Catch-up maintenance on a 2014 Prius 141K

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by LarryLLL, Jan 2, 2026.

  1. LarryLLL

    LarryLLL New Member

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    I bought my 2014 Prius (141K) three years ago (at 110K), and believe it to have been well-maintained. However, not sure about any of the bigger maintenance items. For my part, I bring it to a local mechanic for oil and brakes. I'm somewhat handy and can do the cabin air filter, the wipers, the 12V battery, and a headlight. I'm not up for the more significant engine maintenance. I've not had any problems with the car, other than one strange incident where the engine kept revving when decelerating on a cold day.

    I've searched through the forums (thanks to all for these posts), and identified things I should do (either at 150K or already at 120K or earlier). I'm not sure my local mechanic is up for the more Prius-specific things, and so I contacted a dealer and got this quote:

    -Synthetic oil and filter change $96.95 plus tax
    -Spark plug replacement $499.95 plus tax
    -transmission fluid service $249.95 plus tax
    -engine coolant exchange $259.95 plus tax
    -hybrid inverter coolant exchange $169.95 plus tax
    As far as the final 2 services they are preliminary estimates without us seeing the vehicle in the shop:
    -EGR pipe and manifold carbon cleaning $885 plus tax
    -inverter water pump replacement $880 plus tax
    I'll probably call my mechanic and maybe one or two others to see if they can do these and for how much. In the meantime, I wondered about:
    1. I would have thought that doing these together would be more efficient, require less shop time, and hence be cheaper. The dealer doesn't seem to be discounting for this. Would an independent shop be better in this regard?
    2. Any thoughts on the appropriateness of this list would be appreciated, though I appreciate that I should (and did) search through the forums.
    3. If, by chance, there are any Long Islanders reading this, any recommendations for a good shop would be appreciated. I didn't see any recs, but Amityville Garage showed up as hybrid specialists (reviews on Google didn't mention Priui). And so if anyone has experience with this shop in particular, that would be most appreciated.
     
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  2. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    I have asked a moderator to move this thread to the Gen 3 forum.
     
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    What about the engine water pump? Has it maybe been replaced recently? If not, I'd get on that, and change the adjacent thermostat as well. Shouldn't be more than half the quote for inverter water pump replacement: the inverter water pump is ridiculously difficult to access, the inverter has to be removed to get it out. Funny thing: it's totally visible from below, but the bolts need access from above, and the inverter's totally blocking it..
     
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  4. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    It sounds like time for a new car. Do the minimal maintenance, save money, and trade it in for a brand-new, trouble-free, and much safer Gen 6 in three years.
     
  5. LarryLLL

    LarryLLL New Member

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    Mendel: I don't believe the engine water pump has been replaced.

    Gokhan: I agree in the sense that one has to find a balance in terms of cost to maintain versus replace. In other words though, I'm left wondering what "minimal maintenance" is?

    When I requested the quote from the dealer, something around $1,500 to ensure my car lasts much longer than three more years. It's not clear that investing nearly $3K makes sense. I'm also not clear that the quote is even reasonable.
     
  6. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Except for the inverter coolant pump (which you probably don't need), you could easily complete any two of those projects yourself in an afternoon, at much lower cost than those quotations.

    Unclogging the intake manifold EGR passages is the most urgent item in your list, in my opinion. I did it at about 118k miles, and saw it was well on the way to significant clogging of the passage to one cylinder, but not yet bad enough to cause any symptoms. I hope to do it again this spring.

    My dealer charged $117.41 to change ("flush") the engine coolant in 2019. I'll do it myself next time.
     
    #6 CR94, Jan 11, 2026 at 8:17 PM
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2026 at 8:50 PM
  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Sounds like they are charging $200 a hour labor. The plugs alone at $499 is at least $400 in labor which could be done by an independent for one hour labor at a reduced hourly rate.

    The oil change and coolant changes are the two I would do at 5k and 50k mile intervals no exceptions. Consider driving an hour to find a reasonable Prius experienced shop using those two items as a barometer. If you like them get pricing for the rest and execute over six months.

    Also verify your vin to determine if your 2014 has the revised pistons and rings.
    Prius gen3 2014 Vin Production Change.jpeg