My 5000 mile service experience

I encourage an ATF change at 30,000 miles, 90,000 miles, then every 90,000. miles.

Gen 3 Prius have a 10,000 mile oil change interval, i would be amazed if Gen 4 was less

 

10,000 miles yes.

 

You should find another dealer to service your car. Or just do it yourself.

And IMHO nitrogen in tires is a marketing gimmick. Air (the stuff you breath and the stuff the compressor puts into the air hose) is almost all nitrogen. It seems impossible to me that any dealer would have a system so that all of the air could be evacuated from the tires before adding the nitrogen (you would need a vacuum pump and a special valve setup).

 

How about this: fugedabout nitrogen, it is just a gimmick. And pick a number for all your tires, front and back: say 38 psi.

Crisis averted.

 

i change my oil at 5k, and 10k thereafter. changing tranny fluid to rid initial break in debris may be a good idea. does toyota state that eco tyres come with nitro?

 

When I took mine in at 5000 they didn't change the oil, they simply rotated the tires, well, when they told me what they were doing I drove away, an hour each way

If you want nitrogen, go elsewhere, yes they evacuate the air and replace it with nitrogen, but not four at once, shop around, Toyota dealers are independent, live or die, they please or go out of buisness, laugh and leave.

 

They evacuate all of the air out of your tire then hook it up to a nitrogen generator that will produce 95% - 99.9% nitrogen (depending on the machine). It IS a slow process. Also it IS a waste of money and you ARE a fool for getting it, according to consumer reports where they took something like 31 pairs of tires (62 individual tires), filled half with air and half with nitrogen, let them sit outside for a year then checked them. There was only a minor difference in pressures after one year. I can't find the original post but here's a Q and A about it: Nitrogen in tires - Q&A

 

Pretty sure no. Nitrogen filled tires have no mpg advantage, just marginally less disposed to lose air, and maybe rubber lasts longer, due to absence of oxygen.

 

Absence of O2 on one side only.

 

True dat.

I get my tires at Costco, and they stay nitrogen-only for the distance between the store and the first Chevron, where I'll top them up a bit. That's still mostly nitrogen fill.

Good test subject, on both our OEM's and our snows, we've had one flat, refilled with regular air. Not noticing any appreciably difference in rate of air loss with the repaired tires. And they're all pretty steady.

 

Oxygen is not the only difference. And oxygen is not a problem.
The difference (and potentially problem) is water vapors ambient air has if pumped without desiccant scrubber (99% cases).
In cold weather water vapor has condensed inside tire affecting pressure and corrosion of rim and pressure sensor (if any).

 

So if we would just have the tire shops put a dryer on their line that should solve the issue! Right?

 

Dry air and dry nitrogen are both OK. Should be no difference in performance.
Helium is much more interesting option.

 

Helium?
Less weight == better MPG & possible explosive boost?

 

Helium is inert.

 

I've never seen any mention of Nitrogen filled tires by Toyota.

Did you ask for an oil change? It's not on the US schedule at 5000 miles.

He's likely correct, probably what you had in your tires was regular air, nothing really wrong with it btw.

 

I was being "funny" because I would bet nearly all tire shops and garages have an air dryer in their compressed air system

 

AFAIK most do not have (because with some exceptions). At best industrial grade pumps may have coalescing filter to separate liquid water.
The small pumps on a gas station have nothing.

 

He's the customer. So:
1) Do what the customer says
2) Don't call your customer an idiot. All the customer's doing is giving you money.

Am I right?