30,000 mile service

It's a RIP-OFF, all these mileage interval services are ridulious. Just change the oil, lube, filter. Rotate the tires when necessary, change all the filters(air, fuel, A/c ect.) every year, and make sure whoever changes the oil gives it a good visual inspection and that's all you need to do.

 

+1


But if you're NOT mechanically inclined, or don't want to deal with it, $230 does, in fact, seem, reasonable, as I would imagine, 30K service entails more than a simple oil change and tire rotation...

 

Did you look at their hourly labor rate, which is probably posted near the service desk? Does it say "$90"?

Do you think the dealer pays any FIVE mechanics $90/hr.?

In the 70's, I developed this tack: I do everything I reasonably can do for the 30K/60K/whatever service---not only my usual oil change and tire rotation, but, depending on what's called for, replacing the plugs, changing the air filter, even changing the coolant. These are all things the dealer can easily check and see I've done.

Then I go to a dealer, having circled or highlighted the items in the maintenance log the items I didn't do, and asking, "how much would you charge to do these"?
Most of them are simply "check this" or "inspect that" items, except for possibly changing transmission fluid, which I don't do. I almost always get a quote for a good "deal", say, $50-75. And they stamp the book as if they had done all of it.

Once an insulted dealer said, "We do it all or none of it". Then it's off to the next dealer.

If you can't do any of those things yourself, it's "gotcha time". But you still have the option of shopping around; local garages and franchised service/repair places (e.g., Pep Boys, and, in CA, Econo Lube 'n' Tune ) usually have advertised "specials" on these "benchmark" services every month. You might save $25-100 rather than taking it to your dealer.

Edit to add last paragraph.

 

For the 30K service, the Prius only requires the following:
1)Engine Oil/Filter Change
2)Engine Air Filter Replacement
3)Tire Rotation
4)Drain/refill Coolant

For item 1, you can DIY for $10 or have a shop do it for $20. Pep Boys comes to mind, as they use Pennzoil 5w-30 and a generic Purolator filter (Proline) for $16.99.
For item 2, you can DIY for $15-$20 and it'd take you less than 10 minutes. Pep Boys currently has a $5 off coupon for FRAM Air Filters I think (check their website for coupons), and NO, FRAM air filters are great, its only their oil filters that stink.
For item 3, go to any BIG O Tires and have it done for free if you're an AAA member, or Costco if you're a Costco member, otherwise Brake Masters will give you a free tire rotation and brake inspection any time.
For item 4, most Toyota dealers (at least mine does, Elk Grove Toyota) will do this for $39.95.

In addition to the mandatory services required by the factory, I strongly recommend changing the Toyota "WS" lifetime automatic transmission fluid. The fluid was $41.60/gal at my local Toyota dealer, and the Prius takes exactly 4 quarts for a drain/refill. Even though it is a lifetime fill, it is good preventive maintenance to do a drain/refill. You can buy the fluid at the dealer, and get an independent mechanic to do the service for about $20. Well worth it IMO. The Toyota dealer would probably do the drain/refill for about $70 (I guess), but its probably cheaper to just buy the fluid from the dealer and either DIY or find an independent tech, as the dealer often marks up the price of the parts as well.

To add up the costs:
Oil Change-$20
Air Filter-$15
Tire Rotation/Brake Inspection-$0
Coolant Drain/Refill-$40
ATF Drain/Refill=$70

Total=$145, very reasonable IMO.

Hope this helps,
Michael

 

Michael, where did you find, drain/refill coolant at 30k? I thought it was good for 100k. The 30k service just includeds alot of checks that my dealer sheepishly agreed that they do those checks during a routine LOF anyway.

 

Not to speak for Michael, but I will note that for the classic Prius the only US stated periodic maintenance was to check transmission fluid level. It may be the same in the new model.

But having read of a few transmission failres, and one case of metal bits on the sump magnet, I had mine changed at a Toyota shop at 80k miles. Note I also had them remove the pan to inspect inside it, so a sump gasket was also needed.

This "elective surgery" cost me $135 and the diagnosis was "fluid looks fine, little or no metal stuck to the magnet or in the sump". Having done this, I feel entitled to ignore it for a while.

 

What do you mean by "rotate the tires when necessary?

I would question changing the filters on a calendar basis as opposed to a mileage or as necessary schedule. I posted just yesterday that my ICE air filter needs changing, based on a visual inspection, after just 13,000 miles. The Toyota OEM filter cost around $15, which I would consider cheap preventive maintenance.

 

Most dealers have a fixed menu of stuff they want to do at specified intervals at a fixed price without regard to the manufacturer's recommendations for a given car. Many of these items are not needed, or are even nonsensical (for example it is not possible to lube the chassis on a Prius, but they'll charge you for it anyway).

Read the little service booklet that came with the car. Show the appropriate page in it to the service writer and tell them to do just those items. Then see what the price becomes. If the service writer whines or balks (*), go somewhere else.

* I almost wrote "and can't give you good reasons for doing more stuff", but how many of us know what a good reason is as opposed to a good snow job? It's unlikely that a service writer will know better than the car maker how much service is needed. It rarely happens that the maker revises the maintenance schedule; in that case the service writer should be able to show you documentation from the car maker for the change.

 

[attachmentid=740][attachmentid=741]New OEM ICE air filter vs one with only 13,000 miles.

Both filters were held up against a window with bright light behind them. The photos don't really show how little light was coming through the dirty one.

PS: This was my first post of photo attachments and I sent two large files. They are slow to download due to their size. Sorry.

 

Sorry, you were right I was wrong. :banghead:

I was in a hurry last night so I just checked the Edmunds Maintenance Guide and it suggested a coolant change at 30K, Edmunds probably didn't update their maintenance guide to reflect the longer service life for the new Toyota "Pink" Antifreeze. Sorry about that. I doubled checked the Toyota Service Guide and the coolant is good for 10yrs/100K.

 

Thats expensive. The fluid is only $42/gal at the Toyota dealer's parts dept., and at most, a pan gasket would cost you $10. I've PMed Jayman since he has changed the ATF before in a 2nd Gen Prius, but I don't think that it should be significantly more difficult than doing a routine pan drain in other normal cars, even though the Prius doesn't have an ATF dipstick. (Probably has a fill plug somewhere)

If you went to an independent shop to have it done, they shouldn't charge you more than $30 IMO. $50-$55 for parts, $30 for labor, so about $85???

Cheap insurance IMO, as CVTs aren't cheap to replace.

Mike

 

Err, sorry guys. I just talked with jayman about the ATF replacement and its a bit more challenging than I thought. Jayman used a drain plug to drain the transmission, but had to use a fluid pump to refill via the fill plug.

The CVT doesn't have a pan I found out, it is actually a CVT case that are two halves bolted together.

Just wanted to follow up,
Michael

 

Oops sorry I think there is still a bit of confusion. Please let me straighten this up:

The CVT has a drain plug - with a magnet - and a fill plug. Just like a conventional manual transmission. I used the drain plug to drain the CVT, then used my handy little oil pump to refill.

I had the pdf from Toyota online, but can no longer find it. I've cleaned out some old files from my home computer and am worried I may have deleted some important things too.

 

Under my 2001 Prius there are two sump pans. Let's agree that the one on the passenger side holds engine oil. What is the other one for, if not PSD/CVT/transmission fluid?

 

I guess the design is different then for 2G Prius.

 

From the manual, 2004 30K mile service:

Replace engine oil and oil filter
Rotate tires
Replace cabin air filter
Replace engine air filter
Inspect the following:
__ Ball joints and dust covers
__ Brake lines and hoses
__ Brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs2
__ Differential oil
__ Drive shaft boots
__ Engine and inverter coolant
__ Exhaust pipes and mountings
__ Fuel lines and connections, fuel tank band and fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
__ Fuel tank cap gasket
__ Radiator, condenser and intercooler
__ Steering gear box
__ Steering linkage and boots
__ Transmission fluid
Additional Maintenance Items for Special Operating Conditions
Driving in desert or on dirt roads:
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis
Driving while towing:
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis

It's just like a 5K mile service with two filters you can replace yourself for $35 tops. Sounds like a rip-off to me.

Hmmm what's this "Driving while towing..."?

 

that's for those of us who tow trailers with our Prius. What they want is for you to check the trailer hitch mounting bolts and nuts and studs. I take mine off so I check the torque every time I put it on to use.

 

Since the fuel filter is IN the tank as a non-replacable part, I suppose you replace your tank every year?

 

My 2004 Prius only has one pan, and that is for the engine oil sump. The CVT is a case bolted together, with a drain plug and a fill plug.

There are good pictures at the thread about the forum member who ran over something and cracked his CVT case.