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15,000/20,000 Mile Service

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by curiousdriver, Nov 25, 2008.

  1. curiousdriver

    curiousdriver New Member

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    Part 1:
    So two months ago at the 15,000 mile service the advisor suggested a rear brake adjustment. I thought it sounded strange, and I passed up the service. Today for the 20,000 mile service they suggested it again.

    I asked today if the car had self adjusting brakes, and the advisor said no. Last service I did some research on BITOG and somone posted this link: (well guess I can't post this yet, it basically said that the simple act of pressing on the brake pedal acts as the self adjuster) Does this apply to 2008 cars?

    My grounds for really questioning this service is that neither my dad nor I have adjusted rear brakes and never had an issue with our braking systems. Never experienced accelerated front pad wear, like the advisor suggested would happen. All of our cars stop fine.

    This car is my first experience with a dealer because it's a company car and I'm not supposed to touch it. Otherwise I would pick it up on the lift and do it myself.

    Part 2:
    When in the word did a stupid air filter get to be so much money? Last time it was right around $90 for the cabin and engine air filters, and this time they said it would be $105. I called up Advance Auto and I can get the pair for, iirc, $40. Further checking found the pair can be had from RockAuto.com for <$25 plus shipping. This just seems absolutly absurd to me that a dealer would charge upwards of 4 times normal retail. Guess no question here, just a rant. It also bothers me that they tried to sell the items when there certainly were not due for service. I'm used to being the advisor and I know I would never try to sell something that wasn't needed, but thats just me.

    But I will say that I will be trying to convince the company to get away from this place, with the exception of major service, since it took 2 hours for an oil change, tire rotation and to change a fuse on the power port. The only downside for me is that they get the oil change for free and just pay for the rotation, so $19.99 isn't bad for an oil change and tire rotation.
     
    #1 curiousdriver, Nov 25, 2008
  2. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    The company is getting reamed. Doesn't the CFO care? Or does he get kickbacks from the dealer?
     
    #2 richard schumacher, Nov 25, 2008
  3. curiousdriver

    curiousdriver New Member

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    There is no connection between the company and the dealer. I did not approve any of the additional services so it has just been the cost of the standard services.
     
    #3 curiousdriver, Nov 25, 2008
  4. curiousdriver

    curiousdriver New Member

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    Any other input?
     
    #4 curiousdriver, Dec 1, 2008
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    the rear self brake adjustment isn't perfect. 15k is pretty early though.

    markup's a bitch. parts at the dealer are usually pretty high. and oem parts are more expensive than aftermarket. plus they're charging labor to replace the filters.
     
    #5 galaxee, Dec 1, 2008
  6. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Either someone's getting a kickback from the dealer or your company has money to burn. If indeed there is no connection then take the car anywhere else for an oil change. I bought a quantity of air filters from metrotpn online at a significant discount and when buying enough the shipping was less than sales tax.

    IMO your service advisor is a combination of incompetance and sleaze. They seem to be everywhere.
     
    #6 JimN, Dec 1, 2008
  7. priusincc

    priusincc Member

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    I just hit 15K, and just had the oil/filter changed, and rotated the tires at the dealership for $60. (I usually rotate the tires myself.) They recommended more, of course, but I just went by the maintenance manual. The only other thing is to inspect front end, etc. They said the brakes were 90%. I installed after-market air and cabin filters, for $15 and $18, inclusive. They keep the birds out.:eek:
     
    #7 priusincc, Dec 1, 2008
  8. curiousdriver

    curiousdriver New Member

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    I figured I would just let the manual be my guide and not listen to the advisor. I have been working on cars for a long time, and my expeience working at Jiffy Lubes gives me the insight into what some advisors do.

    I'll more than likely be ordering engine and cabin filters from RockAuto pretty soon.
     
    #8 curiousdriver, Dec 2, 2008
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