Aurion service frequency

[lembasts]

Greetings,

When I bought my 2010 Aurion prodigy, the sales person said "only needs a service every 15k - any other time is a waste of money". My mechanics however said that at least an oil change and basic checkup should be done between each 15k service. Who is right? Also, I once heard that with brand new cars they put in some special oil and that you MUST NOT change the oil until the first 15k service otherwise its bad for the car. Is this true?

Thanks

David

[DJKOR]

It is true that the Aurion has been given 15,000km service intervals. For most people out there who drive these cars like the majority of Camrys out there, they would be able to get away with this long interval in my opinion.

But also in my opinion, I would recommend doing an oil and filter change at half those intervals... so every 7,500kms. It's always better to be on the safe side of things. Changing your oil and filter at this frequency will certainly NOT do any bad for the engine so you will only be doing it good for it. Personally, changing the oil any more frequent that this would be a bit of a waste, but each to their own on that side of things.

[SCOOTA44]

It is true that the Aurion has been given 15,000km service intervals. For most people out there who drive these cars like the majority of Camrys out there, they would be able to get away with this long interval in my opinion.

But also in my opinion, I would recommend doing an oil and filter change at half those intervals... so every 7,500kms. It's always better to be on the safe side of things. Changing your oil and filter at this frequency will certainly NOT do any bad for the engine so you will only be doing it good for it. Personally, changing the oil any more frequent that this would be a bit of a waste, but each to their own on that side of things.

Crikey Daryl I would be changing my oil once a month at 7500km, LOL. every 15000km for me thanks.

[Silver-Aurion]

I have warranty on my car for another three years and so which means I need the logbook stamped. How would Toyota know that I've been doing a "certified" service and what if I don't? How would they know and how could I forfeit my warranty? All my warranty jobs, Toyota never looked at my log book or anything?

[Foss]

My logbook was up the muck when I bought it. It had always been dealer serviced, but they didn't seem to know which page they were meant to be filling out each time. It had the 50,000 done at high 40s or something, but then a 30something k one got done at 57000. All over the show. So I had one at 64 or so and will have the next one at 75, and that should bring me back into line for regular 7500 ones. I've not had any trouble with warranty claims, but if ever it gets questioned, they can take it up with the service dept at the dealership where I bought it.

Scoota, doesn't it say 7,500 under extreme circumstances or something along those lines? I would have thought running around all day as a taxi would at least somewhat fit into that?

Unique, I've often wondered that myself. Its not like the mechanic needs to fill in an ID number or anything to say he's certified, so really, I could get my nan to change my oil and how would Toyota be any the wiser?

[Silver-Aurion]

Unique, I've often wondered that myself. Its not like the mechanic needs to fill in an ID number or anything to say he's certified, so really, I could get my nan to change my oil and how would Toyota be any the wiser?

Exactly right. If anyone understands how it works I would be so grateful. This question has been bugging me for quite sometime. Because the thing is the car does not need to be serviced at a toyota dealer but a certified dealer like ultratune. But the thing is Toyota say that to not forfiet your warranty you need the car serviced by a certified dealer as the log book states what needs to be done.

But I've had heaps of warranty claims and not once was my logbook asked for. Infact I don't even keep it in my car.

My dog could service my car and I could get a fake stamp and stamp the book.

So how does toyota know because we aren't even ever asked for our log books??

I would love to get my car serviced by me. I hate anyone touching or doing something to my car without me being there.

So what's the deal with these log books?? Just a big scam??

[Dave89]

in my opinion when push comes to shove, if they ask for your logbook and it's not filled correctly then they burn you alive.

i'm sure toyota probably dont have the time/care enough to check logbooks for little warranty jobs especially if its a common issue.

but lets say your engine blew up, i'd bet first thing they'd say is, lets see your logbook.

and on the plus side, a reguarly filled out logbook means better sale price, if you choose to sell (you are mad if you do)

Dave

[SCOOTA44]

Scoota, doesn't it say 7,500 under extreme circumstances or something along those lines? I would have thought running around all day as a taxi would at least somewhat fit into that?

mostly easy runs up and down the highway to the airport, the suburban work isnt too taxing on it, oh and btw we have sealed roads in the south :P

[Adamsy]

Paradigm

My logbook was up the muck when I bought it. It had always been dealer serviced, but they didn't seem to know which page they were meant to be filling out each time. It had the 50,000 done at high 40s or something, but then a 30something k one got done at 57000. All over the show. So I had one at 64 or so and will have the next one at 75, and that should bring me back into line for regular 7500 ones. I've not had any trouble with warranty claims, but if ever it gets questioned, they can take it up with the service dept at the dealership where I bought it.

Scoota, doesn't it say 7,500 under extreme circumstances or something along those lines? I would have thought running around all day as a taxi would at least somewhat fit into that?

Unique, I've often wondered that myself. Its not like the mechanic needs to fill in an ID number or anything to say he's certified, so really, I could get my nan to change my oil and how would Toyota be any the wiser?

Well there is the unique dealer stamp boy’s lol? and for vehicles with Service advantage a slip ( i think it maybe be the from your book not sure can’t remember now) actually goes to Toyota along with the bill, so yes if they wanted to find out TMCA certainly could guys :S. But hay if you do get another qualified mechanic to service your car other than a Toyota trained technician then as long as your parts are Toyota Genuine there shouldn’t be a problem with your warranty :)

[Djs]

The Aurion is 15k or 9 month intervals. My next service is due next month and I'm up to the 45k service in the book even though I have only done 17k on the clock. Have only done 5k in the last 8 months! Even though I only drive about 4-5k every 9 months I will still take it in for the 9 month services (ignoring the km's done) mainly so the oil gets changed... yeah I only do about 10-15k per year in my Aurion!! I hardly ever drive it... its just my wifes car for around town. So if I did my services by km's done it would be almost two years between services which in my opinion is not good! :-)

[Foss]

oh and btw we have sealed roads in the south :P

Oh, I know, lol. Trust me, I had lots of fun on those coming back from there the other week, through Campania and Oatlands and whatnot. :D

Well there is the unique dealer stamp boy's lol? and for vehicles with Service advantage a slip ( i think it maybe be the from your book not sure can't remember now) actually goes to Toyota along with the bill, so yes if they wanted to find out TMCA certainly could guys :S. But hay if you do get another qualified mechanic to service your car other than a Toyota trained technician then as long as your parts are Toyota Genuine there shouldn't be a problem with your warranty :)

Yeah, I have mine done by a qualified bloke using genuine parts, but thats what I mean. Without a dealer stamp, without really making the effort to look into it, how do they know my mechanic is any more qualified than my dog?

And I don't have service advantage :(. Damn ex gov't cars!

[Aurion ZR6]

Gee's my engine must be clean, as I have my car serviced every 5,000 kilometres! Due for it eighth oil change this week, car goes like a rocket, great on trip away always return 7.0 l/km, around town 8.2-8.6 l/km.

I can see my oil is black at 5,000 kilometres, I don't know how you run a car to 15K before changing oil, gee's it must be black and thick?

[avstral]

I can see my oil is black at 5,000 kilometres, I don't know how you run a car to 15K before changing oil, gee's it must be black and thick?

Mate, something very wrong with your car.. I service mine every 15-16K, now it has 135K, oil is nice and clean prior every 15k service.

Edited April 14, 2010 by avstral

[Djs]

I can see my oil is black at 5,000 kilometres, I don't know how you run a car to 15K before changing oil, gee's it must be black and thick?

Mate, something very wrong with your car.. I service mine every 15-16K, now it has 135K, oil is nice and clean prior every 15k service.

I agree! I'd be looking into why your oil is going black!

[DJKOR]

Oil that goes darker in colour is usually said to be a good sign that the oil is doing it's job of catching all the impurities in the engine. That said, a good engine may stay relatively clean, and and oil doing it's job won't necessarily go that dark.

On my old Sportivo, I only did the mid service (7,500km) oil change a couple of times. Over the 99,000km that it travelled in it's life, and when I changed the oil at the 15,000km mark, it was coming out dark, but this was when you look at it all together in the one lot. If you spread it out over a clean white surface, it still had a dark golden colour to it.

My old Sportivo was still going strong despite having oil changes at 15,000km.

[Adamsy]

Have people found that there car runs better if the interim service is done? I’ve had my car almost a year (well 9 months)and it had a service done a few days before i took delivery so either it had two services done in matter of a few months or had a late service but anything the letter from work arrived in the mail tonight about the next service and i was thinking that since we don’t really to the kms in Tas that after this service I’d probably start doing the interim service every 6months, was also wondering if anybody uses any additives when they do a service, I’m a freak when it comes to giving my car the best and every quarter i give it a bottle of Toyota jet stream injector cleaner when i fill her up and well i was thinking that i might run some Engine flush before they drop the oil then refill it with some friction proof additive, has anybody bothered putting anything in their car, if so did you feel it was worth it?

[Djs]

Oil that goes darker in colour is usually said to be a good sign that the oil is doing it's job of catching all the impurities in the engine. That said, a good engine may stay relatively clean, and and oil doing it's job won't necessarily go that dark.

On my old Sportivo, I only did the mid service (7,500km) oil change a couple of times. Over the 99,000km that it travelled in it's life, and when I changed the oil at the 15,000km mark, it was coming out dark, but this was when you look at it all together in the one lot. If you spread it out over a clean white surface, it still had a dark golden colour to it.

My old Sportivo was still going strong despite having oil changes at 15,000km.

darker is ok but black? that is a completely different thing.

[Silver-Aurion]

I've been filling my car up with Premium ever since I got it. I first was on V-power then converted to BP Ultimate.

You guys go really far to look after your cars don't you? I really don't see any point in it unless your doing some epic racing around the track in your Aurions.

IMO, A Oil change and filter change according to service book is all thats needed.

Then at 100,00K I'm going to do the following:

Change air filter

Change Oil and Filter

Change Coolant

Change Power steering fluid

Change transmission fluid

Change Spark plugs.

And hopefully all those changes should last me another 100,000K (exception of oil which will still be changed at 15K)

[DJKOR]

You guys go really far to look after your cars don't you? I really don't see any point in it unless your doing some epic racing around the track in your Aurions.

It's like telling the guy who goes to the gym every morning that he doesn't have to go so often. It's all personal preference.

Change Coolant

That happens at 160,000km. Believe it or not, it doesn't actually need to be changed before that as long as it's always got the pink Super Long Life Coolant in it.

Change Spark plugs.

That should be changed as part of the 90,000km service.

[Silver-Aurion]

You guys go really far to look after your cars don't you? I really don't see any point in it unless your doing some epic racing around the track in your Aurions.

It's like telling the guy who goes to the gym every morning that he doesn't have to go so often. It's all personal preference.

Change Coolant

That happens at 160,000km. Believe it or not, it doesn't actually need to be changed before that as long as it's always got the pink Super Long Life Coolant in it.

Change Spark plugs.

That should be changed as part of the 90,000km service.

Well DJK your correct once again. <_<

At 90K the service book (looking at it in front of me now) says at 90K to replace:

Engine oil and filter

Spark Plugs

Engine air cleaner filter

brake fluid

Tighten chassis and body bolts and nuts

aircon filter

Under additional maintenance it says replace auto transmission fluid(Which I will be adding)

And when you go all the way to 150K it says to replace:

Oil and filter

engine coolant

in tank fuel filter

brake fluid

Hmm thats weird, at 90K it says replace brake fluid, then at 150K it says replace brake fluid and again at 180K it says to replace brake fluid, why so many times

Edit: My next Normal Maintenance is at 75K and the severe operating service is at 67,500K. If I were to head over to the dealer and grab the filter and oil and do the severe operating service myself would that be okay?

Then at 75K take it in to get a "official" service by the dealer to keep the warranty guys happy?

Edited April 14, 2010 by unique

[DJKOR]

Hmm thats weird, at 90K it says replace brake fluid, then at 150K it says replace brake fluid and again at 180K it says to replace brake fluid, why so many times

You brakes are crucial to the operation of your car. As well, brake fluid is hygroscopic which means that it absorbs water. Now even though your reservoir is sealed, the is always the possibility that moisture can make it past the seal and introduce a small amount of moisture into the brake fluid. When this happens, you get a spongy feeling.

It's just preventative maintenance really. It doesn't cost much to change, and it's always better to be on the safe side. With the rate I was using my brakes in my old Sportivo, I was changing fluid at 20,000km intervals or there abouts.

Edit: My next Normal Maintenance is at 75K and the severe operating service is at 67,500K. If I were to head over to the dealer and grab the filter and oil and do the severe operating service myself would that be okay?

Yeah, you can do that if you want. I would advise ordering a '65mm/67mm cap style oil filter wrench' though because the Aurion uses a cartridge style oil filter.

You can remove the cap without the special tool, but I'm not going to advise how to do that here because it's just something you shouldn't really do. Plus I don't want to be held accountable if you break something.

[Silver-Aurion]

Hmm thats weird, at 90K it says replace brake fluid, then at 150K it says replace brake fluid and again at 180K it says to replace brake fluid, why so many times

You brakes are crucial to the operation of your car. As well, brake fluid is hygroscopic which means that it absorbs water. Now even though your reservoir is sealed, the is always the possibility that moisture can make it past the seal and introduce a small amount of moisture into the brake fluid. When this happens, you get a spongy feeling.

It's just preventative maintenance really. It doesn't cost much to change, and it's always better to be on the safe side. With the rate I was using my brakes in my old Sportivo, I was changing fluid at 20,000km intervals or there abouts.

Edit: My next Normal Maintenance is at 75K and the severe operating service is at 67,500K. If I were to head over to the dealer and grab the filter and oil and do the severe operating service myself would that be okay?

Yeah, you can do that if you want. I would advise ordering a '65mm/67mm cap style oil filter wrench' though because the Aurion uses a cartridge style oil filter.

You can remove the cap without the special tool, but I'm not going to advise how to do that here because it's just something you shouldn't really do. Plus I don't want to be held accountable if you break something.

Thanks man :)

[SCOOTA44]

Have people found that there car runs better if the interim service is done? I’ve had my car almost a year (well 9 months)and it had a service done a few days before i took delivery so either it had two services done in matter of a few months or had a late service but anything the letter from work arrived in the mail tonight about the next service and i was thinking that since we don’t really to the kms in Tas that after this service I’d probably start doing the interim service every 6months, was also wondering if anybody uses any additives when they do a service, I’m a freak when it comes to giving my car the best and every quarter i give it a bottle of Toyota jet stream injector cleaner when i fill her up and well i was thinking that i might run some Engine flush before they drop the oil then refill it with some friction proof additive, has anybody bothered putting anything in their car, if so did you feel it was worth it?

My mech puts in engine flush, lets the car run for 5 mins before dropping the oil. also puts a bottle of injector cleaner in the tank.

[lembasts]

Thanks everyone. I think Ill do a basic oil change each 7500 interval between the 15k book services. As I only travel about 15k a year I think its probably wise to do a basic service at a six month interval.

David