help, opinions and thoughts

welcome! you can have your prius worked on at any good local mechanic. for most of it's operational life, the service is the same as any other car. when you get over 100,000 miles, and you start need ing things like coolant replacement and brake pads, a little more care needs to be taken, but still can be done outside the dealer by a thoughtful mechanic who reads the service manual.

you should remove the extra oil. you can buy a pump for $20-30. on amazon, that goes down the dipstick tube and takes a minute or two. i got one at sears for lawn tractors. or you can have a mechanic do it.

for now, pay no attention to the dealer, and follow the maintenance book that came with the car. you may want to change the tranny oil sometime in the next 20,000 miles or so, but it isn't absolutely necessary. my daughter has my old '08 with 90,000 miles and nothing done but oil, filters, tyres and recalls. enjoy your car, no worries, all the best!

 

1. Since around 2002 or 2003, all Prius have been shipped wth pink Super Long Life Coolant, where the factory-fill coolant is good for 100K miles.
2. There is no problem taking your car to the dealer for service but as previously stated, you should rely more upon the maintenance schedule that Toyota has provided, and less upon your service writer's suggestions.
3. When checking the engine coolant level, you need to remove the large black plastic panel over the radiator for access to the radiator cap. Do not rely only on looking at the overflow container.
4. The easiest way to deal with the engine oil overfill situation is to open the drain plug and allow 1/2 quart of oil to come out, then replace the plug. Obviously that assumes access to the proper tools to accomplish this.
5. Don't worry about the brake fluid, there is no need to replace it at this time.

 

P1121 code is for the coolant control valve sticking. This is about a $500 repair at the Toyota dealer and about $200-$250 at independent garage.

Here is a link to more info on this repair:
P1121 - Coolant Control Valve Replacement (with pics) | PriusChat

If you are unable to find a local mechanic to do it for you I can do it for $200 + tax (parts and labor). I am in north Tampa (Lutz) and would prefer to do it after it sits overnight and the coolant is not hot.

To correct overfilled oil:
Local Toyota dealers will usually have an oil change special or coupon on their website for $15-$20. You could have them do it and make sure they put the correct amount in. (3.5 qts is usually enough)