In our last episode, our 2011 Toyota Sienna was showing "MAINT REQD" and "Replace Engine Oil" warnings at 5,000 miles, even though the first change isn't apparently due until 10,000 miles.
I happened to be passing by a Toyota dealer in Corona, California with a couple of hours to spare, so I pointed the swagger wagon into the service drive to see what a random dealer said about the 5k service.
I told the service writer about the warning lights, including the engine oil message, and I expressed my confusion over the 10,000 mile oil change interval that seemed to be called out in the maintenance log.
My service advisor at Quality Toyota, a friendly guy named Paul, didn't hesitate with his answer, confirming my suspicion that an oil change wasn't needed and explaining that the 5k service was "basically a tire rotation."
"Do you have your coupons?" he asked. He was referring to the Toyota Care program that made this kind of visit a freebie.
"No," I said. "There are coupons involved?"
"Yeah, but that's OK. We can look you up in the system. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for them to come in the mail," he said as he logged into a website with our VIN.
We weren't listed there. He called the program office and spoke to a human. No luck there, either.
"The dealer you bought this from must not have filed the paperwork." That's why we weren't in the system and that's why I didn't have any coupons after 5,000 miles and 8 weeks of ownership.
He explained my two choices. I could have the 5k service done, but I would have to pay the $20 cost. Or I could wait, get the paperwork issue straightened out with my dealer in Santa Monica and then do the 5k service at some unknown later date when it would be free.
I had no idea how long it would take to get my dealer to sort out the paperwork. I was already there and stopped, I had the time (a rare commodity for me) and $20 didn't sound like a lot. So I told him to go ahead.
Thirty minutes later I had the van back, with a wash, a receipt for $20 and a decent little cheapie promotional tool kit for the car in a zipper bag.
As I started the van, the warning lights came back on as before. The guy who had brought it to me was still standing there, so he stepped in and handled it in a few seconds.
This morning we contacted Santa Monica Toyota about getting the paperwork sorted out, but the individual who is thought to be the one handling this sort of thing (no one on the line seemed to know for sure) will not be available until tomorrow. So we're waiting.
Still, it seems odd that buying a car and completeing the mountain of paperwork that goes along with the process isn't enough to immediately gain access to the Toyota Care free maintenance program. A seperate enrollment makes it seem like a short-term promotion of some sort, not a standard warranty feature.
And while $20 is tolerable -- just this once -- you can bet we won't be paying for that first 10,000-mile synthetic oil change. We're going to make sure our local dealer fixes this before we get there.
We'll let you know how it all turns out.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 5,171 miles
takikuroi says:
05:20 PM, 01/20/11
That would be annoying. All you need for a BMW is for it to be the right age/mileage.
bradyholt says:
05:47 PM, 01/20/11
I imagine they put it in a system to make it non-transferable to future owners. There must be a better way though.
yellowbal says:
05:48 PM, 01/20/11
I wonder if you can get your $20 reimbursed once the "coupons" arrive.
louiswei says:
06:05 PM, 01/20/11
I thought Toyota is now offering free maintenance up to 20k miles for all the new cars, no? Our new Prius has that...
incyphe says:
06:19 PM, 01/20/11
Do you really need to rotate tire everything 5000 miles? Seems excessive. It used to be every 15k on my last honda.
daddiod says:
06:21 PM, 01/20/11
I took my BMW in 150 miles before the free maintenence was going to expire and the dealer still did all the mantenance for free that wasn't due for another 1800 miles.
Saved me some serious $$. I liked that!
But than again, that's a BMW.
clarkma5 says:
06:22 PM, 01/20/11
The mere idea of going to a dealer and forking over only $20 to the service counter is a mind-blowing concept to a VW owner like myself.
vvk says:
08:36 PM, 01/20/11
I just got my BMW back from the dealer. They did an oil/filter change, air filter change, brake fluid flush, replaced front brake pads, sensors and rotors, replaced wipers, filled up windshield fluid and performed annual state safety inspection. My cost? $0. No paperwork involved.
Oh, and I did not have to ask for any of this. I just came in for an annual state inspection. And I got a new 335xi to drive as a loaner. Which sucked, btw, because it was an automatic. I don't know how people drive these things.
simpled99 says:
09:18 PM, 01/20/11
That's really cheap for a Toyota Dealership. They always seem to find something wrong with my Tundra which will cost me out of pocket The last time was the brakes. They told me they were 20 percent left, so i bought pads and was going to install them my self. I found that they were more than 50 percent left when I pulled the wheels off.
firstwagon says:
11:46 PM, 01/20/11
I'm guessing BMW does so much for free when your car is new so you'll remember where to take when the big bills are due later.
cheechmo says:
01:57 AM, 01/21/11
If this was a Lexus, I could understand comparing it to a BMW. It's a Toyota.
lostboyz says:
03:42 AM, 01/21/11
Haha bmw free service? You just payed for it up front.
If they told you at the dealership it was only a tire rotation, why not just do it yourself and ask them to clear the code for you?
kdragon5 says:
06:38 AM, 01/21/11
Wait, coupons?
Shouldn't this be covered under warranty? I brought my parents' 2010 Camry (purchased last May) to the dealership for 10k mile service (oil change, tire rotation, might have also been something else) a couple weeks ago - I got a bill for $0, and I was on my way.
vvk says:
07:14 AM, 01/21/11
cheechmo,
> If this was a Lexus, I could understand comparing it to a BMW. It's a Toyota.
Yes, at Lexus all this would have cost about a thousand bucks.
This is a $32k Toyota, by the way. Speaking of paying up front.
louiswei says:
09:51 AM, 01/21/11
@ vvk,
"Yes, at Lexus all this would have cost about a thousand bucks."
Do you know that as a fact or you just pull that out of you-know-what?
Do you know how much does it cost me to change oil at my local Lexus dealership?
someguyposting says:
10:29 AM, 01/21/11
"A bath, a bag, and a bill."
Sounds like the opening to a Carnac joke.
vvk says:
01:39 PM, 01/21/11
louiswei,
> Do you know how much does it cost me to change oil at my local Lexus dealership?
I would estimate more than $0.
My local Lexus dealer charges $50 for an oil change.
speedynk says:
01:51 PM, 01/21/11
Only $20 because they skipped item 1 on the required maintenance list - checking the driver's floormat !
louiswei says:
02:27 PM, 01/21/11
vvk,
So where did the a thousand bucks estimate come from?
vvk says:
04:36 PM, 01/21/11
louiswei,
Oil/filter $50
State inspection $120
Brake fluid flush $160
Air filter $40
Wiper blade $30
Brakes $600
Total $1,000
Plus sales tax.
Actually, this is conservative.
firstwagon says:
01:07 AM, 01/22/11
You do know you can do all that yourself (except the innspection whatever that is)
vvk says:
06:40 AM, 01/22/11
firstwagon,
Of course, but that's not the point.
In fact, I do almost all of my family's car repairs and maintenance. But for most people maintenance costs are an important variable in the total cost of ownership.
firstwagon says:
07:39 PM, 01/22/11
vvkj
Rereading the post this is a 5000 mile check.
Are you saying Lexus requires all that to be done at 5000 miles? Aside from the mystery inspection none of that is needed at 5000 miles.
cr_driver says:
04:01 PM, 01/23/11
Those BMW fanboys all excited because they "paid $0" for maintenance. LOL
You guys paid it up front. Come on, didn`t you knew that already?