15,000 mile service - this is unbelievable!!!

Decided to bring this thread back to life because I'm going in tomorrow for 15k miles. I've been reading these similar threads for almost 3 hours now. I'm still a bit confused -- can somebody please clarify:

1. Will requesting them to do only "oil change + rotate tires" void my warranty?

2. Should I just ask for what's in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide [and show them]? And how much will that cost again?

I read a post where the customer showed them the Guide when he pulled up, and they still charged him $300+. So what exactly should I say when I get there?

 

Yes, you are only required to do the things in the maintenance guide to comply with the warranty requirements.

 

So what exactly should I be expecting to pay, out of the Maintenance Guide? It says Tire Rotation, Oil + Filter, Inspect Brake Pads -- OK that's fine.

But then below it has a list of ~8 things to inspect, including engine coolant. Is this really necessary? I have a feeling that these additional "inspections" is where they try to scam you for the labor charges and jack up your bill. Are these recommended inspections, too, required for warranty claims?

 

By inspect, they mean that you visually check for anything unusual, for example, check the level of the coolant and check that the color is the normal pink color, not dark. I do these checks myself, but it should only take a few minutes for a tech to do every thing on that list.

 

Tire rotation is not required to maintain the warranty, since no tire treadlife warranty is offered. The point of rotation is to equalize tread wear so that you buy four new tires at once.

If you don't rotate, the front tires will wear out faster, so you get to buy two new tires at a time, more frequently. When you consider the cost of tire rotation by the Toyota dealer, you may well be better off saving that money for your replacement tire fund.

After you buy replacement tires, most tire retailers will offer free periodic tire rotations, inspections and rebalancing.

 

Thanks, you guys make good points. However, what Patrick and dogfriend have each said regarding the warranty conflicts: the tire rotation is listed in the maintenance guide. This is exactly what I'm asking - nobody seems to have a true handle on what minimum maintenance services are reqd for warranty claims. And I know this is not something I can or want to ask the service guy about, so I need your guys' help!

I'm still confused about what specific items I should ask for from the 15k maintenance guide when I go in today - since most people recommend asking for "this and this, etc ONLY"and not letting the service guy choose the list for you. Thanks.

BTW I've read the sticky thread by galaxee. Most of that stuff is not on the maintenance guide for 15k.

 

It is true that tire rotation is listed in the scheduled maintenance guide. However, suppose you don't perform tire rotation. What will happen to the car, resulting from failure to perform that service?

The only thing that will happen is that the front tires will wear faster. Since the Toyota warranty does not cover tire treadlife, you are not losing any warranty coverage.

 

An informed consumer is less likely to be duped by the dealership personnel who only (apparently) try to make money for the dealership at the expense of all else. I stopped trusting dealerships when I was 18.

 

newbie here. I don't have a Prius yet but want to buy one. I rented a 2009 the other day to try it out. The owners manual was in the trunk so I read it. It stated that you can do the maintenance yourself and Toyota will not deny your warranty claims soley because of that. It had a whole section on how to do your own maintenance. I'm not sure if this also applies to the Gen III cars. Basically what was listed to do was an oil and filter change every 5000 miles, look at a list of things like coolant, brakes, etc., and change the spark plugs at 120,000 miles or 10 years (IIRC). Well, I've been changing the oil and filters on my cars for decades. So why couldn't I just do my own service and still have warranty coverage?

 

I have a 2005 Prius with 102,000 miles.

Average cost of oil change/tire rotation: $35.00 every 5,000 miles.

Number of times car serviced at Toyota dealer: 0

 

When it say's "inspect" that's basicly just popping the hood and looking. Looking for odd discoloration or unwarranted loss of a fluid. A reputable, honest service department isn't going to charge you a whole lot for this "inspection". If they are coming back and wanting to charge you a whole lot for this "inspection" then I'd seek service somewhere else.

Especially at only a 15000 mile interval. Your basicly just looking for any obvious red flags, but "knock on wood" you shouldn't need anything more than just the tire rotation and the oil and filter change.

 

That's what I'm doing. I took it to the dealer for the first service and they overfilled the oil and left 3 wheel nuts loose, so now I do it myself. It is a very easy car for maintenance.

 

I just returned from the Toyota service center. Here's what happened:

I pulled up and told the service guy, "I'm at 15000 miles and really just need an oil change and tire rotation." He says that's fine. Later when he's pulling up the work order he tells me that they'll do the engine and cabin filter too, for about $40/60 each. I tell him that's not required until 30k miles. He says that's true but [their dealership] likes to do it at every "major" service. Wisely and after practicing in the mirror, I say "no thanks." (I love this forum!)

So in the end I payed $39.95 for my 15k mile service. The oil change was free (I had a coupon) and the tire rotation was 39.95. Kind of expensive, I know. But not bad overall. The visual inspections i.e., 27-point inspection, was also free as part of the service.

 

I'm sure they do. That is a pretty good profit. It is very easy to check and replace both filters. The filters can be purchased from the dealer parts dept. or from an online parts seller such as Metro Toyota or Toyota of Houston.

John has a nice PDF showing the replacement of the cabin air filter:

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

The engine air filter is really simple, just unclip the cover and lift up. Pull it out to check , put it back the same way.

 

I've had all of the service completed at our local Toyota dealer. The good thing is that we have 3 dealers in the are somewhat competing with each other. I've gone to all 3 for work completed. Oil changes and tire rotations have cost me an average of $42.95, since I check their sites for coupons as well. Did the $30k mileage recommendation, but it only cost $195, skipped the $15K however. You shouldn't worry much about the tire rotation, other than it would cost you money in the long run, since the tires would wear out a lot quicker. Good luck. Just make sure you tell them what you want done and tell them "no thank you" if they want to do something you aren't sure about.

 

Unless you have an independent who works on a lot of Prius, a dealer may be more likely to know how to drive the car and know where to look for the inspection items.

Every dealer will try to sell you their overpriced "X miles service package". Don't do it. See the correct time/mileage page in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide that came with the car for what's needed. Tell the service writer to do those things and nothing else. If you don't have the Guide see here:
Toyota Parts and Service

Save more by changing the engine air filter yourself per the schedule, and by inspecting the cabin air filter and vacuuming it or changing it yourself (*don't* try to clean and reuse the engine air filter). They are both very easy to do. And as Patrick wrote there's no need to rotate the tires, certainly no need to pay someone to do it.