May have been fleeced by the dealer - what else to look out for?

It could be that because it had only covered 50km in the first year of its life, it had been stood somewhere for a long period of time, allowing a build up of rust on the brake discs.

 

You know you can go to Brake Check or other national chains to get that same work done MUCH cheaper. Before the Prius I had a Honda Civic. Took it to Brake Check; they machined the rotors, replaced the brake pads up front, took apart and cleaned the rear drum brakes; which were still in great shape, (older model so it did not have 4-wheel disc brakes) adjusted the parking brake linkage, etc. Got the brakes to 100% with a lifetime warranty. ALL FOR $200.00 TOTAL INCLUDING TAX. And then of course I decide to trade in the Honda for the Toyota just 6 months later! LOL. The point is, the Prius does NOT have to be serviced at the dealer!! Especially for routine stuff like turning rotors. Brakes are brakes. tbh I did take mine into the dealer; the first and last time. Since I was new to the Prius and to Toyotas, I figured I'd let them go through it front to back and get it caught up on the routine maintenance and check for any issues and make sure that it was 100% mechanically. There were no problems at all. So from now on I'll be doing repairs when or if it needs anything else; or my neighborhood mechanic.

 

Yep, pretty typical. My 2013 was a former fleet vehicle. Actually since the price of gas has been lower, it hadn't been used much the last year or so. And YES of course it had lots of surface rust on the rotors. And yes, it made that grinding noise for a few miles. I knew that just by doing a visual inspection of the rotors that they were not damaged and that they weren't etched. So I knew there was no problem with the brakes. But I think when some people see that surface rust on the rotors and hear the grinding, they freak out. That's where the dealer or bad dealer come in to take advantage and you get ripped off. Just use common sense and don't be afraid to take it elsewhere for a second opinion. Just my 2 cents.

 

No reason to read further.
Yep, you were fleeced.