I think I caught a Toyota dealer lying to me today.

No need to "wonder" any longer.
In general, the "environment" that the fluid lives in becomes more contaminated as time goes along.
Thus, an older engine is harder on the fluids than a new one.

 

I'm sure that's part of it. I still think most of it is trying to appear as low maintenance as possible and deferring things to cost of ownership looks better.

BMW used to specify the first change of the diff fluid at 1200 miles to get out break in metals. Magically as soon as they started covering maintenance for the first few years that was no longer required. No doubt similar is happening elsewhere. "Lifetime" transmission fluids etc...

 

i drive like a grandma, and use regen extensively. i'm hoping all the fluids lasts as long as i keep the car

 

I have been using the Official Toyota website to log my maintenance. Since my recent visit to Hybridpit, the Toyota website has been down for maintenance and I haven't been able to update. It's been over 2 weeks!! As for going to a dealer for car repair, I am sure their are good ones, just hard to find. As I flow into the later years of my life, I find in general, that I am seen as an "easy target" when it comes to purchasing or fixing anything. I found it best to do online research prior to calling anyone. In most cases, I have been able to repair or replace items on my own and when I couldn't, I researched to find someone or, enlisted advice from my friends and neighbors.

 

On a related note: I've noticed that many shops are now using a computer system that tracks the customers, and makes suggestions about work to do based on mileage and previous work. As soon as one dealership makes a note in the national database about "oil seeping" around the timing cover, every damn dealer and shop after that echos the same story about needing to replace the gaskets for an ungodly sum. That includes independents.

In my case, I eventually chewed out the service advisor. I put up with them trying to sell me the service every oil change for more than two years. I pointed out that there was no oil on the floor, there was no oil being consumed. I then pointed out that I'd washed off the offending "oil leak" the last time I washed the car. When I complained to the manager of the dealership the leak magically disappeared. No one, not dealer nor independent, ever mentioned it again.

The latest trend from Dublin Toyota is that they are finding suspension problems when my wife brings her 2010 Camry in every 3,000 miles for service. She drives it 80 MPH for 500 miles in a single day twice a month, so she likes to have the car checked before her monthly trip. A recent service visit uncovered the need for a new strut in the front because "the wear indicator" was showing. When he hit us with the other front strut the next time, we asked why that was not caught the first time... He mumbled something about it not wearing the same. In the last 25,000 miles they have replaced struts, wheel bearings, alignment (twice) CV boot covers and, of course, tires.

My Prime does not go to the dealer. I take it to the corner jiffy lube. They do the same work for $200 less.

 

Well that's a new one for me. Wear indicator for a strut showing

 

I might not ever have 91K comments on PriusChat like you, but at least my brake fluid is slightly older than yours.

 

In a dry climate brake fluid can last a lifetime. I have a brake fluid moisture tester (cheap from Amazon or Ebay) that still shows minimal moisture after 11 years. I understand people choosing to change it. I don't feel it is necessary in my case.

 

"This ain't your father's Oldsmobile" might be a good old quote to apply here.

Being an "older" mechanic, when I open the hood of our Prius - I can't help but be a little overwhelmed - even intimidated. Starting out in the "Points and condenser" era - back when there was actually room under a hood to move around - the Prius is like the Space Shuttle. Back then, buying a beater for $100 and making it run a few thousand more miles was pretty easy unless you had a major engine or transmission problem. Oil change every 3-4K miles, tune-up (Points, plugs, cap, rotor) every 10,000 was about gospel, Carburetor rebuild? Ball joints? Shocks? Radiator? Sure, no problem.

Sure - I kept up with the advances as I went - I have my Scan Tool (a couple actually now). Seen some "new" stuff come and go. (Who remembers the old GM diagnostic where you had to jumper a couple of pins on an old 4 or 5 pin connector to get the "computer" to flash out a trouble code on the dash?) HEI distributors, etc. (the distributor-less ignition on my 2000 Ranger still falls into the "witchcraft" category for me.)

Anyway - I plan to use the dealer for oil changes. By the time I find the oil, filter, jack the car up, do the deed, dispose of the waste oil PROPERLY and clean up - I'm happy to offload that to a dealer for the small savings I'd have - If my time were worth $0 per hour - which it's not. A quart of quality motor oil is $7.50 at the local auto parts store. OEM filter for another $5. I can actually take my old truck to the local quick-lube place for LESS than it costs to do it myself. I'll happily give the local Toyota dealer a $20 "tip" once every 8 or ten months based on a 10,000 change interval. Sometimes yanking out the floor jack, jack stands, remembering which wrench size, and shimmying under a VERY low-slung car is worth paying somebody else to do.

I think I can manage the tire rotation myself. (Mechs who put lug nuts on with an impact wrench piss me off.)


Anyway - no shame in admitting that you don't have the experience/tools/desire to do your own maintenance. Joannarice has already demonstrated that she's more than capable of keeping her dealer's service writers on their toes. Hope I can do as well!

 

My farmall 140 garden tractor is still stuck in that era. A couple of years ago I needed to replace the generator. They are not as common as the modern alternator.

 

I, we, made a lot of money off jiffy lube! Loose drain plugs that fall out. No removing the oil filler
gasket that sticks to the housing so it leaks of from the new one.

 

you should try passive aggressiveness. I make them go over each recommended service one item at a time, and ask “is that free if so I’ll take it.” And they reply “no” each time. Once they catch my trend, they say “we don’t offer free services” or something along the line of that, I then reply “Oh okay, I don’t pay for services I don’t need.” Then they ring you up on the register.

 

I’ve never heard that before. Nevertheless, good advice.

 

Right at you Valiant! Grew up learning about car engines with the infamous slant 6 as my teacher. Best engine to learn the basics!! As for oil changes, I am on the edge right now. I still do my own, but yes, you are correct about crawling under and securing the car! So important to do these days! The cars you and I drove as kids are now worth tens of thousands of dollars!

 

I just did this the other day on the Prius

 

The way to tell if a Stealership service rep is lying is to look closely at their lips. If their lips are moving they are lying. LOL

Brake fluid gets discolored over time. It also lasts forever. A general rule of thumb is to replace brake fluid every 30,000 miles. I have brake fluid in my 1994 Suburban that has been in there 15 years and at least 100,000 miles. I replaced some of it when my master cylinder needed replacing. I didn't even replace it all. Ditto my 1972 Ford truck.

The thing to know about a Steaership's service rep is that they are salesmen. They are taught to push product for which they get a commission. They are not there to provide you a service. They are there to provide for themselves. You didn't need brake fluid or tires. They don't care to check any database. They're there to make money. Seems like you got a good head on your shoulders, thought it through and got the correct 2nd opinions.

The check engine light came on in my mom's car and it was making a funny noise She took it to the stealership my nephew worked for because "these are really good guys." They charged her $80 to check the code which was a MAFP sensor issue. Turned out the vacuum line going to the MAP sensor had come off. They didn't tell her this . They told her she needed a $350 tune up. To fix the funny noise they told her she needed new front struts. Turns out the noise was fixed by me by replacing tie rod ends. I also plugged in the MAP sensor hose. They're nothing but a bunch of worthless lying thieves.

 

That second statement is misleading and not totally true.
It has an affinity for water and "sucks" it out of the air.
While the system is mostly sealed, the seal is not perfect.

Moisture mixed in can cause the caliper parts to corrode faster than normal.
And depending on how much it is heated and cooled, it might change chemically over time.

 

Ya I know. That was hyperbole. I didn't actually mean forever as in "til the end of time." But it does last a long, long time. Very long as a matter of fact. Nearly forever LOL.

The important thing in this entire thread is that she learn what a stealership is and to watch their lips for movement.

 

it actually does last forever, just not as effective

 

Yop can jumper pins on a Prius and it will flash out a code?!

I thought that became obsolete with OBD2 and scantools!

The "code flashing" this was on GM vehicles in the early 80's - right about when "computers" started running mixture and other fun stuff. My 93 Chevy van had the same system. Seems like full size GM vans were the "dinosaurs' of the fleet - keeping a lot of old systems and accessories LONG past when the rest of the fleet had adopted modern technology.