It's a previously loved 2008 with 48K miles - silver. Right now it's sitting at the Toyota shop because the previous owner didn't take care of the recalls. Sigh - Just bought it on Saturday How often do we get oil changes? Tire rotation?
5000 miles (8000 km) or 6 months whichever is first, in the US. http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-08Prius/pdf/Prius08SMG.pdf (page 14 of the PDF is 50,000 miles)
Reasonable schedule if standard 5w-30 oil used. I prefer to buy better quality synthetic 5w-30 and change oil+ filter once a year or every 10k miles, whichever comes first. OP: sounds like your car has had an easy life, although perhaps many short drives. I suggest you drain and replace the tranny (aka WS) fluid. DIY is about $40, perhaps $125 at a stealership.
It's at the dealership now getting old recalls taken care of. I may just have them do that while it is there
Sagebrush is right. The transmission works overtime regenerating the battery. A transaxle flush every 60,000 miles is preventative maintenance and can prolong the life of the car. The dealer charges about $100. You don't need a flush. Just a drain and fill.
Do yourself a favor and know the cost before you agree. There are stealerships, and then there are outright unethical bastards.
I went to my dealer yesterday when getting an alignment and they wanted to charge me $199 for a drain and refill. I told them it should be about $100 and they said that is what the parts cost itself. I laughed and said I'll do it somewhere else. I found a local independent shop that only work on Toyota and Lexus that will do it for $85.
Yeah, these simple maintenance items can be horribly expensive at the dealer compared to what it costs to DIY. In a couple of weeks I will combine wheel rotation, tranny fluid exchange, and engine oil+filter exchange. It will take me 30 - 45 minutes, and cost about $55* in parts. A gouging stealership can present a $300+ bill before taxes. * $5 engine oil filter $20 engine oil 4 qts (0W-20 synthetic at Walmart) $32 for 4 qts of ATF WS through autohauzAZ.com (bought as 8 qts for $64)
I am not the least bit familiar on working on a car myself, but I will call around. Maybe my hubby can do it
NO ONE is a dumber mechanic than me. I had never looked under a car hood, let alone underneath, before I bought a Prius. With the help of PriusChat/youtube and a little motivation, I now feel comfortable handling all simple, and some moderate complexity jobs. These are really simple jobs, and PriusChat has beautiful DIY threads that have step-by-step and pictures to aid the first timer. Oh, and by the way, one of the most respected Prius mechanics in the US is a lady named Carolyn Coquillette, owner of LG in San Francisco
