What's the cheapest way to get Toyota to still do all my 5,000 mile check-ups?

Keep going to Toyota, do it yourself or have someone else do it.

 

not understanding the question.

 

I would suggest looking into an extended maintenance plan if you truly want checkups every 5k miles for the rest of your ownership.

 

Me neither.
If the term for the "free" service has run out, then it's up to you.

P.S. There is nothing magic about the 5K miles interval.......especially for someone who drives a LOT.
I intend to go with a 7.5K interval for everything; inspection, rotation and oil change.........free or not.

I think this is a good compromise but it seems to confuse the crap out of some "service advisors".

 

no, a la carte is almost always cheaper. just follow your maintenance guide and don't let them up sell you on anything. prius require very little maintenance in the first hundred thousand. the pro's here recommend changing the tranny oil around 30k, if you're keeping the car for more than 150k or so.

 

No it's not too late, probably, but it was not a good deal then and it still isn't.
But maybe I shouldn't say that because I didn't READ the plan document to see what it actually covers.
If it is ONLY routine oil changes and tire rotations and inspections, then I think it works out to saving maybe a dollar per visit.

 

You have three choices:
DIY
Independent shop
Dealer.

If you know enough to keep from getting ripped off for unnecessary maintenance and repair, then you're probably smart enough to figure out the DIY thing.

If not, or the money that you would save does not matter to you then keep going to the dealer, check your oil level every other fill up, and especially whenever somebody else lifts the hood on your car and don't worry about it. Familiarize yourself with the maintenance schedule for your car. If the dealership requires service that's not on the maintenance schedule then it's not maintenance....it's a REPAIR. (especially if the words "flush" "clean" or "adjust" are involved)
Repairs require an explanation and a second opinion for me.

Your call.

Me?????
I DIY.
If the money didn't matter to me then I sure as heck wouldn't be driving a Prius...

Good Luck!

 

In my area (madison CT) the local Toyota dealer almost always has "The Works" service special. Includes oil and filter change, tire rotation, and a multi point inspection printout and fluid top off. For $24.95 I bring mu tacoma pickup there every 5k miles. For an extra $10 they will use synthetic rather than regular oil.

 

I think Toyota Care...if that is what the OP is referring to, goes for 2 years from purchase in 5,000 mile intervals up to 25,000 miles whichever comes first.

So the OP has put a lot of mile on quickly and only has two more "Free" Toyota Care service intervals. At 20,000 and 25,000.

I'm sure Toyota or the dealership would be willing to sell you an extended warranty. You probably won't have to ask, they'll offer it. But you can ask when you take it in at 25,000 miles.

IMO Toyota Care is nice, but it's basically just tire rotations, visual inspections and Oil Changes.
Mine is also about to expire, and I think I'm just going to deal with basic maintenance on my own dime going forward. What they DO under Toyota care is pretty basic.

You still have your New Car 3 year bumper to bumper should anything huge manifest.
But it's up to you. What you are asking about is extended service warranties. The value depends on what is covered, how much you are paying.

 

do you get a cabin filter at 15k?

 

I just for home from my initial 5000 miles service at the dealership where I bought my Persona.

They handed me a flyer with an offer to extend my toyota care from when it expires at 25k for another 25k miles for $299, it said you "save" a couple hundred bucks over paying for each service out of pocket, which I can't believe. The service mgr did say that the 30k service is a couple hundred bucks in and of itself as it includes the filters? Prob the cabin filter.

You'd be getting 5 tire rotations and fluid top offs and the inspections, 2 oil changes and supposedly the cabin filter at 30k. Pretty sure that's it. Not a bad deal if you want to pay up front and not worry about it again. Then again you would prob save a few bucks paying out of pocket and looking for coupons.

 

the problem is, you're getting a $30. filter, 2 minutes to change it and a $100. bill. it's probably the easiest thing you can do on a prius. even reading the oil is harder, and the cabin filter is a pain in the neck.

 

You don't HAVE to change the filters at the proscribed intervals. Even the schedule puts it that way: look 'em over replace as required. It suggests to reverse-blow them to knock off the dust as a stop-gap measure. I'd do that with the cabin filter, not too excited about that one. Engine filter, if it's grubby I'm changing it. Last time I looked, around 45,000 km, it looked clean enough to eat off. And yeah I looked at both sides.

 

I guess with the cabin filter it all depends where you live and how dusty, how bad the pollen is , smog, coal rollers, etc… and how much you use the hvac..

The Cabin purifier button is really neat, I used it the other day when a stinky delivery truck was in front of me and within seconds it smelled fine in my car!

Bisco, yeah I agree the engine air filter takes seconds to change and not worth paying for..

 

Yeah climate plays a roll. Our eternal rain tends to keep the dust down. It might actually be getting closer to filter change time for me, it's over 50,000 km now. But wouldn't PAY someone to do it, that's like paying someone to brush your teeth.

Guess I kinda do that every 6 months...

 

I'd advise you not to do it, but if you insist, the dealership will be more than happy to make you a "deal" on an extended maintenance plan, since they make tons off of it.

The engine air filter is the easiest to change. You can buy an OEM one at the dealership's parts counter or Amazon, or find any compatible one at an auto parts store - it should be $10-$15. It takes 2 minutes to change - open the hood, unclip like 3 clips, remove filter, replace filter. I plan to check mine every 5,000 miles or so, vacuum the filter/compartment below it, and replace the filter after it starts getting dirty more quickly.

The cabin air filter is behind the glovebox, so it's a bit more complicated than the engine air filter - maybe a 5 minute process, which involves emptying the glove box, undoing some stopper things that keep the glove box from swinging all the way open, and squeezing the glove box sides. Again, you can buy it at the dealership/Amazon/auto parts stores for $10-$15 I think. I also check this filter every 5k or so miles, knocking out the crap and vacuuming. This one is more forgiving than the engine air filter - having a dirty cabin filter won't reduce engine performance.

That leaves oil changes, tire rotations and fluid top-offs. I'll estimate $50 for an oil change with full synthetic 0w20, which should include tire rotation. Fluids are things you can and should check yourself. You'll mainly just have to add windshield wiper fluid. Some oil changes also come with fluid top-offs.

So, my advice would be to handle the filters yourself and get the oil changes separately. That should cost you $150, half as much as the dealership's offer. If you're still reluctant to handle the filters, mention your cost estimates as a bargaining chip.

 

Fluid top-offs is what, coolant in the overflow bottles, windshield washer fluid? It took four years for the coolant levels on ours to drop to the low lines, 5 minutes to top them up.