the ABS will work normally. If you get the tire pressure off by more than 3 PSI, you will change the diameter of the rolling tire and fool the ABS computer, which computes all tire RPM to work properally.
bottom line is, no one will take care of my baby Lexus like I do!!!!

Pilot

01 RX300
91 LS 400

 

Pilot- I fully agree with you- I would rather do it if I could. Unfortunately the Seattle weather and the fact that I dont have a garage leaves me no option.

BTW- What do you mean when you say the pressure should not be off by more than 3PSI? The factory recommended pressure is 31PSI (I think) but after putting the new Michelin Cross Terrains 235/70/16 I have been maintaining them at 35 PSI for the more sporty ride/handling. Would this affect the ABS calculations? Please explain.

 

This is the reason that I change my own oil

 

The ABS compares the RPM of all 4 wheels at all times. When you step on the brakes in an emergency, or on slippery roads, the ABS will see which wheel is turning slower than the others. It then reduces the brake force to this wheel to keep it from skidding. The ABS can cycle the brake pressure to any wheel about 20 times per second if needed. It uses a hydraulic pump that only runs when a wheel is starting to lock up and you are pressing on the brake. The hydraulic pump is needed to replace the brake fluid that is being cycled off the wheel that is attempting to lock up. In other words it works like you are pumping the brakes 20 times per second, but the ABS can control each wheel seperately, but all at the same time!
It does all of this when you are holding firm constant pressure on the brake pedal. If you did not have a hydraulic pump, the brake pedal would keep going further down as the brake fluid was being cycled on and off to each wheel that is trying to lock up.
Now, back to the tires. All that is important is that each tire have the same diameter. This means do not mix different sizes or even different brands on the same vehicle. Rotate your tires so that they wear the same on all 4 wheels. Keep your air pressure the same in all 4 tires, within 3 PSI. This means you should not have 35 in one tire and 28 in another. Keep them all the same so they have the same rolling diameter, and the ABS computer sees them all the same. Different brands can have slighly different diameters even though they are the same size tire. This is the reason you should always change all tires at the same time and use the same brand on all 4 wheels.
All of this info came out of an extensive study of ABS, and crashes where the ABS was thought to be part of the problem.

Pilot

 

hey you do it yourselfer's....

how old are you? I'm 54, own four cars, work 50 hrs a week, etc,etc. You may find as you "age" the thrill of do it yourself oil changes fades. It did for me. I used to change the oil myself, but slowly the satisfaction of hot oil running down your arm, disposal problems,etc got old. I have a tire store in town where I know the owner who does my other cars. The Lexus, because of the engine sludge issue, I have Toyota do. I do check the level and that the filter has been changed when I get it home. I feel if you change at 5K miles the difference beteen the US filter and Japanese filter is academic.

 

I actually like the fact that I have my local mechanics here in Mexico City doing the work, as I can watch them. I have no Lexus dealer what to speak of down here (go to Guatemala or San Antonio) and Toyota only knows what to do from what I tell them. However, I have heard a horror story or two.

A friend with an ES300 down here took his car into Toyota, and they change his ATF fluid with all of things ESSO ATF fluid, even though Toyota's policy here in Mexico called for changing it with the more expensive Toyota Type-IV ATF. 80 miles later, transmission gave out, Toyota could do nothing, and the car went back to San Antonio via tow truck.

I too know that my dealership back in Maryland did put in Castrol ATF fluid instead of Type IV. Luckily, the nice people at Lexus of San Antonio let me watch them put it in just so I could have piece of mind. Big difference.

 

I hear you ecrane; I've reached the point that I no longer enjoy doing all my own service. Maybe I should start doing it again after reading this thread.

Back in '95 I took my brand new Civic EX (commuter) to the dealer for its first 1K oil change. From the dealership's shop I drove about 15 miles to my office and left the car in my space in the parking garage. At the end of the day, I started the engine and backed out to discover a large puddle of oil where my car had been. As I turned to leave the building, my oil pressure light flickered on, and I parked the car immediately. After getting a ride with a friend to buy oil and refill the engine, I drove with one eye on the oil pressure light, straight back to the dealer.

"Oh, that shouldn't have happened!” - said the service writer. "We'll check it out.” - said the service manager. A half-hour later they returned my car - all fixed, they said. I asked very calmly what had happened. The oil filter had not been properly installed, they said. I got a little more insistent about the actual cause and discovered that the “mechanic” had cross-threaded the new filter, preventing it from seating on the gasket and allowing nearly the entire oil supply to be pumped overboard. I returned home and e-mailed Honda my experience.

Next day, as I backed out of the driveway, something told me to check the oil. I parked and pulled the dipstick. Full. All the way up to the top of the stick. I crept slowly back to the dealer. "How much oil does the ’95 Civic require”, I asked the SM. “4-1/2 quarts”, he replied. "Then why did you put SEVEN in mine yesterday?” I said loudly enough to be heard two blocks away. "Uh…uh…we’ll check it out”, he whispered. Thirty minutes later he reappears, smiling and contrite…”We found it had been overfilled, so we changed it again, no charge!” grinned the big weasel. I retained just enough control to avoid a homicide charge, but everyone in the waiting room, the showroom and out on the far reaches of the lot received a lesson in “Oilfield”, a language in which I regret to say I was at the time, fluent.

I put 85K on that car in the next 5 years, and never went back to that dealer.

Moral: Oil change monkeys are the least experienced “mechanics” in the dealer’s shop. NEVER…EVER let them touch your car.

 

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies. I forgot to add on some extra details to the horror story...

Ya know how Toyota dealers have those Express Lubes? Where they are supposed to get it done in 29 minutes? Well, guess what...I brought the car in a 7:00am (first one in line)...didn't get the car back until after 9:00am...as my patienace grows thin...I see other people who came in after me jump into their cars and drive away...and I am still sitting there waiting like a puppy looking thru a pet store window with my paws on the glass.

They gave me a coupon for my next oil change to get it done for free to compensate me for my wait. Their explanation is that "Oh...it just took longer than we thought...". BS! Yeah, right...I am gonna bring my own Mobil1 and YZZB9 filter again so that you can rip me off, huh?

ecrane I hear you about doing your own oil changes...I used to do them with my Dad when I was younger and that hot oil running down yer arm is not pretty. I check my oil level to make sure they did not overfill it with mega amounts of oil (dealers are notorious for that practice). Also, ecrane, what did you mean the difference between the U.S. and Japanese filter are "academic"? Just wondering. Thanks.

 

I'm thinking if you use Mobil 1 and change every 5-7.5K miles go with the cheaper US filter. In spite of our complaining here, I've never had an oil or oil filter related problem. As I think about my situation now I wonder if the mechanic just kept my Mobil 1. If my wife had come home with their oil and we used the Mobil 1 we had with the next change it probably wouldn't have made any difference.

 

ecrane,

Thanks for the explanation. My bets are that both our tech's took our Mobil1's home with them. Well, at least we are a lot wiser now on what to do next time.

 

I just picked up a Toyota/LX RX-300 '03 filter this weekend, plan to change mine, messy as it is, at about 3k with Mobil1 for the first change.

Problem is what to do later at the dealer for the major mileage services with the problems I have had with damage to the body frame seams where they put the metal lift plates, random scratches etc. on another RX.

If you guys are having trouble trusting them to do the oil change maybe I'll follow other's advice on other threads (DaddyO I think) and negotiate warranty-needed services I cannot do and do the oil change myself, this is really unbelieveable for service on $40k cars IMO.