What services you need and what you don't

[rusty houndog]

Re: What services you need and what you don't

Quote: rusty houndog
My tires are 175-65 R15 on steel rims. There was no objection from the local dealer when I proposed the changes. There is no problem choosing tires that fit the rims and the wheel wells. In my opinion, those wide tires on alloy rims are a style thing and handle abominably.

Quote: jaw444
Very interesting. I got those tires after reading two or three long threads on PriusChat about tires, and what people liked or recommended, and a lot of people were happy with the wider tires, in rain and such especially. I didn't hear any reports of negative experiences until now. What improvement do you notice in handling with the 175s compared to wider tires? Holding the road better?



Any "marbles" on the road are handled much better. In the snow there is much less slip and slide. It handles dirt roads like it was running on rails. This is one snappy car with the right tires.
I particularly like the fact the top recommended pressure is 51 PSI on these Mini Cooper tires. That makes running at 46/44 and getting lower road resistance nice and easy.

[jayman]

Originally Posted by rusty houndog

In my opinion, those wide tires on alloy rims are a style thing and handle abominably.

You and me both. I really don't get this low profile bulls***. I can see needing a certain size rim to clear a brake rotor, but otherwise, it's all show

Have you seen the new Venza? It has 19 or 20 inch wheels, I bet that handles washboardy gravel roads and potholes very well. It looks like a 16 inch rim would fit the Venza just fine

Of course, we're really spoiled with our modern roads, even the poor quality ones here in Manitoba. An uncle on my mom's side was a mechanic at a cold war radar base near Grand Prairie, AB, in the late 1950's. It was called Beaverlodge, around 80km west of Grand Prairie.

Here is a photo of the main drag back then. A modern car would instantly get stuck, and if forced to drive in such conditions, would probably fall completely apart in under two years

[rusty houndog]

Periodically, these directions to remove the "Maint Reqd" light need repeated.

1. Hit "Odo/Trip" button until the display says "ODO" and shows odometer
(even if you started on odometer, you have to do this).
2. Power down the car.
3. Press and hold the ODO button.
4. Keeping your feet OFF the brake, press the Start button twice and wait
while the ODO display does a little dance.
5. When it's back to showing your odometer, release the ODO button.

Simple as that, but follow the directions exactly! You must cycle the ODO display first. You must keep your feet off the brake. You must keep pressing the ODO button continuously.

[jayman]

I'm so happy not to have a Maint Reqd reminder on my Prius or my FJ

[rusty houndog]

Originally Posted by jayman

I'm so happy not to have a Maint Reqd reminder on my Prius or my FJ

Let's hear it for technologically advanced "features."

I hope it's missing from the 2010; we have enough of Big Brother in our lives already.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by rusty houndog

...I hope it's missing from the 2010; we have enough of Big Brother in our lives already.

I believe that all new Toyotas sold in the US have that light, my guess is that the motivation for this resulted from recent V6 engine oil sludge litigation.

[jaw444]

Thanks everybody for the info and advice. I took the car in for the 30K service today, along with all the documentation of past service. I got a good service advisor, actually a service manager. At first he told me the agency does that extra dealer service, he explained it wasn't what is required in the service book, i forgot what he said, some kind of valve, and the coolant flush or change or something, and one other thing. Because of all the stuff that had already been done, which he said was ahead of the game, and he expressed lots of approval, he said i didn't need anything but oil change and oil filter change, plus that extra stuff that their particular dealership does. He totalled it up to something over $200. I said no thanks to the extra stuff, and he didn't pressure me about it, on the contrary, he seemed to agree. So the whole service was $39.95.

About the rattles in the two front corners, he said the way they do rattles is to have you leave your car there over night and they send a shuttle to get you in the morning and you go out with the mechanic in the car when it's cold. I went somewhat late in the day so i didn't push it today, but my rattles don't only occur when the car is cold. I showed him the plastic coming out of one corner between the two pieces of plastic, but i insisted it not be removed until they were ready to fix the rattles because ever since i pulled that piece of plastic part of the way out, i haven't had the rattle on that side!!

Anyway, that was simple. I had a good experience at the agency. After spending a lot of unhurried time with me, talking about my questions, he then asked if i needed a ride home or if i wanted to wait. I said i needed to go home. I'm only about a mile away, but didn't want to walk it. I was told to go wait in the lobby, it had comfortable seats, and i had my laptop with me and it had wireless internet, so i did that while i waited for the shuttle guy to come. Then when my car was done, they called me at home and said the shuttle would be coming to get me. Cool. A lot easier than the Honda service i'm used to. Appreciated.

Using Intellius people search, for $1.95, i got the phone number of the previous owner of my car and i called him today and asked about the service in 2007 which was not reported in the dealer print out. He said he had the car serviced every 5000 miles at the same agency he bought it at, Santa Monica Toyota, the same one that did the 2008 services that are reported. I believe him. I'm going to try contacting that dealer to see if they have some record of those services, 5K, 10K and 15K, and if they'll stamp my service record book.

I asked about the report of resecuring the console backing. The service guy said he thought that meant part of the material came loose, he didn't think it was related to the brake. He didn't know, bottom line.

[rusty houndog]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

I believe that all new Toyotas sold in the US have that light, my guess is that the motivation for this resulted from recent V6 engine oil sludge litigation.

We now have a definitive set of instructions, for the Prius, to turn it off.

[Rafikiro]

Ok I tried to search but I seem to have issues with the search. I will look to see if there is a search help in a bit but was wondering if I can get some help. My 2008 Spectra Blue Mockba will reach her 30,000 mile interval on her 11 month birthday this weekend. I do not trust my local dealer for reasons others have stated here. There is another dealer in the town I go to everyday about 70 miles away but I have not come to a decision on them yet! I plan to just do the oil change and tire rotation on my own like always but see the clean/adjust rear brakes listed. There has been talk that one can do this on their own but not any details. What would I look for to see if the brakes are not as they should be and what is involved with cleaning, I know someone said something about spraying something on them. Thanks for the help. When I reach the 100,000 mark I will have to ask who is the best servicer in the nation and take a trip!

[galaxee]

here ya go, rafikiro, it's the closest thing i've got available. we intend to do our rear brake clean/adjust soon since ours recently hit 60k, and write up a photo guide. we have just been incredibly busy, the last semester is always the worst

http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...tml#post348069