What services you need and what you don't

[finman]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Sep 10 2007, 11:28 AM) [snapback]510060[/snapback]</div>

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=16822

that's a worded description, i don't think anyone's documented with pictures. we're at 35997 miles as of this morning so it'll be a while before we do ours, but if nobody has done it when we reach 60k (if we don't have to sell before then) we'll do a photo guide.
[/b]

cool! Thanks galaxee. If i get to it before the snow flies here, I'll take some pics. I'm at 65,000 trouble-free miles andwant to keep it that way...

[Prius 07]

another public service announcement from your friendly tech and translator

just a list of commonly recommended services, whether they're needed and if so, when, and other useful info.[/b]

CABIN AIR FILTER

The 2007 (US) Prius maintenance schedule recommends changing the cabin air filter every 30K miles. In a footnote they recommend that at every 15K miles to be inspected and replaced when driving on dusty / dirty rural roads.

The Canadian service schedule includes a replacement of the air cabin filter at every 10K miles. That is a lot more frequent replacement than recommended in the US. The price of replacing in Canada by the dealer is $50.95 CDN - nice "money grab" done that frequently.

I'm thinking of holding off replacement and inspecting my filter in November after I stop going to my summer home in the country (paved roads but there are mice). I'll clean the filter / replace it (nice instruction on PC / john1701a.com - thank you) based on my inspection results and follow the US schedule otherwise.

Any opinions based on your experiences?
Thanks,
Gabe

[patsparks]

I cleaned mine at 60,000km with a soft blast of compressed air. I'll replace it when it looks dirty. No mouse damage ...
... yet.

[galaxee]

cabin air filter is pretty much a replace-as-needed item. we cleaned ours once with air pressure, and replaced it around 30k. at that point it was needed, yes. if we didn't, we would have kept on going with it.

[JuneBug21]

Thanks. What a great list. My 01 Prius just hit 100,000 miles. You list a lot of services that may need to be performed at 100K. Should I do them all? What do you think is most important. Thanks!

Thanks. What a great list. My 01 Prius just hit 100,000 miles. You list a lot of services that may need to be performed at 100K. Should I do them all? What do you think is most important. Thanks!

[galaxee]

100k is a BIG service interval. you want to do all the fluid changes now, for sure. have it gone over really well too- around 100k you might start seeing evidence of early oil leaks on the engine, you want to check the CV boots to make sure they're still good and no evidence of grease leakage. probably a good time to check how much you've got left on your brakes. good luck!

[zenMachine]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Miss_Taz @ Mar 6 2007, 01:22 PM) [snapback]401034[/snapback]</div>

The dealer says the "15k mile service" costs $179.95 and includes more than just the oil change. He mumbled something about transmission service, electrical somethingorother and brake adjustments.

Reading this topic leads me to believe that these are unnecessary services (at this time in my Prius's life)...
[/b]

Only $179.95?! I went in for my 15K oil change today and the guy was trying to sell me the big Kahuna package, with all the suspicious sounding stuff like fuel injector fluid change etc etc etc.

I asked him how much it'd cost, he said with a "special 10% discount coupon" it'd be ONLY $366 (plus tax, mind you).

What a SWEET deal, I thought to myself as I politely told him that I couldn't leave the car there all day because I was carpooling with my wife and she needed to run some errands later on.

"But that's no problem," insisted the earnest looking young man, "we can arrange a free rental car for you!"

(10% my ass, I mumbled inside my throat). So I pulled out my secret weapon, the mobile phone, intending to call the wife to tell her to tell this guy to blow it off. Alas, the battery was dead. Rats!!!

Allright, time to ... lie (well, almost). "That's OK." I said. "I think it'll be better to bring the car in this weekend then."

Undiscouraged, the kid handed me his business card and assured me that he'd take good care of my car, not forgetting to compliment my little stealthy paint job of the hybrid emblems on the sides, and especially the smoked tail lights, which he thought were REALLY cool. Guess the kid's not too bad, after all, just doing his job as he's told.

To make a long story short: thanks for this excellent list! I suppose an alignment check is pretty much all I'll need for now.

[stanleyjohn]

I have a 2006 prius and im about to go for the 15k service.Where i go i have free oil changes for life! and the service has been great so far.At 15000 miles im getting just alittle concerned about other things that might need to be checked out.I called today (wallingford toyota in CT)and ask what other than oil and rotation might be required.!The service guy said they drain the transmission fluid,check what needs to be checked at 15k and that with the free oil change (i do my own rotation when i put on snow tires)at a charge of around $65.I told him that service manual says nothing about fluid at 15k but he said thats what they do at their dealership.Im starting to think that the free ride may be over and they are starting to look for things to charge me with because of the free oil changes.I would really like to stay on friendly terms with them because the service has been so good and its very local for me.Any comments from anyone about this fluid change and should i say to them in a nice way no thank you to the fluid change.

[mcbrunnhilde]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Nov 27 2007, 01:33 PM) [snapback]544858[/snapback]</div>

I have a 2006 prius and im about to go for the 15k service.Where i go i have free oil changes for life! and the service has been great so far.At 15000 miles im getting just alittle concerned about other things that might need to be checked out.I called today (wallingford toyota in CT)and ask what other than oil and rotation might be required.!The service guy said they drain the transmission fluid,check what needs to be checked at 15k and that with the free oil change (i do my own rotation when i put on snow tires)at a charge of around $65.I told him that service manual says nothing about fluid at 15k but he said thats what they do at their dealership.Im starting to think that the free ride may be over and they are starting to look for things to charge me with because of the free oil changes.I would really like to stay on friendly terms with them because the service has been so good and its very local for me.Any comments from anyone about this fluid change and should i say to them in a nice way no thank you to the fluid change.
[/b]

The Type WS transmission fluid that the 2004+ models use is "supposed" to be lifetime. The ATF used in the Classic Prius should be changed by 30,000 miles (at least) to prolong the life of the transmission (check out the other "sticky" topics about transmission fluid). Because of the issues with the Classic Prius, some 2004+ owners have been changing their fluid at 60,000 miles, and some of us have sent/are sending our fluid into a lab to see if it really needs changing or not. The Type WS fluid should NOT need to be changed at 15,000 miles, and by the time you hit 60,000, there (hopefully) should be enough lab tests for you to decide if you want to change it at that time.

[snowbird]

Originally Posted by aaf709

Thanks for posting this. At my 30K service they wanted to do an upsale with injector cleaning and new tires. I declined both, but got the tires elsewhere. I had the alignment done then, like you suggested.

I had a tire problem and went to Big 10- I wanted a tire repair (or new tire) and rotation, but they wouldn't touch it. Just too "high tech" for them. THank goodness it was just a "slow-out" so I filled it up and went to my dealer the next morning. Ended up with 2 new tires. Thank goodness I wasn't on travel at the time. Anyone else dealt with this problem? Are there independant tire dealers who are not scared of the Prius?