WS ATF Drain and Fill - dealer struggles

yup, very common.

 

sounds like they didn't do the ATF drain/fill

 

My service department talked me out of the drain/fill of the transaxle fluid saying it's good for the life of the vehicle.

Yet, they'll try to sell you a throttle body cleaning, etc.

SCH-I535

 

You have to believe it for your own good. Otherwise you'll be paranoid and bitter about it.

 

I would call the service writer to make sure it was done or not done. Surely they can't charge you for it now even if they did do it.

 

I try to talk to the mechanics if possible. They're more open to questions.

 

Part of the problem has to be Toyota's stand on the Prius E-CVT fluid being lifetime. The dealership mechanics either toe the line, or fall back on their experience with Toyota's regular automatics.

Toyota could at least acknowledge the customer demand and issue a TSB for this. Call it optional, just to save face...

 

I don't get why they don't want to do it if you're willing to pay or it. What difference is it to them? And if Toyota says the Prius life time is 100,000 miles, then it should kind of be a no-brainer to have to done if you plan on keeping the car. Even at $280, it's cheaper enough, all things considered.

 

If they have no idea about the prius why would you let them do anything to your car? Telling you they have to heat up the fluid or that it holds 15 qts of fluid shows they don't know anything or train anybody there. How many models of cars does Toyota make like 10 can't they learn about them? I just don't get it. I live in NC also and got so fed up with the dealers in my area I do all the oil changes and transaxel fluid changes myself. It took me the first time I did it about 30mins not the three hours they talked about. If I were you I would be very worried they didn't even change it but just charged you.

 

^^
Yep. Getting overcharged for incompetent service would not be my first choice. Given how easy DIY is, I'm hard pressed to understand why people take their cars to dealerships for maintenance.

 

It should be easy enough to figure out if the transaxle fluid was changed if the old stuff was in the unit for > 100,000 miles, but this is one of many reasons that I prefer to DIY my maintenance.
It's not about saving money or time---although you will do both even if you only have my very humble mechanical aptitude and tools.

I'm frequently stunned that somebody would say that "my time is worth more than that!" when I can fumble my way through an oil change just about as fast as they can drive to a dealer and wait for them to "maybe" do the job correctly.
Mostly, I'm willing to bet I can do it more quickly but my nearest dealer is about 20 minutes away.
What I REALLY don't have time for is waiting for a tow truck because somebody that's not properly trained worked on my car.
The OP's dealer is either tragically ignorant or an outright crook.

I will tolerate neither.

I've never done the transaxle fluid replacement on any Prius. I drive a company car, and since the TA fluid isn't on the maintenance schedule you can bet that my beloved company will not foot the bill for this service.
If my Prius were MY Prius, than I would do this service probably every 60K.
Normally I'm not a big fan of tinkering with a transaxle, but some of the people in the forum who know more than I do about Priuses (it does NOT take much!) convinced me because of the MG windings, which are absent in a conventional TA.
We're talking about less than $50 for the fluid (I checked) and about an hours time if you're old and slow like me.

A dealer should be able to do it in a half hour which still gives them a pretty good profit margin if they charge between 100-150 bucks.

Good Luck!

 

^^
I encourage people to not be victims of dealerships any chance I get, but dealerships are like politicians: the citizenry gets what it deserves (and chooses.) There are apparently hordes of ignorant lazy people willing to pay 100s of dollars to have some kid open a bolt and pour fluid down a hole.

I could never convince my kids to help with car maintenance, but my daughter recently took ownership of our '04 Prius, and while visiting she happily took notes and pictures so that she can monitor car health and take care of the simple stuff. Money motivated her. The next time I see her I'll ask her if she would like to go shopping with Dad for a tool kit. I have to remember to send her a link to Luscious Garage in San Francisco. Carolyn is a wonderful role model.

 

Did the transaxle fluid drain/fill today on our 2011 with 36725 miles on the odometer:

 

I know personally I'd like to do my own work but would appreciate it if I had someone with experience looking over my shoulder the first time. I don't, so if I were to change my ATF I am hoping I don't screw it up. If I do, I only have myself to blame.

 

yes. as you can see from xl's pic above.

 

can you post a pic of the service write up? your first post is very confusing as to what they did, and what you paid for each item. thanks!