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5K service road trip question

Discussion in 'Prime Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by raggedphoto, Jul 20, 2021.

  1. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    Since I am having trouble getting my local dealers service department on the phone I figured I would ask all you fine folks. I am about to take a 2,500 mile road trip and my 2021 prime will need its 5K service right in the middle of it. I tried making an appointment at the only 2 dealerships on the western slope of Colorado (where I will be when the car hits 5K) but they are booked out.

    Should or can I get my car serviced here in Portland before I go even though the car will have less than 4K on it?

    Should I service as soon as I get back with around 6K on it? Will that cause warranty issues?

    Thanks for any advice you can offer!
     
  2. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    Service at 5K miles consists of simple checks and tire rotation. Have a look at the Maintenance Schedule in the Service and Warranty Guide (small manual), not Owner's Manual. Oil service is at 10K intervals when 0W-20 oil is used. You will get a Service Reminder every 5K miles, but you can simply Reset it using the Vehicle menu.
     
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  3. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    As mentioned above, the 5k service is for some basic op checks and a tire rotation, and there's a 99.44 percent chance that your dealer will only pay passing attention to those and try and up-sell you on something that ISNT in the warranty and maintenance guide that they are presuming that you haven't read.
    The tire rotation can probably be deferred to 6k, since (a) that would only affect your flimsy pro-rated manufacturer's tire warranty and (2) if your car's tires DO fail before the the flimsy manufacturer's pro-rated tire mileage warranty expires then the burden of proof that the failure was related to your 1,000 mile delay is on the tire manufacturer - and not YOU.
    Not even a US Toyota dealership would be scummy enough to try to wiggle out of their warranty obligations (should any arise) because you deferred the 5k maintenance checks to 6k.
    You do NOT have to have Toyota perform the maintenance on your car for you to receive your full warranty protection, and any assertation BY them that they are the only ones who can maintain your car is patently illegal....and not in keeping with the policies of ANY company that I would give ANY of my money to.


    Your federal rights:
    Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia
    If you live in a worker's paradise, you may have additional rights.... ;)

    Additionally......
    Oregon is a CARB state. IIRC, they drank deeply from that KoolAid pitcher in 2009....but not too deeply.
    You can still buy an aftermarket cat and have it shipped there and in order to keep a promise that I made to @Grit I'm compelled to remind you that if you keep your car for more than a few years you may want to consider installing an oil catch can on it in the few months.

    So - back to the fact that Oregon is a CARB state....
    That means that you have additional protections for some of the CARBY things on your car.
    You will want to review some of those protections if you plan to keep your car for more than a few years, but if you're the type that trades out every 4-5 years then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

    Good Luck!
     
    #3 ETC(SS), Jul 21, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2021
  4. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    i co sign all the above (y) but the person you quoted has a 2021 prime :eek:
     
  5. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Never too early to start catching oil.... ;)
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Depending on how you typically drive, the 5k service either does or doesn't include an oil change.

    When you are looking in the Warranty and Maintenance guide, be sure to look at the several identified "Special Operating Conditions" shown in the schedule. You are effectively on the honor system to look at those and say "yes, that's my situation" or "no, none of those apply to my situation" (and if none apply, then smile, your oil isn't due until 10k).
     
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    With the "free" maintenance for the first few intervals (in the States), I wonder if the dealerships are obligated to do 5K mile oil changes if you say your driving falls in the category of special operating conditions? I've got a hunch they'd do them, but would (and are allowed by Toyota?) to charge extra for them. That's not the end-of-the-world either, just speculating.

    In Canada no such dilemma; you pay as you go.
     
  8. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    @FuelMiser @ETC(SS) @Grit Thanks for all the awesome info. I figured as much and I am fairly aware of the warranty act given my experience modifying my Tacoma. I was unaware that the 5K is just a tire rotation and inspection so I will put it off until I get back from my trip. Given that I've always done all my own maintenance on my Tacoma I am taking advantage of the free 2 years maintenance so I can kick back and enjoy the Prime.

    Thanks again!
     
  9. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    looking at the manual I wouldn't fall under that category but I will ask them if they can just do it for free. Seems crazy to me that first oil change is at 10K!
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    If we had gratis maintenance up here, I think I'd say "thanks but no thanks": because:

    1. I don't relish the aggravation of dealing with service writers pushing extras, nor whiling away the hours in their "customer lounge".
    2. Want my undershields to remain in one piece, with no broken/missing fasteners.
    3. Don't like oil overfill, great gobs of grease on door hinges, and so on.
    4. Don't relish removing the wheel lug nuts, oil filter and drain bolts installed with an impact wrench, when it's finally my turn.
     
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  11. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    ^ that.....
    If the product is free....YOU are the product.
    Me too.
    That's why I pretty much don't keep it in there that long.
     
  12. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    I've never had the stealership do any work on my previous cars, are they really that sloppy?
     
  13. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    To say nothing of headliners....

    [​IMG]

    (If that ever happens, as another member recently learned, don't do anything that involves rubbing or a brush.)

    [​IMG]

    (When it happened to me, I mixed up some isopropyl alcohol and clear soda water, and just blotted it on and off with white napkins, letting the soda water supply the action. Slow, but it worked pretty well.)
     
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  14. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    Holy moly!
     
  15. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    I just read it somewhere. Not sure where, I probs wont be able to find it, but the 2yr "free" maintenance had
    mentioned it did not include the special operating conditions.

    I just started reading the 21my PP manual, so not sure if that is where or what.
     
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  16. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    When I purchased my 2012, the paperwork for this "free maintenance" was very explicit, it included just 2 oil changes.

    While nominally at 10k and 20k miles, I was allowed to take them at any time, and was done well before that. But taking an oil change early, when only a tire rotation was due, canceled the in-between tire rotations. I.e. if one takes the oil changes at 5k and 10k, that leaves only one remaining tire rotation at 15k, for a total of 3 tire rotations, not 5.
     
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  17. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    It's not in the "manual" It's in a smaller booklet titled Warranty and Maintenance Guide
     
    #17 FuelMiser, Jul 22, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2021
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  18. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Pages 37~39 have a lot of common sense explanation, unfortunately gets overlooked, and dealerships tend to treat the maintenance listed as “just for starters”.
     
  20. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    That maintenance schedule is pretty light, spark plugs are good until 120,000 miles? My Tacoma needs new ones every 30K. I know apples to oranges but still, seems like 85% of the maintenance is just inspections.

    Any recommendations on a oil catch can for the 2021 prime, can I just search for a normal prius one or is the prime too different?