I am a prospective new Prius owner (am buying one hopefully today) but want to know - since Prius is hybrid am I right that only a dealer can service these cars? Or are there places like Jiffy Lube where you can get less expensive maintencance work done?
Any body with the proper knowledge of the hybrid system could do the work on that half of the car and as far as Ice <--- engine any mechanic can work on it as it is a standard 1.5L or 1.8L Toyota motor.
Most maintenance you'll have done has nothing to do with the hybrid system. You change the oil, rotate tires, etc. Work on the hybrid system would be very rare, though in that case you'd want to bring it to an independent hybrid shop or the Toyota dealer.
While I do not recommend Jiffy Lube type places ever, an independent mechanic will be able to do maintenance for at least the first 100,000 miles. One area I would use the dealer is brakes, any job involving brake fluid is a Toyota Dealer job. Fortunately the Prius is not hard on the brakes. (Tradeoff: it is complicated because of Regen, but it is rare because of Regen)
Welcome to PriusChat. :welcome: JiffyLube or any franchise oil change joint ought to be able to handle a Prius oil change. Just make sure they know it takes 0-20 synthetic oil. Prius oil changes are 10K intervals, not the 3K like JiffyLube recommends so they can sell more oil.
Basic maintenaince can be performed by any competent shop. I've had Sppedy Lube type places do nearly all of my oil changes because it is fast, cheap and I am able to verify it was done correctly. A dealer is a better option for quality of work but I don't like sitting around for an hour+ while they change my oil.
Rule 1 – Do not trust the dealer. If their lips are moving they are probably lying. Do not let them sell you an extended warranty because the car is high tech and expensive to fix. Do not let them sell you extended maintenance. Toyota makes the most reliable cars in the world. Chances are you will never have an issue. If you do, 90% of the car can be repaired my any repair shop.
Greetings and Welcome Aboard! :welcome: New or Used? If it's new...then Toyota will probably be mainitining the car, and they will probably also be fixing anything that goes wrong in the first few years under warranty. No Sweat. If it's a used Gen-3 (2010-2011) and you don't have factory maintenance, then you have to decide whether to do all of the maintenance yourself, or let Toyota do it, or let "Big Al's Used Earl Emporium" take a crack at it. All have advantages and disadvantages (as stated above) and which one you choose is your call. OK. So you live in the PRC. Advantage: Priuses are not rare. Big Al has probably already screwed enough of them up to have learned how to change the oil in your G3. He might even use the right oil (if he has some on hand) and I'm not sure that it's still legal to change your own oil out there. Personally, I always DIY all of the items on the maintenance schedule. Hybrids are not much different than any other car in this regard. They've been building these cars for a while now. It's not reactor maintenance. The maintenance schedule is pretty light for this car...mostly fluids and filters for the first 100K. Try and avoid the "up-sell" for non-required maintenance if you let the dealer swing wrenches on your car. (Some) Dealers are bad about trying to talk people into extra items not covered by the OEM factory service coverage. Try to relax and enjoy the new (or used) car!! Good Luck!
