What exactly do they do for the 5k maintenance checkup?

Oil change and tire rotation for sure. May be check brakes, air filters, top off fluids etc. Check your 'maintenance manual' that comes with the car, and it gives you an idea of what they usually do for 5k, 10k, etc. Usually they take about an hour to do this stuff.

As for dropping mpg, I have noticed this before as well. Not all the time, but sometimes. My guess is that they kept the car running, so it used fuel and obviously didn't put any miles, i.e. drop of mpg.

 

No oil change until 10K ....


Check up and rotate the tires is all the 5K entails. Probably a road test which is what lowered your MPG.


REV

 

I far as I could tell, they took my wife's 11 Rolla to lunch. Something about a 100 point inspection too. I told them not to rotate because I have snowtires on.

 

I think they just pull data from the car, see how things are going. This data collection goes back to Toyota Tech Services somewhere, it get tossed in a computers and sorted out. It may also show some forcasting for future issues that can be resolved across the board. without marking the tires, you never know if they did rotate them.

 

What is the best way to mark them? With what?

 

outside side wall, rf, lf, rr, lr, using maybe a grease pencil, or chalk

 

You're better off marking them on the INSIDE sidewall where they can't see them but you know that they're there - a true blind test on their service departments integrity.

 

With a Prius, it is best to take an assertive position as what you want
done on a routine servicing.

First off, dealers have pre-defined "service packages" that are profit
makers which they want to sell. Problem is ,these are created for a
generic ICE powered vehicle. After an oil/filter change and tire rotation,
everything else is usually an unverifiable visual inspection.

Don't just follow the sheep on this.

If you're fundamentally interested in the long term reliability of your
Prius, you need to be a little more aware and involved in its servicing
than the average car driver. You should already be checking and
adjusting your tire pressure at least monthly, even better bi-weekly.
You need to be doing monnthly 12V battery checks so that you're not
literally stuck with a dying/dead battery.

When it comes to routine servicing, the owner's manual tells you what
needs to be done to maintain any warranty. On the Gen II it's simple;
oil and filter change, tire rotation every 5,000 miles. (I understand it's
every 10,000 mi. for the Gen III.)

When it's time for service tell the Service Writer exactly and only
what you want, ie, "Oil and oil filter change and tire rotation, and no
more." If you want the intake and cabin air filters checked, add
that, but say you want to see the old ones before new ones go in.
(I always wait at the dealer while servicing is being done.)

Some folks are suspicious that dealers use cheaper grade oil from a 55
gal drum for oil changes. No problem, buy and take your own oil. On a
Gen II, to prevent overfilling, you can decant 1/2 a quart from one of
the containers.

My Service Writer used to "push back" on things like tire pressure at
42 front/40 rear. Not any more, it gets written on the service request.
He also knows that I may check the oil level and tire pressure before
leaving. He's seen me do it, right there, out in public, in front of the
service bay.

Trust, but verify.

N.B. I've driven my Gen II for 65K miles over 4+ years. I have never
added windshield cleaner, yet the tank is always more than 1/2 full.
I take this to mean that my Service Writer/Tech and I are on good
terms.

 

I have different pressures in the front and rear, so I just check the pressure when I get home. Radial tires shouldn't get cross rotated, just front to back. Some places mark the tires when they change to winter tires so they know which side to return them to.

Also Toyota allows the dealer 1/2 hour to do the inspection, tire rotation and oil change. My dealer has 4 people doing the inspections, two on top and two in the "pit".

 

Good to know, I thought they would do cross rotation

 

I am not sure I agree with this. The Prius is like every other car out there with the addition of electric assist. It uses the same rims and tires as any other car. The tires should be checked no less or morethen other cars. You will get better MPG with properly inflated tires or over inflated tires on any car. The Prius uses a 12V battery that does not turn a starter but it gets charged and discharged like any other car. You do not need to check it monthly.

 

^ Concur!
The (OEM) 12-v battery is pretty weak, and it's difficult to do a proper test on this item without removing it from the car---besides, you can probably jump start a Prius with 9 "D" cell batteries if you have the right holder.
The tires and rims?
No different than a Corolla, or my truck as far as maintenance. Check the air and rotate regularly.

Easy stuff.
"My" G3 is a company car, but if it were MY car, I'd do with it what I do with my regular cars. Self Maintenance.
The REASON for "Toyota Care" is to get you into the dealership for their "free maintenance" so that they can up-sell you services like throttle body cleaning, air conditioner service, engine flush, and all of the other daffy stuff that they're coming up with these days. Prius owners are especially susceptible to this revenue generating technique, since many think that it's more complicated to maintain than it actually is
I don't let people swing wrenches on ANY of my vehicles unless it's a repair that's not achievable by my limited talents and tools---both of which are expanding lately.
Example: Throttle Body Cleaning.
I just did this and a MAF cleaning on my spare car.
My cost?
$3 and an hour of my time. That's hood up to hood down, and that's taking the throttle body off of the motor to clean it right---NOT the "spray and pray" method that they usually employ at the dealer!
Bonus: I KNOW that everything was put back into place properly and torqued to specs.
What would a "rough idle" complaint with codes cost at a dealership? What would they tell you what they did to fix it? If they goofed up and trashed the Mass Air Flow sensor wires.....would they fess up or charge you for the new part and say that it failed in service?

OK...so not everybody can or wants to work on their cars.
Fine.
That doesn't mean that you should get fleeced.

Familiarize yourself with the maintenance schedule.
Anything that isn't on this list should be considered a repair, and should require a second opinion.
If you drive the car into the dealership, you can drive it back out.

Easy stuff, really.

 

This is so very true. Do not fall for their game. Way too many people think a dealer is looking out for your best interest.

 

The 5K mile services should not require a trip to the dealer. There are a few things you should do yourself: check the oil, coolant levels, brake fluid level, and tire pressures. Tires do not need to be rotated every 5K miles, 10K is fine. You can even invest a few dollars in a tread depth gage and make sure the tires are wearing OK.

If you are concerned about your warranty log on to Toyota Owners Official Website: Service Coupons, Owners Manuals, Service Scheduling and More If you create an account using your VIN you can enter your own maintenance as accomplished by owner and that should cover you.

 

Judgeless, what's the purpose of the 12v batt? I have a 2010 Prius II and my neighbor has a 2005 Prius. Last year her 12v batt went bad (a good 6 year life) and she couldn't start the car. Her tow truck driver knew what to do to get it started with a jump (seemed to be a bit tricky and required a person at the front and him at the back), but once it was "started" he said the ICE would start and stop w/o another jump. I'm confused. Can you help me understand? Thanks.

Also, when I took my Prius to the dealership for the 10k and 15k maintenance (included with the car purchase) the HV batt was low, 10-20%, (had been 90% when I went in) and the A/C was set to Lo. Do you know if running the A/C is some kind of stress test for the HV batt or were the mechanics just trying to cool themselves off?

 

The purpose of the 12V battery is to power all the accessory items like radio, headlights, fans, brake lights and many more things. It also is used to turn on the Hybrid System in the car. When off, the car sits in standby and consumes very little power from the 12v battery. When you press the start button the turns on the Hybrid system. There are two electric motors called MG1/MG2. One of them is used to start the gas engine called the ICE.

If the 12V battery gets low it will not power up the Hybrid system and the car will not start. You can use jumper cables to provide more power to the car and the car will start. That is what happen when the tow truck driver jumped the car.

The A/C unit in the Gen III uses the high voltage battery to run the compressor motor. Running the A/C will run down the HV battery. When it gets low enough the Hybrid system will start the ICE and use MG1/MG2 to charge the HV battery back up.

 

In addition to the earlier answer, the 12V system also allows the accessories and startup process to operate from a relatively safer low voltage system, keeping the more hazardous high voltage system off and isolated inside the battery case until it is needed. This allows emergency responders to easily shut down the whole system while staying within their familiar comfort zone regarding electrical safety.