A "little" pissed off at our dealer.

I knew you can keep records yourself, but didn't realize that you could enter it at mytoyota.

However, the only reason to keep records is to deal with a potential warranty claim down the road. If you let the dealer do the service, the final blame lies with either the dealer or toyota so you're covered. If you do service and log it, then the blame lies with either toyota or you... I'm not sure I would want that struggle if the time ever came to prove the problem wasn't because you did something stupid.

Having the oil filter caps with the km's scratched into them seems like a good idea. I would think that would get more traction than a notebook with dates and mileage written down.

But I still think it is playing with fire to allow anyone other than toyota to care for a car under warranty. This is true of all brands. Brand A should be services by Brand A until out of warranty. That way the only one to blame upon failure is Brand A.

Could just be skeptical because every claim to any warranty or insurance policy has been like this (with 1 exception):

me: it broke.
them: You did it!
me: no I didn't...
them: prove it!
me: damn...

 

No, the burden of proof is on them, not you (as long as you keep accurate records). The Moss-Magnuson Act is your friend.

 

Dum-de-dum-dum DUMB!
Change the bloody oil and get on with your nickel-dime life.

 

I love it when people are 'pissed' at the dealer because they have no idea what they're talking about.

Here you have a guy that thinks that Prii use dino 0-20 oil threatening the dealer's service department with some shyster lawyer who can argue well.

I bet they were real scared .... LOL.

REV

 

I do not understand threads like this.

Fact: The oil change interval on a 3rd gen Prius is every 10,000 miles
Fact: If you do not get oil changes every 10,000 miles it might void your warranty.

Why are there any questions?

 

Toyota website says 5k for dino, 10k for synth.

Were you to go to the 25k mark and that be 15k mileage they could in the future, not honor a warranty claim you have. But to do so they would have to tie the problem back to the missed oil change. So if your warranty claim was for say a leaking radiator for instance, that would be difficult.

 

he probably chuckled because he has your phone call recorded and tagged

 

By the time 15000 miles rolls around I'll have changed my oil 3 times. That happens to be the rules up here, well: 8000 kms. It's your car, if you really want to stretch the interval.

 

Of course he stuck to what Toyota says, as well he should have. To do otherwise would be stupid, irresponsible and reckless.

the whole try it and I'll sue thing is a sure sign a DBaggery
I wouldn't have chuckled at you, I would have guffawed -- and loudly.

So the guy does his job, tells you what you need to do to protect yourself down the road if you want, and somehow he is the "bastard"?

By Federal law - FEDERAL all you have to do is meet their requirements for maitenance in your owner's manual to keep your warranty in effect. This has been true for a long time. They can't specify a brand of oil or filter or anything. They can't demand you have it done by a dealer. This is well known by the dealers, this is not some obscure law. Otherwise the makers would specify their brand oil and their brand filters done at their shops.

And again, even if you fail to do service(s) in order to deny a claim, they have to be able to tie that service failure to the warranty claim failure. So to use an extreme example, you do no services on your car and your radio goes out during the warranty period. They could not deny the warranty claim based on no services being done, since the radio is not affected by that.

Why in the world would you keep the actual filters hanging around?

the only real time the engine in my non-hybrids is on without the car rolling is like at a stop light/sign and that amount of time is nothing. Most of your high and middle end cars have or are starting to see service meters that don't work off miles or hours but take it all into account plus how many starts, what temps it runs in, how often the engine is redlines, time, etc. It then computes the usage of the oil and asks for an oilchange. My buddies Porsche didn't ask for it's first oil change till 24,000 miles.

Yes, you can do the work yourself and just keep your records. Yes if you only do dealer service, you are covered. But many of us don't want to use the dealer. And don't see the need to. I don't like going to the dealer for simple work.

Blame doesn't lie with me or Toyota. If it is a failure of the car, it falls on Toyota. If I leave the drain plug off, which I have never done, then it is my fault.

It isn't even close to playing with fire. Federal law totally protects me. They would have to be able to show that the failure was a result of the lack of service.

All I do for records is when I buy the filters, I throw the recipts in that vehicle's folder. Then after I do the change, I get a piece of paper, write the date, the mileage and the oil on it; then put the paper in the folder. Done. All in less time than it would take me to drop off my car at the dealer.

 

Nonsense.

Toyota would have to prove that the failure was due to failure to follow the OCI. Since 15k OCI is approved for Toyota vehicles in Europe, the burden of proof is high.

Anyway, OP is already past 10k miles since the last OC. If he believes the FUD, then it is too late.

 

SpikeVFR and other folks that don't have real winters regarding hour meters for oil changes which the newer oil change % meter on the dash takes care. Remote start is a big thing up here in the midwest and north most people auto start for 10 minutes to warm up to and from work and everytime they drive. I don't have auto start and think it is silly but most with newer cars do and always use it even in summer.

 

I think the interval in Europe is 15k kilometers:

15k kilometers is about 9300 miles.

 

I was born and raised in New England, I am totally familiar with real winters, thank you. As are people in parts of CA, not where I happen to live but parts.

Remote start doesn't add that much to most people's driving and oil wear. The start up is still the same. All you do is add a few minutes of idle time to a drive. If you drive is really short that added idle time could be good, as now you may reach a hot enough temperature to burn off and water in the oil from condensation. Also with the Prius, since you have start/stop anyway your idle minutes may turn out the same as a car without this feature that doesn't use remote start.

All the recomendations Toyota or any of the other manufactures put out are knowingly very conservative. This allows for our imperfect world where all our driving situations are different. That is why many cars are going away from a strict mileage/time schedule to one where the car's computer tracks your specific useage of the car and recommends services based on that. So one owner may "need" an oil change after 15,000 miles while another wouldn't have a call for one for 30,000 miles.

If you are ever in any doubt it is easy enough to check the status of your old oil. There are several testing companies that you can pay like $25 or $30 send them a sample of your old oil and they will tell you what kind of life was still left in the oil.

 

SpikeVFr IS correct, There would have to be "proof" that the oil was not protecting the engine... With regards to this issue refer you to this link...

From AMSOIL FAQ WEB SITE:
. Extending oil change intervals will not void new vehicle warranties. To affect the vehicle warranty, it must be determined that the lubricant was directly responsible for the failure; if the oil didn’t cause the problem, the warranty cannot be voided, regardless of brand or length of time in use.

Now, with that said, why would you want to go through the hassel??? Seems you are just asking for trouble...