I was told by the dealer they could not turn this off for safety reasons. Reason stated was since car makes no noise in ev mode you could back over someone if you bumped to reverse without noticing... is this not accurate? That beep drives me crazy
Toyota covers the first few at any dealer. If you bought an additional prepaid maintenance, then you have to get those done at that dealer. Also, there is (generally) no reason to change the oil at the old interval of 5000 miles. The Prius is gentler on the engine than conventional cars because: - the "starter motor" is very big and doesn't just kick the engine to get it going...instead it smoothly spins it up, with oil already lubricating everything before gas and a spark is applied - the engine is off while driving a lot of the time - the engine is off when stopped most of the time while a conventional car idles while getting no miles - engine RPM is computer software controlled and not controlled by the whims of a jerky foot In addition, you are supposed to be using a synthetic blend of oil that lasts longer.
You should have a booklet in your glovebox. It goes over what should/is checked at each mileage interval.
My Prius came with manuals. It is possible yours did too. If not, Toyota has them online, try page 40 of this document http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-12Prius/pdf/2012_Toyota_Prius_WMG.pdf
How do I know they did it? Should I just trust them? At the dealership you can't see them working on your car.
At one cynical level, if the dealer claims they did the service, it is under warranty even if they did not actually do the work. Sounds like you need a new toy Amazon.com: Motion Detect Car Dash Video Camera Recorder DVR: Car Electronics
