What services you need and what you don't

Re: What services you need and what you don't

-- So what are your thoughts on cleaning intake manifold for $400? on a 2005 with 114K on it? Took it to dealer for recalled water pump and they said this needs to be done? Is this something my regular oil guys can do, but taking off filter plate and putting towel or big q-tip down the manifold to clean out extra oil and buildup?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

1. If you don't notice any driveability problems, then I would not worry about the fluid accumulation on the intake manifold below the throttle body.

2. If you do notice driveability problems, then you can remove the air cleaner housing, then use Q-tips or else a small piece of cotton cloth to wick up the fluid.

 

Thank you Galaxee, saved in my Prius folder; very basic but valuable information for every Prius user.
I have posted this in another forum; please if you could help me out, that would be highly appreciated.
"Red triangle appeared first about 2 months ago, then again a month later and again on 26 Dec when looking for parking had to snail around a lot in the car park and then wait on long queue to go up to the upper park level; couldn't reverse when found parking spot apparently battery totally drained out. Local tech scanned and found codes as mentioned above. C1521 and C1522 relates to Steering Wheel power motor, if I remember correctly. I had noticed some funny vibrating feeling to the steering wheel when coming off the driveway and trying to turn right. Other than this no driving problems at all. Any help to know further about codes B100, C1521 and C1522 would be greatly appreciated. Local tech wasn't sure of codes C1521 and C1522 and what to do about these. My car has done more than 2,00,000 Ks and running perfect. Thank you"
Amarjeet

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

Toyota now schedule oil change interval is now 10,000 miles, has been at this interval for many years in Europe why waste good oil, money, and feed the dealers pockets. If you ask the dealer when to change the oil they will say every 5000 miles "even though Toyota have informed them otherwise" gess why.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

It's not the just early oil change, they want us in there so they can try to sell us more unnecessary chrap & services. If they only get customers in there every 10k miles instead of 5k miles, they only have 1/2 as many chances to oversell us.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

I don't mean to doubt you, but could you provide a link to the change announcement or similar authoritative source? I'd be very happy to reduce the oil-change frequency for my 05 Prius, but wouldn't want to do so based upon a rumor (or simple misunderstanding of the specific model-years affected).

A quick search yielded a few hits, but none appear to apply to Gen II vehicles.

Thanx!

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

Hehe... my dealer still recommends a 3K service interval. I've been very happy with them otherwise, however, so I just ignore that detail when scheduling service.

 

Britprius is correct. Fremont Toyota in Sheridan, Wyoming, just changed my oil. The sticker they put on my windshield calls for a change at 10K miles further on.

 

Just bought an '05 prius with 92,600 miles. No idea of maintenance history, other than the sticker on the windshield has the next oil change at 94,000.

Is there any way to tell if the coolant pump has been replaced? PCV valve (without unbolting all that stuff, in which case it might as well get replaced anyway)

I'm sure that no dealer is going to change all the fluids needed at 100k service - certified pre-owns maybe, but those generally need to be under 70k miles.

We didn't factor in 100k service when we bought it on Monday, so I'm not sure what we're looking at here - EVERYTHING on the list? What sort of expenses are reasonable? I want to start out with a car that at least I have some confidence in.

 

When you buy a used car without a service history, it would be well to assume that no maintenance has been done besides engine oil and oil filter changes - given your requirement to have some confidence in your car. Therefore you should plan to do all of that maintenance now.

If you accept my assertion, then you will want to have the 90K and 100K mile services performed soon, including the engine and inverter coolant service. The good news is that a limited service campaign covering the inverter coolant pump is underway, so you should be able to get that pump and the inverter coolant replaced at no charge.

I also suggest that you replace the transaxle ATF fluid now.

You cannot reliably ascertain the condition of the PCV valve without removing it for visual inspection. Since it only costs ~$6, it makes sense to replace the valve rather than reinstall it.

 

Thanks!

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

You could always go to your local Toyota Dealer and ask them to research the repair and service records for your car.

That's what I do for all my used Priuses.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

I've got an appointment for the inverter pump / coolant replacement on Monday, we'll see if they can print out a history for me there.

I'm thinking of having them just do it all while they're in there, or at least the transaxle, brake, and engine coolant as well. I'm not afraid of wrenching and there are a lot of wonderful tutorials on here, so I could probably handle the belt, PCV valve, etc, but maybe it'd be better to get it all done at once.

I've been trying to get an account registered on Toyota.com to look up the reported maintenance history myself, but haven't been able to successfully complete yet. Maybe it's because the dealer is holding the title until everything's cleared? Would they be that sophisticated? (safety measure so I can't create an account and look up history on my neighbor's car?)

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

In Canada there is a Toyota site that shows maintenance done, by the dealership(s). Unfortunately it is not possible to enter DIY work. I believe in the States you can, but still the onus is on the DIY'r to keep it up to date.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

I received a letter from Toyots corp. advising me that there is a recall in effect for the water pump as the bearing may seize up if the water within captivates. So I dutifully took it in for the recommended service. After the car was at the dealer's place for about an hour, I received a call advising me that the fan belt (after 61000 miles) had cracks and should be replaced at a cost of $121.00. AND that the throttle body needed to be serviced as the mileage was beeing adversly affected. That job would cost an additional $121.00. It seems to me that each time there is a recall something else must be repaired or replaced. I am thinking that this is not a good way to do business. By the way, I asked for the fan belt and it appears to e that it could have lasted a lot longer as it is well reinforced. Any comments?

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

Well, as far as the belt is concerned, sounds to me like you've already decided that it was unnecessary.

As far as the "mileage being adversely affected", you should be able to answer that yourself. Has your mileage been taking a hit? If not, then there's your answer.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

You can obtain those service records only from a Toyota dealership. Even if the dealer is holding the title you can ask the man at the parts counter to print out a history for your car. If you've got an appointment to service a recall you can certainly get a printout of the cars history with Toyota.

 

Well, I didn't print it out, but had them show it to me on the screen. It had already had two recalls worked on (didn't really get to see what those were) and they did the water pump and accelerator pedal adjustment. I had them do the brake fluid flush, and they ended up doing the throttle body cleaning. I got the air filters, oil filter, and belt from the dealer, but forgot the PCV valve. Total came out to just under $500 (with the $75 in parts I bought)

When I drove it off the lot the engine was running much more than it should have, and then revving and dropping in quick succession when in park. By the time I got home it was running normally, as far as I could tell. Weird, no?

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

It is likely that the 12V battery was disconnected as part of the accelerator pedal rework. Then, when the battery was reconnected, the engine ECU had to relearn the appropriate idle speed.

 

Re: What services you need and what you don't

What's really weird; you didn't get the printout. At least you could know what past work was done. Are you averse to paperwork, or do you object to shredding?

If you try a rational fuel saving driving regimen your ECU will teach itself some worthwhile running directions; the service lost the past learning in your ECU. At least this time it will be all your habits it learns.