I took our Prius plug-in for the prepaid service plan I bought, they wanted $280 for fuel injection cleaning, I said no, Since I bought a Tesla P85 I have a hard time believing anything Toyota says, my wife has been driving the Prius so she may be babying it to much, has anyone else had the need to clean the injectors after only 29,000 miles? Thanks Dennis
I have never cleaned my injectors, except an occasional bottle of cleaner in the tanks. I have over 250,000 on a 22 year old acura and 175,000 on a 14 year old honda. Neither has had any a fuel injection problems. I don't imagine a Toyota is any different.
IMO the stealership is trying to transfer money from your account to theirs! I don't even take my car to them unless I am having a problem. I get the oil changed at an oil change business and they do the same kind of inspection that the dealer does. I only do the maintanence that is called for in owners manuel.
Try not to confuse Toyota with a given Toyota dealer. You can never trust a dealer. (and I say hat even though I like my dealer)
I spent a lot of time online sifting through the dealers and their customer ratings. There are at least eight in my surrounding area here. I found the one which had the best stories from it's customers over all, and best apparent customer satisfaction. I have not been disappointed so far. The last Toyota dealer I dealt with was a nightmare. I'm not sure why Toyota associates with them. They aren't even listed on DealerRater.com. I've had injector issues with previous Toyota vehicles. I'm not sure how many miles, before it started running roughly, but I had to clean the injectors several times in the first 200k. $280 doesn't sound unreasonable for that.
Best guide to follow and you can't be faulted for doing so. Great counter to questionable dealer practices and charges.
Just use a top tier gas or a bottle of Techron every 5000 miles. Injector cleaning can foul your spark plugs and Prius plugs are a bear to change.
I saw a video which showed the whole wiper assembly being removed before it was possible to change the spark plugs. Good point, I think I'll let the dealer clean the injectors.
By top-tier, I assume you mean a quality brand, not higher-octane grade. I'm not sure what's to gain from that, except paying a lot more for fuel.
The dealer where I bought my Prius recommended cleaning the injectors at 20,000 miles. I had a senior moment and I let them do it. I bought 4 new cars from that rip off dealer. I have since changed dealers and so far the one I have now has not recommended any of this rip off craziness.
Sounds like a business decision by them, more than a sound mechanical one. I tend to believe what they've been telling me so far, but I wouldn't stand for that nonsense.
I bought the extended pre-paid maintenance plan, so when I go into the dealer for the scheduled service, I tell them to do whatever that plan covers, and no extras, total charges = $0.00. I figure that if some service should be done, it would have been included in the factory maintenance schedule and factored into the price of the maintenance plan.
Google top tier gas or read the owners manual. Top tier gas has more detergent to keep the engine and fuel system cleaner. In general, it is sold by Chevron, Shell, 76... But Costco gas is top tier now.
Let me just say that if it was worth it for you, it wouldn't be worth it for the manufacturer. In 2006, I was tricked into purchasing a full extended warranty on my Dodge Ram pickup. I never used a bit of it, and the truck is still in fine shape at 245,000 kms. I'm convinced that the price of extended warranties are based on known reliability statistics, and are rarely worth the cost. Occasionally, they can save you money, but I have found that to rarely be the case.
I'm not talking about the extended warranty. I am talking about the pre-paid maintenance plan, where you pay for scheduled maintenance up through some number of miles. There is no statistics involved for this; you know exactly what will be done when for the term of the contract, and you decide if the price makes sense for you.
I appreciate the distinction, thank you. I was offered "free oil changes for life" by my dealer, which may sound like a good deal, but I have yet to see how they will sell me on other repairs, once they get me into the shop. I am looking forward to my first visit, and having that discussion.