Every Time I Take My Toyota 4Runner To The Dealer For An Oil Change, They Tell Me I Need A New Cabin Air Filter, They Aren’t Getting Me Again

Man this is a high money market for them 🤣 they will even go so far as to show you a nasty 1 that most likely from your car your best bet is to start going somewhere else cause I'd you really need something they are going to gash you really bad

I've done my own maintenance and repairs for many years. I use the dealer solely for warranty repairs, if applicable. As others have stated, some dealers are dishonest. My local Toyota dealer is the worst I've experienced in many years. They tried to sell me numerous different services that I've already accomplished or they claimed performing a service that they haven't done. My yearly safety inspection usually has a list of preventative maintenance services that often totals more than $2000, yes, $2000, all of which I've already done. In their defense (minimally) some services aren't readily apparent. Their computer compares my mileage to the recommended services and if it hasn't been done by Toyota, they add it to the list.

Jim Norton Toyota in NW OKC, their service department are crooks too. Wanted to charge me $250 to change my cabin air filter. I got one from Amazon for $14 and changed it in 45 seconds. Also told me my brakes pads were dangerously in need of changing. I had changed them myself the week before. Next time I went in I asked them what condition they were in. They said they were fine. They also did my airbag recall and then my horn wouldn’t work. They said it wasn’t them because they didn’t need to change the airbag on the driver side and they wanted over $1000 to replace the horn cable. I looked it up and there is no such part. And they were supposed to change both airbags so I don’t know if they actually changed it or not. Bunch of liars I’m never going there again.

Exact same experience here. I replaced the cabin air filter myself on my wife's Camry. Two months later took it to the dealer for service and they said the cabin air filter was very dirty. We don't drive on dirt roads. They also told me I needed a new battery every time I took it in. After about 3 years of this, I finally let them replace the battery. Two years later and they are telling me I need a new battery again- total BS. The final nail in their coffin is when they said one of my tires was expired and was over a year older than the other 3 tires. I purchased the tires from them a few years ago. When I asked them why all the tires they had installed weren't the same age, the service advisor just shrugged her shoulders. I felt like they were trying to rip me off every time I went in for service. I recently purchased a 4Runner and went to another dealer. They're probably crooked too.

I had issues with my 2016 4runner in December of 2022. that started with my 4wd dash light flashing when I wasn't using it, and traction off light coming on. It would come and go at random times. After about a week of this, the check engine light joined the party. I took it to my local Toyota dealership and they said they couldnt pull past code messages and of course the warning lights weren't on when i took it in. They determined something had spilled in the center console area so they took it apart and cleaned it out. And charged me around $250. The lights came back on the next day. On and off randomly. They told me to bring it in when the lights came on again. To not turn it off until they looked at it. This never happened due to timing, it happens on my way to work or when they're closed. I found nothing helpful on various 4runner forums and nothing was happening except the lights so I wasn't too concerned. The lights stopped coming on until the following winter when driving conditions were wet. This time it was accompanied by not shifting gears. I had to wiggle the gearshift or go back to neutral then drive just to move. Then hope I gould get out of 1st gear which involves more wiggles. Again this was random. With the new symptoms I found info on the forums indicating a faulty safety switch that is a known issue. This is located on the under side of the transmission nicely exposed to water from the roadway. I ended up forgoing paying close to 1k at the dealership to replace it and ordered the part for $150 and had my adult son replace it. No more issues! I'm still in disbelief that the Toyota dealership couldn't figure this out.

Cedar Park Toyota in Cedar Park
Changed my oil left the plastic motor covering partial off, they left the air filter partial off.
There was oil on the hood the side panels near the doors.
They jammed the door to my cabin air filter so hard I had a difficult time taking it off.
They did a tire wheel alignment with different air pressure on the tires.
All the Toyota dealership are the same around Austin Texas.

Dealerships are known as stealerships for a reason... Have been for a long time. If it isn't warranty work stay away from the dealer!

I went one 5k oil change without changing my filters and noticed with ease a decrease in gas mileage as well as a bit rougher ride. Once I swapped then out it ran better and milage went back up. So now I just do the swap my self since the filters are 50 for both at Walmart vs 130 at my Kia dealership lol

My dealer recommends two different services that do not appear in my manual for service. I was sitting in the lobby waiting for my vehicle and two different people with two different vehicles were offered the same services. One visit was for a routine free oil change (every 10k) and I was advised that they recommend services that totalled more than $1000 bucks. My favorite trick to replace my front wiper blades was this. Associate that would check my car in lifted my wiper blade with one finger and voila dirt on his finger that prompted him to suggest my wipers needed to be replaced. I am so wary now when I take my truck in I just don't know what to expect.

Next time you go to the dealership, mark using a crayon a tire. If they're being rotated, the wheel would have moved position. I agree you do not need a cabin filter every time your oil is changed. In fact, it's clear they aren't checking the filter before claiming it's dirty. You can mark the filter you install as well to make sure they are changing it and not just blowing it out and putting it back in and claiming they changed it. Find a new dealership, this one can't be trusted.

If a dealership (or any shop for that matter) is coming out of right field with a recommendation or repair, ask to go back and see it in the shop. If you have it questioned, tell them it's out of right field and you want to see because... Well, you don't trust them.

Next time you go to the dealership, mark using a crayon a tire. If they're being rotated, the wheel would have moved position. I agree you do not need a cabin filter every time your oil is changed. In fact, it's clear they aren't checking the filter before claiming it's dirty. You can mark the filter you install as well to make sure they are changing it and not just blowing it out and putting it back in and claiming they changed it. Find a new dealership, this one can't be trusted.

A lot of oil change places will try to tell you you need new wipers too.

Of course it's possible they are scamming people. However, it is also possible there was just dirt in the cabin box and they made a mistake. Happened to me, and I don't think the place was scamming. I said I had done it and they didn't argue. Always mark old parts discreetly so you can see if the old part was or wasn't changed. It's actually better to do these things yourself. Cabin air filters on Toyotas are really easy.

I just changed mine, I have a appointment, will be interesting.

I (former mechanic) helped my elderly mothers best friend (80 female) purchase a 2015 Rav 4 from carmax with about 60k miles. I did the pre- purchase inspection as well as looked over service records and recent work done by carmax. Everything was in like new spec including brand new air filters and brake fluid. Foward 3 months she brought it to get a recall inspection at her local Toyota dealer near Milwaukie OR (Toyota of Gladstone). Upon receiving her Rav back she was handed an invoice quote to the tune of $1500 to change the following- Cabin air filter, engine air filter, brake fluid, fluid replacement on front and rear diff+ transfer case. When she questioned the actual need for these to be done she was met with scare tactics by the service writer that her life was in danger if she didn't change her brake fluid, and her differentials may seize while driving without a 4x4 service. She was smart enough to call me and send me a picture of the invoice, in a massive panic attack mind you. At that time we called Carmax and confirmed the Rav left their lot with all of these already taken care of. The scare tactics used at this dealer were disgusting. When I reached out to the service manager for comment I was immediately transferred to a voicemail with no return calls ever attempted. In an area saturated with an older population, I can only imagine how many people have fallen victim to this type of scam. Love my Toyotas, I have many, but this treatment is very off putting in an already unstable dealer market. SHAME SHAME.

For most Toyota vehicles, Toyota recommends replacing the cabin air filter every 15,000 to 30,000 miles, or once a year, whichever comes first. However, the exact interval can vary depending on:
• Model and year of your Toyota
• Driving conditions (e.g., dusty areas or heavy traffic may require more frequent replacement)
• Climate (e.g., pollen-heavy areas or wildfire-prone regions like parts of California)

You can check your owner’s manual for the specific recommendation for your vehicle. It’s also a good idea to inspect the filter during oil changes or routine maintenance—if it looks dirty or smells bad, it’s time to swap it out.

Most toyota dealers scam people their a rip off I went to hamer toyota in mission hills they they did an inspección on my 2020 tacoma differential and they forgot to put back the sensor plug and it lost all the oil ruin my differential and they did accept responsibility