Most people think maintaining a car is a relatively simple process. But, some cars have specific directions that need to be followed if you want your car to last.
Recently, Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice)—an auto shop with a large following on TikTok—garnered over 645,000 views when it posted a video showing how some manufacturers make car maintenance harder than people realize.
The situation
According to Royalty Auto Service, a client had brought in a 2014 Ram 2500 to get the drive shaft lubed. Unlike most customers, this one does his own oil changes and maintains his truck, however, he’d recently found a sticker that convinced him he needed professional help.
At first, the mechanics couldn’t find any grease fittings or any sign of how to lube the drive shaft.
“We looked under here; don’t see any grease fittings anywhere; we didn’t find anything, and we thought this doesn’t have a way of doing this,” Sherwood, the owner, said.
Then, using a small mirror, he showed viewers a small silver hole.
“We looked for a while to find this thing,” he said before holding up a mirror, showing viewers a little silver dot, or a zerk fitting, which requires a grease gun to inject grease into the joint area.
On top of that, the Ram had a specific oil to use in the directions, which the mechanics had never heard of.
“The needle is no big deal,” Sherwood said before showing viewers another wrinkle: The driveshaft required a specific type of oil. The sticker says the Ram required MS-6560 Lithium Base Grease. “We couldn’t find the grease anywhere online. As far, you know, locally, we called our local dealership and they were like they’d never heard of it.”
Eventually, the dealership did locate the specific oil, but explained that it was on backorder until December 2025.
Luckily for the client, the Royalty Auto Service workers did what they always do by going the extra mile and hunting online until they found the grease on eBay.
What did the viewers think?
Some viewers said the directions regarding lubing the drive shaft have been the same for years.
“They have had them on the shaft for years, we have had them come apart because people never had them serviced,” one said.
“I can’t believe a repair shop didn’t know that Rams had this Wow it literaly has a sticker under the hood. I’m a farmer and I have known forever it’s all over the internet crazy [expletive]!” another added.
“They’ve had that sticker for years. The front shaft gets neglected, the joints get bad, and worst case, the shaft vibrates and breaks the transfer case. And the damage is catastrophic!”
Others suggested using another kind of grease is better than nothing.
“ANY grease is better than NO grease,” a viewer said.
“If all else fails.. the wrong grease is better than no grease,” a second agreed.
“We just use regular driveline grease at our dealership,” a viewer shared.
Some couldn’t believe the dealership wouldn’t be familiar with the grease, and others were impressed by Royalty Auto Service’s diligence.
“So Ram dealers don’t have the grease to do the service recommended by their manufacturer?” one asked.
“Y’all go above and beyond !!! No one else would go those lengths to get the proper grease!” another remarked.
@royaltyautoservice ♬ original sound – Royaltyautoservice
Why is it important to follow the directions?
According to All Around Auto Repair, an “owner’s manual serves as a roadmap for maintaining your car.” The directions within the manual can include “recommendations for when to replace fluids, filters, belts and other components.” These directions are extremely important if you want to keep your car in a great working condition.
FilterHeads.com breaks the owner’s manual into different parts, such as regular vehicle care, instruments and controls, and warnings and cautions. The important aspect of the manual is for car owners to actually read it and try to follow the maintenance schedule and vehicle care routine listed inside.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dodge via email and Royalty Auto Service via TikTok comment.
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