What services you need and what you don't

[Johanna]

Thanks for this good information! I just inherited a Prius - the owner is no longer in this world, and with him went all the knowledge of this car, so I am trying to understand it all. This may be a silly question, but just where do you get inverter fluid? We've reached 100 K, and the fluid is low. My malfunction light is on, and we are trying to find out what may be the problem rather than spend $70 for a diagnostic that tells us we need to change some fluid. While we are at it, any other way besides the dealer to deal with repair?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!

Johanna

[efusco]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Johanna @ Mar 18 2007, 09:32 PM) [snapback]408139[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for this good information! I just inherited a Prius - the owner is no longer in this world, and with him went all the knowledge of this car, so I am trying to understand it all. This may be a silly question, but just where do you get inverter fluid? We've reached 100 K, and the fluid is low. My malfunction light is on, and we are trying to find out what may be the problem rather than spend $70 for a diagnostic that tells us we need to change some fluid. While we are at it, any other way besides the dealer to deal with repair?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!

Johanna [/b]

At 100k miles I think you should go ahead and have the inverter fluid changed as well as any other recommended 100k mile maintenance stuff.

[dcoyne78]

The 60K service looks pretty straightforward. If someone knows a competent mechanic, is there any reason this couldn't be done by that mechanic rather than at the dealership. I am simply talking about the standard inspection items and a rear brake adjustment, these seem like things a good mechanic would be able to handle. I don't plan to service the cooling system until 100 K, at that point it's just a drain and re-fill not a flush, correct? (This I will do at the dealer.)

Dennis

[Skwyre7]

I had my 60k service done today. I had them do only the passport work, plus an alignment, rear brake check/cleaning, and replace the PCV valve. They did not have a PCV valve in stock, and the tech said it was not a necessity, so they skipped that one. I also had them install my mudguards while the tires were off. They also did a state inspection. Cost (minus rental car and installation of mudguards and state inspection) was $229.

And on a side note, my Prius turn TWO on Wednesday. This was part of her birthday present.

[Cocoatreat]

wow......sounds like a bargain at $229! i bought some mudguards on ebay........and asked the dealership to install them on my 5k checkup.......they didnt charge me anything! i guess i was lucky!!

[efusco]

I went in, today, for my 60k service. 4 hours and $280 later it's done. Interestingly they only charged me $12 for my transaxle fluid replacement...kinda makes me worry if they really did it. The installed my Fumoto valve for free....little do they realize that now I'll be doing my own oil changes!!

PCV valve was part of the routine there. I asked for and got an alignement...everything was still in spec except the right rear toe which was at +0.31 and the upper limit of normal is +0.28. But, as we know, there are no Toyota procedures for fixing that. 0.03 out doesn't seem like much and there's no evidence of premature tire wear. Gal, or anyone, got any recs on what to do, if anything, about that minor toe issue?

I only gave them 3 quarts of oil, got all kinds of warnings about how it took 3.7 liters (specs say 3.9) and how I'd get warning lights with the under fill (I don't and never have). Dude wasn't happy with me for disagreeing with him....same guy that last time parked my car at the door with a bottle of ice cold water and a customer service survey...this time no water, car in the regular lot, and no survey.

In any case, they got me and out the same day didn't fuss about my specific requests and I should be in pretty good shape until the 100k mark. Probably start doing my own oil changes every 10k miles from now on.

[Winston]

No offense meant Galaxee, but have you ever done a used oil analysis on the transmission fluid? As mentioned by Efusco, it has been noted by others that it is pretty well spent by 50k miles. I don't think you can tell much by looking at the fluid. While the fluid is fairly pricy, draining and refilling it is a very simple job on the Prius. Personally I trust the used oil analysis of other owners fluids more than I trust the owners manual.

Same goes for the engine coolant. While todays engine coolants are very sophisticated, and last for many years. I would doubt that the corrosion inhibitors would keep being effective past 5 years. Again, the color of the fluid does not tell you much. I would definately recommend changing the coolant at 5 year max.

Why would you think that brake fluid could last ten years? While the brakes on a Prius are hardly ever used, 10 years seems like a long time. Is the Prius fluid something other than regular DOT 3/4 fluid? Wouldn't it have absorbed quite a bit of water in 10 years?

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I am surprised at some of your recommendations for fluid change intervals.

I agree that most of the other toyota services are just a bunch of "checks" that are not really ever performed. I find it sad that people think they are taking car of their cars by religeously taking their cars in for the "recommended" service and they never do the service that will really help extend the cars life. Namely doing reasonable changes of the cars various fluids. Or, some people change the engine oil every 3k miles and then never change any of the other fluids for the life of the car.

[galaxee]

okay, let's clarify things here. these are general guidelines for typical conditions and the maximum limits that DH would recommend. these are not specific to driving type, region, driving conditions, etc. these are not specific to people who are extremely particular and want to do things early. these are guidelines that will ensure your car gets the proper maintenance without overspending on things that the dealer might try to upsell to you.

we are not here to fatten the dealer's (and our own, from the locals) pocketbooks unnecessarily. service departments are in business for their best interest, not yours. DH's customers that ARE particular and want things done early... he's happy to have em, because they're a good source of income. his next favorite moneymakers are the ones who don't take care of their cars at all. he collects the check for their lack of proper care.

this thread was intended to strike a middle ground, not all of us have money burning holes in our pockets. we understand that. while our livelihood is based on the two above-listed categories of people, we don't want PC members to become the latter group, and we want them to have a choice of whether to become a member of the former group.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Winston @ Jun 26 2007, 07:01 PM) [snapback]468536[/snapback]</div>

No offense meant Galaxee, but have you ever done a used oil analysis on the transmission fluid? As mentioned by Efusco, it has been noted by others that it is pretty well spent by 50k miles. I don't think you can tell much by looking at the fluid. While the fluid is fairly pricy, draining and refilling it is a very simple job on the Prius. Personally I trust the used oil analysis of other owners fluids more than I trust the owners manual.
[/b]

actually, you can tell a lot by looking at the trans fluid. no, we don't participate in the whole UOA scheme, and no, he's not basing his judgments on the owner's manual, either. while he doesn't look at every single prius that comes through, he has only once seen one under 50k with fluid that looked less than just fine (even then he wouldn't have pushed for a drain/fill, even though he could have profited from it, because it wasn't that bad yet.)

the prius trans is not sucking air in and out like a normal trans, so the fluid doesn't take the same beating that fluid in other auto trans does. toyota's general stance is that WS is lifetime fluid... don't recommend going past 100k, or 5 years if you want a timepoint.

i've mentioned that it won't hurt to change it sooner. that's as far as we're getting into that argument.

Same goes for the engine coolant. While todays engine coolants are very sophisticated, and last for many years. I would doubt that the corrosion inhibitors would keep being effective past 5 years. Again, the color of the fluid does not tell you much. I would definately recommend changing the coolant at 5 year max.
[/b]

the color of the engine coolant does tell you a story. not the whole story, but the general story. toyota's recommended interval is 10 years/100k. 10 years, yes, that's too long. 100k is fine, it's been engineered to go that far, but he agrees that 5 years is about as long as you want to go time wise.

at 100k it is not expected to look nice and pink, that was more of an "in case it was done earlier and you don't know it" as in the case of a used car buyer or if the car was in a front end accident that required a coolant change. bleeding the coolant is a PITA and is really easy to screw up. at the best, just a couple lights on the dash, at worst, major damage as a result.

Why would you think that brake fluid could last ten years? While the brakes on a Prius are hardly ever used, 10 years seems like a long time. Is the Prius fluid something other than regular DOT 3/4 fluid? Wouldn't it have absorbed quite a bit of water in 10 years?
[/b]

general guideline again- more of an upper limit. brake fluid color does show changes, again, as wear and tear accumulate. the interval will vary depending on where you live, how you drive, etc. but note that toyota specifies no interval at all. what DH has seen is that about 10 years old is where the fluid is reaching the end of its life in the toyotas he has seen. many dealers don't even have equipment to do brake fluid exchanges!

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I am surprised at some of your recommendations for fluid change intervals.
[/b]

you're welcome to comment on whatever you like. you're also welcome to maintain your car as you see fit. and like i said these are recommendations based on general conditions for the average driver. he did make sure to indicate that with the fluid changes you can't go wrong changing early if you like.

[Winston]

Thanks for the quick reply Galaxee.

[apriusfan]

I have been considering replacing (drain and refill) the CVT transmission fluid at somewhere around 5,000 or 10,000 miles to get rid of metal particles that have been thrown off during the initial break-in period. Any thoughts/comments?