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as an owner of multiple toyota's and a member of the related forums... i can say that toyota dealers' service departments can be hit or miss, but toyota does li

as an owner of multiple toyota's and a member of the related forums... i can say that toyota dealers' service departments can be hit or miss, but toyota does listen to customer complaints and takes them very seriously(personal experience). additionally toyota has a lot of dealerships, so if the one closest to you is acting poorly you can go to another. they are aware of this and it tends to keep them mostly honest. plus with a large and vocal community around almost every model they make, its pretty easy to avoid the bad dealers. my current 4runner warranty/service plan covers all scheduled maintenance, filters, lubricants, etc. for the first 100k miles. However, I do have to bring it in yearly, even if the next oil change isn't due based on milage alone. its certainly a money play, but also keeping their vehicles in good working order helps with a lot of metrics like resell value, longevity, etc that car buyers look at. i think toyota is the largest buyer of used toyotas.

radicaldreamer 5y ago
This ^^ I've found Toyota Marin to be fantastic for the Bay Area but when we were in Albuquerque for a while last year, the local dealership's service dept was much worse, doing only the basics and with a low attention to detail.
- actualanswer 5y ago
  I should check out the Marin shop. Toyota SF was really good service but their prices/charges are outrageous. I ended up going to ToyShop which isn't too far from the dealership and they are solid (they work primarily on Toyotas hence ToyShop)
- failwhaleshark 5y ago
  TBH, Albuquerque is a hole in the ground adjacent to Atlantic City, Detroit, and east LA. I think anywhere else would be better. If you're going to the dealer for anything other than warranty or free repairs, then you have too much money and need to be relieved of it. - My late grandfather who was a master mechanic retired from a dealership who once sold horses and buggies in the SF Bay Area.
sharkweek 5y ago
I'm pretty dealer agnostic, but Toyota has been cemented in my mind as the car brand I can trust the most. Have been in Toyotas my whole life (first car was an 89 Camry Wagon, rip), now I drive a 4Runner old enough to drink, and my partner is in a Highlander. No matter how many times we look elsewhere, we always end up back in Toyotas. Hoping their EV R&D shows promise soon.
- steve_adams_86 5y ago
  Likewise, Toyota has been a rock in my car experience. We got a 2017 highlander and apart from the god awful infotainment system it has been amazing. Sort of like computers these days, I find myself wondering when I’d need or even want to upgrade. It hasn’t really needed service yet after 80,000km. Everything is running well. My mechanic says I must be taking excellent care of it, but I’m not doing anything I haven’t before. This thing just seems to be better designed than any VW or Ford I’ve had. Our previous Toyota was OLD but similarly rock solid. I’ve come to like their cars a lot. A friend has a 4 runner as well that has been going strong for around 15 years. I think what’s remarkable isn’t necessarily having something incredible to say about their cars. It’s more so that I just have nothing to complain about.
  - datavirtue 5y ago
    The reliability stems from not touching the power train design (for 20+ years). It is also the cause of the dreadful effeciency one experiences with a Toyota. I shopped Toyota for a trucks several times and was appalled by the MPG ratings. When a Tacoma is getting far worse MPG than a F-150 it's time for an update.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      >The reliability stems from not touching the power train design (for 20+ years) Why isn't the Dodge and lineup regarded as reliable? Ford E-series is how old? Most of Nissan's sedans are pretty long in the tooth now that I think about it. A large part of why Toyota stuff is so reliable is that they're expensive up front both new and "newish" used. They also won't finance just anyone with a pulse like the "unreliable" brands will. So the people who get their hands on them can afford to maintain them on schedule and can afford to treat them well. You'll never see a newish Sienna owner stacking one floor to ceiling with bags of concrete to avoid paying for the Home Depot truck rental. You'll never see a newish 4Runner bouncing down the road with an out of round tire. You'll never see a newish Camry dragging ass hauling a family of 5 and all their luggage (the person with that use case in the Toyota tax bracket can justify/afford a Highlander) Can't say that about a Pacifica, Patriot or Altima. Refinement certainly helps but Toyotas are reliable because any car would be reliable in the hands of Toyota owners. Any car would routinely make it to high mileage if they got babied for their first 100k (or so)
meowster 5y ago
Toyota ignored me when a dealership did a 10k service that I did not agree to (there was only 2k miles on the car at the time). Thus when I went to to a dealerahip for my 10k service (with an actual 10k miles on the car), they wouldn't do the free 10k service that came with the purchase of the vehicle. Toyota has good vehicles as far as I can tell, but their ignoring of me has put me off of them. For my next vehicle, I chose a different brand, and the vehicle had some issues, but that manufacturer made things right with no hassle. I don't know which is better: a vehicle that will most likely be good with a company that doesn't care, or a vehicle that has some issues but with a company that does care and fixes it.
- pc86 5y ago
  Your singular anecdote aside, "a company that doesn't care" is not a description that could be applied to Toyota in any aggregate. It's simply not true.
  - seattle_spring 5y ago
    Tell that to literally all of the dealerships in western Oregon trying to upcharge the RAV4 Prime by $10k-$20k. Trying to buy that car last year was the scummiest car buying experience I could have imagined, and I'll never buy a Toyota in the future because of it.
    - pc86 5y ago
      You know there's a difference between any random dealer and the manufacturer, right? This is like saying you refuse to play any game in the Call of Duty franchise because GameStop charges $70 instead of $60 for it.
    - mtnGoat 5y ago
      Was this “regional market adjustment“? They do that with hard to get models. Try getting a TRD Pro in a limited edition color. Most dealers will mark them up a lot. They sell at these prices, so I guess the market is doing its thing.
- 5y ago
e40 5y ago
Dealer service centers may be hit or miss, but I've had way more misses with non-dealer repair shops. A recent one I went to ended up being more than the quoted price from the dealer. Having said that, I recently took my Acura (Honda) to a local service station because the timing belt was quoted at near $2k and I got it done for ~$900 at a local service station. New water pump and another belt were included (as they would have been at the dealer). What really frustrated me was the messages I was getting from the dealer. When should the timing belt be replaced? First it was 90k miles, then it was 60k miles, and because I was below both it was after 7 years (it's been 10). The other thing, for my model, some sources said "if it breaks, your engine will be damaged" but the dealer wouldn't tell me either way. I even contact Acura USA and they wouldn't contradict the dealer. Whole thing left me wanting a Toyota/Lexis.
- rootsudo 5y ago
  This information is required by law to be in the owners manual, and it is different for California/rest of the USA - but same Part number so even if you are in cali, if the owners manual calls for 100k, you are probably fine.
dharmab 5y ago
Changing oil annually is recommended for pretty much every ICE driven vehicle. Oil reacts with the metals in an engine and becomes acidic over time.

radicaldreamer 5y ago

This ^^ I've found Toyota Marin to be fantastic for the Bay Area but when we were in Albuquerque for a while last year, the local dealership's service dept was much worse, doing only the basics and with a low attention to detail.

actualanswer 5y ago
I should check out the Marin shop. Toyota SF was really good service but their prices/charges are outrageous. I ended up going to ToyShop which isn't too far from the dealership and they are solid (they work primarily on Toyotas hence ToyShop)
failwhaleshark 5y ago
TBH, Albuquerque is a hole in the ground adjacent to Atlantic City, Detroit, and east LA. I think anywhere else would be better. If you're going to the dealer for anything other than warranty or free repairs, then you have too much money and need to be relieved of it. - My late grandfather who was a master mechanic retired from a dealership who once sold horses and buggies in the SF Bay Area.

sharkweek 5y ago

I'm pretty dealer agnostic, but Toyota has been cemented in my mind as the car brand I can trust the most. Have been in Toyotas my whole life (first car was an 89 Camry Wagon, rip), now I drive a 4Runner old enough to drink, and my partner is in a Highlander. No matter how many times we look elsewhere, we always end up back in Toyotas. Hoping their EV R&D shows promise soon.

steve_adams_86 5y ago
Likewise, Toyota has been a rock in my car experience. We got a 2017 highlander and apart from the god awful infotainment system it has been amazing. Sort of like computers these days, I find myself wondering when I’d need or even want to upgrade. It hasn’t really needed service yet after 80,000km. Everything is running well. My mechanic says I must be taking excellent care of it, but I’m not doing anything I haven’t before. This thing just seems to be better designed than any VW or Ford I’ve had. Our previous Toyota was OLD but similarly rock solid. I’ve come to like their cars a lot. A friend has a 4 runner as well that has been going strong for around 15 years. I think what’s remarkable isn’t necessarily having something incredible to say about their cars. It’s more so that I just have nothing to complain about.
- datavirtue 5y ago
  The reliability stems from not touching the power train design (for 20+ years). It is also the cause of the dreadful effeciency one experiences with a Toyota. I shopped Toyota for a trucks several times and was appalled by the MPG ratings. When a Tacoma is getting far worse MPG than a F-150 it's time for an update.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    >The reliability stems from not touching the power train design (for 20+ years) Why isn't the Dodge and lineup regarded as reliable? Ford E-series is how old? Most of Nissan's sedans are pretty long in the tooth now that I think about it. A large part of why Toyota stuff is so reliable is that they're expensive up front both new and "newish" used. They also won't finance just anyone with a pulse like the "unreliable" brands will. So the people who get their hands on them can afford to maintain them on schedule and can afford to treat them well. You'll never see a newish Sienna owner stacking one floor to ceiling with bags of concrete to avoid paying for the Home Depot truck rental. You'll never see a newish 4Runner bouncing down the road with an out of round tire. You'll never see a newish Camry dragging ass hauling a family of 5 and all their luggage (the person with that use case in the Toyota tax bracket can justify/afford a Highlander) Can't say that about a Pacifica, Patriot or Altima. Refinement certainly helps but Toyotas are reliable because any car would be reliable in the hands of Toyota owners. Any car would routinely make it to high mileage if they got babied for their first 100k (or so)

meowster 5y ago

Toyota ignored me when a dealership did a 10k service that I did not agree to (there was only 2k miles on the car at the time). Thus when I went to to a dealerahip for my 10k service (with an actual 10k miles on the car), they wouldn't do the free 10k service that came with the purchase of the vehicle. Toyota has good vehicles as far as I can tell, but their ignoring of me has put me off of them. For my next vehicle, I chose a different brand, and the vehicle had some issues, but that manufacturer made things right with no hassle. I don't know which is better: a vehicle that will most likely be good with a company that doesn't care, or a vehicle that has some issues but with a company that does care and fixes it.

pc86 5y ago
Your singular anecdote aside, "a company that doesn't care" is not a description that could be applied to Toyota in any aggregate. It's simply not true.
- seattle_spring 5y ago
  Tell that to literally all of the dealerships in western Oregon trying to upcharge the RAV4 Prime by $10k-$20k. Trying to buy that car last year was the scummiest car buying experience I could have imagined, and I'll never buy a Toyota in the future because of it.
  - pc86 5y ago
    You know there's a difference between any random dealer and the manufacturer, right? This is like saying you refuse to play any game in the Call of Duty franchise because GameStop charges $70 instead of $60 for it.
  - mtnGoat 5y ago
    Was this “regional market adjustment“? They do that with hard to get models. Try getting a TRD Pro in a limited edition color. Most dealers will mark them up a lot. They sell at these prices, so I guess the market is doing its thing.
5y ago

e40 5y ago

Dealer service centers may be hit or miss, but I've had way more misses with non-dealer repair shops. A recent one I went to ended up being more than the quoted price from the dealer. Having said that, I recently took my Acura (Honda) to a local service station because the timing belt was quoted at near $2k and I got it done for ~$900 at a local service station. New water pump and another belt were included (as they would have been at the dealer). What really frustrated me was the messages I was getting from the dealer. When should the timing belt be replaced? First it was 90k miles, then it was 60k miles, and because I was below both it was after 7 years (it's been 10). The other thing, for my model, some sources said "if it breaks, your engine will be damaged" but the dealer wouldn't tell me either way. I even contact Acura USA and they wouldn't contradict the dealer. Whole thing left me wanting a Toyota/Lexis.

rootsudo 5y ago
This information is required by law to be in the owners manual, and it is different for California/rest of the USA - but same Part number so even if you are in cali, if the owners manual calls for 100k, you are probably fine.

dharmab 5y ago

Changing oil annually is recommended for pretty much every ICE driven vehicle. Oil reacts with the metals in an engine and becomes acidic over time.