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New and future maintenance

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by JLak, Sep 29, 2023.

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  1. JLak

    JLak New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2023
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    My senior citizen parents own 2 2011 Prius IV cars. They recently took both cars in for oil changes and were given additional repair estimates. As they are 80 years old, I want to make sure they aren't being taken advantage of. Here's a list of the recommended work (which was deemed to require immediate attention) to be done:

    Silver Prius (65,450 miles)
    Hybrid Motor Drive Fluid Drain and Fill
    Parts and Labor Cost: $203.78

    High Pressure Fuel Injector Service w/Mass Air, Combustion area, Intake Chamber, and Throttle body cleaning
    Parts and Labor Cost: $304.95

    Hybrid Battery Filter Cleaning Service
    Parts and Labor Cost: $294.83

    Replace Shocks/Struts: Rear Shocks are leaking
    Parts and Labor Cost: $517.50

    There was no reason given for these repairs with the exception of the shocks, which showed a picture of the shock.

    White Prius (81,036 miles)
    Shock Absorber Replacement - Rear: Right Rear Leaking. Recommend replace both rear shocks. Picture was shown.
    Parts and Labor Cost: $357.50 (The price is different from the silver Prius for the same repair.)

    Coolant Fluid Exchange: Recommend replace coolant in hybrid inverter as preventive maintenance due to time and miles
    Parts and Labor Cost: $169.95

    Replace Transmission Fluid: Replace transmission fluid as preventive maintenance due to time and miles
    Parts and Labor Cost: $189.95

    Apart from my concern that they could be taken advantage of, I am interested to know how much future maintenance/likely repairs the cars might require in the next few years. Would they be better off going down to one car? Selling both and getting something newer that's easier to get in and out of?

    Thanks so much for reading this and for any information you can contribute.
     
    #1 JLak, Sep 29, 2023
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,059
    1,734
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    At 80 years old and 64,000 mi and probably not 40 mi a week of driving would be my guess but I could be wrong You should be okay until they're not and then you can sell those two things or whatever is going to happen these aren't things you want to be keeping but you should be well under the mileage before failures are really thought about what you're going to be about $150,000 miles plus engine failures head gasket whatever so you've got 70,000 mi to go on at least one of the cars so you should be good I would stay away from fluid changes and that kind of silliness or all of this at the Toyota dealer in Arizona I can probably find you 20 shops that you could drive to and save 30% off that bill dealerships and repair franchises and strip malls with high overhead and car wraps and all that to pay for well you pay for. Arizona is part of car country USA there are plenty of repair people private owned businesses that will treat you right and plenty that will treat you wrong so you do have to be careful replacing the shocks or struts on any of these vehicles even with well-known aftermarket parts should not be $500 a corner $500 a set to be honest with you unless you are buying top of the line Bilstein or some type of equipment like that which certainly is not in order here..
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Sep 30, 2023
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,228
    39,015
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Where to start…
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Sep 30, 2023
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    109,664
    49,843
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Tell them not to do anything, and never go back there
     
    #4 bisco, Sep 30, 2023
    Grit likes this.
  5. JLak

    JLak New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2023
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thank you all for your insights and suggestions. I think we'll stick to doing only what's actually necessary.
     
    #5 JLak, Oct 3, 2023
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