I took my '05 Prius in to the Santa Barbara Toyota dealer for its 90K service. My car is 11 years old and has 91K miles on it. This is what they quoted me: Lube, Oil & Filter change Tire rotation Service & adjust brakes Test & service battery Add MOA Replace engine air filter Perform transmission fluid service (up to 4 quarts) Replace spark plugs Perform engine coolant system service Perform inverter coolant system service Estimate: $770.91 On top of that they would be checking the following, and if needed, would cost extra: Brake fluid $129.95 Power steering fluid $129.95 Fuel injection cleaning $149.95 I was blown away! I was expecting a baseline of maybe $300. Am I crazy? I called another shop in town and over the phone he said depending on what had been done already, maybe $550. I left the dealership and decided to start researching. What should I expect to do/pay?
Hahahaha. Geez, you think the dealers would approach each vehicle with a customized maintenance chart. You should of asked the ding dong service writer to point to the power steering reservoir for the Prius. Their ignorance would be revealed as the Prius does not use a hydraulic motor and fluid to move the wheels; an electric motor moves the wheels. Fuel injection cleaning; they will add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner that you can buy from an auto parts store for $15max. I'm a fan of Chevron Techron Fuel Injector Cleaner. Too bad your that far North. All easy DIY. Just find a competent shop to do: front brake- clean, relube caliper pins, measure rotor thickness & runout, measure pad thickness (you will likely have more than 50% of pad thickness left) rear brake shoe-clean, lube shoe contact points, adjust shoes, measure shoe thickness, measure drum thickness & runout brake fluid flush transaxle (transmission) drain/fill engine and inverter coolant drain & fill DON'T DO) Spark plugs dont get replaced untill 120K mile/10years; California lists the interval at 150K miles/10years. Realistically, you can replace the plugs at some point between 120K-150K miles. I would go by miles vs years, since the Irridium spark plugs in the Prius last. Do yourself) 12V Battery check you can do yourself. Many posts on Prius Chat on how to check the health of the 12V. Engine air filter, is SUPER easy to DIY. $10-$30 part depending on where you buy. You should get into habit of checking engine oil level on a regular basis. High mileage Pris do burn oil. Its important to keep oil level full for obvious reasons.
About the only thing Toyota should do, eventually, is the coolant service and it's a bit early for that. Maybe the brake fluid, too. Any local service person can do the rest, and a qualified independent hybrid mechanic can do the coolant. For example, I'm sure you know, the place you bought your tires from will rotate them for free, and will probably throw in a brake inspection while they're doing it. (Prius brakes normally see very little duty and 90K miles should just be a quick look at pad thickness.) You can add motor oil additive and fuel injector cleaner yourself, and changing the engine air filter is extremely easy, a couple of snaps. I think you can save a lot of money here.
Welcome to the site. There is a sticky thread about the services you need and don't need. You can change the air filter yourself in about 3 minutes. If the transmission fluid hasn't been changed then it is due for a drain & fill. If the car isn't running rough I wouldn't change the spark plugs. If the power steering fluid is low buy a bottle of power steering fluid just about anywhere including the dollar stores. Probably the only thing you need is an oil change. IMO, the rest of the stuff is crap.
Hahaha. But wait, inability to point to the power steering fluid reservoir should entitle her to a refund? There should be repair shop stupidity refund for consumers.
Yes those are typical dealer prices. Lube, Oil & Filter change $30-50, your prius doesn't use synthetic Tire rotation $10 maybe? where ever you bought your tires will rotate for free. Service & adjust brakes ?? What are they going to service and adjust? most shops will check your brakes for free with any service. Test & service battery You can do this yourself using the multi-function display, check threads here and it only takes a few minutes, no point in paying for this Add MOA additive? snake oil you don't need Replace engine air filter $20 part, takes 2 minutes Perform transmission fluid service (up to 4 quarts) ATF is a drain and refill (no flush needed as there is no torque converter), should be under $80-$100 with OEM ATF but this is one dealers like to rip you off on, as easy as an oil change Replace spark plugs If plugs have never been changed its probably time, figure under $100 as they should be accessible Perform engine coolant system service Perform inverter coolant system service for a 2005 you are about due for a coolant and inverter flush, shop around and you might find a place to do both for around $150 but I would make sure to use OEM fluids. Estimate: $770.91 High, but typical for dealer, I've seen much worse. On top of that they would be checking the following, and if needed, would cost extra: Brake fluid $129.95 In theory should be done every few years, price is a little high but typical for a dealer Power steering fluid $129.95 =wallet flush, not needed on most cars and the prius has electric steering=no fluid needed Fuel injection cleaning $149.95 See above, if your car is not hesitating and you use Top Tier gas this is not needed
Thank you for all the replies! This weekend I'm going to dig out my receipts to see what I've done and where I'm at, and I'm going to try to digest all this info. Yes, I know that I can get my tires rotated at Costco where I bought them (duh, I forgot), and I know how to change the air filter. I'll put off spark plugs as recommended since the car runs smoothly. I'll check how long it's been since I had brakes done, etc. I went on Yelp and picked out a local mechanic who had all good reviews. I called and he didn't give me any estimate over the phone, but suggested I come in and have him do the oil change and he'll look over the car at that point and make suggestions and quote me prices. S Keith: I originally was thinking in the ballpark of $300, because I thought the 90K was the same as the 30K & 60K services (which cost around $200 each). I figured there would be some extra stuff because of the age/mileage. I wasn't expecting this many items recommended that have never been done up to this point. I'll keep you posted. Thanks!
Lube, Oil & Filter change $60 Tire rotation $15 Service & adjust brakes (I would expect inspection to be included in the price of the Oil Change, If they find something to service, bring it back later) Test & service battery (Is this the 12 volt battery? I know of no test or service of the big battery) Add MOA (refuse this! MOA may mean Motor Oil Additive, which no Toyota needs, but really means Market Opportunity Adjustment, free money! I would immediately reconsider ever using this dealer) Replace engine air filter $35 Perform transmission fluid service (up to 4 quarts) $110 Replace spark plugs (unless there was an issue, you are 30,000 miles early) Perform engine coolant system service (unless there was an issue, you are 30,000 miles early) Perform inverter coolant system service (unless there was an issue, you are 30,000 miles early) Brake fluid $129.95 (Depends on Humidity, so almost impossible to judge when, there is a simple test) Power steering fluid $129.95 (I confess I have never heard of anyone ever flushing their power steering, ever) Fuel injection cleaning $149.95 (I would immediately reconsider ever using this dealer) I live in rural Mississippi and you do not, so you will pay higher prices than I do. Your dealerships have higher overhead than mine.
Coolant drain & fill is 100,000miles/10years, which ever occurs first. Then the interval is 50,000miles/5years, assuming you continue to use Toyota SLLC (Super Long Life Coolant). You are over on years, thus the need for a coolant drain&fill. The coolant contains chemicals that loose their protecting abilities over time. Rear brakes need adjustment to maintain the ideal clearance/closeness to the brake drum. When the shoes are out of adjustment, your parking brake will not be in the correct range of clicks to properly engage the brake shoes, or may not even engage the brake shoes if the adjustment is way off. I am not aware of any rear drum brakes, on any vehicle, that don't require periodic manual adjustment, despite using a "self-adjusting" mechanism. Take a look at Art's Automotive perspective on 30K service interval, esp regarding coolant and brake fluid; makes a lot of sense. Prius 30k Service
Please do not forget two important items which should at least be checked and are very often missed: 1) Cabin air filter (sometimes known as pollen filter) - easy to check, cheap to replace, it is behind the glovebox. IIRC Toyota do not check these as part of a normal service. Over years and miles they clog up and because the airflow is restricted the fan has to work harder and harder, eventually causing it to fail. 2) HV battery fan, especially if you have dogs! The fan gets filled with dust/dirt/hair and doesn't cool the HV battery enough. Result = overheating HV battery, dead Prius and $$$$.