60,000 mile service necessary??

Toyota Parts and Service

Replace engine oil and oil filter
Rotate tires
Replace cabin air filter
Replace engine air filter

Inspect the following:
Automatic transmission fluid
Ball joints and dust covers
Brake lines and hoses
Brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs
Differential oil
Drive belts 5
Drive shaft boots
Engine and inverter coolant
Engine valve clearance
Exhaust pipes and mountings
Fuel lines and connections, fuel tank band and fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
Fuel tank cap gasket
Radiator, condenser and intercooler
Steering gear box
Steering linkage and boots

Might be under $100 at an honest Toyota Dealer

 

Other than what the previous poster has posted as required, many PC members are changing the transaxle oil at 60k as well, based on oil analysis. Unit is a drain and fill, flushing is not really possible or recommended. I would suggest you tell the dealer to do those items required in the owner's manual as well as a transaxle drain and fill, and get an estimate beforehand for each operation. The generic "menu pricing" is almost always overpriced and many of the things on the list are often not done or not possible on the Prius.

 

Toyota's are reliable cars if they are serviced at the recommended intervals or annually if that is not possible for a general inspection and change of oil and filters. A car that is not serviced will eventually let you down, and if it is major then the parts can be expensive. It is a false economy not to service your car!

 

If you have performed the basic oil change yourself, you could do that along with the easy stuff, the 1st 4 items on Jimbo's list at least. Then, you could ask the dealer to check the rest on his list.

 

Well said. You can easily run a car into the ground in fairly short order if you don't follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule. Ounce of prevention and all that.

Have we found a better transaxle oil for our Prius? Or just stick with the Toyota product.

 

I was under the impression that 240sxer was going to put Redline (known to be good stuff in the tuner world) into the transmission, but I'm not sure where that process is going.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...nce-now-im-getting-poor-mpg-what-do-i-do.html

 

Been running Redline D6 for over 2 years. Excellent.

 

Stick with the Toyota product. Nothing else is warranted to be compatible with the insulation inside the motor/generator, which is continuously exposed to the ATF. Save $20 and maybe risk a $2000 repair.

 

Please note that ANY dealer will try to sell you their PREMIUM package for any service (20000, 30000, etc) but you still only need the stuff in the maintenance manual that came with the car. I have just started telling them that I can't afford this premium stuff, so they usually back off and do what I can afford. But you have to pay attention to what they say they want to do or you will end up paying a bundle - in my experience!

 

The Prius only requires oil and filter changes unless an inspection by a mechanic (and not the commissioned service writer!) shows that a part needs to be replaced.

Dealer service departments are profit centers, and they "recommend" service that is not needed. They are, in effect, ripping you off by selling you unneeded service. Say no. Have them change the oil and filters (although it is easy enough to change the air filters yourself, if you are so inclined). Look at the official, Toyota authored maintenance booklet in your glove compartment for a guideline on what the Toyota engineers recommend.

I have a dispute right now with the service department where I live, as they put on the service order that I was refusing service that "Toyota recommends". I sent them a copy of the service order and the page from the recommended maintenance manual and asked for a response. No response. I'm taking my car to another Toyota dealer for service now, and got a call regarding the gas peddle, but advised the service manager that I would not be returning. He's asked for another copy of the letter, which I will send. If I don't get a response for the second time, I'll call the Toyota Zone manager and get them involved.

The commissioned service writers are damaging Toyota's reputation by artificially inflating the perceived cost of maintenance. I overhear people agreeing to hundreds of dollars for 20,000, 25,000 and 30,000 mile service when all they need is a $40 oil change.

 

I stopped trusting dealer recommended services with my last car.

Bought a new Subaru in October of 2005, foolishly dropped $1500 on a 2 year maintenance plan, which pretty much amounted to nothing more than oil changes.

When it finally became my turn to actually think about car maintenance, I inspected the air filter at 62,000 miles. It was the original filter... never changed... So not only was the plan overpriced, it was inadequate.

Even if Toyota's programs don't result in the same grotesque omissions, they are literally designed for people with "more money than brains." That's not meant to be an insult - some people would rather pay their way out of having to think about their cars... understandable when your life has a lot of other priorities. I for one prefer to be the master of my domain .

 

I would just have them do the oil and filter change, if you don't want to do it yourself. That's one of the few good values at the service department. Change the cabin and engine air filters yourself with parts from the auto parts store. Tire rotations usually don't need to be done every 5k, unless the tires are wearing quickly. I rotate them about every 15k, and I like doing tire rotations at home--it's a good opportunity to get comfortable with the tire-changing process and tools, and do a little inspecting (although the brakes hardly seem to wear at all).

 

Night and day! My 15-year service writer retired from Melody Toyota in San Bruno, CA and the new guy wanted $1,400 for 60,000 mi service. I told him oil change and replace engine and cabin filters. He said he could not guarantee that the car would be drivable if that’s all I did.

Then I told him I wanted the oil in the transaxle changed and he said there was no such thing. He would not write up any service for less than $600 — and still no transaxle oil change.

He was lying to me and trying to rip me off on purpose. I felt that I had no choice but to accept the $600 “bid” as it was the lowest he would go.

The service order still says, "Premium Service, customer acknowledges list of services to be provided." I'll be calling the Toyota customer experience hotline tomorrow when they open.

 

i would have excepted it as well