Woman Gets Dealership Oil Change For Her Brand-New Toyota Tundra. Then She Catches the Technician In a Lie
'This is why I do my oil changes myself.'
A woman who brought her brand-new Toyota Tundra in for a routine oil change was shocked to catch the dealership technician in a lie. In a video posted to TikTok, the woman, who goes by the username Gabbattack (@gabbattackkk), explains what happened.
“Jesse went to go get an oil change at the Cerritos Toyota dealer, AutoNation, yesterday,” she says, adding that the appointment took almost four hours. She holds up a receipt from the dealership, showing her husband paid $120 for the oil change service.
Gabbattack claims that after the appointment, her husband returned home with the intention of attaching a skid plate to the bottom of the truck. However, when he went to install the plate under the truck, he found the undercarriage coated with a thick layer of mud. This immediately raised suspicions.
“We’ve been off-roading, going outdoors, all that stuff,” the woman explained about the source of the mud, while displaying photos of the dirty underside of the truck taken on her husband’s phone. While the presence of the mud itself wasn’t an issue, what raised red flags was the condition of the supposedly new oil filter and the bolt holding it in place, both of which were still caked in mud.
According to the woman, this strongly suggested to her and her husband that the oil change her husband paid for was never really performed.
“I don’t know about you but that does not look like a brand-new oil filter,” she says, before adding that her husband was going to go back to the dealership to see what they had to say.
Viewers Weigh In
The video garnered over 429,000 views, and several commenters sent in their advice for the couple.
“I marked a dot on oil filters with a sharpie so I know they are changed! My mechanic told me that trick,” one person shared.
“This is why I do my oil changes myself. The dealers are absolutely terrible,” another said.
Several claimed that this isn’t an issue unique to Toyota dealerships. Owners of cars made by other well-known brands like Nissan and Honda report similar experiences.
“First and only time I went [to the Honda dealership] they said they also rotated my tires but the one I had fixed at discount tires was in the same spot. A friend also checked my oil and said it wasn’t fresh,” someone complained.
“Please report it to the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR),” another person suggested.
How Can Customers Ensure Their Car Is Being Serviced Properly?
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There are several ways to ensure your car is properly serviced at the dealership.
Always ask for a detailed invoice listing each service performed, including any parts and fluids that were changed. Before leaving the dealership, inspect the vehicle if possible. Check for clean oil, new filters, or any other visible signs of work.
It’s also helpful to ask the technician to walk you through what was done, and request that any old parts be returned. Keep a maintenance checklist to compare to the dealership’s records so you can keep track of services that have recently been completed.
We've reached out to Toyota and the TikToker for comment. We'll be sure to update this article when we hear back.
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