Dealer Maintenance Schedule?

No...not at 48000km(28,800mi)...They just want to get your $$ at this point...

 

You can view the recommended maintenance schedule on the Toyota Canada website. To see the complete schedule, select Prius Prime, 2018, and Prius Prime; click Mileage and enter 0 km; click Show My Schedule; and then click Full Schedule.

This schedule includes replacing the brake fluid at 48,000 km, and that’s fair. Rudolf Limpert explains in Brake Design and Safety (3rd ed., p. 167), “With time, hydraulic brake fluid will absorb water from the air through the flexible hoses. Brake fluid contaminated by water has a reduced boiling point temperature, which may lead to partial or complete brake failure at elevated brake temperatures due to brake fluid vaporization.”

The other two services you mentioned are not listed. “EFI service” sounds like pouring an additive into the fuel tank to clean the injectors, but the detergent in all modern gasolines already does this to some extent. “Air induction service” probably means using a cleaner on the throttle body and intake valves, which is fine if they have excessive carbon deposits, but otherwise unnecessary.

As you evaluate the dealer’s prices for the latter two services, consider that Toyota in the U.S. sells a chemical kit to do both of them (list price, USD $26.51), but its instructional video has a prominent disclaimer that the kit is to be used “ONLY when it has been diagnosed that the vehicle actually requires service per the conditions described.” Toyota knows these are high-profit items for dealers; caveat emptor.

 

Whether it is actually required depends on how you look at it. The comments here would suggest that the maintenance periodicity is excessive. On the other hand, I believe the warranty requires it, which creates a "buyer beware" situation for new car owners. I could be wrong, but I expect that given the possibility of invalidating the warranty, it probably is not worth the risk of forgoing the maintenance. Yes, wb9tyj is probably correct, "they just want to get your $$". But is saving the unnecessary extra cost worth voiding the warranty? I'm sure Toyota is betting most customers will say "no".

 

Humm, is this Canadian maintenance specific item? I don't think brake fluid change interval is specified in US PRIME.

 

US warranty/maintenance guide only has "inspect" brake fluid. Never a requirement to change it. You could buy a test strip and DIY to check for moisture content.
My 2016 VW has/had a 3 yr brake fluid initial interval, then every 2 yr after that.

 

I stand corrected. I forgot brake fluid replacement periodicity is "as required". Thanx.

 

post number 3 is your definitive answer

 

I just traded in my 2016 Prius with 90,910 miles. During that time: I had the cabin air filter replaced as well as the engine air cleaner filter, I replaced the tires, and had the engine oil and filter changed religiously at every 10,000 miles. It was getting 64.7 MPG. Everything else is a grab for your money, and most dealers do it.

 

With as little as we use the brakes in the Prime, you could probably go the life of the car without changing the fluid. I finally changed the brake fluid on my GenIII not too long ago (9yrs, 110k mi). I probably could have gone without doing it, but I decided to change every fluid in the car.

I've taken my previous (non-Prius) cars out to race tracks and never boiled my brake fluid, but I've never gone to the track with a spongy pedal. I've cooked the street pads before (not meant for 120->30mph every 90sec) and it is NOT a fun feeling losing your brakes going into a corner. That said, you can tell when your fluid's absorbed water because the pedal is really spongy (it goes to the floor with minimal effort).

If the pedal is spongy and you're not low on fluid, it's definitely time to replace the brake fluid. It means there's air in the system and while bleeding them will help, you might as well just replace it since you're going through the trouble anyway. The Prius is neat in that it will practically bleed the rear brakes for you. It keeps pumping fluid through until you tell it to stop. The fronts are direct connect, not brake-by-wire (a good safety measure... maybe even a regulation?), so you have to do them the old fashioned way.

 

Sadly online's pretty much the only place you can see the schedule now. In 2014 model year I noticed Toyota Canada's publication Owner's Manual Supplement included an excellent chart format schedule (a welcome change from the mishmash of earlier years. And they'd introduce a brake fluid change, it was 48K miles or 36 months, whichever comes first:



Sadly now, the only location is online, and to rub salt in: it's only event-by-event.

(full excerpt attached)

I've done it myself a couple of times now, with my wife pushing the brake pedal as needed. Takes about an hour, and I've found two pint bottles of Toyota DOT3 seems to work out about right. In total that costs around $15.

 

Last I checked, most (maybe all) Nissan cars including hybrid cars and even 100% electric LEAF calls for brake fluid change every 20Kmile/24mo. I don't remember what Honda was.

 

Every 3 years, regardless of miles.

I have a Mazda CX-5 schedule, they say nothing.