15,000 Mile Maintenance Checkup

I just went down to my local dealership where i bought my car and have life time free oil changes and asked about what the cost for 15k miles service which i will need soon would cost and was quoted around $220+tax.I said no way and walked out.I will go back later and show him the service book that came with the car and point out the 15k section and see what he says then.If anyone is interested!its toyota of wallingford in CT.

 

Need advice for the 15K check-up

I read the owner's service manual and the online list from Toyota's website for 15K maintenance. I made an appointment for an oil change (admittedly at 14700) but had not planned to do the 15K yet. I rotated the tires at about 6000 and again at 12000 and had not planned to rotate again until 17500. I change oil every 2500 miles but am not using synthetic. When I did use synthetic on my first Prius, the dealer said I still had to change it every 2500 and I couldn't afford it.

I arrived (after having declined detailing for $125 when I scheduled the appointment) only to have the service person indicate that I really needed everything on the 15K maintenance list---total price $525 plus 8.75% sales tax.

They would drain the brake fluid, take the wheels off and look at the pads/drums. They would replace engine and cabin air filter. They would pressure test and pressure clean my injectors. They would (maybe) look at the CV boot.

They wanted to do a front end alignment, rotate the tires again and "balance" them. I asked how--spin or otherwise and got no answer. I said that the tires had been rotated less than 2000 miles earlier, the wear was even and there was no indication that they were not balanced. They tried hard to show wear on the edges but it was even. They said if I had them rebalanced and the front end aligned (no symptoms now) that I would get 46000 miles from my tires. That seems too generous to be believed. The front end, rotating, balancing, etc was over $175 of the proposed bill. Mind you, this is Buffalo and the pot-hole season is just beginning.

They said they would change the transmission fluid and make sure the belts weren't wearing and squealing.
I asked what they would change the transmission fluid with and they didn't answer. They said they would check the battery fluid (sealed batteries these days so this is odd) and be sure the terminals weren't corroded.

I'm not very sophisticated in my car maintenance skills. I know enough from having been around from my dad's service station/garage as a child to feel that these don't make a lot of sense. I, unfortunately, do not have my dad around as an adviser anymore.
I think the dealer sees me as an easy target but don't want to do anything to jeopardize my Prius. I read the post on what maintenance is needed but feel fairly rattled by the pressure used by the dealer. What should be done for my 2006 Prius? I live in Buffalo, NY. Remarkably the one thing they didn't say they would check was my coolant/antifreeze.
I looked at the fluid levels and at the hoses/belts. Is there something that they can see that I wouldn't see? They claim to check these every time they do the oil change anyway.

When I questioned more about how they would check the battery, they said they would be looking at the 12V battery. Is there anything that needs to be checked with the hybrid storage battery? Does it have a fluid level that has to be checked? Are there terminals there that are accessible or would corrode? Are there any basic manuals for Prius care? The pictures on the Toyota website for Do-It-Yourself aren't as helpful as I would like for general maintenance.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

Show them the Toyota maintenance schedule for the Prius and tell them you want that only. And you can reduce your expense even further by doing some of it yourself. Engine and cabin air filters, in particular are easy DIY jobs -- 2 minutes max for either, no tools. I've heard reports of dealers charging $60 or $70 for changing these. If you're a little more ambitious, oil and filter changes are pretty easy too.

I agree that if your tires were rotated 2000 miles ago, there's no need for that now. And something to consider for the future: Assuming you have Goodyears, some Goodyear dealers will rotate them for free.

No need for wheel balance unless you're feeling a vibration, especially at higher speeds, or seeing uneven tire wear typical of wheel imbalance.

No need for an alignment unless you're starting to show uneven tire wear or the vehicle pulls to the right or left while cruising. If I have a question about alignment, I'll generally use an alignment specialty shop or reputable tire dealer anyway. They do it all the time, they don't usually charge as much as the car dealer, and they often won't charge the full amount if no adjustment is needed.

Virginia requires an annual safety inspection, so I let that suffice for safety-related items such as brakes and suspension components.

This is yet another example of how dealerships will sell you stuff that's not needed, or may even be impossible to do for the Prius, as part of their standard package.

 

Well, your post is really living up to your name, 'Wort

As Jimbo says, just follow what it says in the Maitnence guide and/or look at this thread by galaxee for recommendations about what your Prius needs.

Just to mention one thing, you only need to change your oil every 5k, even if you're using non-synthetic. Most people who have synthetic still change their oil every 5k (to make sure they're in the "safe zone" with the warranty), but in Europe, they will often not change it until 10k miles on the exact same car with the exact same oil. Every 2.5K is serious overkill. You're not going to hurt the car, but you're going to waste money and waste oil. As Jimbo mentions, an oil change is surprisingly easy to do, and you can find a nice guide on John's site.