It seems the only thing I haven't done prior would be that related to the brakes but I can remove the wheels easily as I do our own tire swaps and inspect the brakes at those times.
The recommended motor oil is synthetic 0w20 motor oil so oil changes are now every 10k miles.
Will I run afoul of Toyota's warranty (and extended warranty) rules if I perform all these myself and just take photos or videos of me checking all these items?
I have a friend who was offered an early lease return by his dealership for his 2014 RAV4 (was suppose to be a five-year lease) and opted to lease the 2016 RAV4 Hybrid XLE for the same monthly cost and he told me all he did was the oil changes.
If the dealership knew he only did oil changes and gladly took the car back to sell to someone else, it seems I should be okay skipping the 8km service intervals?
This is my email to Toyota Canada:
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For the 2016 RAV4 Hybrid, there doesn't seem to be a lot being done during the 8k service that we can't do ourselves except for brake inspection
If we skip the 8k, will our warranty and extended warranty be voided?
I've got a 2015 LE AWD Upgrade PX. Now, this is just me but I got the 5k done and plan to try to fulfill all of the sched maint to the letter. For the 5k, at least at my dealership, they did some extra lube of the doors, battery terminals, topped up fluids, etc. But again, that's just me as I figure, at least during the warranty period, if something goes wrong I can look them in the eye and say I had you guys do all the maint.so...That said I also try to check to oil and keep an eyeball on the major stuff just to be on the safe side. I'm curious exactly what Toyota Canada will say in response to your query.
For me it seems like a good, and free, opportunity to have the service dept. get a first look, see if anything was missed/missing during delivery, see if things are working correctly after a wear in period, answer any questions that may have come up, and check for updates, recalls, tech bulletins, etc.
It's pretty convenient for me, though, because we only live about two miles from the dealership and are mostly retired and have flexible schedules.
Just got a response back and it doesn't seem to be mandatory. My first six visits are included owing to having bought the extended warranty, which is quite pricey to what Toyota US offers:
Thank you for your recent correspondence.
We would like to take this opportunity to explain that the maintenance schedule information represents the minimum required servicing on your vehicle.
We recommend that they are completed simply to ensure the longevity of your vehicle and to eliminate possible future issues with the performance of your vehicle.
The maintenance schedule will reduce wear and tear on many mechanical components of your vehicle from premature failure. As you can appreciate, having your vehicle serviced by a Toyota trained technician every 6 months or 8,000 km helps to protect your investment.
Please kindly note that if the minimum requirements are followed, your warranty coverage will not be affected; however, we do strongly recommend following the advice of the Toyota trained technicians at our dealerships.
We trust the provided clarifies the situation, and thank you for taking the time to write.
I take mine in for the 10,000 mile intervals of oil change. At 5,000 I do it and post it on the Toyota owners site.
I do as good or better job checking fluids, servicing the tires and I can even do it without over inflating them.☺
Last July I did the 6 month-non oil change interval myself. Checked off the items on the service booklet. I also post the results in the self-maintenance section on the Toyota owners site. This protects me as best I can figure. And maintenance is done regularly by owners who keep receipts and keep their warranty in force per the manual.
At 6 months, there simply isn't any thing to do if your inspect the car thoroughly. Also in Virginia we have to get an annual state safety inspection, including tire removal by state inspector for brake inspection. It's due each May for the Rav. Also we put only about 7500 miles a year on the Rav.
Annual January oil changes with synthetic are done at Dealer.
What do you have to do to post on clubtoyota / Toyota's owner site?
Maybe it's different here in Canada but at I'll go with the first six since they are covered but will thereafter go only every 10k and do any other service except for this 5k one.
I did my 5k for two reasons:
1) Got part of my daily steps goal done by walking back from the dealer and to the dealer when service was done.
2) Got a free car wash as part of the service.
Our 2013 RAV4 with 20K miles has not been back to the dealer since new. Saves not having to deal with the service salesman, and not being able to see what they are doing. The car disappears until the service sales guy prances out, to work you over some more for unneeded crap, before saying the car is done.
The first thing on the factory service list is to check the front floor mats for proper installation, this is left over from all the unintended acceleration hype that was going around several years ago. That, and all the other service stuff is easily done DIY. No need to take it to the dealer unless there is something seriously wrong. In a way the warranty can get in the way of keeping the car up to snuff yourself. I've done warranty work myself just to keep the dealers hands off it. Most cars will go through the warranty period without much if any more than routine service.
After the first six included service intervals (5,10,15,20,25 and 30k), I think I will skip the 5k intervals since it costs about $75 Canadian with not much value added and any issues will be caught during the 10k and other service maintenance.
No matter what or where, I always keep an eye on my vehicles when they're being serviced. I don't depend on the service mgr. or writer to fill me in, and I ask questions as well. ?
So my RAV4 is just about ready for the 8,000km service. I called my dealer and asked what needed to be done. Since I had started with snow tires on the car when I bought and then had the original factory tires installed later when the weather got better, the dealer told me there is no need for this service, as the only thing of importance was the tire rotation, and I didn't need that. So I can wait until the 16,000km service. So would appear none of the in-between services (8K, 24K, 36K, etc) are necessary unless you need a tire rotation.
Did you get this in writing Boldlygo? To play safe I will take photos of the various line items included in the 8k once I pass the 48k (kilometers mark)
I will take mine in as per the schedule as I assume there might be some computer software upgrade at some point and if my vehicle isn't there, it isn't going to get it.
Those car washes are not really free just included in the price. Mine still does it in Kalifornia.
I tell them to skip the wash at my dealer so I can take it to a real hand wash place that does the inside and dresses the black stuff.
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