Oil change at dealer went bad… anyone else have this happen?


Learn to do your own oil changes and save tons in the long run. I took mine in at 10k miles, and they didn’t tighten the oil filter, so it ended up leaking.

Vince said:
Learn to do your own oil changes and save tons in the long run. I took mine in at 10k miles, and they didn’t tighten the oil filter, so it ended up leaking.

Or they’ll over-tighten it with way too much force.

Vince said:
Learn to do your own oil changes and save tons in the long run. I took mine in at 10k miles, and they didn’t tighten the oil filter, so it ended up leaking.

Yeah, and oil changes cost way more now than they used to.

@Brook
Well, yeah… gestures at everything that’s the way things are now.

BillSmith said:
@Brook
Well, yeah… gestures at everything that’s the way things are now.

I might be mixing things up, but I remember people saying oil changes used to be around $30 in the late 2010s. Car stuff just got hit hard with inflation.

@Brook
Yeah, maybe a $30-40 oil change was still a thing at places like Jiffy Lube before COVID. But real shops were already charging $70+ in 2019.

@Brook
A full synthetic change with Mobil 1 oil costs me about $30, plus another $5 for the filter and 30 minutes of time. I change oil in my cars three times a year, costs about $100 per car.

Vince said:
@Brook
A full synthetic change with Mobil 1 oil costs me about $30, plus another $5 for the filter and 30 minutes of time. I change oil in my cars three times a year, costs about $100 per car.

Three oil changes for the price of one at the dealership. /srs

Vince said:
Learn to do your own oil changes and save tons in the long run. I took mine in at 10k miles, and they didn’t tighten the oil filter, so it ended up leaking.

I pay $116 each time, plus a $70 monthly service fee I can’t get out of without refinancing. Total pain.

I had the opposite issue once. Took my car in for its first complimentary service, and when I got it back, it felt weird. I checked the oil, and they had double-filled it! One guy drained and filled it, and the other added more without checking. Apparently, it’s common for dealerships to just guess how much oil a car needs and pour it in.

@Roux
This is why I started working on my own car. If a mistake happens, at least I know it’s on me.

@Roux
Usually, when you see two people working on a car, one is training the other. Working at Toyota, I saw them fire a guy for not tightening the lug nuts on a Tacoma, which later lost a wheel on the highway. I trust no one but myself to work on my car.

I’d have them tow it back to the dealer to get it fixed. I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving it like that.

Haven said:
I’d have them tow it back to the dealer to get it fixed. I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving it like that.

I had it towed back to the dealership, and they’re checking it now. I asked them to give me a full report.

@Zinn
Bet the report will say ‘no issues found’ and the oil will be magically at the right level.

@Zinn
I’d take my own sample and send it to Blackstone Labs just to be safe.

Fintan said:
@Zinn
I’d take my own sample and send it to Blackstone Labs just to be safe.

If there’s any oil left in there, that is…

@Zinn
Make sure they put in writing that they’re rechecking the oil after messing it up the first time. Good to have for accountability.

I took my 2022 Toyota Corolla with 15,600 miles to the dealership yesterday for an oil change. Picked it up in the afternoon, then a message popped up on the dash when I got home. Checked the oil this morning, and there’s none in there. There’s no oil on the ground, so maybe they didn’t refill it? What should I do?