In addition to what Toyota lists, the dealer has suggested the following: Transmission Service Coolant Fluid Service Alignment I don't see any of these listed in the service book; had an alignment done about 15 months ago. What is involved in the Transmission Service and the Coolant Fluid Service? The Inverter Coolant Pump was replaced in 2009 with the new version.
Transmission is highly recommended on this site. Its a dump & fill but dealers always call it a flush. Its not a flush, As far as trans fluid is concerned its a manual gearbox. Takes 4 quarts of Toyota WS Fluid at about $9 a quart. Shouldn't be more than $125 at the dealer. Coolant service is a change of the Inverter Coolant and the ICE coolant. Both highly recommended at 100K. The Inverter coolant is very easy to do and takes about a gallon of SLLC Super Long Life Coolant. The ICE is the engine coolant and uses same coolant but is a pain to do like most modern cars and not get an air lock. Even alot of dealers mess that up. To check how the dealer did turn on the heat at low when you pick it up and listen carefully for any water gurgling sounds under the dash which is evidence of an airlock. If you do decide to have these done and its a good idea just check both the engine coolant overflow bottle and the inverter coolant reservoir for coolant levels for a few days as they move around a little after a change as they settle in especially the engine coolant. Then your good for another 100k! Btw, I changed my trans fluid at 30K and both coolants at 50K. As far as alignment goes check all your tires carefully. If there not wearing evenly you may need an alignment. If they all look uniform you do not need an alignment.
conventional wisdom is 30,000 miles then every 60,000 miles for the WS ATF in the transaxle, mine was $110 at the dealer. I do not think alignment is by mileage or time, just by how well the wheels track now.
Eh, don't assume. Hereabouts service writers presume a flush ($250). You have to tell them to do a drain-and-fill ($100). Toyota's online tool does recommend replacing engine coolant at 100k: Toyota Parts and Service As with the transmission, the dealer's "coolant service" probably includes a flush, shampoo, and creme rinse, at a much higher price than a simple drain and fill.
So this is not a dealer pushed service? Like I said these aren't listed in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide except for changing the transmission fluid every 60,000 if you do towing. This is the first time these services were mentioned in the 8 years we've owned the car. Checked my maintenance records for the last 8 years: the Inverter Coolant was changed 35,000 miles/3 years ago, so that is close to 50,000 miles and an alignment was done 20,000 miles/18 months ago; I don't have any record of the tranny fluid being changed, thus I'll have it done. Being in the CPR, the estimate is around $600+ for everything. Edit: I just re-checked the Scheduled Maintenance Guide and the coolant service IS listed with the following footnote: "Initial replacement at 100,000 miles/120 months. Replace every 50,000 miles/60 months thereafter. See page 21 for additional information." Page 21 says: "Drain and flush the cooling system..."
at $600, have it dome elsewhere! You can buy the ATF WS and the gaskets at the parts counter for about $40 and anyone with a lift can follow directions. Reconditioning a Toyota Prius - Changing the CVT Transmission Fluid | NotPetroleum Blog Notice that you want plugs to the right of that seam!
No, that isn't an option as the next closest Toyota dealer is one I refuse to deal with period. Besides, as I said I'm in the CPR so $600 is very reasonable for coolant service, tranny service, alignment, oil and filter change, tire rotation. This is not a "hobby" car so I want the pros working on it. Now if it wasn't a hybrid, the story would be different. In fact, I'll probably replace the Prius with a high mpg normal gas buggy when the time comes.
Taking it item by item: Transmission Service The dealership's use of the word "service" is vague. The US schedule has no fluid change interval; there are periodic "inspections". My 2 cents, regular transmission (Toyota usually calls it "transaxle") fluid changes are cheap insurance, never mind what Toyota says. Maybe after the first year, then bi-yearly thereafter. Might be overkill, but it's a cheap and easy job. Coolant Fluid Service Replacement of Engine Coolant is on Toyota's Schedule, for 100,000 miles, that's not an extra service. But: the dealership's use of the expression "Service" is (again) vague: assumably a fluid change, but it's not clear. The use of the word "Coolant", with no explanation as to which fluid (there are two circuits: Engine and Inverter), is vague as well. It's the Engine Coolant that's scheduled (by Toyo) to be replaced at 100,000 miles. Alignment Again, pretty vague. If you haven't been in a collision and aren't noticing any pulling, steering problems, and the tires are wearing evenly, then I'd leave it alone. All-in-all, the dealer comes off as pretty typical, ie: vague and cavalier in their descriptions and interpretation of the required maintenance. That's not to say you should drop them. But ask questions. For example: "which Coolant are you going to service", and does "Service" mean changing it?". FYI, here's a spreadsheet summary of the US schedule: 2010 Prius Maintenance Schedule (US) | PriusChat
Actually, it does list BOTH coolant systems in the 100K/120 month service; see the link in Richard's post above. But good points none the less.
FWIW, When I first bought my 2006 Prius new from the dealer I had them do all the maintenance, figuring the hybrid engine would be too complicated for me. However the last two years I've been getting more adventuresome in what maintenance items I take on myself. (I was emboldened by replacing the head gasket in my 1985 MR2 last year with complete success.) I just did the 100K service myself. I found that changing the transaxle oil was almost trivial. The only part more complex than a typical engine oil change was that I didn't own a torque wrench that could do 29 ft-lbs (I do now) and I needed to make a funnel with a long vinyl tubing on the bottom for the refilling. Other than that the job is within the scope of anyone who knows how to click a torque wrench. I also did the two coolant loops. Folks here seem very leery of the vacuum uplift technique, but after having watched a YouTube video where the professor at Contra Costa Technical College did it that way on my model Prius, I decided it was safe enough to try. The vacuum adapter thingies are only $40 on eBay, so I ordered one. I have to tell you that device is very slick. I have a pretty bottom-end air compressor and it was adequate. Changing the inverter coolant with it was completely by the directions in the kit; no bleeding at all and I got no air whatsoever. Perfect. The engine coolant wasn't quite as perfect; I got some air, but a half dozen 30 second shots of squeezing the hoses and circulating the coolant by shorting the relay took care of it. The car runs quieter than it ever did before now, I wonder if I may have had some air in it before I did the change. (It is my wife's car and I don't drive it very often). While I was at it I added a piece of wire screening over the snorkel intake, after removing a very cozy mouse nest from the air filter box. The cabin air filter had no nest but a lot of cracked open acorn shells on it. Hmmm, the joys of living in the woods. The mice had also built a beautiful nest atop the spark plug igniters. When I put new tires on it a few months ago the installation came with a free alignment check. It passed. (Our local Toyota dealer also does a free check on every car that comes in for anything, too, but fixing any problems found is not free.) I have not changed brake fluid, but I plan to sample and test it once the test strips come in. Everything else on the list has been done and I have to say I found it all very straightforward, especially compared with my older cars like the MR2. I do not have a factory service manual like I do for my truck and my MR2, but so far every task I've wanted to do has been amply explained in this forum and on YouTube. Many thanks to all you experts out there, especially Hobbit and Mr. Wong.
