A Fine First Service - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

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A Fine First Service - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

We take our long-term 2016 Toyota Tacoma in for its first service.

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kirkhilles1

That's definitely cool. I wish no-cost-maintenance was included on more makes.

So, do you guys usually get loaners or do you have to be picked up and dropped off (or Uber)? Or are you waiting in the lobby for 90 minutes?

actualsize

A stamp in the maintenance log? I don't think I've ever got one. A signature, maybe, but never a stamp. Jealous.

thecardoc3

According to the log if there were trips at low temperatures, or extended idling periods the oil change would be required. But how is a tech supposed to know if that applied or not? While some cars allow techs to pull up the oil life monitor data and see how much life is remaining, that is not the case for all platforms. Leaving this in the dark, the tech could be faulted for doing the oil change as easily as for not doing it if the maintenance system turned around and required it in short order. It worked out this time since it is under a contract for initial service, but otherwise there should have been more communication from all of the involved parties.

kirkhilles1

I DO appreciate them specifying the requirements for "extreme" driving. Loved how dealers and oil changes and everybody with a financial interest claimed that your mostly-highway-driving-in-60-degree-weather was "extreme".

I'd take the free oil change as well as the replacement of the oil filter when not necessary and anything else that they wanted to do, but of course that it means that you KNOW that the dealers are scamming (or trying to) Toyota into doing extra work. "Oh yeah, the customer claimed he drove 0.5 miles every day with 12 hours of idling in negative 20 degree weather".

stever

That's assuming the tech actually did the work. If you don't "mark" the plug and/or filter or run the dashcam, how would you know? Or suppose the dashcam shows the work being done. How do you know the tech used the right oil?

We need "instant" oil condition analysis gizmos, and that would obviate the need to change the oil until the sensor readout told you to. And if the wrong oil was used, the sensor would sound the alarm.

Shouldn't cost more than a buck or two a car.

kirkhilles1

I still want to know why they don't have simple sensors to measure brake pad usage. That should be unbelievably easy for the vehicle to know how much pad life is left (maybe rotor wear too, although I could see how that might be more complicated) and just see it and get a MM reminder about it.

5vzfe

There IS a sensor to measure break pad usage built - there's a metal tab on the pad itself that contacts the rotor and squeals loudly when the pad has worn down to that point. When your brakes squeal, that's your cue to inspect/replace them. When the noise stops - that's when the tab breaks off and that's when you really need to look into replacement.

Also, disc break pads are pretty easy to visually inspect, on some cars you don't even need to pull the wheel off, just hold a ruler up to the brakes, so for those reasons alone a sensor is totally unnecessary IMHO. Oil is a little different, you really don't know what you're getting if you don't do it yourself, but the dipstick is readily available in the engine bay to check levels and oil color as well. Low-tech, but they are still an effective tool.

rmcounts

kirkhilles1 said:

That's definitely cool. I wish no-cost-maintenance was included on more makes.

So, do you guys usually get loaners or do you have to be picked up and dropped off (or Uber)? Or are you waiting in the lobby for 90 minutes?

In this case, Toyota of Santa Monica is less than a two miles from our office. I hitched a ride with a coworker to and from the dealer. It was quicker and easier than waiting for a shuttle or an Uber. In the past I've gotten dealer loaners or, if I know it's going to be quick, I'll just bring my laptop and work from the waiting room.

nate001

This service sounds more like a liability check, A chance for Toyota to make sure that the all brake rotors are installed and to check if the floor mat is creeping up on the throttle.

Is it in the sale contract that missing this service absolves Toyota of liability for unintended acceleration?

thecardoc3

nate001 said:

This service sounds more like a liability check, A chance for Toyota to make sure that the all brake rotors are installed and to check if the floor mat is creeping up on the throttle.

Is it in the sale contract that missing this service absolves Toyota of liability for unintended acceleration?

Floor mats riding up on top of the throttle and underneath the brake pedal was nothing new or unique to Toyota. We have found occasions where that was occurring for as long as I have worked on cars (started in the late 70's) and no doubt it happened before that. Otherwise the most common reason for the unintended acceleration events reported was a misapplication of the pedals, otherwise known as driver error. The next most likely reason was fraud.....

guitarzan

My 1980 Delta 88 pedal stuck down! The cause was not the mat but it was the mechanism. I remember that day discovering it, scary as heck. I never thought to sue someone over it. That would have been preposterous!

thecardoc3

I recall some events where the throttles would stick on cars of that vintage, most of the time it was a piece of linkage that disengaged and trapped the throttle shaft open. Before that back when mechanical linkage operated the throttle, failure of the left engine mount allowed the engine to lift and hold the throttle open. Either way it was easy to reach down and turn the key off.

guitarzan

This occurred when putting the throttle on the floor. And mashing it again would release it. Something to do with the choke mechanism?

thecardoc3

Can't recall anything specific that was related to the choke. The fast idle cam would only hold the engine to about 2500rpm no load. So it would be a part throttle and at that it is a very light throttle which would be close to normal highway cruise speed. Our routine back then (and still today) would be to get the car to act up, and simply pull over, (shutting the engine off if its running too fast) and get the hood up to identify what was holding the throttle open. There were several possibilities with any different model.

guitarzan

But putting the pedal to the floor activated the choke. That's where my *guess* came from.

thecardoc3

Putting the pedal to the floor, opens the choke when the carb is set up correctly. That would also allow the fast idle cam to drop as long as it isn't sticking.