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Scheduled Maintenance is expensive!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Bud Curtis, Oct 25, 2013.

  1. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    The first I heard of brake fluid service was when I owned by first BMW in the late 90's. Other makers adopted this way later on. This sounds like the common tactic of applying service interval as they see fit. Like the old Jiffy Lube ads that tell you to change your motor oil every 3k.
     
  2. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    Yea wrote him up for a raise!!!
     
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  3. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    It's the dealership and service manager pushing the extras, not the service advisors, their just trying to make a living.
     
  4. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    VW requires a brake fluid change, too.
     
  5. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    I'm puzzled that Toyota still recommends DOT3 brake fluid. DOT4 is readily available, absorbs less moisture and has a higher boiling point. DOT4 has been around for a really long time -- my 1972 Volvo used DOT4. Is there some downside to DOT4 except for the modest cost increase?
     
  6. jhinsc

    jhinsc Senior Member

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    Bud, you don't need to go to another dealer, you just need to say NO to anything the service advisor says is "recommended". Read your owners manual just before taking the car in for service, write down what needs to be done, then hand that list to the service advisor. Just say no to anything else they recommend.

    I just had my first 10k service/oil change completed. Upon arrival for my appointment, there was a new service advisor I've never seen before who greeted me. He proceeded to tell me that it's "recommended" that they add an oil conditioner at a cost of $9. Granted, the 10k service is free and $9 certainly won't break the bank, but I said 'no, thank you', to which he replied 'okay'. No pressure, just a simple question and a simple reply. They had me in and out within 30 minutes.
     
  7. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    I see a lot of chat about oil, and a lot of paranoia. Toyota's recommendation for oil is 0w-20 in the US and 5w-30 here in Australia. The manual actually gives quite a range of oil viscosity that are acceptable in the Prius.

    My Gen III has 110,000 miles and also uses zero between changes. The oils is also still clear with an amber colour. Australian services are recommended at 10,000 Kms. My Prius has only ever been filled with Toyota oil.
     
  8. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    DOT4 is compatible with DOT3 and can be used to top off any system using DOT3. DOT6, however, is made of silicone, and should NEVER be used in any brake system that has any remnants of any DOT3 or DOT4.
     
  9. Bud Curtis

    Bud Curtis Junior Member

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    Thank you for your great responses. I felt fleeced with the brake fluid flush and now it is substantiated by your responses. I treated the Prius as a unique different kind of car because I'm unfamiliar with the hybrid. With your encouragement I think I will start treating like a car. Also, thank you for mentioning the Toyota site to record maintenance.

    What is the URL for the Toyota DIY site?

    SM-T310 ? 4
     
  10. jdk2

    jdk2 Active Member

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  11. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Toyota.com/owners as listed in my first post.

    Have your vin handy.

    One and only drawback I have noticed is when you make an entry to the service log I get a robocall from my dealer listing todays service special so the dealer is alerted when you make any entry. I have the dealer in my phonebook on my phone and he gets an instant ignore.

    You are not alone. The biggest problem with dealer only service is later in the Prius life say post 100K the Prius starts using oil especially if its spent its life on dino oil. Owner never looks under the hood because its dealer maintained.
    Owner never notices the oil is low. The oil change guy at the dealer never checks the oil before he changes it and never goes out to the waiting room to tell you that your car was 2 quarts low when you rolled in. Because he never checks it before he dumps it. Why should he? That's not his mission.

    You never know how low the engine oil has become till one day you get an Engine warning light. To late....car has been running on really low oil for a long time and you never knew. Damage done. She'll really start using oil after you scuffed the oil scavenge rings on the pistons. They go bad fast when allowed to be oil starved.

    On a G2 the engine does exciting things when you run it real low on oil. Usually a rod bearing fails especially at highway speed.....super heats the rod journal really fast and the rod journal fails and off it comes. Usually through the side of the block. Seen a bunch of those on this site.

    Best to check the oil as soon as they have worked on the car. It will be overfilled because they are using a vat oil pump which is highly inaccurate. Have to count the clicks. Almost guarantee an overfill.
     
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  12. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    That's why I have not bought a USED car since 1987. I buy a new car and keep it almost forever. I maintain it to an extraordinarily high standard.

    Dealers overfill the oil and seldom get the torque setting right on the wheel lock nuts. The plasti push rivets on the oil change door are almost always loose or missing.



    It works for me.
     
  13. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    0W-20 in the US allows the Prius to meet the EPA fuel-economy ratings. The manual mentions 5W-20 can be used, but should be replaced with 0W-20 at the next change. For an engine that stops and starts frequently, I'd be a bit concerned about premature top-end/valvetrain wear with a thicker oil that takes longer to circulate, especially when cold.

    Honestly, I'm not worried about an oil-related failure following their recommendations, despite the heat (I think my hybrid battery will fail first, honestly). I pony up the $75 or so for 10k dealer oil changes (about once every 8 months), and will let the extended warranty sort it out if the engine fails when following their recommendations.
     
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  14. pointcrossed

    pointcrossed Junior Member

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    5-30 is fine for winter; I would not use it; maybe if my engine is getting closer to overhaul I will start increasing the viscosity.

    Motor oil protects your engine from friction, 0-20 is best with startup friction in a hybrid, and will not make a significant difference in summer months because if your engine is cold warm or hot the motor oil will be motor oil and do what motor oil does while the radiator will do what it does and cool the engine down, and like a prius will have a problem with overheating in heavy traffic on a hot day, right.

    o-20 is is the recommended synthetic alternative for the Toyotas I have. You can find it @ walmart as mobil 1; if your walmart does not have it you can request it and they will get it shelved.

    I used only mobil 1 0-20 in my Tundra (it was cheaper and easier to find than royal purple), XB and my Prius with no issues.
     
  15. zebelkhan

    zebelkhan Member in good standing

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    LOL. he did say that advisor was one of his best.... :)
     
  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Don't get stampeded.

    There are a lot of dubious services, to be sure. One that comes to mind is the fuel injector service, where they hook up bottle like an intraveinous setup, then open the tap and belch noxious crap out the exhaust...

    But changing the brake fluid, say every 3 years, is warranted, imho. I asked and got ours done with the brake booster recall. The service writer said he could likely include it (it was, no charge), but if they were to charge it would be under $100.

    A lot of people here seem to be death on Toyota Dealerships, service writers, mechanics, the lot. There are bad apples, to be sure, but it's the same in any industry. It doesn't pay to be a total luddite about the industry. And while the charges can get out of hand, that's not always the case. Example:

    People rail about the charges for just rotating the tires. Granted it's a streamlined process at the dealership, with power tools and lifts. But just try doing it yourself, with the tools you have on hand. I swapped over to our snows today, and I'm pretty stiff-and-sore right now... ;)
     
  17. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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  18. pointcrossed

    pointcrossed Junior Member

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    Well you can always roll the dice and go to Jiffy Lube.

    If I go to a reputable Toyota Service Dealer and I have an issue after the service like I did couple times before they will do their best to make it right if I ask and complain politely.

    Service people are human and they need to eat, feed their families, and drive cars too, and its a service business, so they actually have to touch your car, by performing maintenance.

    How long does it take for you to rotate your own tires? The last time I had my tires rotated & balanced on my truck the tech had to remove a tire because one of my sensors would not read. The tire rotation and balance was $25. It took them 45 min.
     
  19. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I rotate the tyres at the same time I change the oil. The front of the car is already on jacks for the oil, so my work is jack up the back, loosen then tighten 20 nuts, and roll 4 tyres a couple of feet each.

    I'll guess 15 minutes, but I rotate the tyres while the oil is draining so net I probably add 5 minutes to my DIY service. When I get really old and really lazy I'll use an electric tool on the nuts.
     
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I always spend an afternoon at it. Several factors:

    1. I'm swapping tires (summer and snow), not just rotating. Just more things rolling around.
    2. Any tires coming off the car I roll out into the driveway, pick crap out of the treads, looking for punctures.
    3. I check brake pad thickness, try to wiggle the caliper a little (to see if the pins are ok), and wire brush the face of the hub, and the stud threads.
    4. The tires I'm taking off get rolled down to the bottom of drivway and washed, dried and labelled, then stacked.

    Just getting the car up on 4 jackststands invariably takes me about 20 minutes, LOL.