SQOD Squad - Stupid Question Of the Day (40 Viewers)
- Thread starter JamesC
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bloc
SILVER Star
All of this is a big part of why oil changes are higher on my list of things not to let a shop do than some other stuff. You're less likely to get the competent tech, and the sheer number of changes over the life of the vehicle drastically increases the odds of finding the one guy that DGAF or was totally incompetent.
Look how many dealer-serviced rigs can't even get the splash shield bolts back into the right spots?
Perhaps there is some sort of hybrid that makes sense.
They do the work but we check it after?
Like a “trust but verify.”
UPR LC
GOLD Star
Not knocking anyone, but oil changes are very easy and take maybe 30 mins DIY. They require only a few hand tools and a set of ramps.
Get a drain valve like this: The Best Quick Oil Drain Plugs - No-Spill Systems - https://nospillsystems.com/ and you can drain directly into a milk jug or other bottle, no need for a drain pan after your first oil change.
Realistically, driving to a dealer and waiting for an oil change will take longer than just doing it yourself.
It is also a great chance to look around the bottom of your truck to make sure there is nothing wrong (leaks, road debris damage, nail in a tire, etc).
prwillard2
SILVER Star
This is one of the things I laugh about most when people post up vehicles for sale and say "dealer serviced every 5k miles".
At what point is going to the dealer actually a detriment to buying a vehicle.
I recall my first visit to a Lexus dealer around 1990, to look at the new LS 400. It was an awesome experience, totally different from the usual car dealership nightmares. Beautiful showroom, courteous and knowledgeable sales person, and very impressive car. Back then, they bent over backwards to accommodate customers. It was worth the one hour drive to go there for service.
Today, they still have the spacious showroom and fancy waiting room, but I look around the showroom and it’s like a morgue. There are no customers to accommodate. The only vehicles on the floor are all over $100k. Fifteen minutes to scare up someone’s on the parts desk, which looks more like a bank teller’s window. The only activity I see is where the service lanes are. Is the service department is now their main profit center? If so, they have a huge hunk of overhead to swallow. Are the technicians (don’t refer to them as mechanics) any good? I have no idea. The only cars I see being brought in for service look new. Probably still under warranty.
first, is that driveway you are parked on really level?
Headlight Adjustment Aiming Wall Chart
This article discusses the importance of headlight adjustment and aiming for the safety of motor vehicles, especially at night. The article provides reasons why headlights' beam position needs to be adjusted, how high they should be aimed, and how to aim them. The article also discusses the...
www.auxito.com
you put the target out at 25 feet.
The irony is all the members of IH8MUD hate dealers and talk about dealer monkeys are trash
These same people when the buy their new rigs will post "perfect dealer service records every 5K" as you mentioned.
If you see their for sale ads, they will also write "dealer serviced every 5k."
Hypocrites - all of us.
No. To be honest, there is a slight slope to the driveway with the garage being probably two inches higher than where my LC is sitting.first, is that driveway you are parked on really level?
Headlight Adjustment Aiming Wall Chart
This article discusses the importance of headlight adjustment and aiming for the safety of motor vehicles, especially at night. The article provides reasons why headlights' beam position needs to be adjusted, how high they should be aimed, and how to aim them. The article also discusses the...
you put the target out at 25 feet.
View attachment 3799628
And yeah, I now know the garage door/wall one is using to aim the lights should be 25’ away.
My picture of the basketballs was just to show that my headlights were pointed so downwards that they hardly made it to the 25ft mark. Much less only dropped the prescribed 2.5”.
And to follow up with my story: I took it back to the maintenance shop, Clear Choice Independent Lexus Specialists here in Houston, and they apologized and raised my lights 6inches.
Of course this still left them several feet too low on a wall 25’ away.
Happily they did show me how to adjust them myself. So I gave up on them trying to do it right and corrected the aim last night.
But it does beg the question on what my $17 for the alignment was for.
Follow up stupid question:
If my driveway has a slight pitch, should I aim the lights a bit lower or higher than 2.5” below the tape marks I put on my garage door?
To get accurate aiming, you'd want the wall to be close to perpendicular to what you're trying to measure. The easiest way would be to go somewhere off site to make this possible imo. Bring your tape measure, chalk, and tools to make it so.
You're going to be having a tough time getting this dialed in if you don't have clean measurements to start with. If you are really set on it, make adjustments at home and use your experience (drivers flashing lights, adequate road lighting, etc) to dictate future adjustments.
bloc
SILVER Star
@rherrco I think the finance dept's usually are what drives most of the profits iirc. I think the "car dealership guy" podcast had some info on this a while back. Basically insinuating dealerships are finance/service dept's that also happen to sell cars.
Right? The likelihood is especially bad as oil changes is where techs start (or fallout of) their careers in the trade. With the amount of turnover and lack of common sense these days...
IMO, I'd generally trust a higher end brand garage as these techs tend to be skilled tradesman later in their career. Even AHC has been around long enough now between the 100-series and 200-series generation that they'll generally do this easily.
What I'm getting at is just as I can take my LX570 to a Toyota dealership for common maintenance items for an LC or other models with a shared drivetrain, an LC can be taken to Lexus dealerships to. Sure, the rates will be higher, but the chances of a good service experience will be higher too.
Still the chances of DGAF are never zero.
So I do my own wrenching. Can't say I've never made a mistake but at that point I've got no one else to blame.
The whole thing pulls out as a unit (lid and holders together) just give the lid a little wiggle and pull strait up and it should unclip
Thank you very much. Looking forward to getting back and installing this. No more flying water bottles.
It already is for me. With some limited exceptions, any LC that’s been to a dealer that often has a high likelihood of something screwed up.
now that i think about it, i am not sure that it matters! as long as it is a constant slope....this shows flat vs 3 degree slope
Yeah. That was my conclusion too.
But moreover, it’s not like we are working with lasers here. It’s all pretty imprecise. I think the general idea is that you want your beams to be close to horizontal but with a slight pitch downward.
bloc
SILVER Star
I actually consider this one of the few things that were better about 13-15 vs 16+ cruisers.. our little dial on the dash to adjust beam height on the fly is pretty awesome.
I understand why they made the change they did in 16, being “more” premium and the LEDs being so bright below their sharp cutoff means anyone driving the other direction from a 16+ with their dial set incorrectly is then legally blind.. but I’ve used my dial to make finer adjustments to suit conditions a number of times.
I’m rambling. I really like 13-21 cruiser headlights overall.
