I just came from the dealer for an oil change ($60) and they want to charge me A)$60 to replace the cabin filter...yeah ok lol I bought a $40 charcoal filter from K&N I'll do it myself B)$55 to replace the engine air filer...yeah ok and the dealer wants $35 for the filter...I'll buy a OEM one on Amazon for $13 C) service the EVAP system for $200...I have 160K miles on her, has anyone done ore needed this done? Now my car needs front struts, they're almost done. Should I go with Monroe or KYB? (Rock Auto)
They may be ripping him off to clean the A/C evaporator, or giving him a great deal on the evaporative charcoal canister in the fuel system. I am un-able to guess which. There is almost 0% chance either is legit. The A/C evaporator looks to be buried in the dash. It might be $200 to dig that far in, but why?
There is that ambiguity over whether they meant the A/C evaporator, or the gasoline evaporative emissions system. For the A/C evap, it'll smell better, and pass air more effectively, if occasionally cleaned. They have a foaming chemical to spray up in there, you can also buy it and DIY. I don't think anybody touches their fuel evap system unless the ECM posts a trouble code about it. Got any of those? -Chap
My a/c doesn't smell at all. Just another "preventative maintenance" the dealer want's to perform to make some money off of me.
Well, and now you mention it, there have been posts about that here. That's what'll happen if the drain tube down through the floor from the evaporator housing gets plugged. So at least passing some sort of pipe cleaner up through that tube every some-odd years might be reasonable. You can probably do it yourself for under $200 depending on your taste in pipe cleaners. A bunch of condensed water spilling on the floor will soak the carpet and get moldy/stinky, so, yeah. I've never done it but it's not crazy. -Chap
Everyone else covered the evap stuff... both A/C and fuel possibilities... Regarding struts, I can't speak from experience for Prius parts, but in one of my other cars KYBs lasted much longer than Monroes. Similar initial performance but very different lifespan.
@NutzAboutBolts has video on AC system cleaning, pinned in the maintenance subsection. Still, if you're not smelling anything, I would just leave it be. To prevent stuff growing, It's good to turn of AC a mile or so before your destination (when practical), and keep the fan running, to air out the humidity. And just reduce your AC use in general.
There's the expression "there's an app for that". And now: "there's an @NutzAboutBolts video for that".
