Non-OEM Oil Filter used at Dealership

Took my truck to the dealership this past Saturday to have for the last "free" OCI under Toyota's complimentary maintenance. I've been paying for every other oil change since I started doing them at 5k. I looked at my paperwork while filing it away and noticed that they used a non-OEM oil filter. I pulled the service panel off my skid plate and sure enough, the oil filter is a generic white one. They've used the OE Black filter previously (90915-10010). At least the generic one says "Premium" on it so I know it's good.

If the OE filters are on some type of backorder or are out of stock, then that's one thing. However, like most people, I expect a dealership to use OEM parts. That's one of the primary reasons to use a dealership IMO. Obviously, I'm sensitive to the quality of parts used, particularly when it comes to the oil system, due to the new engine. I'm sure there is language that says they can use non-OE parts. I'm still disappointed none-the-less. I think that mindset is justified given what we've seen over the first 2 years of this generation.

My previous service advisor and worked together for 2 years. He was a good guy who was also an off-road enthusiast with a kitted-out Taco. We would talk a lot about mods, builds, maintenance, etc. Good guy who I had a lot of trust in. Unfortunately, he recently left the dealership, and I was assigned a new one. Not a great start.

I'm just venting on this. I'm going to call my dealership tomorrow and talk to my (new) service advisor about this and see what the explanation is.






Before I get a slew of folks screaming bloody murder about doing their own oil changes or never trusting dealerships to do maintenance...

Do I prefer to do my oil changes? - Yes, I generally do. If you've seen my build thread, you'll know that I do 90% of stuff myself. However, since my truck is under extended warranty and with the whole "engine might grenade itself randomly due to possible oil starvation", I've been opting to use my dealership for engine maintenance. Fingers crossed it never happens, but if I were to suffer some catastrophic failure...the last thing I want is for Toyota to fight me on an engine warranty claim because I didn't keep my receipt from a DIY oil change to show what kind of filter I bought from Autozone or O'Reilly's. I can only imagine what a nightmare that might be.

Do I trust dealerships? - In general, I do. For the most part, I've had great experiences with dealerships in the past. I do tend to check their work afterwards (case in point with this post) and I've found the majority of the time their work to be as good as any specialty shops I've gone to. That being said, I've generally lived in smaller areas or suburbs before living in the Vegas metro. I'm not sure if it's a "big city" thing, but I'm less impressed with the quality of work here than I've experienced at my previous Toyota dealerships. The first issue I had here with workmanship was my second OCI. The lube tech was super sloppy because there was oil all over my engine cover, all over the cross member, and covering the top side of my skid plate. It was bad enough work that I actually thought I had an oil leak when I checked the skid plate bolts once I got home. I took it back and they detailed the engine bay for me. I actually thought they went above & beyond for that fix.

 

Foul on the dealership. Toyota filter are known good quality. Online reviews say that Premium Guard filters are well made. You shouldn’t have a issues with it but it’s not a good look for the dealer. Go talk to owner or service manager. If he asks how to make it right how about some accessory you want or a couple additional oil changes.

 

For the most part, I would probably not be happy about a non-oem filter, BUT. How many people swear by the OEM filter but won't buy OEM oil? They get a warm and fuzzy feeling with Toyota being stamped on the filter but have no idea where the oil comes from. It could be re-branded Walmart oil, which is good by the way but some wouldn't use it. For the most part oil is oil and a filter is a filter. What are chances of the filter taking a crap or the OEM oil not protect your engine. I would ask them why they didn't use it but I would make a big deal over it.

 

Well. Anudder "dealer phvked me" story. Sigh.

Let's get it to the top of the "dealer crap stories" pile. Gonna need a special tool to get it up there.

 

Wait until your truck sucks the knock off air filter into the housing and blows a $2k turbo. Filters are filters is not correct concept with these new engines

I would change dealers ASAP if they are buying filters off Amazon. No telling what other corners they will cut to make an extra buck.

 

Must be an AutoNation dealership... They will install their own 'precision parts" branded filters/wipers and not even mention to the customer they are using aftermarket. They are rebranded premium guard filters. In my opinion, paying for parts/service at a dealership you should receive OEM parts but unfortunately a lot of dealers use cheaper options for more profit. Especially AutoNation.

The AP* in the part description denotes aftermarket part

 

report the dealership to HQ.

 

Are dealers required to use OEM parts? If so, who enforces this?

You don’t have to when you do your own work. It does not void your warranty to use an aftermarket filter or non-Toyota oil. Why would it be any different for a dealer service center?

I think most of us just assume that because the building says Toyota on it and they sell OEM parts (and because the prices are generally stupidly high), that means they themselves use exclusively OEM parts for their service work. I bet more dealerships use cheap bulk 0w20 and cheap non-OEM parts than we would care to know.

 

Who cares as long as your warranty is intact.

 

That's great insight. This is my first time buying from AutoNation. Out of the 4 Toyota dealers in the Vegas metro, they were the only one not charging ADM at the time I purchased my truck so I took a chance on them.

Also, thanks for translating the *AP indicator. That's good info.

 

Sorry but that's like saying, "Who cares if your house burns down as long as you have insurance?"

While I'm glad I purchased the extended warranty, I would prefer to never have to use it. Especially on something as big as an engine failure. And, if a cheap oil filter in any way can contribute to the oil starvation that is seemingly the cause of failures...then I think the concern is valid.

My 2 cents. You do you though.

 

A quick Google search shows it's not a fly by night filter company. Any oil filter can contribute to many problems. Fram was know to have shit filter at one point, don't know if they fix the issue. Many, filter aren't even made by the name on the filter, just rebranded filters. Same goes for Toyota oil. I would have more of an issue with what oil the dealer is using. For all you know they could be using regular oil or the wrong weight. Just like brake rotors, batteries, metal, fabrics, etc, there are handful suppliers that distribute to the industry. If you really want OEM then use another dealer because it looks like your dealer will not provide OEM to make more profit. Which like I said, if they are using aftermarket filter then what are they using for oil.

 

I’d be less concerned about the brand right now if my dealer put that filter in.

4476 filter I’ve used a lot at work and mainly for the Toyota 4 cylinder like the Camry and RAV4 engine. Quick cross reference it shows that filter is aftermarket of OEM filter part# 90915-YZZN1. While the correct filter per Toyota for the 3rd gen Tundra is 90915-10010.

They basically put a Camry 4 cylinder oil filter in your Tundra V6 TT.

My dealer only uses 90915-10010 for my free oil changes when I let them do the first 2 free oil changes. When I went to buy the filter for my 20k oil change to do myself. It was out of stock. Had to back order. Took couple days. Not sure why a dealer would use a Camry filter if they didn’t have the right filter in stock.