Crap 2 dealers put wrong oil into car

Personally I would get the proof (service write up) and write a letter to Toyota Corporate and ask them. Also keep copies and if anything comes up in the future (engine problems), you at least have something to fall back on.
I have a hard time believing that anything happen to the engine during this time except for possibly premature sludge build up.
Just my 2 cents.

 

I all likelihood you have done no harm to your engine. Just be sure to a) never use either dealer again in the future and consider at least b) buying your own oil and bringing it to the oil change shop and have them use it and give you back the empty bottles. Even better watching them pour it in. Most shops will allow you to bring your own oil.

The lack of care and standards by most car repair facilities is why I do as much of my own maintenance as I can. When I change my own oil I use the correct grade of oil with the correct filter, and the filter and bolt are set to the correct torque using a torque wrench. I bet only some silly small number of commercial shops set these to the correct torque values.

On my other car I found that the dealer (Ford) had partially stripped and re-used the oil pan bolt when I changed the oil and it was silly tight. They probably used an air wrench to gorilla it on. Grrr. That's what I get for being lazy once.

What really worries me is that if I can see all these errors on the stuff I know, what kind of job are they doing on the things I can't do? Mostly likely the sloppiness carries over to all the jobs. A good, trustworthy mechanic and shop is worth it's weight in gold, but how can you tell?

Rumple

 

Another suggestion is to go to the toyotaownersonline website and add comments to your Toyota service history reports stating that the dealerships installed the wrong oil.

This way you have documentation in case any problems do arise.

 

On the dipstick cap, what oil does it say to use?

 

Hey, I thought I was the only one! I had my first oil change a month ago. Even though I had it written in black and white on their work order for 0w20 full synthetic oil, they still poured in 5w20 synthetic inside. With my other two older car, I always bring my own oil. Since 0w20 synthetic is not very common on the retail market shelf, I let Toyota dealer did it. So they screwed up.
No more dealer bulk oil. I will, from now on, bring my own oil and ask for the return of the empty containers to make sure they really use it.

 

I'm glad to hear that called you back and are going to fix the problem. However, it is still unacceptable for them to be putting in the wrong oil in the first place when it specifically says to use OW-20 on the cap. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Cheers!

 

Just wanted to thank you all for these posts. I, too, believe that the last place that changed my oil used the wrong kind. Hope it's not too late...

 

Crap, so is there any dealer on the west side that knows what the heck they are doing???

 

Not "screwed" at all. The oil was just too thick for the Prius, especially the 5W30. You haven't run either oil long enough to
cause any kind of problems. Just be sure to stick with 0W20 synthetic, preferably Toyota's 0W20 synthetic and you'll be just fine.

Yours is sadly an oft repeated commentary on the quality of
dealer service these days, that's why so many choose to DIY.

 

So just out of curiosity, how does the average non-mechanical person tell what grade of oil is actually in there? I mean if the sticker on the window said 0w20 how exactly did you find out it was actually something else?

It's a bit worrisome because I've always just trusted the sticker.

 

They just don't care. I have to say Toyota dealers are alot worse than GM dealers. I have never had a GM dealer use wrong oil, overfill the oil, rip panels off of my car, Try to get me to pay 75$ for a cabin air filter. I have been to three Toyota dealers, and nine GM dealers.

 

I just don't understand all this whining and thrashing over dealer competency and prices, when the oil and filter changes are so easy to DIY.

 

If it's so easy, then why can't a professional repair facility get it right?

I'll tell you why folks are mad. They paid a certified facility to do a service, and they got crap in return for their money and trust.

If you wouldn't be mad, then you're not paying attention.

Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

It is unacceptable that any oil change place would put in an oil different than what you ask for without asking you first, especially a dealer.

But it will not damage your engine, both 5W20 and 5W30 are listed as acceptable substitutes for the exact same car sold in other countries. There is a copy of a page from the Australian owners manual in one of the oil threads, there is a pretty long list of viscosities that can be used but 0W20 remains the best choice. Our owners manual lists 0W20 as the only choice because the EPA requires that the oil used for emissions and mileage tests be the only one recommended.

So don't worry about the engine, nothing has been damaged. Just be sure to use 0W20 next time and report the dealer(s) to Toyota.

 

I for one am worried. I now do my own oil changes on my car. But what happens when their is a major problem with my car? Do i take it to the sames dealers that can't tell what type of oil to put in my car, that overfill the oil? If they can't handle an oil change how can they fix a complex problem? Maybe thats why when our cars through a code they just put a whole new 6 grand trans in or a 2k inverter in.

 

Unless there is a huge variation in oil viscosity from the recommended values I would not worry about it. 0-20 and 5-30 oil are not that different from each other. 5-30 oil simply remains thicker, increasing oil pressure slightly.

 

How's about checking your owners manual? Engine oil is on pages 438-439 and then engine oil selection is on page 570 of my manual.

Pretty much the only way to tell what vicosity of oil is in your engine (if you don't know) is to have sample analized.