DIY questions RE maintenance and replacing a tail light

I have a 2014 Prius and the maintenance plan I bought with the vehicle recently ended, so for my 60K maintenance, I decided to try the mechanic that services vehicles at my workplace, since I'm not a fan of dealerships. I figured I could trust them, but now I'm not so sure.

I ended up spending $420 for an oil change, brake fluid exchange, and coolant exchange, along with inspecting various things. There was a notation that they couldn't access the transmission fluid, which I thought was odd. I'm not a huge DIY guy, but I change the oil and check the fluids on my Honda Odyssey mini van, so I'm not sure why they couldn't access it.

I previously took it to a dealership for the 5K maintenances, so I assume they followed whatever Toyota says should be done. For the 60K, though, my dealership wanted $300, or for $780, they could do some super extra maintenance. (I didn't follow everything that was included in both options.) I also tried a mechanic I've used before for the Odyssey -- he quoted $200 - $250, but he didn't seem super sure about things, so I wasn't sure about bringing the car to him.

Just wondering if it makes sense that those things were done for the 60K service.

Also, how hard is it to do an oil change + oil filter change yourself on a Prius? I know the 65K service is just an oil change, so I figure I'll do that myself and save some money.

Any advice for handling maintenance at 70K and beyond? (Which services should I have done and when, which ones are just an oil change, etc.)

Finally, the passenger side brake light is out, so I was wondering how hard that is to replace yourself, and where the best place is to order the part. I found one site that was selling it for about $175. I guess I need to replace the entire unit, as opposed to the bulbs?

Thanks.

 

Thanks for the welcome. Where are the videos you referenced? I poked around but didn't see them.

I'm in northern CA. I work in the Bay Area.

I'm pretty sure the light that's out is this one:

It's been out for a while, and as I recall, a dealer had previously quoted me somewhere around $200 for the part, which they said they'd have to order (so installation would be however much more).

Just wondering if that is something I could replace myself and where the best place is to order the part.

Thanks.

 

Thanks for the link to those videos. The Prius oil change doesn't look much more difficult than doing it on my mini van, so I'll do it myself next time.

I used Toyota 101 of Redwood City a couple times when I had the prepaid maintenance plan, since it was close to my job. I bought my car from a dealer in Chico, where I live on weekends (and when I can work from home and take vacation time), and have used them a couple times too. Between them and the dealer in Chico where I bought my mini van, I've found dealers to be a big pile of "meh." I'd rather do stuff myself or find a reliable mechanic who has reasonable pricing.

Thanks for the link to that thread. Yeah, it's really annoying that the brake light is an integrated thing that you have to replace in whole.

 

Thanks! I have passed through that area many times. Many, many times.