now that my two free oil changes are gone, any reason to visit Dealership?

There are a lot of PCers who never visit dealers even with a free oil change, only visiting dealer service dept for warranty repair works. It's totally up to you. If you like the dealer service and trust them, by all means, go there. If you can do routine maintenance DIY, I am sure you save a lot. Many suggest using a local mechanic, but for me, it is basically impossible to find a good hybrid specialized mechanic, so I have used Toyota dealer for most of the services beyond oil and filter that are beyond my skill. I don't think PP has a brake-specific maintenance reminder. I don't think worn pads on the brake will throw a code either. Then, in my experience with other cars, I have not heard the “squealer” sound before I had to change the brake. That being said, I have not kept Prius and Prius Prime long enough to be needing a new brake on them. If I get another PP later this year, the trend will likely continue.

 

You can probably look through the wheel spokes and see how much pad is remaining on the brakes. Whoever does your tire rotation will have a good look at the pad thickness.

No point to return to the dealership except for specialty repairs that an ordinary shop can't handle and for warranty items. The coolant will need replacement in the two cooling systems in accordance with the owner's manual maintenance schedule. Other items will be needed on the schedule. Follow that. An independent shop can handle most items.

 

I think I got something like 130K miles on my Gen 1 Prius (2002) brakes. It is really hard to wear out the brakes on a Prius, they are used so little.

 

Yeah, never owned Prius (Gen3 or PP) that long, but my 2008 HCH which also had regenerative braking, the original brakes, including pads and rotor, lasted for the life (~130Kmiles) before it was totaled.

I know, but for our other cars that needed brake jobs, I never heard the pad wear indicator sounds. The pads are good on the last check, then they are worn out needing replacement all of a sudden.

 

donuts?

 

Toyota recommends a more extensive brake inspection every 30K miles (or tri-yearly)*. This is something you can DIY, but you need to be careful: with a calliper off if you open drivers door the piston may be popped out. It’s safest to disconnect 12 volt neg cable, and when done, before reconnecting cable, pump brake pedal several times, take out any excess travel.

I would NOT just “eyeball pad thickness through the rim spokes”; do it right.

* It’s subtle, but in there, in the warranty and maintenance booklet. Compare 30k to the page before or after, to spot the difference.

FWIW, a graph with miles/dates across the top and services down the left side would be SO much easier to read at a glance. I’ve made one up; could post when I can get to my pc.

 

I used info from 4th Gen Prius Warranty and Maintenance Booklet for this (excel spreadsheet): believe it's pretty much the same for Prius Prime:

 

If you can DIY oil change or go to independent for oil change once a year or 10K miles, then probably no need for dealership...I still bring mine to dealership about once every 12 to 13 months. They change the oil for about $50. I sit there: drink coffee and do some work while I wait. The dealership has been good: they haven't tried to upsale me anything yet. I rather have them do it than Take 5, Jiffy Lube, etc... I do DIY cabin air filter every 15K miles, Engine Air filter every 30K miles, and windshield wipers about once a year. Other than that the next big maintenance is at 100K mile: for engine coolant....(I do bring my car to local tire shop every 5K miles for rotation b/c I had to change new tires at 30K miles). The maintenance for prius prime is extremely low.

 

i try to DIY the easy parts - i generally avoid going to the dealership when i can. once or twice been tried to be sold stuff i just did not need period. a nice no works most of the time. i just dont want to deal with the hassle and do things at home until i really need to go.

 

If you don’t have a local mechanic you totally trust take it to the dealer under warranty. If they screw up the oil change it is their dime.

 

I will take the car to the dealership if it's mid-winter and I don't feel like freezing to do an oil change in my garage. While there, I make sure they check for any computer updates that might be available as well as any recall or TSBs. A TSB might also authorized free repair for an issue that's not, yet, covered by a recall. Finally, I ask them to perform a thorough MPI (multi-point inspection) as Toyota technicians are more familiar/aware of issues for various models and can check on them for you. I had an MPI done on my 2005 Tacoma and they noticed a leaking gasket I wasn't even aware of but was identified in a TSB so offered to fix it for me, and Toyota paid for it. (That was a long wait, probably 6 hours, but totally worth it.)

 

Here (Portugal, EU), the batteries have a 10-year warranty, and for that you need to do a yearly check after the first 5 years - that check is free if you're servicing the car, or €55 if you go there just for that.

Basically, since the cars come with a standard 5 year warranty (now 7, actually), and to keep that you need to service at the dealership*... It's kind of a 10-year 'mandate' to service at Toyota.

But the servicing there is among the best, price-wise.


Note: due to EU monopoly laws, you can also service on other approved workshops that are certified to be of the same level as dealerships. Sometimes it's cheaper.. But for Toyota it's practically even.

 

Since no one has mentioned it; I use the brake fluid level as a gauge to pad thickness. Of course, if someone tops-off your brake fluid, doesn't bring the level back down to where it should be when you do a brake fluid change/flush, or have a brake leak - this doesn't work. For someone that DIY service, it's a quick check without pulling a tire. Brakes are a sealed system. If your pressed for time and need to check the pad thickness; front drivers side usually wears the fastest and a good indicator of how thin the rest of the pads are.

My old Prius C had over 90K miles on it; pads was less than half worn, on my last tire rotation, before it got totaled. My Civic hybrid was about 2/3 to 3/4 worn-out when I sold it @130K miles. I was planning on replacing the pads the following spring; dropped the new pads in the trunk, for the new owners.

Since everyone's driving style and terrain/commute is different, the number of miles you get out of a set of pad is going to vary widely. From my experience, moving from a 100% gasoline car, I got twice as many miles out of a set of hybrid pads.

Disclaimer: This is a short-cut/quick-check; if your having braking issues, car pulling/squeaking, pedal sinking to the floorboard, take it to a certified mechanic.

 

"I use the brake fluid level as a gauge to pad thickness."

As the pads wear the pistons extend farther. This puts more fluid behind the pistons and less in the brake fluid reservoir thus lowering the level. One needs to know how high the fluid was with new pads, and always check the fluid level at the same ambient and caliper temperature in order to get an accurate feel for pad wear.

 

Note too: if you pop the hood without opening the driver's door, especially if the car's been sitting overnight, the level in the reservoir will be higher. Try it, then open driver's door, and watch the level drop as some pump whirs.

 

Yes, but it's a zero sum game. If your brake fluid level is near or just above the "add/low" line; you should be pulling the tires to check brake pad thickness and look for leaks.