Letting someone else do my brake bleed

never ever put nething which is not brake fluid in your brake fluid reservoir /
check the color of the fluid in the reservoir before you drop the car off, should be lighter once you pick it up /
(it's not a guarantee that the brakes have been bled, but at least he was working on it....)

 

This is an independent mechanic, unaware of the need for invalid mode? Did you talk to a dealership service department? I'd strongly recommend to stay with Toyota dealership, or someone who knows the Prius specific drill.

I think you'd be better off doing nothing, than handing it over to a mechanic that doesn't have the procedure down pat.

 

I think I would avoid adding anything to the fluid. The chemical compatibility questions are above my pay grade, but I'm sure the Toyota engineers do think about them.

But I can understand the desire for oversight. Maybe there will be a place you can stand without violating their "FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES NO CUSTOMERS" sign and still see what's going on?

I took an old Bronco II to a dealer for a simple brake bleed once, and when I picked it up and drove home, I noticed three things: (1) the pedal was really firm; (2) the truck couldn't get out of its own way; and (3) when I got home, the brakes were so hot I could feel it through my pants legs just walking past the wheels.

So I went back to the dealer and we had a discussion, which began with them trying to explain to me that truck brakes always get that hot. It turned out that, in addition to bleeding the brakes (you know, the thing I asked them for), they had also taken off the master cylinder and adjusted the pushrod length to make the pedal firmer (which I had absolutely not asked them to do, and in fact had just done myself to the exact specs in the manual before going to the dealer for bleeding).

There was no good reason for them doing that. The nearest I get to an explanation is some thought process like "the customer wants the brakes bled, so he wants the pedal firmer. Mucking with the pushrod will make it even more firm, so the customer will think it feels awesome driving off the lot."

The kicker to the story was after all that they hadn't even got all the air out.

I then went to a well-recommended indy shop across the street from the dealer and asked them to do it, and told the manager the whole story of what had just happened at the dealer.

I explained as clearly as possible that I was asking for the air out of the brake lines, and nothing else.

Then I stood just beyond the "FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES" sign and watched the work, and the technician finished the bleeding (it was fun watching the little geysers from all the air that the Ford dealer hadn't got out), and while the truck was still on the lift, popped the rubber caps off the rear brake adjusters and gave 'em a few quick strokes with a screwdriver to make them firmer so they would feel awesome when I drove off the lot.

That led to another discussion, and the rears got reset to their correct adjustment. And all was well, and the air was finally out of the brake lines, which was the only thing I wanted in the first place.

 

Where are you located? You don't need techstream to do this brake bleed. As long as he has a good OBD scanner with that function, it can be done.

 

Print out the post 3 attachment for him? He basically needs to do that invalid mode dance.

How much was the dealership asking?

 

I think you're in my area. I might be able to do this for you at the next meet...