When to get service; dealer vs independents

My 2011 Prius had 30,000-mile service just about exactly one year ago, and 35,000-mile service in July. At the moment there is only 38,000 miles on the odometer, so at this rate I may not be hitting 40,000 miles for a couple of months or more.

I'm therefore wondering the following:

-- Should I take the car in now? I gather that an oil change at least annually is regarded as important. Should I only get the oil change now, or all of the maintenance items associated with 40,000-mile service?

-- There's an excellent independent mechanic down the street (much closer than the Toyota dealer) who takes care of our family's other cars. He says he can do basic tasks on the Prius like oil changes but can't help with the hybrid system. Would one option be to have him change the Prius oil now, and take it to the dealer for the other 40,000-mile items later? Or should I just bite the bullet and have the dealer do whatever they deem necessary now? The independent mechanic did say I could call him if the dealer wants to lay on extra items like brake work to see if he can do it cheaper.

 

Thanks. Now I'm wondering:

-- Am I right in thinking that although I've had the car for 3-3/4 years, there are still some systems under warranty? If so, do I need to worry about anything if I have my local mechanic do the routine work? Just save receipts?

-- I'm guessing there's somewhere I can look to find out how to reset the maintenance nag message that will start appearing on the car's control panel at some point?

 

Great information, thanks to all. I just wanted to make sure going to an independent wouldn't be a problem later relative to warranty etc.

I'd be interested in spending another minute or so on this point. Besides the fact that my mechanic is cheaper and closer, I believe he does better work than I would get at a dealer. (I think back some years ago when I took another make of car to a different brand dealer, who botched a brake job.) The only advantages I would see to a dealer is that (a) they use OEM parts and (b) they are more geared-up to deal with issues like the hybrid system. A brake job or, say, thermostat replacement seem pretty generic. Is there an angle I'm not seeing? (I know that when I needed to replace the first pair of tires on the Prius, I got the identical OEM brand from a local tire shop I've patronized for many years for considerably less than the dealer quoted.)

 

Good point -- I forgot about that aspect.

Would that be here?:

Service History Online - Toyota Owners