2007 Prius repair - second opinion

Yes. There are very few records online. Except for regular oil changes etc the only two that i saw was regarding recalls.

I just found out that Amazon is selling the drive belt for about $16.20 w/o tax and shipping. Will checkout few online videos and steps to see if I can change the belt myself.

 

Thanks. I checked out their website - looks like they have an inventory of Gen2 vehicles and they probably work on Hybrid batteries but I don't see that they do repair jobs like transmission flush or engine and coolant flush etc. do they?

 

Ordered the belt from Amazon so should have it soon.

Still on the fence about the tranmission service - I looked at the dealer website and they have below two description. Based on the price quote($175) it matches #2. Is this what's recommended?

What is the difference between Transmission Service(Drain&Fill) Vs Transmission Fluid Exchange Service.

#1. Transmission Service (Drain & Fill) : Basic Transmission Service and Drain and Refill System - $59.95 Plus Tax and Shop Supplies

#2. Transmission Fluid Exchange Service: Using specialized equipment, we add an oil dispersant to clean and suspend harmful varnish and sludge in the old transmission fluid. Old fluid is then replaced with new transmission fluid.
TT fluid add additional $15.00 - $168.95 Plus Tax and Shop Supplies

 

Got the belt yesterday - Took it to my local mechanic and they installed it. I watched the installation process - very qucik - took them like maybe 15 minutes or so. Definitely a DIY project but I was a bit hesistant replacing myself.

Total price - $16 for the belt and $30 to install = $46

 

Am still considering changing the engine coolant, inverter coolant and transaxle fluid at either Dealership or with a local mechanic based on cost.

Are the below the correct parts number for 2007 prius?

Engine and Inverter Coolant: Amazon.com: Toyota Genuine Fluid 00272-SLLC2 Long Life Coolant - 1 Gallon: Automotive

Transaxle fluid: Amazon.com: Genuine Toyota Lexus Automatic Transmission Fluid 1QT WS ATF World Standard (4 Pack): Automotive

Since I have to buy fluids in gallons online, I believe I need about 3 gallons of Engine and Inverter Coolant and 1 gallon of Transaxle fluid.

WS_ATF fluid is about $38(1 gallon)
SLLC2 fluid is about $75(3 gallons)

Is that right?

 

so after reading several PC member's experiences about fluid changes, decided to call up another Toyota dealer in Tampa and they provide me with a phone quote for $367(after 15% service coupons) for Transaxle fluid change(drain and fill), engine coolant(drain and fill) and inverter coolant(drain and fill) compared to the $615 provided by a different dealer.

I was happy since they quoted almost half the price of the other dealer and took the car-in.

They said it will take couple of hours and I left the dealership to go back home only to get a call 1.5 hours later and quoting me $1200 for several additional things that need to be fixed.
I immediately drove to the dealership since phone conversation was getting difficult and I never provide authorization for services over the phone courtesy PC. They suggested(or recommended) that I do induction service, tune up, replace front brakes, clean and adjust rear brakes, fuel injector service, change spark plugs, wiper blades along with engine water pump change.

I declined all except spark plugs(figured it might be due,due to the miles on the car), wiper blades(needed this for sure) and engine water pump(they said it was leaking)

They declined to perform trans-axle fluid change claiming it was life-long fluid, declined to change invert-er coolant and said I didn't have to change engine coolant since it was likely performed during a safety recall. I maybe interchanging engine coolant vs invert-er coolant so pardon me since it was getting difficult to have a conversation with lot of jargons thrown around and how risky it was to drive with leaking water pump and it needed immediate fix.

PS: we were going to take the Prius for a 8 hour trip for thanksgiving so that played into my mind when making decisions.

I did a safety recall in 2013 and the description is as below

Recall Link: 2007 TOYOTA PRIUS | Safercar | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Question: Since they performed the above safety recall, can I assume that took care of the inverter coolant change or the engine coolant change?
Also, is the water pump from the above recall different than what's being replaced?

They quoted me $520 even for changing spark plugs(~$100), wiper blades(~$30) and engine water pump(~$390). This was after a 15% service discount coupon.
Car is still at the dealership until tomorrow evening since the Prius technician is gone for the day!

 

Picked up the car this morning and carefully looked at the invoice.

The engine water pump was replaced(possible Part # 16100-29157-83) and along with it I see that Super Long Life C(00272-SLLC2) which is the coolant liquid was replaced. I was afraid they might recycle the existing coolant.

The service advisor confirmed and I have a note that as per the safety recall for the inverter water pump, they changed the inverter coolant as well so am covered for both the coolant for another 100k miles or so.

They gave it in writing that the transaxel fluid does not require changing since it's a life long fluid unless absolutely requested by the customer so I let it go.
I have read several reviews where PC members changed the transaxle fluid but if Toyota dealer can provide it in writing then am confident that it doesn't have to be changed anytime sooner.

Overally, for the spark plugs(possible Part # 90080-91184) and wiper blades and engine water pump and engine coolant change the total price was $520 which was reasonable.

Question: Of the several recommended repairs, one of them was the fuel injection service - can I use Chevron Techron 65740 Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner occasionally and will that provide adeqate cleaning ?