Are oil changes supposed to be included in the regular 6-month service?

I get my 2012 Toyota serviced every 6 months or 5,000 miles at my local dealer, just like the sticker they put on my car says.

Recently, my car showed an ‘oil maintenance required’ light saying ‘Replace engine oil’ only 3.5 months and 3,500 miles since the last service. We were out of town, camping, and ended up at a late-night mechanic who checked the oil. They found it looking super dark and gunky, like it hadn’t been changed in a while, and told us we needed a full oil change which cost $120.

I’m frustrated and feel like maybe my servicing wasn’t done right. We’ve had issues with this dealer before, so I’m wondering if this is another one, and if so, how should I address it? Isn’t one of the main points of these services to change or at least check the oil?

Should this situation have happened if my servicing was done properly? Or could there be something else going on with my car?

Toyota recommends oil changes every 10k miles now, so they might not include it unless you ask. It’s annoying, but that’s just how it is. I stick to every 5k.

Edit: Even a good dealer might not include it at the 5k service, so it could be partly a dealer issue.

@Harlan
Oil changes are way cheaper than a new engine, so I do mine every 5k too. I’d go down to 3k if I was using conventional oil. $120 is a bit high but reasonable for synthetic and a filter. Keeping up with oil and coolant changes means a Toyota engine will last forever.

@Paris
Yeah, $120 is a bit up there, but not crazy. I did my Camry recently, and it would’ve been $90 if I didn’t have some free changes left. My Sequoia was about $120 for the oil change too.

Dealers aren’t always the best bet. Try a good independent shop. Also, make sure you know exactly what you’re paying for when you go in.

It sounds like you’re just taking it in whenever the dealer says so. Track your oil changes and mileage yourself. Warning lights just work on time/mileage and don’t know if the oil is actually changed. This goes for all brands.

Some cars turn oil dark fast, so seeing how it looked would help. Some cars can look like they’ve gone 15k miles on an oil change after just 5k. Dealers don’t always pay techs well, so you might get someone inexperienced changing oil. Best way to check is to look at the dipstick before and after service—it should look pale brown with fresh oil.

Your dealer might’ve just put a new sticker on without changing the oil. Think about how much you’ve spent there—if this is true, it’s not right. They can reset the oil indicator without touching the oil.

Take it up with them, or even go to a higher-up if you’re not getting answers. If it happened to you, they’re likely doing it to others too.

I got 8 free oil changes with mine. I do mine every 8k, but it depends on your driving conditions. Definitely wouldn’t go over that.

My mechanic usually shows me the dipstick when they finish. That way, I can see the oil is clean and full. If they don’t show you, just check it yourself.

It’s possible they just forgot to reset your oil change interval.

When I got my first service, which was just a tire rotation and no oil change, they reset the indicator to 10k miles. It should have been set to 5k for the next rotation and first oil change.