(more) Rip Off Dealer Maintenance - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

Hi all

I bought my used "dealer serviced" 2003 CE about 3 months ago, and I recently checked out the engine and cabin air filter which were supposedly changed 2 months before I bought the vehicle (according to the service records.) Well, big surprise, the engine filter was black with grime, and the cabin one had spiderwebs on it. The guy who owned the car before me paid about $300 for the "regular scheduled maintenance" package, and got raped, IMO...does anyone monitor these rip off artists? If I owned the car from new and discovered this duplicity, I 'd be more than a little pissed off! I think I will flush and replace the coolant myself, seeing as how that service was "performed" at the same time. Just like they had "checked" the wheel bearings for noise and play, and I had to replace the right rear one just after I bought it. Jerkoffs..

Do you have a receipt for the service package from the previous owner? If so, take it up there and show them the problem.

aye, 'tis true, some dealers are bad...

but with all the items that are listed, do you seriously think they would get it all done in 2hrs? I assume that at least when I get a service what needs to be replaced is replaced; last service it appears to be ok. I do not think that suspensions, brakes, chassis bolts etc. are ever fully 100% checked.

Well, I feel that if they have a checklist to fill out (as they did with mine), it is not good enough to check the "satisfactory" box without actually checking the component for problems. It also really burns me that they flat out lied about replacing the items (filters) , and documented the fabrication as well. As it is a used vehicle, and I'm not the original owner, I don't think that the dealer would do much in the way of compensation. (after all, I'm not the one who was ripped off, it was the original owner of the car). It was my own ignorance and trust in the service records that was the culprit, so I have no one to blame but myself...

Oh well, it's still a great car-I absolutely love it! I still think scheduled dealer maintenance is a joke, however....

Don't want to derail the thread, but do our cars have cabin air filters and where is it located? I have a 2006 Corolla LE.

1,424 posts

Don't want to derail the thread, but do our cars have cabin air filters and where is it located? I have a 2006 Corolla LE.

Yes, we have cabin air filters. It is behind the glove box.

To replace it you:

1) Open the glovebox

2) Empty the glovebox

3) Unscrew the strut from the right hand side of the glovebox

4) Compress the sides of the glovebox and pull towards the back of the car

Now you will see a thin rectangular black cover behind where the glovebox was, remove the cover and the cabin filter easily comes out.

Now replace the filter, making sure the arrows on the filter point in the same direction as they did before, and reattach the cover.

Then:

5) Re-compress the sides of the glovebox and push it back into place

6) Screw the strut back on

7) Put your items back in the glovebox

8) Close the glovebox

Congratulations, you've just saved yourself $40 over what a dealer would want to change the filter.

If you want a more detailed procedure, you can look it up in your owner's manual. Actually, I suggest you do that anyway.

I've never found it necessary to unscrew the strut.

Total time for job - 2 minutes.

I always vacuum filter once or twice before deciding it's time for a new one.

just because a job is "easy" or hard for you does not mean the

dealer charges less. There is a flat rate for the service.

Everything is "easy" for the dealership,,, so you cannot assume

that you are being overcharged because a job is easy for you.