Servicing - go to the dealer?

[Turnby]

My 2014 Yaris is due its Annual service. It's got 12,000 miles on the clock and still under manufacturer warranty.

Arnold Clark Toyota want £119 for a stand service?

Would you go to AC or shop around any try a small independent garage?

(Vehicle is running fine at the moment with no apparent faults)

[Exiwolfman]

go to Toyota dealer , reason i say this is that it will show ur car on record with Toyota and that u maintain it if u need warranty work.
Specially for the first few , but things like brake work etc u can take anywhere.
If they dont see ur car on record one may/will have a harder time with warranty issues etc

[Turnby]

i called around to get some details

It's a full service required.

Arnold Clark (The Dealer) £237,
Hburgh Toyota £195,
And a small independent Garage I’ve used before quoted £150.

[CoryM]

Go to whomever you trust to do the job correctly, without selling you things you don't need. So long as you keep your receipts/records, any shop can do your maintenance without impacting your warranty. If you already have a comfortable relationship with an independent shop, there is no reason to stop going there even though it's a new car. Follow the Toyota service schedule until warranty is off, and you will be fine.
Cheers.

[Exiwolfman]

Go to whomever you trust to do the job correctly, without selling you things you don't need. So long as you keep your receipts/records, any shop can do your maintenance without impacting your warranty. If you already have a comfortable relationship with an independent shop, there is no reason to stop going there even though it's a new car. Follow the Toyota service schedule until warranty is off, and you will be fine.
Cheers.
Sorry can't agree 100% on this with you and this is based on how dealerships work and Toyota and this is first hand knowledge since I work at Toyota.
So my strong recommendation is to do few appointments with ur dealership it will make ur life way easier when it comes to warranty time....just saying but what do I know lol

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[kimona]

If the car is under warranty, I'd take it to the dealership. The service department gets paid to thoroughly check out your car and do work under warranty.

[Turnby]

A little follow up...

The service was back in January 16, I went to a small independent garage in the end.

Two months ago took the car to Arnold Clark for a Air conditioning tune up, they said the pollen filter was dirty (as in grey). I wonder if it could have gotten soiled so quickly and if the independent garage actually did change the pollen filter or just say they had.

Makes me a little more inclined to use official Toyota outlets in the future

[tarkus]

Two months ago took the car to Arnold Clark for a Air conditioning tune up, they said the pollen filter was dirty (as in grey). I wonder if it could have gotten soiled so quickly and if the independent garage actually did change the pollen filter or just say they had.

Makes me a little more inclined to use official Toyota outlets in the future
Actually the dealer could have been lying. It's standard practice with dealers to try to discredit independents, for quite obvious reasons. I have to say that I have seen far less mistakes made by indepents than main dealers - I have quite a list of horror stories. I've also had the experience of being charged for a new fuel filter by a main dealer , which later turned out never to have changed!

So I agree with the recommendation above to get the minimum number of authorized dealer services required while the car is under warranty, but get other general maintenance work done by an independent garage. Then avoid main dealers after that.

And BTW you can change the cabin air filter/pollen filter yourself in about 5 minutes. There are several videos on YouTube that show how.




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[Turnby]

Actually the dealer could have been lying.

They have a service where they email you a link to a video taken by the mechanic working on your vehicle explaining what they found and what they recommend/have done. The filter was pretty dirty.

Yea, right behind the glove box, I've looked before

[tarkus]

They have a service where they email you a link to a video taken by the mechanic working on your vehicle explaining what they found and what they recommend/have done. The filter was pretty dirty.
Fair enough, but not really proof the filter hasn't been changed. Also the whole idea of an "AC Tuneup" is total bullshit. There's nothing in an AC system to tune up. *If* you find its not producing cold air, then there's the need to repair or at least re-gas it. And you can change the filter every year. Neither is a tune up. The sheer brazen dishonesty of these authorised dealers makes my blood boil.



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[CoryM]

Interesting about the video.


From my experience, it is far more common for sketchy shops/dealers to sell people work they do not need, than it is to sell work and not perform it. Was the cabin filter just grey, or did it have a bunch of junk in it? The reason I ask is some cabin filters are impregnated with carbon to absorb smells. They are grey when they are brand new.

The typical cab filter service interval is 2yrs/24k KM. If you drive dusty roads or park under trees it can be far less though.

A/C services are not needed and, far as I have seen, not part of any manufacturer's required service. What they typically do is inject a can of top-up refrigerant which is not required and potentially harmful (A/C refrigerant is meant to be a set amount. Adding more than spec can damage the system. Also the top-up can are often not the correct refrigerant). If your car is losing refrigerant, it has a leak and should be fixed properly. Not topped up. They also typically inspect your cabin filter, and spray a deodorant in there. Unless your a/c smells like shoes, it's not required.

Does this dealer also sell oil additives with every service? And did they charge labour to replace the cabin filter?

Cheers.

[tarkus]

From my experience, it is far more common for sketchy shops/dealers to sell people work they do not need, than it is to sell work and not perform it.
True, and IMO authorized dealers are the biggest culprits, since they make a nice fat profit margin on the parts. I think my experience with the not-changed fuel filter was probably nontypical. The same dealer also tried to sell me a replacement starter motor for a starting problem, despite the fact that the current one was turning the engine just fine. The actual problem was fuel not getting to the engine.

A/C services are not needed and, far as I have seen, not part of any manufacturer's required service. What they typically do is inject a can of top-up refrigerant which is not required and potentially harmful (A/C refrigerant is meant to be a set amount. Adding more than spec can damage the system. Also the top-up can are often not the correct refrigerant). If your car is losing refrigerant, it has a leak and should be fixed properly. Not topped up. They also typically inspect your cabin filter, and spray a deodorant in there.
Totally agree. The deodorant thing is pretty funny, though. Great tune up! LOL


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[Turnby]

They filter was certainly grey but video was not of high enough quality to see any detail.

Anyways I went in for then AC 'service' because after the AC was turned off for a few minutes there was a bad odour. As part of the they service they, changed pollen filter, re-gassed and also used an AC 'bomb', the disinfectant you spoke of.

The moral of all this thread I reckon is I'll use authorised Toyota garages until the warranty on the car expires. It's a 2014 plate with 17,000 miles.

[CoryM]

OK. Typically Yaris cabin filters are not carbon-impregnated so it was probably due. They can turn colour quickly but still have plenty of life in them, or they can get dirty very fast depending on conditions. For such simple things, air filters can be hard to call whether they are due or not.

If your A/C smelled, it's not a bad idea to do the cab filter then anyhow so you probably got your money worth. I still don't like the "re-gas" part of it (that's assuming they are using the little cans to do so), but it's unlikely to hurt anything unless it's done a bunch of times.

Cheers.

[rabbito]

usually i buy the parts...liquid etc and i let them change it front of me...i tested mine at 10,000km, it isnt that dirty...at 15~20k its grey colored dirty...which is pretty dirty..

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