Y'all know a whole lot more than I do. I did some Internet research, but would be interested in opinions from the group. I took my 2015 Pri with 35,000 miles to the dealership for the recall and, since I was there, I needed an oil change anyway and was willing to pay the extra cash for the convenience. My Pri is used for a lot of highway driving on long trips. It also is in the READY position for long periods of time as I travel and camp for weeks on end, running the Pri all night for the climate control. My Pri has no symptoms of anything unusual. Dealership recommended: 1. Mass Air Flow Sensor service (dirty) $79.96 2. Throttle Body Service (carbon build up): $187.60 3. Hybrid Trans Service $159.90 4. AC Refresh Serrvice $87.20 5. Alignment (yearly) $114.95 I'm pretty confident that #4 and #5 are a total money grab. I'm assuming from what I've read online that #1, #2, and #3 are also as I have no symptoms that would suggest the need. But what do y'all think?
You need to change your delaership...or? DIY. How the %$#@ much "carbon" do they expect to build up in the Throttle Body after 35,000 miles? Why would they charge $79.96 for the MAFS cleaning when it's not mentioned in the vehicle's maintenance guide? The "hybrid trans service" may need to be done at 60,000 miles IF this "service" means that they replace the fluid in the "transaxle" - something that's usually about $120. The dealer is using the recall to try to generate money. It's crooked, and too many people put up with it, justifying it by telling themselves that "They all do it." Your call. I would not even trust them with the oil change.
Agree with @ETC(SS). Except for the alignment, all of that is easily done at home for a tiny fraction of the cost and probably not needed anyway. An alignment might help your tires last longer depending on how much it is out. It could be a good thing, but I wouldn't reward those crooks by letting them do it.
If it says 'Toyota Dealership', it is pretty much always, a priori, a rip off - money grab...in my experience. It is fundamental to them to upsell, upsell, upsell. Regarding what Jerry said, if you have a local tire dealer that you bought your tires from, I would take the car to them for the alignment.
See if there's a tire center in your area that offers a "lifetime alignment" service. Once...and done.
Look for a dealer survey to arrive, and let 'em have it! Regional execs are paying close attention to these.
You're right about #4 and #5. If your HVAC is fine and isn't musty smelling, you can forego it. #5, try an independent shop and get a quote from them. It depends on how bad your roads are. I can't speak to #1 or #2 but #3, even though it's not listed as a serviceable item in the maintenance guide, I believe @bwilson4web and others have suggested changing it as preventative maintenance. I'd ask the dealership as to what #3 entails - is it an actual replacement of fluid (go for it) or just a "visual check" (no thanks)
Obviously trying to maximize the wallet bleed. There's some validity to all of the items, but really: all of 'em needed right now? And the prices way too high. And mostly DIY'able. #5 actually seems reasonably priced but not needed (unless you have issues) and probable NOT a proper alignment check, just a quick slap on of these digital sensors.
Like the "a priori." LOL Every item on that list seems to be not needed on most cars. I'd skip everything, and maybe even the oil change as a matter of principle. The PO of my Prius (a friend of mine) dutifully took it to the dealer he bought it at every 5k miles, not fully understanding what they were doing, mostly just trusting them. Looking through all the records, they'd: 1. warn him about the floormats possibly interfering with the pedals; 2. rotate tires; 3. measure tread depth and brake pad thickesss; 4. MAYBE do an oil change. That last one was the most ridiculous. You needed a magnifying glass and polygraph exam to figure out whether they actually changed the oil. The answer was that they did it every other time, at a 10k mile interval, even though my friend thought he was taking it in for his 5k interval oil change. The fine print says something like: "oil and filter change, well, unless you use synthetic oil, which you do, so we actually only do it every 10k miles but you really can't tell without reading this deep into the explanation, followed by the recommended polygraph of the tech and service writer." Really! So yes, much of the business is built on "serving" customers who don't know or don't pay attention. Hopefully the advice you're getting here will help you avoid that trap. Also, I'm always eager to learn something new, but my strategy on tire rotation and alignment has been to NOT rotate tires unless I specifically want to change the wear pattern (front vs. rear to keep them balanced). By rotating on a much slower schedule (e.g., 20k miles), I can pay attention to uneven wear, giving me an indication of whether I need an alignment. I can also do my own quick alignment check and sometimes adjustment using a carpenter's square and laser pointer. And some math and experimental abilities. So if you want to be blind, you can rotate every 5k miles, align every year, and help support the local economy while doing that. Or you can rotate every 20+k mile, or as needed, and align as needed, supporting your retirement fund, kids' education, or the local economy in different ways.
I would do the transaxle fluid change asap (IF it's not been done before), but there's no way I'd pay that much. $80~100 would be reasonable. I would also do a brake fluid change, but it should be about $100 as well, through dealership.
Got my software update today. First time at this dealership except for a few small parts and some WS transmission fluid. No attempt to sell me any extra services. Did their standard check of fluids, etc., and washed the car free of charge too.
According to Toyota, the transmission fluid is "lifetime" and doesn't need to be changed. So it's funny they say it needs to be changed at 35,000 miles.
Having just taken off and cleaned my own intake manifold at 93k miles as part of the larger EGR circuit cleaning, this sounds highly suspicious to me. I'm not remembering much of anything in the throttle body except some oil residue from that catch sump below, which in turn came into the manifold via the PCV line. There was some carbon buildup in the manifold itself, related to the EGR circuit and ports. The normal spray-in cleaners are not going to get that EGR stuff because it is a separate path. And 35K is damned early to worry about it, mine wasn't even close to needing it yet at 93k.
