‘They’re trying to sell you something‘: 4Runner owner says Toyota dealership refused to do oil change at 5,000 miles

A car mechanic went viral on TikTok after sharing that Toyota refused to do an oil change on his wife’s 4Runner after it hit 5,000 miles. 

User @mundis92, who lives in Tennessee, recorded the video from what looked like a garage. He says that workers at the popular automaker, Toyota, repeatedly insisted that his wife’s relatively new 4Runner didn’t need servicing. He says they refused to budge when he pushed back. As of Wednesday evening, @mundis92’s video had amassed more than 619,000 views.

Why did Toyota refuse to service his vehicle?

@mundis92 says workers at Toyota told him that their newer cars need oil changes every 10,000 miles vs. 5,000 miles. Getting an oil change at the 5,000-mile mark is customary for most vehicles. 

The content creator says that he attempted to book the appointment, in part, because the service reminder popped up. But as a longtime mechanic, he said he also knew that most cars, despite what dealerships may insist, need servicing every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. 

“I’ve been a mechanic for a long time,” @mundis92 says. He notes that he’s worked at both car dealerships and independent shops. “I’ve done this [expletive] for a long time," he continues.

Despite his best efforts, though, he says workers for Toyota told him that his wife’s 4Runner only needed a tire rotation. 

@mundis92 says he asked the worker several times whether the dealership could give the 4Runner fresh oil more frequently.

He says he purchased a service package, and the fine print noted it only allowed for an oil change every 10,000 miles. He admits he wouldn’t have purchased the package if he knew about that and says he asked a Toyota representative if he could have fewer oil changes in total so that it could get serviced every 5,000 miles. 

Still, workers were allegedly adamant that newer models have evolved to the point where they can go longer stretches without fresh oil.

The mechanic wasn’t sold 

“Oil [has] come a long way. Filtration [has] come a long way. Tolerances have come a long way. I’m not going to lie about that,” he concedes. “But oil only lasts so long. It wears out.”

And he suggests that car manufacturers will lie to customers about when their cars need servicing so that they can reap the benefits in the long run. 

“I bought a Toyota because Toyotas last,” the mechanic says. “They’re trying to sell you something because they know a 10,000-mile oil change sounds really good. But you know what? At 150,000 [miles] that [expletive] motor is going to blow up, and it’s going to cost more to replace the [expletive] motor than it will to buy another car.”

@mundis92 #newcar #maintenance ♬ original sound - Manic mechanic

When do most cars need to get their oil replaced?

In his TikTok, @mundis92 made clear that he believed “changing your oil every 10,000 miles has got to be the dumbest [expletive] thing I’ve ever heard.” But when is it customary to get an oil change? 

According to AAA, oil intervals may vary based on the car’s age, type of oil, and driving conditions. In the past, it noted, oil changes were required every 3,000 miles or so. But nowadays, cars can go 5,000 to 7,500 miles before they get serviced again. 

Even Toytota’s website conceded that 4Runners, specifically, need fresh oil every couple-thousand miles. 4Runners that use synthetic oil, it said, can go 7,500 to 10,000 miles without a fresh oil change, while 4Runners that use conventional oil will need to get it checked more frequently. 

@mundis92 acknowledges that “any engine can go 20,000 miles on an oil change.” But he says he doesn't recommend this. He says, too, that cars with a diesel engine can go longer stretches without fresh oil, but that 10,000 was too much on a gas engine. 

Viewers agree

Some viewers agreed. 

“Ain’t no filter on the market [that] can make 10,000 miles,” one man said. 

“I tell people regularly that oil is cheap and engines aren’t,” another echoed. “$50 in maintenance every 5k miles goes a long way. I’d rather change it more often than it needs than not often enough.”

“I do every 3000 no matter what,” a third viewer wrote. 

But other viewers were more skeptical and agreed with the Toyota workers’ opinion. 

“320k on my camry with 10k oil changes but you do you,” one man said. 

“Put 60,000 miles on my last three Toyotas at 10,000 mi oil change intervals,” another revealed. 

In the end, as AAA suggested, results may vary based on the car’s make and model, age, and other factors. So it might be best to perform an oil analysis if you’re unsure.

The Daily Dot has reached out to @mundis92 via TikTok comment and to Toyota by email.

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