I just hit this milestone, and am wondering what services are really necessary for the 2010 Prius. I've consulted the owner's manual and it looks like oil change, cabin air filter change, tire rotation, and lots of inspections. The dealership is recommending the following additional services: 1) tire balance (OEM tires that have been rotated every 5K) 2) rear brake adjustment (drum brakes) Question: Total price out the door is $240 (not including oil change and tire rotation) but including the additional services: deal or no deal? I've looked at the threads regarding AT fluid changes at more frequent intervals than 100K. Background: southern CA car, >95% freeway miles and distance driving, not driven in dusty conditions, no problems in the year that I've owned the car. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!
Wow! The GIII has rear disk so no adjustment there. You can spend that money on the AT fluid change. Probably a good idea.
I agree with the other suggestions here. Oil & filter, air filter and cabin air filter, change transaxle fluid (not required by Toyota but definitely a good idea). Tire rotation? only if you want to, usually not needed. Tire balance, no not unless you have a vibration or unusual tire wear. I do my own inspections and have never found a problem, if there were some kind of problem you would probably find it yourself. As stated above car has 4 wheel disk brakes, no adjustment needed or possible. Dealer should know that.
You have 60k on the OEM tires? if thats true don't waste money on a balance, your going to need new tires sometime soon. if the dealer wants to adjust your rear drum brakes on your 2010 prius, i would consider finding another dealer. i would also write the service manager or dealer owner, and explain to them that as a customer you feel lied to and that they are doing very shady service on cars when they are charging so much for things that can't even be done to your model year of the prius or they don't have any clue on the cars that are sold by Toyota. And I would not pay them to flush the trans on your car, they don't even know the difference between drum and disc brakes, keep them away from your trans....
Engine oil, both filters, transaxle, tire rotation...got it. I will talk to their service manager about the brake deception (since two different service advisors made this claim) and write to the BBB. Does anyone know of any good dealers in the San Diego / Irvine / Long Beach area? Though it sounds like I should invest in a few basic tools and start doing things myself. Thanks all for the very helpful comments.
Disc brakes, front or rear, are by no means maintenance free. Typically disc brake inspection consists of removing the pads, cleaning all contact points and re-installing with fresh anti-sieze compound (molybdenum lube) on all faying surfaces. It's also an opportunity to check pad thickness, make sure all the caliper pins are moving freely. Occasional check of disc thickness and runout is also part of the inspection, maybe every other check.
I never go to a dealer or shop without giving very specific instructions as to what I want done. I don't say vague things like, "tune-up", "check this", "inspect that". Even when I want an oil change, I specify oil weight/viscosity, number of quarts, etc. And what's with a dealer saying that the Prius rear brake drums need...? OMG, what are Toyota's service tech training requirements; a warm body? This only reinforces why I never go to the dealer, except for warranty and even then I'm suspicious. Next thing you know, you're paying to have your muffler retention springs replaced at 60,000 miles. There's one thing I learned about dealer service departments, their in business to sell and they have weekly and monthly quotas to get there. Buyer beware!
You will start to notice that you will have less resistance when you push on the parking brake pedal. It will go all of the way to the floor much faster. There is usually a rubber plug on the face of the rear brake disc that you can see when you remove the wheel. Behind that is an adjustment star wheel that you adjust the parking brake clearance. This is what I do on my Camry hybrid and Sienna Minivan with rear disc brakes. Raise the rear end of the car with the jack and use the jack stands to support the car. Use the tire iron to loosen and remove the lug nuts from the rear wheels. Remove the rear wheels. <LI id=jsArticleStep2>2 Turn the wheel drum around until the small hole is at the bottom of the drum. Locate the drum underneath the car on the inside of each wheel well. <LI id=jsArticleStep3>3 Put your screwdriver into the hole and locate the shoe adjusting screw set. This adjusting nut looks like a star shaped nut. <LI id=jsArticleStep4>4 Screw the nut tight until you can't rotate the drum. <LI id=jsArticleStep5>5 Unscrew the nut about four times or clicks, until the drum rotates again. Replace the tire. <LI id=jsArticleStep6>6 Repeat Steps 2 through 5 for the other rear tire. Remove the jack stands with the jack and lower the car.
