Are these maintenance services really necessary?

I don't believe these services are listed in your owners manual as services to perform at 75k miles. The stealer is just trying to separate your money from your wallet.

 

Agreed. Look in your manual. You've been ripped. Did they forget to offer you steering wheel rotation and blinker fluid changing?

 

Brake fluid ages not by miles or time but by humidity. If water is aborbed, it boils at a lower temp and corrodes your brakes internally. There are cheap test strips to show the health of the brake fluid.

 

Toyota Canada says (as of 2014 Prius) 48,000 km or 36 months, for brake fluid change. They didn't say anything with our 2010. So I would think they're coming around.

Not sure what they're saying in the States now, but 30K miles or 36 months would be the equivalent.

FWIW, there's a sticky in the 3rd gen maintenance section, @NutzAboutBolts 's DIY videos, and one shows brake fluid change. It's moderately tricky, doable without Techstream.

The other two items I'd pass on, unless you're having driveablitity issues (MAF sensor) or poor cooling (AC). They're not in the schedule. Cleaning the MAF sensor is something to do very infrequently, and it can be problematic.

 

Don't leave this out - it is mandatory if you have ever had a knock to the front fender

 

MAF sensor cleaning is easy, buy a bottle and take out the MAF sensor and spray it in there.
Brake fluid we have a video of that on YouTube.
AC Evaporator service, we also have a video of that on YouTube.

 

Many recommend a brake fluid flush/ exchange every twenty-four months.
From above I gather Toyota is saying thirty-six months.
So that could be a worthwhile expenditure.

AC Evaporator service...not so sure.
Do you have a musty AC odor issue?
Can be a maintenance item to keep bacteria "at bay" from growing on the fins of the evaporator.
Your call.

MAF cleaning...Forget about it (with a New York accent).
I personally would not do this until 150K miles or even more.

As mention in a post above, all are relatively easy do it yourself projects.

 

check your maintenance manuals, i don't think anything is required until 100k+. nothing wrong with doing things sooner, or extra things, if you choose to, but i wouldn't accept a dealer opinion. it's not based on your car, everyone gets the same spiel.

 

I go to 100,000 miles on all fluids (oil every 15,000 or so). No problems on any car I've ever owned.

Do what makes you feel comfortable.

All of those charges seem excessive for how simple the procedure is. Then again, I've never been interested to know what a Stealership wants to charge me for something.

 

If the MAFS need cleaning, I'm sure a can of spray solvent from the auto parts store and 20 minutes of your time would do exactly what they'd do.

Flushing your brake hydraulics might be needed, but it's a measure of time and performance. As water gets into the fluid, it is less effective, but it's not mileage based.

The only "service" you do to an A/C system is top of refrigerant sans any breakdown. You don't put anything else in, you don't run a cleaning agent, you don't break open a line unless a component needs replacing, and then you normally have to replace the drier unit and expansion orifice. The drier absorbs moisture, so if exposed to air too long, it's going to saturate and be useless and the expansion orifice is a cheap part that's inserted into one of the lines. You replace it just because you might as well since you've opened the system to the air.

Find another mechanic.

 

Mass airflow sensor cleaning - I'd do it if/when performance starts to show it might be needed.
Brake Fluid Exchange - I generally do this every 3 or 4 years (unless I'm not keeping the car, which is usually the case) - but do this as per TOYOTA's specification, as it's a potential safety issue.
AC Evaporator Service - I wouldn't touch it. A/C systems in the '70s and '80s specified drier, belt (they had huge power sucking compressors) and refrigerant change every few years, but never cleaning the evaporator. When I bought my '95 MAZDA, I asked about A/C service, and they said it was sealed for life, and unless something breaks down, don't touch it. It had nearly 300,000km, just before we junked it, when it needed work. The Prius has a cabin filter - it should be changed regularly, and that should keep the evaporator fins etc clean.

 

No
Yes
No (unless your AC is performing poorly)

 

When I got my last "free" oil change at the dealer here last September, the "service person" did not push any extras, dubious or otherwise. She quoted $110 to replace the brake fluid when I inquired about that.

 

Where can I find these stripes, and what it's called?

 

as an example

 

Personally, I'd say that a brake fluid flush every three years or 36,000 miles is good preventative maintenance against corrosion in the braking system, and I'm actually surprised it's not in the schedule.

That's a rather high price for that service, though, in my opinion. And, the other services are unnecessary IMO, unless you're having problems.

 

some say, if you don't open the brake system to allow air in, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

some say, if you don't open up the brake system to allow air in, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

some say, if you don't open up the brake system to allow air in, it shouldn't be a problem.