Service Intival Indicator

[cooper12000]

Hi i picked up my toyota yesterday and unfortunaly the bloke i did the deal with wasnt there it was his partner. they put a full years ticket on it as it was due to run out in march but only gave me the pass theet (i didnt think at the time about the advisey sheet emissions and brake test sheets).

there were a few other issues with the bloke (had it been him i delt with first i wouldnt of bought the car from him) as i had paid a substantial deposit (600 quid) i didnt feel i could refuse and demand my deposit back on "i think ur a chancer".

My question is this.. is it possable to reset the service indicator b4 it is displayed? ie can i rely on it or am i best just doing it all myself.

sorry for the rambeling

coop

[alan333]

The two T25's I've owned didn't have service indicators. If in doubt have a look to see if it's got a new oil filter, and have look and sniff at the oil. If it's new it'll not smell/look/feel dirty yet. I tend to find most people class a car as "serviced" if the oil is changed (even some showrooms), so I'd check the rest myself for peace of mind. The air filter cover is easy enough to remove to have a look, and the pollen filter is the easiest to access that I've ever came across. A visual on the drivebelt will show whether it's crazed/cracked/worn, and whipping the plugs out won't take long. The fuel filter is in the tank and is meant to be good for life. The rest will show up as you use the car - like whether the wipers are good or whether a door is stiff etc. One thing everybody forgets to lubricate is the door locks as we don't really use them any more due to remote locking.

If the MOT had shown any advisories I'm pretty sure they're mentioned on the MOT certificate. Thre's no real need for the brake or emission results as it either passed or failed.

Enjoy your new car :)

[Druid Boy]

On my 06 D4D the service light only comes on after 20k so its possible to miss a 10k service in between. Also just because the light isn't on doesn't mean it was serviced, it just means the light isn't on. You mentioned the MOT but not any servicing - did you get any service history? If it was me and there was not a trustworthy service record for the last service I would change the oil and filter and check/clean/adjust the rest of the usual stuff myself. Total cost approx £50 plus your time. Benefit: you know when it was done, what state everything else is in and can start saving for those things that you think may come up next time (eg discs, pads, etc)

[cooper12000]

there is a service history with the car up till about 8k ago.

myquestion was if i waited for the service light to come on would i be running the risk that it was reset in the middle of its cycle and therefor do more than it should.

coop

[+robster+]

there are no seperate advisory sheets any more with the current mot cert

advisories are now on mot cert so you cant sell a car and hide the advisories.

brake test is obv part of mot and any brake imbalance after( cant remember what percentage limit is) will be shown as a fail so no need for print out of brake test

you usually get a print out of emissions though but again if its a fail you wouldnt have got the mot and the cert is the only thing worth having.

[cooper12000]

i had an mot done on the 27th of jan this year and the advisorys were seperate to the pass sheet. i also wanted the brake sheet as there is a wobble on the sterringwheel at certain speeds.

coop

[alan333]

The wobble is more likely to be wheel balance than brakes. Brakes should only give you a shudder when braking. It could also be suspension related but if it's got a new MOT it should all be hunky dory.

[Druid Boy]

If it was serviced 8k ago I'd just dump the oil early and reset the light. There is no telling when the light was last reset so you cannot trust it 100%.