Maintenance

changing the air filters is easier than changing the oil, rotate your tires every 5000, check your owners manual for anything i forgot. keep your $400. my daughters 04 has 90,000 and has never been back to the dealer for service. same with my 08 with 30,000. all the best!

 

$400. How can they quote that with a straight face?

Save your receipts for the supplies that you purchase to perform your own maintenance, in case there is a warranty issue.

 

$400 does sound pretty steep.

 

I just did my 30,000 mile service. Here's the breakdown:
(If anybody thinks I missed something, please let me know)

Oil & filter (Mobil 1, it's pricey)
Engine air filter (no tools)
Cabin air filter (no tools)
Remove plastic engine cover (part that surrounds oil filler cap), sprayed engine cleaner and rinsed off engine, replaced cover, engine looks like new

Rotated tires and checked all brake pads (They are thick), and checked tire wear bars (some tires need replacement at this point, but mine are good)

Replaced all wiper blades (necessary but not included in the 30K service)

Replaced transaxle fluid. My dealer quoted me $340, so I took it to Luscious Garage and paid $107 with tax. He inspected the car while it was on the lift, he topped off my windshield fluid. (transaxle fluid recommended but not part of 30K service.

The mechanic told me that the brake fluid is correctly filled when the level is halfway between MIN and MAX, and you don't fill the brake fluid to MAX.

So it's all do-it-yourself except, for me, the transaxle fluid change, which I didn't want to mess with but it's not hard.

 

You can service it yourself and retain the warranty. Just keep all receipts as proof and annotate "30K service performed" under service history on Toyota owners site.

$400 is just a rip-off for a Toyota. Your dealer apparently thinks they service Lexus.

 

cause they get to keep $50 of it.

For the OP please refer to your owners manual, it will tell you what has to be done to keep your warranty valid.

 

Oh man....I bought my 2011 Prius last night....The finance guy quoted me $ 1500 for the service maintenance up to 5 years/75k miles. I refused....and finally he dropped the price to $ 1,056 and I took it.

I know the first 2 years/25k miles are covered Free under Toyota Care.

Was it worth it for me to buy the Extended Service Maintenance ?? Talk it up guys...

 

Check your manual. It should tell you what is required at each service. It ($) does seem high.

 

Service was today for the 15K (16K real miles). They wanted $280 for doing everything in the book, plus charging me for an engine air filter, cabin air filter, three new wiper blades, tire rotation, fluid level check, inspecting for brake wear, blah, blah.

I asked how did they know the filters were fouled and wipers were worn if they hadn't even seen the car yet? (it was still outside the service department, not yet tagged)

"Oh, they always need those things by then."

Me: "Really? Remember, we talked about this on the phone when I was making my appointment last week. You asked me to see you by name when I arrived. OK. Here's my coupon for a free tire rotation. Here's my coupon for a $5 off oil change labor, both of which arrived in my email newsletter two days ago. My filters were both new looking on both sides, inside and out, just a half hour ago. All three wipers are wiping just fine and cost under $40 at parts.com - same with the filters when I need them at sixty thousand miles. Do this only: Oil change, rotate the tires, check the levels and the 12v battery, and my Mobil 1 0w20 5-quart jug is on the front seat. Use that only and please don't over-fill, because that's bad for a GenIII Prius. I like my front tires at 38 and my rear tires at 34. I'll be out in the show room somewhere. Please page me when it is finished."

One hour later (and after the service guy also told me he had never seen the "v" wagon, because the dealership hadn't received any yet), the same service guy hunted me down in the showroom, where I and a salesman were leaning on their demo v, trim level 5, that had been in the show room for over a month.

"Your car was fine, battery, tires, fluids were all good. Brakes - nothing wrong with them. Car had little to no wear. Tires show some wear. We are constantly amazed at these cars and how things last (or something to that affect). Total with the oil filter and tax, and oil recovery fee, together was $44. We also washed it at no charge."

Lessons: Read Priuschat often. Look at your own car parts before you go in. Know your car well to filter out the bullcrap you get at even the best dealerships, since service people are paid on commission. Sadly, when you win these little daily battles, someone down the line will lose, since they'll pour on the charm to make up for the loss on your service ticket. That's the way their game is played.

 

************************ $400 *******************

Dealers are scumbags. If their lips are moving they are lying so they can take money out of your pocket.

Most the maintenance is no more complicated then replacing a light bulb.

 

OK, ten service intervals after Toyota coverage runs out, with the 5K being a tire rotation and the 10K tire rotation plus oil change using synthetic. $100+ average? I think there is one heck of a lot of profit for the dealer in that package. Service with tire rotation and synthetic oil might run close to $100, but the rotation and fluid inspections, etc won't come anywhere close to that. I would ask them just what services they are going to perform, and have them show it to you in writing. If it doesn't add up, cancel that part of the contract. If it is like the extended warranty, I believe that you have 30 days to cancel. If they are covering every bit of factory recommended service, including any fluid changes, it might come out near even, but that assumes that you use the selling dealer for everything. Take a few minutes to read the maintenance guide that came with your car, so that you know what each service requires. Sounds like what they are doing is locking in your service business, and if you are financing the car, you are paying interest on that extra grand for the lifetime of the loan.

 

You can see what the 30,000 mile maintenance entails, here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...93946-2010-prius-maintenance-schedule-us.html

My 2 cents:

There are two levels of brake inspection, a cursory visual inspection, and a more in-depth inspection involving some disassemble of pads, check of disc runout/thickness/parallelism. The 30,000 maintenance is the latter.

Considering the more thorough brake inspection, engine air filter change (and possible cabin filter change, depending on your model), engine oil and filter change, and the various steering/suspension/driveshaft/gas line/exhaust inspections, I don't think the charge is out of line.

That assumes they follow the schedule, and don't cut corners or bs.

 

If you can replace the engine air and cabin filters, you can do the 30,000 mile inspection yourself and just get the oil changed. They're mostly visual inspections that are easily done if you're able to jack up the car and remove each wheel. No need to waste $300 to keep the warranty intact.

 

The maintenance plan is overpriced -- as is having this simple servicing done at the dealer at some of the pricing quoted.

My Mercedes holds 9 quarts of Mobil 0W-40 and they have service specials for $60.00 -- having the brake fluid changed every two years is $75.00 -- again on a service special.


I would cancel the maintenance plan -- put it toward an extended Toyota warranty if your are worried about the car in the future .... I was surprised you could get the 7 year 125k for $1350.00 -- that is quite good for 4 extra years and almost 80k worth of driving.