Maintenance schedule Low Yearly KMs/miles

Keeping your warranty intact is never "a complete waste of money".
Your maintenance manual clearly says xxxxxx kms OR xx months. When the months are up, do the maintenance.

(I find it an odd choice to buy a car that only pays for itself if you drive it, then not drive it)

 

welcome!
i would keep an eye on the battery, where you don't drive that much, it may suffer. might be worth investing in a $75. maintainer.
check the cabin filter every 15k miles and clean/replace as necessary. same with engine air filter at 30k miles. you may want to consider learning to do these yourself, they are fairly easy and will save a lot of money.
once a year on the oil is fine and tyre rotate every 5k miles or once a year at your 6-7k is fine.
inspect and lube brake sliding pins yearly might be a good idea, and follow the brake fluid change per the manual.
all the best!

 

Oil changes are 8000 km or 6 months according to the manual. I've been doing it at the 8000 km mark and it's taking about 1 1/2 years to get there. I'll let you know if my engine corrodes to failure.

Brake fluid absorbs water. The water accumulates at the calipers (lowest point in the system). It probably gets in at the calipers as well, when the pistons move in and out carrying a tiny amount past the seals. Anyway, it lowers the boiling point of the fluid and also allows/causes corrosion in the calipers. It's inexpensive enough to get it changed once every 3 to 5 years. Living in a wet area (I presume you are on the west coast) I would definitely get it done.

I'm having my 2012 done this spring along with the transmission fluid and coolant (both inverter and engine). Coolant is a time thing. The anticorrosion additives are consumed over time and must be replaced.

The cabin filter you can do. I wouldn't replace it unless it was very dirty. Empty glovebox. Push in on the sides of the lower glovebox and it will release and swing all the way down. You have to release the damper (right side of the box lid). You can then see the access door for the cabin filter. When you have it out use a flashlight to make sure there are no foreign objects inside the air box (leaves, mouse nests, etc.) . Seriously.

 

Just to verify: this is a 2013, purchased new, you've owned it then 3 years and a bit? And have under 10,000 on the odometer? How many km's would you put on in a month?

I thought we were extreme. We're around 8,000 km's yearly, 65.000 on the odometer now. It was more like 12~15,000 the first few years (2010 purchased new in fall of 2010), but we're both retired now, and definitely less driving.

I do oil and filter change every six months, complete brake service every 3 years, brake fluid change every 3 years. I've drained/replaced the transaxle fluid more than once, once (in our case) was likely enough. Cabin and engine air filters: check them occasionally, have yet to change either, just not warranted.

I'll respond depending on how you confirm my questions in first paragraph.

 

trade it in on a leaf?

 

The pads do not age with time, the fluid does. But it will vary by location, Calgary will be less humid than Victoria. Canada is.too varied to give one.answer.

 

The service schedule in Europe is every 16,000 km or 1 year with the same 0w20 oil - I wouldn't worry about not doing that every 6 months. As others said it's probably worth inspecting/lubricating the slide pins on the brakes, and inspect the brakes in general.

Not sure about brake fluid - is it less likely to get contaminated/degrade if the car isn't used much, assuming the main point of entry is the caliper pistons?

 

You have the Owner's Manual Supplement? It outlines warranty and maintenance.You can download here:

Owner’s Manuals and Emergency Response Guides - Toyota Canada

Here's excerpt from the 2013 document says "brake service" every 24 months or 32,000 km's:



I would call that second line a bit of a red herring, would dub it: brake service every 2 years, brake fluid replacement every 3 years. With low use, it would be reasonable to stretch the brake service, say make it 48K km's or 36 months, same as fluid replacement.

Brake service entails pulling off the caliper, relubing (with Sil-Glyde or similar) the caliper glide pins. Also, removal of and disassemble of the pads and their shims. Measure remaining thickness, clean everything, reassemble pads and shims with thin coat of molybenum anti-seize compounton all points of contact. Then reinstall on the disc, and apply more anti-seize to points of contact on caliper arms and piston rim. Basically, all points of contact between caliper and piston, shims, and pads.

If the car is getting on in miles, and/or there's any sign of pulsing when using the brakes, also check disc thickness against spec (with micrometer) and runout (with dial indicator with magnetic base).

 

$200 for brake service (without pad replacement) is about right. Brake fluid replacement maybe $100.

 

The cabin filter takes about 30 seconds to check -- The OE charcoal filter is more expensive vs the Denso w/o charcoal -- that one is only about $12. I don't know what one you have -- I just get the plain. They can get nasty -- so checking is best. The Denso air filter is cheap ..about the same. The easiest thing to do is spend a few minutes and take a look at both -- order if needed.

For years -- really forever cars in the USA with DOT3 brake fluid did not have a change interval -- many now say 5 years. MB and the Euro cars call for DOT4e and normally recommend a 2 year interval. The fluid change is normally around 1hr labor + fluid. The cars in Canada seem to have different intervals.

You don't have to change the plugs until 100k-120k -- It's not unusual for cars to take 8-10 years or longer to hit that mark.

My battery died at 4 years -- I'm replacing the other two Hybrid batteries when they get to 4 years --- it's a small battery ... not the best.

The design of the Prius brakes -- the caliper pin design -- has a greater chance of hanging up with less use. Giving them a stomp while reversing a few feet is always a good idea once in a while.

My 2011 Prius just had the fluid and pads replaced at 160k -- they had no other service up to that point except inspection every 10k with tire rotation and oil changes. My independent when he rotates the tires looks over the calipers and hits the pin with some of the correct lube -- nothing is removed or disassembled.

I have a good independent. I would have the oil/ filter done and the rotation -- have the brakes looked over and tell them to spray the proper lube on the pins if looks needed. Next year have the brake fluid flushed out when it's in for its service.

With the Prius holding so little oil -- a case could be made for annual oil replacement with low miles -- and a rotation. Many people like to give the car a look over once a year -- not a bad idea.