15,000 mile service - this is unbelievable!!!

Sounds like they want to take you for a ride, and it won't be in a Prius...
I recently made a whiny post about my worrying over my upcoming 15,000 mile service. I went to Daytona Toyota and the service advisor quoted 60 dollars to change oil and filter, rotate and balance, and complete a 19 point inspection. I had the car in 3 hours and with 60 less dollars; no problems, in fact, pleasant. What's interesting is at my last dealership (Karl Malone Toyota of Albuquerque), I paid $75 for the 5,000 mile service, which is minor compared to the 15,000. Something sounds weird about the dealership that quoted 250. If you look in your service schedule, I don't think they are supposed to change the air filter until 30,000, and not the spark plugs until something like 60,000 or even 90,000. What the dealer described sounds more like a 30,000 or 60,000 mile service. I would call again to confirm that price for a 15,000 service: if you get the same, go somewhere else. They want to rip you off... :|

 

The sparkplugs are iridium tipped and are changed at 120,000 miles.

 

All service interval requirements are clearly defined in the manual provided with your Prius. I wouldn't hesitate to report that dealer to Toyota CR. The 800# is also in the manual.

 

I'm glad for this forum, but it comes a bit too late. I just went in for my 15K service and they charged $299 at the Toyota dealership on the north side of Indianapolis. From here on out, I'm going to pay more attention to the boards for advice on what I should be getting and trust the dealer less.

By the way, after this service the MPG went from an average of 51 to 46. Lovely.

 

They change the oil and filter, OK
lubricate the chassis, no chassis lube points
rotate the tires, OK
set the timing, chain timing- not adjustable
adjust the brakes, self adjusting
clean the injectors, not necessary yet
set the idle, probably not adjustable
change the spark plugs, iridium-tipped plugs? NO!
change the engine air filter and the cabin air filter, OK
lube the door hinges, I guess but if they're not squeaking I don't see a problem
and check everything. What's that include?
(above are the opinions of my husband- Toyota tech but not yet Prius tech)

I wouldn't trust them. Go in, get the service items recommended on the warranty booklet but don't ask for the 15K service by name. Their 15K service is obviously different and well, isn't really even applicable to your Prius. List the specific items you want and tell them nothing more without asking first. Most places they are required to do this at your request, some states allow a certain dollar amount worth of work to be done without asking, say $100. But most places won't do that out of good business practice.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(evervescent\";p=\"89981)</div>

Sheesh!! $299 and it sounds as if they might have dumped in more oil than they should have. Might want to take a peek at that when you get an opportunity.

 

They change the oil and filter - $25
lubricate the chassis - Huh? Not needed
rotate the tires - maybe $20-30
set the timing - it's computerized and self-adjusting
adjust the brakes - self-adjusting unless the pads are gone
clean the injectors - probably not necessary
set the idle - computerized and self-adjusting
change the spark plugs - probably not necessary
change the engine air filter and the cabin air filter - possible if you're in a dusty environment - say $30 for both
lube the door hinges - should be free from any service dept.
and check everything. - should be free

I've got 15,000 miles (25,000km) on my Prius, and the most I've ever paid for service was $38.59 (cdn), and I've followed the Toyota service guidelines exactly...

(note: Just because they say "change" something, doesn't mean it MUST be changed (aside from oil), for example, a lot of the filter changes and such only need to be changed if the filter is actually dirty).

Dave

 

It is not unreasonable to clean and adjust rear brakes from time to time. They are self adjusting, but still sometimes they need to be helped along.
But not nearly as often as they say.

Plugs don't even have to be considered until 100K. You may want to retorque them so they don't stick in place when it does come time to replace them.

Also suprisingly, coolant doesn't have to be changed until 100K, 50K thereafter.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

Impossible. There isn't a zerk in sight. Unless they're willing to take apart the suspension, apply a synthetic grease to the bushings, reassemble everything, and do an alignment, all for that price? Not.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

Impossible. There is coil per cylinder ignition. The ECU keeps track of crank angle, cam angle, cam phasing, temps, load, etc, to adjust the timing. This is done with software and there is no "adjustment" either it works or it doesn't.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

In an area with a lot of salt dumped on the roads during winter snow/ice, it would be reasonable to take the front calipers off, clean and lube the slide pins (Full floating caliper), and reassemble. It would also be reasonable to adjust the parking brake (Cable actuators tend to stretch and loosen over time) and the rear drum/shoe clearance.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

Not unless the car is running rough. It wouldn't be unreasonable to get a bottle of Chevron Techron, or STP Complete Fuel System Cleaner or another good brand, and dump it in the tank next time you gas up.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

How? Impossible. The ECU keeps track of temps, airflow, crank angle, cam angle, cam phasing, load, etc, to adjust the idle. If you do a lot of winter stop-n-inch driving the throttle body may need cleaning with a spray solution every 3-4 years.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

Have you priced them? They're special design and should be good for the distance recommended in the "real" Prius Maintenance Menu. Up here in Canada, where the government allows MMT as an anti-knock additive, it's prudent to cut the spark plug service interval in half.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

My Prius sees at least 90% city driving and at 10,000km both filters were pretty cruddy. The engine filter is very easy to get to for inspection, the cabin air filter is somewhat more complicated.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

Buy a can of white lithium grease - around $4 - and do it yourself whenever they squeaks.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eisenson\";p=\"35664)</div>

No. Either look for a different service department or show them the "real" Prius Maintenance Menu and have them itemize everything. Make sure you look over the service writeup before signing, you should be able to see a check box "Customer to be notified before any additional work" and make d*** sure to check it off.

Hope this helps.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"35701)</div>

I can't recall what the '04 guide said, but the '05 guide says "Prius" on the front. The first and only HSD related service called for is at 15,000 miles or 18 months. It says to inspect, not replace, engine and inverter coolant. A footnote refers to an explanation that refers to the owner's manual maintenance and care section. There, it still only calls for cleaning away radiator and a/c condenser road debris. Repeat at 15,000 mile or 18 month intervals.

 

For my 04 the Passport to Performance guide says 2004 Prius at the top. For 15,000 miles all I did was have the oil changed; $29.00.

The service invoice did say the following:
change oil and filter top off gluids.
inspects belts hoses and undercarriage.
resent monitor light if equipted.

I did see where the spark plugs dont have to be changed until 120K miles. From my standpoint, its just change the oil and tire rotation (which my tire dealer will do for free) every 5K miles.

 

... and the filters at 30K. Coolant at 100K.

 

If you can, get that estimate in writing and send to Toyota and Better Business Bureau. At least call.

 

Kearny Mesa Toyota just did my 15K for $160:
lube-oil-filter
chk levels, belts, hoses, steering
adj brakes (book says inspect!)
rotate tires (40/38)
svc auto trans?
air filter
safety insp (seat belts?)
road test

and they did an alignment to correct off center steering wheel, no charge

It took about 4 hrs.

The 5K & 10K were ~$60.

I don't think these are bargains, but they've been down right considerate compared to other dealers I've dealt with (next club meeting I'll tell you about the time I took Rose Toyota to small claims). What dealer gave you the quote? It sounds like what they'd a charge a sailor driving an MR2.

 

My 5k and 10K were free since I did them myself and had the dealer sign off the maintenance manual. I even had pictures of the wheels off on each side with my digital camera just in case they questioned whether I did the tire rotation. My 15,000 is coming up. I plan to save the $60 to $300 (what a rip!) I use synthetic oil, toyota factory filters and bought an oddsize home hepa filter at Home Depot for $0.99 which I will cut to size for the cabin filter since pollen season is about over and that filter probably will need to be changed anyway. I wish I had the extra funds to support my local Toy dealer, but based on these posts, it seems many others will gladly do so!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(outoftown\";p=\"90455)</div>

How much do you value your time? I used to do all my car maintenance, then I got tired of the skinned knuckles and found better things to do with my Saturdays. So if you aren't going to get your own hands dirty, who you going to pay to do it: the kid who mows your lawn, the jiffy-lube which hires that kids older brother or a reputable dealer that pays a schooled mechanic and pays him a decent wage with benefits?

So yeah, I'll gladly support my local Toyota dealer while I have a beer and watch the game.

 

That's good to hear.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RonH\";p=\"90450)</div>

That's good to hear.

I bought my Prius at Kearny Mesa and was planning to take it there for servicing, but after three trips just to get the extra fob I bought programmed I was wondering if that pretty service bay was all show and no expertise. I did get two coupons for free oil changes.

I'll only be putting about 5,000 miles on per year, so I guess I can handle the charges. But I'll be saving your post in case for any reason my servicing is a lot more than yours......being a poor, defenseless woman and all.

 

$60 for an oil change and tire rotation? That's steep! I pay closer to $45 and that even seems high to me, but I do it so I can get the next set of tires free. Once I do that, goodby dealer for routine maintenance.

If they changed the transaxle fluid (not much else you can do with it), shouldn't cost any more than an engine oil change, say $20? They really can't flush it, nor do they need to if they can like on a conventional transmission. All it is is fixed gears and an oil pump. No valves, modulators, or shifters.
Air filters probably run you $36.

So, $20 for ICE, $15 for tire rotation, $20 for 'tranny', $36 for air filters, total $91. Guess $160 isn't totally unreasonable if they do a good job of inspection, and it includes tax.