Currently my car requires pretty much all of the fluids to be changed. Now I am not by any means a mechanic, or even a person who feels confident enough to do most of these items. (When I replaced my cabin air filter, I thought I broke something because it didn't clip in properly) I was told that the fluids I need to have changed are: Transaxle fluid - Was told to use ATF-WS . OEM only. - Was told not to let a dealership do it. But since I am not a mechanically included person, I was wondering how I go about doing it. - I do not have anything in regards to tools, or even the floor jacks, or a car lift. Engine Coolant & Inverter Coolant - Was told to use Toyota Super Long Life coolant Brake Fluid - Was told to have the dealership do it. ---------------- Currently my inverter fluid tank is on the low side, so I was able to call around and I will be picking up a gallon for $25 from car max. My current toyota dealership wanted $42 dollars for a gallon, and they also wanted a high price on spark plugs. Since car max was able to give me the coolant at a cheaper price, I was thinking about going with them for service. My questions are, if I were to have the coolant (inverter and engine) replaced by car max, what should I expect for pricing? Also, would it be good to have them do it? I also wasn't sure what the pricing for transaxle fluid would be, or if car max would also be a good place to have it done. My concern is that the dealership wants lots of money, and I cannot find a hybrid specialist in my area. The mechanic I used to replace my spark plugs doesn't specialize in the fluid replacement, and they mostly perform basic maintenance. And last, what would be a good price for brake fluid replacement?
A gallon of Toyota SLLC coolant at a Wisconsin Toyota dealer is $42? Hard to believe. Go to the parts counter.
I thought it was pretty high as well. I was told that its normally about $25 a gallon. That is why I then called car max and they got it cheaper. (around $25 after tax).
I paid $19.14 CDN for a 4 liter bottle (a bit more than a US gallon), in April 2015, at a local dealership parts department. And the stuff up here is 55% anti-freeze, fwiw. I thought prices were supposed to be higher in Canada?
I have noticed that the local toyota dealership here is out of their mind. They wanted $190 for spark plugs to be replaced. That's why I've been asking others what they think is a good price, so that I can tell if the dealership is ripping me off. (it seems like they are trying to get lots of money lately) The one I keep calling is about a 20 minute drive from my house, but there are more further away. The closest one is about an hour away.
Listen stop calling around and show up. Go to a Toyota parts counter because I don’t believe the counter guy would have the balls to say $42 please. Carmax is a disaster where I live. How long have you owned this car and how many miles did it have when u bought it and now? Btw $190 for sparkplugs is not bad, Dealer gets $140 an hour labor plus parts. Welcome to 2018.
I just wanted to know if others have had their coolant replaced by a dealership or car max before. I wasn't sure how much it would cost to have another person do it. I was told that if I was going to do it myself, that I would have to buy at least 3 gallons of the fluid. So that would be around $75 in just fluid costs alone. However, I do not have the training or tools to perform the coolant change. I also am afraid of messing it up, and wasn't sure if anyone has advice about going about replacing it yourself.
When I bought the car, it had 106k. Now its at around 135k miles. I was told the previous owner should have had it replaced, but they didn't. I was also told that the coolant should have been changed at the 100k mile mark. I'm just trying to make sure that the coolant gets replaced (like it was supposed to), but im also questioning how much its gonna cost me to have it done.
Considering fluid replacement is fairly routine basic maintenance, I'd be avoiding this "mechanic". The way I see it, is if you don't have the space, tools, skills and confidence to do the work yourself, then you are reliant on others. How much others are paying (within reason) is moot. You just need to find a mechanic/technician you trust, and get a quote you're happy to pay. I'd be weary of quick change places, find a hybrid specialist and be prepared to pay what they are worth. It usually ends up money well spent. Then get the job done. Move on, life's too short.
For the mechanic, I think they did a pretty good job on the spark plugs, considering. But he did mention that he doesn't do lots of work on hybrids (since they are quite rare in the midwest outside of big cities like chicago). As for a hybrid specialist, is there any other websites that I should check? I tried google-ing hybrid specialists near me, but most of them are about an hour away. I wasn't sure if there are more websites that I should look at to try to find shops near me. Currently I have tried hybridshoplocator dot com as well as standard google maps.
Easiest way to change the engine coolant is buy a couple of gallons of SLLC and just find someone who will just dump the radiator only. That will take about a gallon of new coolant. It will not invoke the dreaded air lock We see on this site. If you have the entire coolant loop dumped even the dealer struggles with getting all the air out, it’s very complicated since the Prius has a coolant heat recovery system which is in series with the coolant loop. Anyway changing just the rad out will have a very positive impact on the health of the coolant loop. Do it Again a few months later. But like most posters here your concern is misguided. The more important coolant loop is the inverter coolant. The g2 is very easy on the engine coolant but very hard on the inverter coolant. The inverter is the heart and soul of a Prius. The cooler the inverter runs the happier the car is. The fact of the matter is all the coolants and fluids if changed out at 10,000 miles probably would never Need to be changed out again. It’s the initial wear and run in from new that contaminates allthe coolants and fluids.
So, if I only have to replace it once at this time, then I should be set for a while? (Im guessing another 100k miles)? As for finding someone to dump the radiator only, I'm assuming that requires a car lift or a jack? I could probably ask around for someone who would be able to do that at least. I was told in the past that when the coolant gets replaced, that I will have to buy gaskets or something. I wasn't sure if that is still something I would have to purchase with the additional gallons of SLLC. Currently, I just went out to car max and bought just one gallon to top off my inverter coolant. So if I have to buy more, I will probably do that come next payday.
the maintenance schedule is in the owners manual. change each fluid at the recommended interval. the tranny fluid is considered lifetime, but it would be a good idea to change it as well. there is a drain on the bottom of the radiator, no need to jack it up. no gaskets needed. easiest thing for you might be to save up for each service and do them one at a time. 1) inverter fluid 2) engine coolant 3) brake fluid 4) tranny fluid 5) all the best!
Hey. I just read through every word of this post. Doing the fluids one payday at a time was a brilliant idea!!!!
