Hello Everyone,

I have a 2006 Toyota Corolla S.Every 5000 miles the maintenance required light appears signaling its time for an oil change. Supposedly the dealer is the only one who can turn off this light after the oil is changed. However, every time we go to the dealer we are presented with many other repairs that "should" be done and not so pleasant service, not to mention long wait times and high prices. I would like to know if this is a possible scam? If there are other places which can do oil changes and turn off the light as well. Furthermore, if it is possible to do the oil change and turn the light off myself as well.

Thanks.

 

yes you could reset it yourself, also do oil change yourself but thing is should anything happen your warranty will be voided if you cant come up with service records.

 

There is the factory maintenance book, which should be followed, and is usually easy to comply with, and the dealers recommended service which is how he makes his boat payments.

Check your owners manual. Toyota tells how to reset the light on the Camry, so I'm sure they also tell how for the Corolla.

 

You've got a add-on happy dealer
Not sure it's technically a scam, as it's not hard to find maint. that "should" be done at any given time
But the service writer must be raking in some dough with the hard-sell add-ons
It doesn't sound like you are happy there anyway, I'd choose another place

 

NEVER take your car to a stealership unless it's for FREE warranty covered issues. You can buy a Haynes book at autozone and do all the fluid/spark plugs/O2 sensors/, etc. yourself at only the cost of parts and your time. Believe me, you'll save alot of $, and probably time too since you have to wait for others servicing. If you're the cop-out type that says "I'm not mechanically inclined"....either learn to be or ask around and find a reasonable garage that'll be cheaper. Get your kids involved too, they usually love to work on stuff and see how it works....gets them away from the computer or Xbox for awhile anyway. I've saved thousands of dollars just by doing things myself...on cars and around the house.

 

I worked at a dealer where the service writers got year-end bonus checks for one percent of the amount of repairs they'd written for that year.
Toyota schmoyota, the cars are good, but the dealers are all
cut from the same cloth.
Find a local gas station/garage with a decent crew in there, and stay with 'em!
:mask:

 

i get so tired of dealer bashing...

 

Never owned a Toyota, so I can't speak for their dealers, but the GM dealer near my house has been pretty good for repairs to my wife's car. It all comes down to trusting the shop where you go and it sounds like there's reason not to trust your local dealer. Try somewhere else until you get people who inspire trust.

 

I AGREE!!! What's wrong with getting a bonus based on selling needed services? It's an incentive for the Service Advisor to do the job he gets paid to do, sell needed services.

 

yes its true why do people think dealers are always a rip-off they are not , i usually get much better service at chevy dealership than at small shops.

 

That's the rub; unfortunately the honest dealers take hits for the ones who oversell "needed" services and there are PLENTY of those. They're not alone; every time my sister gets her oil changed at her favorite quick-lube place she calls me with their laundry list of things that "need" replacing. They are seldom items requiring attention, but you can't make any money doing oil changes alone.

I personally prefer independents because you don't have to go through the middle-man service writer who may or may not have any real mechanical experience.

 

I agree. I really don't want to pay someone to learn about my car. I'd rather take it to the dealer that has seen a thousand of these & they have the info, tools & tech bullitens etc to "fix it right the first time". Just my 00.02 cents worth, Sorry, Roger

 

I wouldn't paint independents with such a broad brush any more than I would all dealers; many, many, MANY indepedents started out as dealership wrench-turners before going out on their own; ergo, they've seen thousands of those repairs, too.

 

I hate the dealer bashing to. But working in a dealer i see some techs writing long lists of stuff just to sell the add on work

If you really want to see the problem start looking at the flat rate pay system thats where it all starts

Brian

 

Uh-oh, Brian opened a new can of worms.

 

lol yes i did and i knew when i typed it i would

majority of the ppl have no idea how the pay system works

Brian