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WS ATF Drain and Fill - dealer struggles

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Erik Aalto, Aug 21, 2014.

  1. Erik Aalto

    Erik Aalto Junior Member

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    I took my 2011 Prius in today for its 90,000 mile service, with the intention of performing the WS ATF drain/fill. As a history, I had this service performed at a rival dealership in 2/13 on my then 2008 Prius at 132k miles, and I only went to that dealer because they charged $106.07 vs. the $280 that my usual dealer was asking.

    I went armed with my old invoice stating $106, and asked why they priced it so high, and was given a run around about how they have to keep the fluid heated to a certain temperature when they fill it, that it is a 3 hour process, and that rival dealer must not be doing the same thing they do (or they did it wrong). Then the service manager went on to explain that if I only do the drain/fill, I am only replacing 4 quarts of fluid and the other 11 quarts will be dirty, so it would be pointless. At this point, I simply said, okay, I will have rival dealer do it, just take care of the 90k service. I walked around and looked at some cars, and about 10 minutes later my name got called over the PA system, they told me that they talked to the service technician, that they COULD do the service, and would honor the $100 price. They cited confusion about it on their end (advisors). Interesting result for being non confrontational.

    The neat part of my experience - I had a coupon for $22.50 off of the 90k service, I skipped tire rotation (-$20), replaced cabin filter (+$28), a burnt out bulb (+$16), and a rear wiper (advisor gave free coupon), and applied a 10% service savings card, and somehow I was out the door for $130. I'm not sure if I should chalk it up to a clerical error, but $130 for all of the above seemed like a steal to me, as my 30k service was nearly that much, less the ATF drain/fill.

    As for why I am posting this - is it a common experience to get confusion and odd responses from dealerships, and for this service to be inconsistently priced from one dealer to another?
     
  2. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    yup, very common.
     
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  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    sounds like they didn't do the ATF drain/fill
     
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    My service department talked me out of the drain/fill of the transaxle fluid saying it's good for the life of the vehicle.

    Yet, they'll try to sell you a throttle body cleaning, etc. :rolleyes:

    SCH-I535
     
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  5. Erik Aalto

    Erik Aalto Junior Member

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    This is the first thing my dad said, but I am taking it on good faith, as it is itemized on the service write up...tough to say if the car feels smoother or not, but I want to say yes.
     
  6. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    You have to believe it for your own good. Otherwise you'll be paranoid and bitter about it.
     
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I would call the service writer to make sure it was done or not done. Surely they can't charge you for it now even if they did do it.
     
  8. Merkey

    Merkey Active Member

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    I try to talk to the mechanics if possible. They're more open to questions.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Part of the problem has to be Toyota's stand on the Prius E-CVT fluid being lifetime. The dealership mechanics either toe the line, or fall back on their experience with Toyota's regular automatics.

    Toyota could at least acknowledge the customer demand and issue a TSB for this. Call it optional, just to save face...
     
  10. DoubleDAZ

    DoubleDAZ Senior Member

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    I don't get why they don't want to do it if you're willing to pay or it. What difference is it to them? And if Toyota says the Prius life time is 100,000 miles, then it should kind of be a no-brainer to have to done if you plan on keeping the car. Even at $280, it's cheaper enough, all things considered.
     
  11. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    If they have no idea about the prius why would you let them do anything to your car? Telling you they have to heat up the fluid or that it holds 15 qts of fluid shows they don't know anything or train anybody there. How many models of cars does Toyota make like 10 can't they learn about them? I just don't get it. I live in NC also and got so fed up with the dealers in my area I do all the oil changes and transaxel fluid changes myself. It took me the first time I did it about 30mins not the three hours they talked about. If I were you I would be very worried they didn't even change it but just charged you.
     
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  12. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    ^^
    Yep. Getting overcharged for incompetent service would not be my first choice. Given how easy DIY is, I'm hard pressed to understand why people take their cars to dealerships for maintenance.
     
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  13. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    It should be easy enough to figure out if the transaxle fluid was changed if the old stuff was in the unit for > 100,000 miles, but this is one of many reasons that I prefer to DIY my maintenance.
    It's not about saving money or time---although you will do both even if you only have my very humble mechanical aptitude and tools.

    I'm frequently stunned that somebody would say that "my time is worth more than that!" when I can fumble my way through an oil change just about as fast as they can drive to a dealer and wait for them to "maybe" do the job correctly.
    Mostly, I'm willing to bet I can do it more quickly but my nearest dealer is about 20 minutes away.
    What I REALLY don't have time for is waiting for a tow truck because somebody that's not properly trained worked on my car.
    The OP's dealer is either tragically ignorant or an outright crook.

    I will tolerate neither.

    I've never done the transaxle fluid replacement on any Prius. I drive a company car, and since the TA fluid isn't on the maintenance schedule you can bet that my beloved company will not foot the bill for this service.
    If my Prius were MY Prius, than I would do this service probably every 60K.
    Normally I'm not a big fan of tinkering with a transaxle, but some of the people in the forum who know more than I do about Priuses (it does NOT take much!) convinced me because of the MG windings, which are absent in a conventional TA.
    We're talking about less than $50 for the fluid (I checked) and about an hours time if you're old and slow like me.

    A dealer should be able to do it in a half hour which still gives them a pretty good profit margin if they charge between 100-150 bucks.

    Good Luck!
     
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  14. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    ^^
    I encourage people to not be victims of dealerships any chance I get, but dealerships are like politicians: the citizenry gets what it deserves (and chooses.) There are apparently hordes of ignorant lazy people willing to pay 100s of dollars to have some kid open a bolt and pour fluid down a hole.

    I could never convince my kids to help with car maintenance, but my daughter recently took ownership of our '04 Prius, and while visiting she happily took notes and pictures so that she can monitor car health and take care of the simple stuff. Money motivated her. The next time I see her I'll ask her if she would like to go shopping with Dad for a tool kit. I have to remember to send her a link to Luscious Garage in San Francisco. Carolyn is a wonderful role model.
     
    #14 SageBrush, Aug 23, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2014
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  15. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Did the transaxle fluid drain/fill today on our 2011 with 36725 miles on the odometer:

    [​IMG]
     
  16. VicVinegar

    VicVinegar Member

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    I know personally I'd like to do my own work but would appreciate it if I had someone with experience looking over my shoulder the first time. I don't, so if I were to change my ATF I am hoping I don't screw it up. If I do, I only have myself to blame.
     
  17. Erik Aalto

    Erik Aalto Junior Member

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    I think in this instance, that the service adviser and the manager of the service advisers just didn't really know what they were talking about, and when they approached an actual service technician, they were adequately informed. I trust that the service technicians actually know what they are doing, and in truth, would make far better service advisers in the first place.

    I agree 100% that they should know their trade, and coming from a customer service background, I am pretty surprised that they maintain business (maybe that's my fault for continuing to go there). Moving forward, I think I am going to make the investment and just buy the tools I need to start doing this myself, because it is not worth the headache of trying to convince the dealership to take my money and do it for me. In this case, I don't think I got off too bad with a synthetic oil change, WS drain and fill, and a few odds and ends taken care of for $130.

    Although I am confident that the service was done, if I wanted to check, would it be as simple as removing the fill plug and swabbing the fluid to make sure it is pink and not black, as would be expected of fluid with 90k miles?
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes. as you can see from xl's pic above.
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    can you post a pic of the service write up? your first post is very confusing as to what they did, and what you paid for each item. thanks!
     
  20. Erik Aalto

    Erik Aalto Junior Member

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    Sure, I will when I get home from work today. Off the top of my head, the services performed were....
    Synthetic oil - $57
    WS ATF d/f - $107
    Cabin filter - $28
    Rear wiper blade - $10?
    Replace bulb - $16

    I always decline tire rotation because I get that done at Costco for free, so that knocked the cost down $20.00.

    I had a coupon for $22.50 off of a 90k service, and a "$1,000 savings card" for the dealership, where they knock off something like 10% from total service cost. The invoice is written up to $240, less $110 in "insurance." I didn't question the math of how they approached $130, I just paid for it, but I made certain that the drain and fill service was listed on the invoice. I'll hopefully have it uploaded in a few hours.