Recently got my 2004 and originally thought that the complimentary maintenance Toyota offered on the original Prius did not apply. To my surprise, I received following e-mail from my dealer yesterday: "Thank you for choosing Toyota of XXX for the purchase of your 2004 Prius. You have invested in a premiere vehicle that will provide you with years of driving pleasure. We trust that you are completely satisfied with your purchase experience. ... Toyota recommends service every 7,500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. Toyota provides five complimentary 7,500/6-month maintenance services as outlined in your owner's manual. Additional services if required, are at the owner's expense." The scheduled maintenance guide suggest 5000 miles or 6 months. Was 7,500 the suggested maintenance interval on the original? The dealer never advised that 5 service comps were included before I bought the car. So is this a mistake or something done at the dealer discretion? Anyone else have a 7,500 oil change recommendation in their guide? Eric Black and Tan
I also was given a surprise bunch of free service visits. I have to pay for the major service, but the intermediate ones that are really just an oil change and an inspection, there's something like half a dozen free. I think that comes from Toyota. In adition, I got a dealer coupon for one free oil change. I think this dealer gives that on all new cars. I don't have the book in front of me. I think the Toyota recommendation is oil change every 5K. My dealer recommends every 3K. I don't yet have 1K on my car so I have not decided. I'd go with caution and the smaller number, but then the scheduled service will be out of sync with the oil changes.
Toyota definitely says 5000 miles. The car will even light up a warning for you when you hit 4500-5000 miles. In fact, most cars are really 5000 or more miles, as far as I know. The 3000 mile figure is mostly to increase sales for the service folks.
My salesman mentioned the free maintenance program changed from every 5000 miles on Prius Classic to every 7500 miles on '04s. When I picked up my plates I asked the service department about it and they said Toyota dropped the free service when the '04s came out. Checked back with my salesman and he confirmed and apologized. It must be at a dealer's discretion ... and my dealer doesn't participate ukeleft:
In any case, it's not really "service," just a half a dozen free oil changes with "inspection," (i.e. check to see if there's anything they can charge you for.) A nice little consideration, but not a tremendous value, especially if you change your own oil (which I don't).
I just took mine in for the 5000 mile maintenance, and thought it would be covered, but I had to pay $30. I was used to leasing an '01 Prius, wherein everything was covered, so this was a minor bummer.
do you have to go back to the original "purchasing" dealer to get the free services or can i go somewhere closer and have them still apply? thanks, -r
I didn't get any "free maintenance" (at least it wasn't mentioned) so I'm guessing that this is dealer specific.
