120K Service - Need advice!

The inverter and engine have separate cooling systems, so #2 and #3 are different. The transaxle is a transmission and differential combined, so it would be more precise to say you have #4, but not #5 and #6.

The spark plugs you have should be good until ~200K miles. If you want to feel good about owning a Toyota, search the internet for "F150 spark plug problem". I've yet to see a complaint about spark plugs here on PriusChat.

Not sure about the inspections, and I don't know what chambers they're talking about either. I'm suspicious of any inspections other than the annual state safety inspection, but then again I do try to pay close attention to the car myself (check fluids, look for leaks, check the rubber parts such as CV boots for damage, etc). Note also that since you've had the car aligned recently, that should have included a thorough check of the suspension for any loose bits so you can be pretty confident the wheels aren't about to fly off.

Here's a fun experiment for somebody to try: Let the air out of the spare tire, let the dealer do a thorough inspection of the car, and see if they find/fix the pressure in the spare.

Items 1-4 are reasonable services, particularly at 120k. If you're looking to save, the factory schedule doesn't spec an inverter coolant change until 150k miles, and brake fluid is more an issue with age than mileage (it doesn't wear out, but it does absorb water over time).

 

like what tpenny67 has stated.

But here's my take on Prius maintenance. Most if not all of the maintenance that is required on the Prius, you can do this yourself. Here is the list of maintenance that is needed on the Prius.

Oil change (10k miles)
Engine air filter (10-15k miles)
Cabin air filter (5-10k miles)
Transaxle fluid drain and refill (30k miles)
Brake flush (3 years or 60k miles)
Rear sliding pins lubed (60k miles)
Spark plugs (120k miles)
Engine and inverter Coolant drain and refill (120k miles)

Not sure if I missed anything. Also if you want to learn how to do these maintenance, check out my YouTube videos. The only thing we haven't filmed is the coolant drain and refill, we will film that sometime soon. Good luck!

 

1,2,3,4,5,6 are all reasonable if they've never been done. However, the coolants only need to drained and replaced, not flushed, which is mainly an excuse to charge more.
Your Items 4, 5, and 6 are all the same thing. Anybody who gives separate estimates for them doesn't know what they're doing, or is trying to hoodwink you.
There's no reason to replace spark plugs after an unusually short interval if the car is running well.
Are those mysterious "chambers" in the car or in the back of the dealership?

 

there have been a number of class action suits in which people have made out very well. but i don't have a 2010, so i'm not familiar with them. you can probably find them on google.

 

Just follow the guide??



There are a few anomalies in the above. The front differential oil for example, that's a head scratcher for me, not sure it exists.

For Item "4" I would insist they lift off the caliper, inspect/clean/relube the pads and shims, pull the pins out, clean and relube.

Also look into a transaxle fluid change, not inspection.

 

It definitely exists, but it's the very same batch of oil as the transmission oil ("fluid"), as on most other front-drive vehicles. There have been other front-drive Toyotas that used separate differential oil, I believe.

 

There is no front differential on the Prius, its called a Transaxle.

 

That's a typo then, them saying to check both the front differential and the transaxle.

 

The auto manufacturers put a lot of effort into making cars that require as little maintenance as possible, and the general trend has been less factory recommended maintenance at longer mileage intervals. Some people think this is being pushed too far, and that a car will last longer if you exceed the factory maintenance recommendations.

Many manufacturers, not just Toyota, are now saying the transaxle fluid will last the life of the vehicle. My opinion is that this is generally true for cars that are going to die of old age and rust around 150k miles, which seems to be the current design life of many modern cars. It not just advances in the fluids either. For example, my F150 has a transmission cooler with a thermostat that generally keeps the fluid right around 150 degrees year round (and I can monitor that temperature on my ScanGauge, nifty!).

For people who put a lot of miles on their vehicles, or keep them longer than a decade, it's easy to get to 200k miles and beyond. At this point it seems perfectly valid to worry about "lifetime" parts such as transmission fluid, power steering fluid, fuel filters, etc. A 30K interval seems excessive to me, but 100k or so seems reasonable if you expect to greatly exceed 150k total miles.

Ford has been claiming "lifetime" transmission fluid for about a decade now, however, if you look at the service schedule for a Ford, they do have a fluid change scheduled for 150k miles. The same debate about fluid change frequency is raging all over the Ford forums as well.

 

Toyota says to regularly "inspect" the transaxle fluid. No footnote, no further explanation. It's a somewhat strange instruction: if they'd said to check the level maybe, that'd be a bit more specific. What I do:

1. Look the transaxle over for any leakage, whenever I'm doing an oil change. I've got the undercover completely off, easy to do.

2. Change the transaxle fluid every so often. The time and distance is up to you, I'd suggest an early change is beneficial, then you can stretch it more. To DIY costs about $40 for the supplies, takes an hour or two (a little more time just to get the whole car raised and level), and isn't any more difficult than an oil change. Just a little different.

 

Yes, there is a differential, inside the same case as the rest of the "transaxle." If there were no differential, you'd have much difficulty turning curves. There is no SEPARATE front differential.

 

the common people wouldn't think it would be inside the transaxle, might as well put "Check transaxle fluid" since the differential is a gear inside the transaxle.

 

Exactly. Listing those as if they were separate fluids to be checked or replaced was dumb.

The combo word "transaxle" (from "transmission"+"axle") for a combination transmission+final drive gearing+differential dates from several decades ago when people were accustomed to rear-drive cars in which a component combining the final drive and differential (among other things) was loosely called the axle. "Transdiff" would be more accurate for most front-drive cars, but never caught on, and I must admit it's harder to pronounce.

 

You planning a video on transaxle service? Seems fluid change is the way to go...

 

There's a video by @NutzAboutBolts , pinned in the third gen maintenance section. It's pretty straightforward: raise and level car, drain, fill till it starts coming out, use Toyota ATF WS.

 

NutzAboutBolts has listed everything you should do, and they have videos that explain how to do each item. Even if you hire a mechanic, watching the videos and knowing what needs to be done will let you know if you're dealing with an honest mechanic or not.

For example: Most automatic transmission cars have torque converters, and replacing the transmission fluid means flushing it, which can be quite expensive. But on Prius, there is no torque converter or transmission cooler, so you just drain and refill the oil, much like an ordinary oil change. Don't pay more than $100 for this service, and don't trust a mechanic who says it needs to be flushed -- especially if you tell them one time that it's no necessary. Although there are two separate coolant changes for engine and inverter, neither one is a flush.
And the engine, inverter coolant and transaxle fluids are all Toyota-specific fluids. Don't use third party fluids.
The spark plugs are supposed to be changed very 120,000 miles, so you're covered for a long time.