Must I take my Prius to a Toyota dealer for routine maintenance?

[priusunum]

I got my new 06 Prius in late September. I love the car! I typically drive about 500 miles a month, mostly in town. So I expect I won't need to take my car in for its first routine service until March (figuring I should do it at least twice a year even though the mileage will be low). For my previous car ,a Subaru Legacy, the dealer rarely saw me: routine service was done at fast lube places or other local garages(for oil changes, air filter and anti-freeze replacement etc.). I only went to the dealer for major repairs, and for the 30,000 mile and 60,000 mile service. This worked just fine for me.

When I took possession of my new Prius, the first thing I did,after reading posts on this site, was to replace the OEM tires with Michelins. I went to a tire dealer which not only sells tires but also does all the usual maintenance for cars: oil changes,alignments, brake work, etc. It's a reputable, clean, good-sized place, with maybe 10 car bays and mechanics that did some standard-type work for me in the past, and did a decent job. I asked the customer rep if they did maintenance work on Priuses. He said yes, and they felt they were competent to do so.

I've been thinking over whether I should trust my Prius--much more complex than my old Sub--to this local place. Despite what the customer rep says, I'm inclined to stick with the Toyota dealer because they have Toyota factory- trained mechanics. On the other hand, it would be soooo convenient to
take it to this local place where I can get in and out much faster than at the local (and huge) Toyota dealership, which I know from experience is more of a hassle.

So I'd love to get some feedback from other Prius owners: has anybody used a local garage(non Toyota dealership) to have routine maintenance done, and did they do ok? Do you think I'd be taking a risk using a non-dealer service place? From reading the owner's manual, I don't believe I have to take the car to a Toyota dealer to keep the warranty in force, as long as I have proof of the work done.

[derkraut]

[quote=priusunum @ Dec 6 2006, 04:25 AM) [snapback]358720[/snapback]</div>

I got my new 06 Prius in late September. I love the car! I typically drive about 500 miles a month, mostly in town. So I expect I won't need to take my car in for its first routine service until March (figuring I should do it at least twice a year even though the mileage will be low). For my previous car ,a Subaru Legacy, the dealer rarely saw me: routine service was done at fast lube places or other local garages(for oil changes, air filter and anti-freeze replacement etc.). I only went to the dealer for major repairs, and for the 30,000 mile and 60,000 mile service. This worked just fine for me.

When I took possession of my new Prius, the first thing I did,after reading posts on this site, was to replace the OEM tires with Michelins. I went to a tire dealer which not only sells tires but also does all the usual maintenance for cars: oil changes,alignments, brake work, etc. It's a reputable, clean, good-sized place, with maybe 10 car bays and mechanics that did some standard-type work for me in the past, and did a decent job. I asked the customer rep if they did maintenance work on Priuses. He said yes, and they felt they were competent to do so.

I've been thinking over whether I should trust my Prius--much more complex than my old Sub--to this local place. Despite what the customer rep says, I'm inclined to stick with the Toyota dealer because they have Toyota factory- trained mechanics. On the other hand, it would be soooo convenient to
take it to this local place where I can get in and out much faster than at the local (and huge) Toyota dealership, which I know from experience is more of a hassle.

So I'd love to get some feedback from other Prius owners: has anybody used a local garage(non Toyota dealership) to have routine maintenance done, and did they do ok? Do you think I'd be taking a risk using a non-dealer service place? From reading the owner's manual, I don't believe I have to take the car to a Toyota dealer to keep the warranty in force, as long as I have proof of the work done.


[/b]

In my opinion, unless you have a problem of some kind, the only thing you need to do with the Prius maintenance-wise during the 3yr/36mo warranty period is:
1. Change oil/filter every 5M miles or so
2. rotate tires
3. check fluid levels
Any reputable local auto shop can do that, if you don't want to do it yourself. I usually do not take my car to a dealer for routine maintenance because:
1. They almost always charge more than an independent shop.
2. They often have incompetant personnel working on your car, just like any other repair shop.
3. They are often notorious for trying to talk you in to having additional, unnecessary work done] exorbitant cost.

[galaxee]

regular maintenance isn't anything more than on a "regular" car. however, for repairs/check engine lights and the like, it needs to go to a dealer.

[efusco]

I third the others...if you have a good place you trust and that has experience w/ Prius (ie they know how to start it and put it in drive and park) there's nothing on the routine maintence they can't do...in fact nothing you can't do yourself.

I've taken my Prius to Toyota since the beginning in '03 nobody else knew what it was, how to start or drive it, and I certainly didn't feel comfortable with non-Toyota places touching it. Today I would. I'm at ~53k miles now. I'll probably stick w/ the Toyota dealer through the 60k schedule maintence and then start doing it myself or letting Jiffy Lube do it.

[daveleeprius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Dec 6 2006, 11:22 PM) [snapback]358741[/snapback]</div>

I third the others...if you have a good place you trust and that has experience w/ Prius (ie they know how to start it and put it in drive and park) there's nothing on the routine maintence they can't do...in fact nothing you can't do yourself.

I've taken my Prius to Toyota since the beginning in '03 nobody else knew what it was, how to start or drive it, and I certainly didn't feel comfortable with non-Toyota places touching it. Today I would. I'm at ~53k miles now. I'll probably stick w/ the Toyota dealer through the 60k schedule maintence and then start doing it myself or letting Jiffy Lube do it.
[/b]

I dunno, Jiffy Lube uses the cheapest oil filters they can get their hands on, they don't fit as well as OEM Toyota Parts and you're liable to lose an engine. Happened to both my cars and I *always* take them to the dealer for oil changes ever since. It's the same price really and a lot lot safer if you care at all about your car.

Dave

[cwerdna]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ Dec 6 2006, 09:06 PM) [snapback]358759[/snapback]</div>

I dunno, Jiffy Lube uses the cheapest oil filters they can get their hands on, they don't fit as well as OEM Toyota Parts and you're liable to lose an engine. Happened to both my cars and I *always* take them to the dealer for oil changes ever since. It's the same price really and a lot lot safer if you care at all about your car.
[/b]

(not trying to defend Jiffy Lube as I've never used them but I've heard all sorts of random negative tidbits about them)
So, these filters leaked or came off causing you to lose a lot/all your oil and engines to seize? If that happened, I'd be suing Jiffy Lube if I were in your shoes.

[subarutoo]

My car's never seen the dealer in 22,000 miles. Oil changes are easy to do, and rotate tires a little more work, unless you have a floor jack. I also have Subarus and in a combined 180,000+ miles have rarely seen the dealer, mostly for recalls and warranty work. Never been hassled for doing my own work, or using an independent shop.

[PriusRos]

I have a similar question but a little different.

The Toyota dealers give you a list of scheduled maintenance to do at frequent intervals, like every 5, 10, 15 thousand miles. For example, at 5K miles you are supposed to do the 5,000 mile checkup. In addition to changing the oil -- a $20 value, they rotated the tires, checked this thing and that, and the service came to over $100 after a "discount"! I still had to inflate my tires to the pressure I wanted in spite of telling them what I wanted.

I am not a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to car maintenance, except to clean and polish it, so I don't really know what really needs to be done apart from changing the oil. How much of this "scheduled maintenance" is really necessary and how much is just part of a grand scheme to get you for all you're worth?

What do you have to do in order to ensure you stay within warranty?

[MadHungarian]

PriusRos' last question is a good one. I have the extended warranty which "requires" service every 5000 miles or 6 months, which ever comes first. I just had my 18 months service done--with 7500 miles on the odometer. I hate to change the oil and filter on the average every 2500 miles. Do I REALLY have to do this to stay in the reguilar and extended warranties?

[eagle33199]

As it's been said before in reference to modding - they can't just invalidate your entire warranty. However, if the oil sludges and ruins the engine because you didn't change it often enough, they can trace the root of the problem to you, and not have to pay out on the warranty for the associated repairs.

The official maintenance booklet from Toyota (NOT the dealers) recommends an oil change and tire rotation, as well as a general inspection (check fluid and tire levels, cabin air filter, etc) for most of the service. There are some of the services where they recommend certain non-normal checks, but i don't recall what these are.

Dealers try to get you by having items they call "10k service", etc. they include lucrative items that you don't need. When you go in for your service, check the official book (or ask on here if you don't have it), and ask for exactly what you want - you'll pay less, and be completely covered.