Courtesy Toyota Oil Change Fail

[RickFlashman]

Just took my 2010 Prius for it's first oil change. I confirmed with the service advisor that they would use the proper 0w weight oil. When the car came out the service advisor again confirmed that it was 0w weight oil. I was still concerned and I asked the service desk lady if they use a different oil for the 2010 Prius. She told me they just use the same Chevron 5w as they use for all cars.

At that point they called back the service manager who told me they did use 5w because in their opinion it doesn't matter and should not make a difference. After I explained that the car calls for 0w oil and only allows 5w for a special circumstance one-oil change only, he finally agreed to swap the oil to 0w.

Of course now they want me to upgrade the pre-paid maintenance due to this "synthetic requirement" and I really have no way to verify that they actually used 0w. But I do feel concerned for other Prius owners who are getting 5w even when they ask for 0w. So other Prius owners using Courtesy Toyota (Winter Park, FL) are hereby advised to double-check on what they are getting.

Think I will cancel the service agreement and see if I can find somewhere else who will do the oil change properly. Very dissapointed in that I was lied to twice and that they have little regard for Toyota's guidelines and instead push their own interpretation of those guidelines.

Rick

[Dark_matter_doesn't]

Originally Posted by RickFlashman

Just took my 2010 Prius for it's first oil change. I confirmed with the service advisor that they would use the proper 0w weight oil. When the car came out the service advisor again confirmed that it was 0w weight oil. I was still concerned and I asked the service desk lady if they use a different oil for the 2010 Prius. She told me they just use the same Chevron 5w as they use for all cars.

At that point they called back the service manager who told me they did use 5w because in their opinion it doesn't matter and should not make a difference. After I explained that the car calls for 0w oil and only allows 5w for a special circumstance one-oil change only, he finally agreed to swap the oil to 0w.

Of course now they want me to upgrade the pre-paid maintenance due to this "synthetic requirement" and I really have no way to verify that they actually used 0w. But I do feel concerned for other Prius owners who are getting 5w even when they ask for 0w. So other Prius owners using Courtesy Toyota (Winter Park, FL) are hereby advised to double-check on what they are getting.

Think I will cancel the service agreement and see if I can find somewhere else who will do the oil change properly. Very dissapointed in that I was lied to twice and that they have little regard for Toyota's guidelines and instead push their own interpretation of those guidelines.

Rick

Definitely complain to the Toyota Customer Experience people. This sounds like a dealership trying to maximize profit thru deceit. I think the number is with the owners manual materials.

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by RickFlashman

JVery dissapointed in that I was lied to twice and that they have little regard for Toyota's guidelines and instead push their own interpretation of those guidelines.

Rick

Oooo that just makes my blood boil. Stealership. I so don't want to bring mine in for its "free oil change". If I do, I will have them put it in writing and will want to see the containers after. And that depends if they will still do the "free" change after finding out they need to use synthetic.
Sorry to hear about your troubles.

[morpheusx]

If the 5w20 they used were a full synthetic the difference between the 0w20 and the 5w20 really would be absolutely nothing at all to worry about. I would only be concerned about the difference in those two weights in the dead of winter in an arctic climate. What would make me irate though is that the vehicle calls for synthetic oil hence the reason they are allowing the longer 10,000 mile oil change intervals after the initial change. I would not want to go 10,000 miles on conventional oil.

[Jayhawker]

It so much cheaper to change your own oil and you know it's done right. You can get Mobil 0/20 from Walmart cheaper than what the dealer will their 0/20 for. The Honda 0/20 is non-synthetic and it is 6.50 a quart.

I have seen (used to work at a stealership) the Lube Techs change oil and after I saw that, I said never again. A lot of them use an impact gun on the drain bolt and that's a big no no. Then, half of them wouldn't even spray the under carriage to get rid of the oil that has dripped on everything. I have also seen them not use the customer supplied oil and they just put it back in the customers trunk. I have also seen them drive the front wheels over the ramp and luckliy the mud guards crushed between the car and ramps. They put on new mud guards and never told the customer.

Not all dealerships are like this, but I am one not to trust them. They are there for one thing and that is to make money.

[LRKingII]

Originally Posted by morpheusx

If the 5w20 they used were a full synthetic the difference between the 0w20 and the 5w20 really would be absolutely nothing at all to worry about. I would only be concerned about the difference in those two weights in the dead of winter in an arctic climate. What would make me irate though is that the vehicle calls for synthetic oil hence the reason they are allowing the longer 10,000 mile oil change intervals after the initial change. I would not want to go 10,000 miles on conventional oil.

Where are you getting this info on 10,000 change?

[a priori]

Originally Posted by RickFlashman

Just took my 2010 Prius for it's first oil change. I confirmed with the service advisor that they would use the proper 0w weight oil. When the car came out the service advisor again confirmed that it was 0w weight oil. I was still concerned and I asked the service desk lady if they use a different oil for the 2010 Prius. She told me they just use the same Chevron 5w as they use for all cars.

At that point they called back the service manager who told me they did use 5w because in their opinion it doesn't matter and should not make a difference. After I explained that the car calls for 0w oil and only allows 5w for a special circumstance one-oil change only, he finally agreed to swap the oil to 0w.

Great job keeping their feet to the fire. Too many people will be too afraid or intimidated even to ask the questions. Good on you for asking about and then for following up on the actions they were taking.

Originally Posted by RickFlashman

Of course now they want me to upgrade the pre-paid maintenance due to this "synthetic requirement" and I really have no way to verify that they actually used 0w. But I do feel concerned for other Prius owners who are getting 5w even when they ask for 0w. So other Prius owners using Courtesy Toyota (Winter Park, FL) are hereby advised to double-check on what they are getting.

Every place I've seen has a little asterisk next the oil change price -- the words say something like "synthetic price may vary." We all know the synthetic oil costs more, so this should not be a surprise.

It appears your concern for other customers is well-placed.

Originally Posted by RickFlashman

Think I will cancel the service agreement and see if I can find somewhere else who will do the oil change properly. Very dissapointed in that I was lied to twice and that they have little regard for Toyota's guidelines and instead push their own interpretation of those guidelines.

Is your service agreement with ONLY that dealership? If it is a Toyota service agreement, do not cancel until you are assured you'll get every penny back. And, before cancelling, make certain you know from Toyota what you are supposed to get for the money. If it is the synthetic 0W-20, then you may want to get that in a separate writing and keep the service agreement. Otherwise, cancel it, advising it was obtained under false pretenses (Toyota said the recommended oil changes were covered, and they weren't), and demand payment in full of the money you spent on the service agreement.

Thank you for posting about your experience.

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by LRKingII

Where are you getting this info on 10,000 change?

Read all about it here:

Toyota Upping the Oil Change Interval to 10,000 Miles for 2010 Prius, other Toyota models | PriusChat

[LRKingII]

Originally Posted by Paradox

Read all about it here:

Toyota Upping the Oil Change Interval to 10,000 Miles for 2010 Prius, other Toyota models | PriusChat

Ummm no.
Still not offical from Toyota. Which has been well discussed in that thread.

[a64pilot]

As earlier discussed my Stealership used 5W-30 for my "free" as in part of the Toyoguard package, so it wasn't free oil change. When I called them on it, because 5W-30 was written on the service order, their fix was to line out 5W-30 and write 0W-20 above it.
I won't be back. And probably will NOT buy my next car from there either. Their loss