Dealer 15,000 Service? What is so expensive????

longo charged my dad 1xx for rotating tires, and oil change
and all those "check up"

i told him, ill do it for u, hes like no...meh thats his money...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(osiris12 @ Feb 6 2007, 11:24 PM) [snapback]386530[/snapback]</div>

Not on the Prius. If you ever have to service a caliper, you require the Toyota diagnostic tester to properly bleed the brakes. If you just have somebody stomp on the brake pedal while you crack open a bleeder valve, you will get air in the brakes and generally have the kind of day that can only end with heavy drinking.

I realized there was no way to even change my brake fluid myself, so I had to pay my dealer around $90 to do it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Feb 7 2007, 05:15 PM) [snapback]386733[/snapback]</div>

How many miles before you had to do that?

Dave M.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Feb 7 2007, 09:52 PM) [snapback]386753[/snapback]</div>

With every other vehicle I have owned, I liked doing it once a year. I firmly believe it helps the brake system perform at peak efficiency, and helps the hardware last a long time too.

As an example, my 1984 Ford F-150 finally needed a new caliper a couple of years ago. Up to that point it had the original calipers and rear cylinders. About the only "routine" brake work I did over the years, asides from yearly brake fluid flushes, was lubing the caliper key twice a year.

Ford's of that vintage had a pretty dumb caliper design: a semi floating design with a huge single piston, so it was inevitable a caliper piston would go cockeyed and seize.

Otherwise I changed brake hoses every 8 years or so. When I finally had to change the caliper, I got two new calipers, two new rear wheel cylinders, rear drum hardware kit, and new hoses: $280. Original master cylinder and vacuum booster

With my Prius, I had it done last fall at around 50,000 km.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Feb 7 2007, 08:52 PM) [snapback]386753[/snapback]</div>

That's strange. I had changed my brakes on my 2001 prius without an issue over 3 years ago... I even replaced teh rotors. Never had to bleed them since no fluid was lost. Pushed back the cylinders with a big c-clamp, popped in the pads, bolted the caliper back and all was fine.

As long as you don't lose any fluid in the process, you're breaks are fine.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(osiris12 @ Feb 8 2007, 08:29 PM) [snapback]387174[/snapback]</div>

Ah that's a different scenario. I thought you had also replaced the calipers too.

But if you ever want to actually replace the brake fluid in a +2004 Prius, you need the dealer diagnostic tester to properly cycle the system. I've attached the diagnostic tester "dance" you have to go through. I think Hobbit originaly posted it

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Feb 8 2007, 10:07 PM) [snapback]387240[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the PDF Jayman. I didn't know that.

Anyway, I did bring my car in for its 15k checkup. Armed with the info learnt here and the Maintenance Log guide, the original cost of $289 was brought down to $46.

The motto of this is never accept the status quo. If I had walked in with nothing and said do the scheduled maintenance, I would have been screwed for the standard amount plus tax.

$46 is not bad being that I am only about an hour from NYC in upstate New York.

I had the tech inspect:
• Ball Joints & Dust covers
• Driving shaft boots
• Engine and inverter coolant
• Steering gear box
• Steering Linkage and boots

On his own accord he checked the brakes, engine and cabin filters and placed anti seize lubricant between the wheels and lug nuts on all 4 tires.

So all in all, that’s not bad.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FLOATTUBR @ Nov 8 2006, 05:09 PM) [snapback]345777[/snapback]</div>

When you schedule the service, have the Toyota Prius maintenance guide (the thing that came with the car) open to the 15,000 mile page, and read aloud the items listed there to the service writer. Tell him to do only those things. Do Not tell a service writer "gimme your 15K service" because dealers make up their own 15K service menus by combining every conceivable thing which every possible car might need. Many of these items cannot even be performed on a Prius, yet the dealer will happily charge you for them because you asked for them.

If you still get screwed, go elsewhere. You can of course also change your own oil. If you do, keep the receipts for the oil.

 

I told the dealer I had performed those inspections myself and rotated the tires. I also told him to note on his records that these were done so they'd stop sending me notices about it. I then had a normal oil change for 20 some bucks.

Why in the heck would you have to replace calipers at 50,000 miles?
I've done probably 20 brake jobs in my life and never had to replace the caliper or mess with bleeding the brakes. You are a maintenance addict! Not that it's a bad thing, as I'm sure your vehicles are in great shape and last longer than everybody elses. Most of us don't want to be that intimate with our car or spend that much on maintenance. My hats off to you though! You're a true die hard shadetree mechanic!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(osiris12 @ Feb 9 2007, 11:18 AM) [snapback]387434[/snapback]</div>

I agree, you really have to CYA with most things in life.

You mentioned CV boots. I like to check them at least once a month, takes me all of 5 minutes with a LED flashlight. If you depend on a shop to check them every 6 months, a lot can go wrong in 6 months.

Say a boot does tear, and the CV joint grease oozes out. You'll also get dirt/water etc into the CV joint. If you catch it in time, it's fairly easy to clean the CV joint, smear on new grease, and slip on a new boot.

There is even a company that makes a "speedy boot" tool to allow you to do this with the halfshaft usually still on the car. You just have to remove the rotor and hub. If you pay somebody to do that, should cost $100 tops. If you can rent the tool, $40 tops.

Now if you drive around 6 months with a torn CV boot, probably by the time you do go in for your mandated 6 months/5,000 miles oil change, you'll hear the dreaded CLACLCLACKCLACK on sharp turns. Now it becomes an expensive repair.

As far as ball joints, well they're "lubed for life." To check them I've always used a crowbar to apply *light* pressure to the knuckle. A lot of movement and the balljoint is done.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Darwood @ Feb 9 2007, 12:10 PM) [snapback]387465[/snapback]</div>

Who said anything about replacing calipers at 50,000 miles? I had my brake fluid changed, and the system flushed and bled, at 50,000km or about 30,000 miles. With every vehicle I've ever owned, I've changed the brake fluid and flushed/bled the system yearly. With a helper to stomp the brake pedal when I bark out the order, takes me 20 mins max.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Darwood @ Feb 9 2007, 12:10 PM) [snapback]387465[/snapback]</div>

Yeah some folks are lucky that way, calipers seem to last them forever even with zero maintenance. I did get 22 years out of my 1984 Ford F-150 calipers, that isn't bad.

I had a 1992 Honda Prelude with four wheel disk. If I didn't take off the caliper slide pins at least once a year, clean them, and apply lube, the rear calipers would stick. It was pretty easy to do on the car so I got into the habit of doing that procedure twice a year, never took me more than 15 mins.

I had a 2000 GMC Sierra with four wheel disks. I had a lot of trouble with the braking system on that truck, including the "drum in hat" parking brake that never worked right. That's another story. I had to take the rear caliper slide pins off yearly or the caliper would jam.

First time I noticed the caliper jammed, GM Canada refused to do it warranty. The truck was almost a year old at that point, but many worse things would happen before I got rid of it. They claimed taking off the caliper slide pins to clean and lube "as required" was Maintenance. Despite the fact there was nothing in the maintenance menu about that.

So after paying the jarhead clowns at my local GMC dealership, I did it myself. Rear's were easy to do, took maybe 10 mins. Front was harder, needed a Torx bit and they had to be tightened super-tight.

One concern I have about you never touching a bleeder screw: when you changed the pads, you obviously used a C-clamp to compress the piston(s) into the caliper. That pushed all that old grungy brake fluid up into the system.

With an ABS system, especially one like the Prius where you're dealing with accumulator pumps and solenoids (Download and read that shop manual excerpt I provided about bleeding the Prius brakes), it doesn't take much to bugger up a valve. Then you're talking about big repair bills

With a new vehicle, the first time I bleed the brakes about one year into owning it, you'd be surprised at the grungy stuff that comes out. But ymmv just keep in mind the specific cautions that apply to the +2004 Prius