Toyota: Getting Services Performed at the Dealership, or by a Qualified Individual

One of the reasons I get my car serviced at Toyota is that when they do the
service, and see something that may be a problem, they are more likely to
take care of the problem then have it dwindle. If a certain part is
defective, Toyota warranties cover that part and they would replace it. A
quick change garage place may not know enough about the engine then just to
drain oil, close drain plug, refill oil and change filter. Having said
that, I am certain that most dealers would be using a low paid employee to
change oil then someone who is a Master Diagnostic Technician (MDT).

Toyota's main claim to the warrantees are not to dismiss the claim, but to
make sure the customer did in fact that care of the vehicle and the person
who performed the service was a skilled Toyota person. Toyota (or any other
dealer for that matter), would be right to say that if the wrong oil filter
was used or wrong grade of oil, or if a part should have been replaced and
was not, this is grounds for voiding warranty.

If you want to save the costs on the Lexus, I would suggest that you find an
independent garage that has a certified or qualified mechanic for Toyota and
Lexus vehicles and then get him to perform the service. In Canada,
mechanics can get 30% off the parts. In that case, if you give him the jug
of Mobil 1 5W30 and he supplies you the Toyota OEM oil filter and he is
skilled enough to perform the necessary checks, then the odds of future
problems are limited.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that if the services are performed
correctly and you change your oil frequently and before the oil becomes
degraded (about 5,000 KM to 6,000 KM) using a good quality motor oil with
the proper grade, then I suspect that you will probably have no issues with
oil gelling or sludging. Out of the 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of Toyota
engines on the road, only 4,000 or so people were effected. That is about a
4% to 0.4% rate of failure which is very low.

"twaugh5" <net> wrote in message
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