18-Month / 15,000 Mile Service Approaching - Advice Sought

I have had my 2008 Prius for close to 18 months now and so am coming up on the 18-month / 15,000 mile maintenance. So far I have had oil changes at the 6-month and 12-month mark. According to the Scheduled Maintenance Guide in my glove box, the following is required at 18 months:

Replace engine oil and filter
Rotate tires
Visually inspect brakes

AND

Inspect the following:

Ball joints and dust covers
Brake lines and hoses
Drive shaft boots
Engine coolant
Exhaust pipes and mountings
Radiator, condenser and/or intercooler
Steering gear box
Steering linkage and boots

My dealer charges $34.88 for the oil change. How much more should I expect to have to pay for the additional inspection items on the list? It would seem to me a total of $60-$75 would seem about right for everything (including the oil change).

Also, if I decided to ONLY have the oil changed, and held off on the inspection items, how might that affect my warranty further down the line if something went wrong?

Please let me know your advice. I want to take care of my Prius while simultaneously avoiding being ripped off.

Best,
Alan

 

There isn't a law requiring it, so far as I know. A cost of $16 to inspect those items would be totally reasonable and I would have no problem with paying that. I just don't want to go from $34.88 for an oil change, to $129.95 for some sort of "deluxe" service package that includes a lot of fluff and things that aren't really needed at this stage of my car's life, unless they are specifically required for warranty purposes (which JimN says there are not).

I'm thinking I'll go in to the dealer with the service book and discuss how much they charge for these visual inspections. If it's an extra $20 or so that's fine. But if they try and tack on an extra $100 or something like that, I'll do as JimN suggested and just ask for an oil change for now.

 

Well, I finally did the 18-month / 15,000 mile service today and here is what happened. My dealer (Toyota of Pasadena) normally charges $69.95 for a "minor service", which includes oil change, tire rotation, and multi-point inspection. This is essentially the same service required at the 18-month / 15,000 mile mark according to the maintenance booklet. The only difference is the possible replacement of the cabin air filter, which normally is not necessary at this point unless it is unusually dirty (i.e. you live or drive around uncommonly dusty or dirty roads).

About a week before my appointment, I received a coupon in the mail to have this same service done for $59.95 (plus tax). So I brought it in, and told them I wanted this "minor service" done as my 18-month/15K maintenance. At first they tried to sell me on the idea that the cabin air filter was also needed at this juncture (and that this would cost extra) but I showed them where it said in the maintenance book that this was only true under extreme conditions. At that point, he agreed they would simply look at it when they did the inspection and advise me on whether it needed to be replaced.

They completed all of the work and it turned out the cabin air filter was fine, but they said it will probably need a replacement at the 30K mark, along with the engine air filter. That sounded right to me, and also coincides with when the maintenance book states these items are required.

So in the end, they stamped my book and the total cost was $61.55 with tax. I also had an additional $5.00 off coupon so it actually only cost me $56.55. In my opinion this is a fair price for this service.

I was also pleased that they listened to my instructions and did not overfill the oil, AND they also correctly set the tire pressures to the requested levels. Bonus!

Hope this information helps someone else.

Best,
Kizzy