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

Dan- How are you going to get your next set of tires for free? The warranty is prorated so it is more likely that you will just be paying for this set almost twice considering the cost of the rotations. Mine look to last around 50k to 55k. I have only done one rotation and my wear is very even. That means I've saved five rotations so far at 15$ per. By 50k miles I will have saved 135$ toward the purchase of the next set. I looked for the distance warranty but was unable to find it. Do you know what it is? I read the tire warranty manual and the owner's manual to no avail.

I may not wait that long due to the poor quality of the OEM tires. The rain grooves on the outer edge start out much shallower than the rest of the grooving, so at 32k miles they are about gone. The warranty is based on the main grooving and I doubt I will keep these long enough to see a warranty claim. Many tire designs share this shallower rain grooving characteristic.

 

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

Ron:

I hope they don't recommend replacing that expensive Type WS fluid every 15,000 mi, do they?

The CVT used in the Prius is all gearing with a large chain. There are no friction materials (Bands, clutches, etc) or nasty heat producing components like a torque converter.

Under city driving, towing, or heavy loads, it would be prudent to have an automatic transmission serviced that often. For the CVT in the Prius, even an anal-compulsive like myself won't do it that often.

The service menu for the Canadian market Prius recommends a fluid replacement at around 80,000km, then every 80,000km.

If you intend to keep the car forever, then it may be prudent to do an early initial change, say at 5,000-10,000 miles, then every 50,000 miles.

Jay

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32\";p=\"90193)</div>

Dan:

Good tip especially if the car has aluminum cylinder heads - like our Prius.

The first time I changed the plugs in my 1992 Honda Prelude, I just about didn't get them out. The plugs made a horrible screeching sound and there was some thread material on the plugs when finally out.

I smeared Loctite Nickle Anti Seize on the new plug threads before torquing them in. When I changed that set, they were *very* easy to remove.

On my 2000 GMC Sierra, I just about gave myself a hernia getting the old plugs out. The truck picked up a rough idle and was somewhat hard to start cold. It turned out to be deposits in the IAC (Idle Air Control) passage in the throttle body. Still, I got a good deal on the genuine AC Delco plugs so went ahead and changed them.

I also put the Loctite on the new plugs, so I'm sure the next owner will appreciate that. :roll:

Dan, I wanted to remove my Prius plugs and smear Loctite on them, but the Prius has Coil Per Cylinder with the coil packs mounted directly to the cylinder head. Without a shop manual to guide me, I'm afraid I might damage something trying to remove the coil packs just to get the plugs out and smear anti-seize on them.

Also, there sure isn't much clearance between the upper firewall and the coil packs. Any ideas??

Jay

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32\";p=\"90503)</div>

Dan:

I think that Type WS fluid is *very* expensive, at least up here it is. I called my local dealer and they quoted $80 plus taxes to service the CVT.

Jay

 

Ray - Many of the dealers around here, including mine, offer free tires for life if you do all maintenance with them. You make a good point though about rotation becoming penny wise, pound foolish. As I said, once I get my next set, which I plan to get an upgrade, I am 'divorcing' my dealer.

Jayman- First, remove the screws holding the relay box on the firewall and move it out of the way.
On each coil is a screw or bolt. Remove screw/bolt, then remove coil as if it were a sparkplug wire boot.

As for SERVICE being $80, remember, you're paying for labor. Be sure they are distinguishing a PRIUS transaxle service versus a traditional transaxle service. A prius requires nothing more than drain and refill of fluid, where a traditional transaxle would benefit from a flush. I don't think you can really flush a prius transaxle anyway as I dont' believe it has cooling lines.
If you want to truly know the cost of the fluid, I'd check with parts.

 

Dan:

Took another look. I can't work on the car in my condo parking anyway, so it would have to be two hours away at my hobby farm.

Nope, too much to go wrong and a two hour drive back to civilization in my old Ford truck. Pass. For as often as the plugs have to be changed, I'll let the dealer handle it.

The dealer said they want $12 a litre for the Type WS fluid. As nothing else is compatible, I guess they can charge whatever they want.

Sort of reminds me of GM with their "special" blue AutoTrak II transfer case fluid, or Allison with their "special" TranSynd fluid.

Jay

 

4 connectors and 6 bolts is a problem?
The relay block is held to the firewall with 2 bolts.
Each ignition coil is held to the valve cover with a bolt. Each coil also has a 4 pin connector.

That's it, nothing more.

 

Hey Jay-
This is a minor thing I think. If your condo assn. is that stringent, how about just doing it at the city park or somewhere? Maybe next door to the Toyota dealership.

 

Just verified my Toyota dealership charges $229.00 for 15K maintenance on a Prius. I specifically challenged the head service rep on each point I could remember being disputed here, and he had some BS answer for it all. It's not a Prius specific 15K maintenance from what I can tell, but an across the board 15K guide book, which he gave me a copy of. I basically referred to this site's thread on the topic and implied it was unfair. Didn't seem to care.

 

Does he care if you take your business elsewhere?

I've got five dealers just in the city and 9 within a reasonable drive...which in the Prius is a lot farther than normal.

I'll bet money they all don't charge the same. And I'll bet I can find one that charges less than that $229.

I don't pay for unnecessary or unperformed services.

If it was me...I'd tell him to bite me and go to another dealer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32\";p=\"90870)</div>

Dan:

Have you tried to take one off?

I've looked over it again and if it's easy, I don't mind doing it out at my hobby farm. However, some of those coil-over-plug systems have a retaining clip at the boot to ensure a good connection at the sparkplug. If you don't use a special tool to apply equal force to the coil, you can crack the coil at the base.

I think I had better invest in a technical subscription and check out the procedure.

For example, my 1992 Honda Prelude had very long plug boots to reach the plugs inside the head. I used the wrong pulling motion and managed to crack one of those long boots, then had to drive to the dealer to get a new plug wire set. The thing misfired and bucked enough to make me never want to repeat that again.

Anyway, if I only have to change the plugs every 100,000 miles or so , I may not even want to monkey with it.

Jay

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ray Moore\";p=\"90871)</div>

Ray:

All my tools are out at the hobby farm, my garage floor there is bone dry, and I can take my time.

Yeah the CC&R is VERY strict at my condo. They have video surveillance in the halls and underground parking.

One owner got a testy letter when they caught him trying to change the alternator in his car. It was only a 10 minute job but he got the testy "warning" letter next month along with his condo dues.

Jay

 

I verified with the repair manual, that's how I found out it was 6 bolts in total, and the number of pins on each connector. There's no clip as you describe as that's what the bolt is for, to secure the coil to the cover.

I think the only difficulty would be to get the connectors off, as most connectors on cars are a pain these days. But you might have enough clearance in the wires to not even have to disconnect them.

No special tools needed to remove the coils, unless you consider a socket set that includes a sparkplug socket to be special tools.
What I was not able to determine is if the plugs are recessed into the head like my Sentras were; that was a pain.

 

Jay the procedure is (and I've done it) is disconnect the wire from the coil unit then take out the bolt holding the coil on and lift it out. This was on my 2k3 but you'll need to unbolt the relay box on the 2k4 to take them out. The rest is same old, same old.

 

Frank:

Ok next time out at the hobby farm I'll give it a try. Hopefully at 16,000km they won't be too seized yet. Despite the high cost of Loctite Nickle Grade antiseize, once you apply it the results are very good indeed.

You would think they would apply anti-seize at the factory. My 1990 4Runner, 1992 Prelude, and 2000 GMC Sierra: not the case. Especially in the case of the Vortec in my Sierra, they were almost impossible to get out with 22,000km on it.

I shudder to think of what happens if you wait until 160,000km like the GM service menu recommends.

Jay

 

one little trick, wait till the ICE is cold, makes all the difference in the world.

 

Frank:

Don't worry I'll let the car sit overnight in the garage. I've had to work on cars a few times while they were hot, never again. You'd have to be some sort of S&M freak to like that.

Jay

 

Tire rotations are free at america's tire company, and at firestone for me hehe i havent got my prius yet but i havent seen a car that i couldnt change the oil and filter on, i use extended drain amsoil so i dont have to change as often...plus i wouldnt trust a 18 year old who just got taught to change oil to do it on my car, oil change at a dealer shouldnt cost more thatn 30 bucks or else you are getting ripped off.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(unique2006\";p=\"91514)</div>

The Prius is actually very easy to service. The oil pan drain plug faces towards the right front wheel, and the oil filter hangs straight down. You shouldn't need ramps, I don't intend to use them if/when I do my own oil changes.

Will you be using the Amsoil bypass filter system too? If you live in a moderate climate the UOA should allow you to dramatically extend the oil changes.

Note that once you go beyond 6 months / 8,000km for a North American Prius, you could have warranty issues if something does go wrong.

 

5,000 a year! I've had mine for 2 months and am approaching 3000 rapidly. Do you have a really short commute (or bike it instead of drive)?

I guesstimate that you probably only get gas every 35-40 days - that would be nice. Even with my Prius I only can go 8-9 days between fills. At least each fill is only $22