How DID They DO it?

oil + filter = 4.4 qts, so they rounded up.

 

Or overfilled or just plain don't care. Think about it, if you were making a checklist for the same thing over and over again, would you care that Prius gets 4.4 and Forerunners gets 5.5? I wouldn't.

 

congrats and welcome! check your oil level, that would be my only concern. that is a terrific price! all the best.

 

Hmm ... the invoices from my two "free" oil changes both show 5 quarts too, and they did not overfill it. If I were paying, I'd bring a container and ask them the put the other 0.6 quarts in it. (Or not charge me for it.)

Did that $49.16 oil change include a new filter and 0W-20 synthetic oil?

 

I don't have one handy, but most coupons or advertisements I've seen for oil changes say "up to" 5 quarts or something to that effect. Many places simply advertise a set price for a "standard" oil change. It's been that way since my first part-time job in a service station back in the 60's and it didn't matter if it took less than 5 quarts, price was the same. We did charge extra for "deluxe" oil, but that was also a set fee regardless of the actual amount. We charged separately for the filter because it was generally only replaced every other change. We had 2 large tanks, one for used oil and one for bulk oil. Excess oil was simply added to the bulk oil tank as long as it was the same weight, usually plain old 10W30. Even back then we filled to the line after starting the engine to charge the filter and letting it sit a bit.

 

They probably don't even use quart containers, but dispense from a bulk system, so there's no 0.6 qt left over...

 

Yes, but there's 0.6 quarts billed but not supplied (excluding flat-rate oil-change deals) If a car needs 4.4 quarts, there's no good reason they can't charge 4.4 times the price per quart.

 

AFAIK, they don't bill by the quart, they charge a flat fee and simply record it on the invoice as 5 quarts rather than deal with one car needing 4.4 quarts and others needing 4.3, 4.6, etc. I don't know of anyone who actually charges by the quart. Jiffy Lube, Walmart, AAA, etc., all charge a flat fee for a standard oil/filter change regardless of the actual price of oil or filter. There's almost always a disclaimer stating "most cars and light trucks". My invoice says the retail price of a quart is $6.09 and they charged $4.80 to make everything come out to $50. If they wanted to invoice 4.4 quarts, they would have simply raised what they charged to $5.45. Most people think an oil change is 5 quarts, so invoicing 5 quarts keeps people from asking why only 4.4 quarts. And stating a bogus retail price makes people think they got a deal. It's all marketing, nothing more.

 

My local dealer charge almost 100 for oil change. They use bottled oil, not from dispenser.

 

U.S. dollars?

 

well, I have them rotate the tires too which they charge $20.

 

Right now my dealer expenses $50 as part of the service contract they added after I bought the car. I don't pay anything, that's just how they account for it in their records. It includes topping off all fluids, rotating the tires, a carwash and the multi-point inspection, the same service they provided under Toyota Care, even though the contract is for just changing the oil and filter, nothing more. After my contract is up, I believe it will cost me $75-$85.

The point is how they account for things in their records is of no concern to me because every invoice I've ever gotten for an oil change anywhere throughout the country has always indicated 5 quarts even though I've watched them do the same thing as I used to do, turn the dial to 4 (or put in 4 quarts), run the engine for a bit to charge the oil filter, let it sit while they do the inspections, then check the oil and top off as needed. Changing oil is not rocket science, though you wouldn't know it from some of the posts I've read here, there are some really bad service centers out there.