The dealer recommended a $178 "Fuel System Service", which he claimed should be done every 30,000 miles. My Prius is a 2010 with 100k miles and I've never had it done. Should I cough up the cash, or toss in a bottle of Lucas fuel treatment at my next fill-up?
I have never heard of that service from my dealer. I also have a 2010 with just over 100k. Did they tell you all of what is included in this fuel system service? It sounds like an easy way for them to pad their wallet, especially at every 30k miles!
News to me! Never heard of it. Forget it! If it makes you feel better put a can of Lucas fuel treatment in, can not hurt.
Thanks, everybody, that's what I figured. I went in for a free brake inspection, since I had a slight grinding noise, and they suggested the following: AC filter, $59 AC system "refresh", $89 Fuel System Service, $178 Turn brake rotors, allegedly grinding off rust and sand, $400 Needless to say, I had them do the AC filter and nothing else. Can you say, STEALERSHIP? P.S. Searching and reading other posts, several times I built up good speed, slipped the car into neutral, and firmly applied the brakes. This seems to have helped the slow speed grinding noise I had.
$400 to turn the rotors? That's probably more than new ones would cost from them. Also, for next time, the cabin filter is super easy to change/dump the crap out of and shove the old one back in. You can get the filter for ~$10 online.
I would have had the ac service refresh done. If its the can of microbial cleaner. Dealer sells 2 spray can kit. One can has special hose that connects to ac drip hose under the car. Then the one can's foamy contents are sprayed into the hose...the foamy cleaner fills the e-box with cleaner and then turns to liquid and drips back out the hose. The other can is just really stinky old lady perfume they spray in the air dam. It will make you gag if you don't like strong perfume. I skip that part. The cleaner alone will make they car smell very fresh and clean. I buy the kit over the counter for $25 and do it myself every 2 years or when I start to smell stinky. Its a pain though as car has to jacked up real high upfront to get to the drip hose. My dealer charges $100 otd for this service including parts so $89 is not bad. Very good maintenance thing as it keeps the e-coil box under the dash clean and mold free and keeps the drip hose unclogged. I highly recommend it. Prius like alot of newer cars suffer from stinky e-coil boxes. The fuel service is an old con. I would imagine all dealers tout it. Mine does. Next time in there look for easels by the service desk "offering" all the services with good best better services. All $$$$ makers.
Quoting xs650: Any fuel filter over time will get some gunk in it and inhibit pressure to the injectors. This could put a strain on the fuel pump in the tank. The price seems justifiable if they have to pull the rear seat, open the access panel and change out the filter inside.
