Monthly maintenance cost for Prius?

After 76,000 miles on my July 2004.
Be careful in comparing annual costs with oil changes, the more you drive=the higher your annual oil change costs.

Oil changes every 7,500 with Mobile One.
Wipers twice per year.
Tires at 40k miles.
Front end alignment.
One K&N air filter+ maintenance kit.
One cabin filter.
An honest 48-50mpg.

 

Since many of us have bought or will buy the extended warranty for about $1000 - that cost averaged over the length of the coverage ( 7 yrs) will add about $12 a month to your maintence cost. And I have no problem with that added cost for the peace of mind it brings.

Sprinttime

 

we've paid under $50 in the past year for oil and filters.

dealer labor rates vary, they set their own hourly rate depending on who they are (some are rather bigheaded) and what the local market will draw. DH's shop charges $80/hr. basic oil changes are like $25, that's not billed at hourly rate it's done by what oil change package you choose.

 

There is no timing chain. You left out engine and cabin air filter. Also the coolant/anit-freeze at 120,000 miles.

Dennis

 

2001 Prius, 85k miles. I DIY the tire rotations, oil, filters, and underbody inspections. For those with the interest, tools and skills, this is a very good way to control Prius maint costs. Note well I am not suggesting that can they be ignored! Tires, brakes and suspension keep you alive; engine oil keeps the car alive. CV joint boot integrity saves you money.

Coolant changes (both loops together) cost about $120 and are on 30k mile intervals for the classic Prius. This has been extended to 100k miles iniitial/50k after for the new model Prius. I wanna start using that long-lasting super duper coolant of the new Prius, and nobody has told me why I can't. Apparently bleeding the electrical coolant loop is tricky, so learning how, or extending the interval, will save $.

I had an "elective" transmission fluid change $150 (fluid and the pan were clean) and front end alignment $80 at 78k miles. I may repeat those in the future at approximately tire-change intervals. T. fluid especially, if there are more transmission/fluid issues posted in the groups. I regard this as an unresolved issue for Prius.

Enjoy a good fuel injector cleaning and an accelerator butterfly cleaning every 60k or so. I paid $100 for this, and may do it myself in the future. BG 44K products are spoz to be good for this (rumor).

Brakes, as needed. It will be a _very_ long time unless you drive in a corrosive environment. Some of those have already needed new front cylinders. You'll know.

Brake fluid spontaneously absorbs water, to its detriment, so eventually a flush/refill will be needed there. I do not know when yet; mine still looks new. I am thinking about how to test this.

New spark plugs at about 100k miles. Redo the valves if ever they become noisy. Camshaft drive chain, maybe never. It is also supposed to become noisy if it ever stretches.

Change your rubbers. Eventually, the engine coolant hoses and water pump drive belts will need refreshing. Mine (4.5 yrs) do not yet offend. Maybe peg these as 6 year items, and do the hoses along with an engine coolant change. There are also rubber hoses on the "electrical" coolant loop, I have no idea when they'll need changing. There is no overpressure/overtemp on this side, so I am just guessing when I say 9 years.

And your other rubbers. US legal minimum tire tread depth in the US is something like 1.5 millimeters. However, wet traction and braking decrease rapidly below about 3.5 mm. It seems wise to retire early, because the most important thing is surviving so we can post long advice columns to PC.

Get new windshield wiper blades, from time to time. Here's a big Prius secret: It is a very cheap vehicle to maintain. The "automatic transmission industry" will have to manage without our help.

 

Per month? $0.

Twice a year I need an oil change. So maybe $100-150 a year?

Now I did buy a lot of stuff when I first bought it including seat covers, BT plate, etc. But that had nothing to do with servicing or maintenance.

 

Hi Dennis! There is a valve timing chain, after all. But I have _never_ (and I rarely say that) have heard of a change needed. There is another, even beefier, chain at the end of the transmission. It's probably a lifetime thing.

Indeed the engine and cabin air filters are important and I managed to neglect them in my long message. This is because I have adopted long-life alternatives for both.

 

No FAIR!!! Your DH has all the stuff and does that thing. I have to take my Prius in unless I want to grovel around on the ground to do the oil changes. OK given that and I get my Mobile One from the lowest cost provider in town at the time and it costs me less than $20 for the oil change, the tire rotation is extra!!! I am too old to get under this car. Do you have any idea what the ground clearance is under the Prius??? OMG my back!! This is not fair. Well I guess it might be fair. I do not have to like it! OK I will give you a pap smear if DH does my next oil change? What do you say? You come out here and I drive my car to SC. OMG what am I talking about!

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

not to add insult to injury... but we only pay like $4.25 a quart for our mobil 1

hey, here's a deal. if we move nearby you can do all our baby deliveries (well, all 2 of them in the future) and DH will maintain your prius. bartering is good.

and oh dear god, i didn't catch that last pair of sentences... LOL

i think i've got all that covered for a while. but hey, we were thinking along the same lines.

 

depends where you are, local market prices, etc. also which interval as some require more than others.

standard price for 15k around here is $125, but that's with all the dealer add-on inspections and such.