I own a 2013 prius.

zakily

 

Guess I'm completely lacking in mechanical skills, cus it always takes me a solid 2 hours, start to finish.

I'd second watching the @NutzAboutBolts , what is it, about 30 minutes?

 

Well, you are not in a hurry. So it doesn't matter how long it takes.
If I was getting flat rate to do the job, I could do it in 20 minutes.
But since I'm not, it would take about 45 minutes, maybe an hour.
Depends on chance of rain, heat, my mood..

 

he probably did his first one after quoting you, and discovered his mistake

 

I can spend 10 minutes trying to get the little black trim piece at the lower corner of windshield to fit properly. Another 10 minutes for some of the conduit clips, getting them to release without busting them.

And admittedly, I might get out an old paint brush an' start dustin' a bit.

What ticks me is that Toyota's brightest bulbs couldn't manage to get just an inch or so more clearance, between the cowl and top of engine, enough that all of this cowl removal BS was not necessary.

I wonder if 4th gen manages it? Anyone know?

 

There's another assumption I make in threads "like" these.- And sometimes I'm wrong.
But I kind of assume if an OP is asking whether a mechanic or service department is ripping them off? Or about the specifics of a certain diagnosis? That translates to me that the person is NOT a big DIY'er or home mechanic. My assumption is that if they were? They wouldn't be asking the question, because they'ed already know the answer.

This sometimes is a false assumption.
But it is why, in a thread like this, with a Original Post like this one, I don't start by recommending a DIY approach. Until it's determined FROM the OP, how much they may or may not want to go in that direction.

 

AMEN.
That's what I took from watching the video.
Really subversive design to require that much work and removal just to reach sparks plugs that are literally right on top of the engine. It is what it is, but you'd think Toyota could of made it much easier.

Cynic's will conclude it's just part of a plan to drive more people to dealership service departments.

 

Mines at 203k miles as of right now.

trans fluid was a dirty red color, hasn’t been changed for about 170k miles? lol and it was a second change.

 

otoh, once every 120k saves a ton of money

 

NO company wants you to take there product to anyone else for service.
They are in the business of making money. They don't make money if you take it somewhere else.
Of course, usually it costs more.

EVERY engineer should have to actually WORK on everything they design. Then MAYBE, they would
do a better job. They could have just as easily put the plug on the front half of the engine.

 

Good points. Early this year the wife took her Gen 4 in to get her free oil change while I was at work. Her car has 22k miles and I want to prevent oil burning so we do 5k oil changes. I came home to find the "new" oil was almost Black with a potent fuel smell. Also the tire pressure light was still on and tires werent rotated. I called the manager and told him they were fixing it before they closed. We watched them do the work this time and saw a large piece of charcoal fall out of the car as they swapped out the oil filter. There were other incidents at this dealership and that was the last straw. They received a few long reviews on the internet...

I'm resolved to doing oil changes to our Prii at home. Won't step foot in that dealership again.

Pixel XL ?

 

That didn’t deter you away from them in first place?

 

They were from me. Now that Toyotacare is used up we have no excuse to go back.

Pixel XL ?

 

No "free" service up here. If I was in the States I still wouldn't use it, not worth the aggravation. If I'd done the first few years of service through dealership, I think our engine underpanel would be knackered, the door hinges would be great greasy blobs, and the rims would be chewed up.

 

Thanks.
I would like to take some credit for just intrinsic cleverness but the truth is I've been watching a lot of "The Great British Baking Show" on Netflix.
Which leaves me realizing that unless they ever have a Microwave Burrito week, or Boxed Macaroni and Cheese technical challenge, I'm never going to be standing in that tent as a baker.

 

Charcoal??? Why??

 

This is the way they dirty up your clean filter instantly in their hands when youre not watching, 'stealership'