For Warranty can I go to a non-Toyota Shop for Maintenance (JLube?)

Toyota can't deny warranty if maintenance is done elsewhere, just keep documentation. Not a fan of Jlube places, too many loose and stripped filters and drain plugs. Read the link for explanation of the Magnuson Moss Act.

Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

^ I agree.

I would never go to a JL, ever. Find a reputable local mechanic in your area, who has their own garage. There are decent dealers too if you ask around or search online.

If you keep records of the work being done, dates, and the items being replaced, you're covered. You can even do the work yourself if you're so-inclined.

 

Take it to a reputable shop and keep documentation (as ^) and use genuine Toyota parts if possible. You can even do it yourself if you have the what for.

 

Don't fool yourselves, the people that do tire rotations and oil changes at the Dealership are the same caliber as those at Jiffy Lube. They even segregate them to the express bay. The ASE Mechanics are only used for real work.

 

There's no 'requirement' for a certification to do normal maintenance on just about any vehicle, unless you count the FAA and they don't (yet) have jurisdiction over Priuses.

Here's the thing.
As simple as maintenance is, some people just aren't going to do it for a variety of reasons.
Some of these reasons are pretty good.
If you live in a condo, sometimes it can be hard to drag out the ramps and tools for an oil change.

Since you need to familiarize yourself with the maintenance schedule anyway, it's a simple matter of paying Toyota (or Jiffy-oil) or doing it yourself.
Toyota has a sprinkling of honest dealers (I suppose) amid a horde of the some of sleaziest maintenance departments of any car dealership in North America, and they're second only to Harley Davidson in trying to scare customers into the myth that you have to have a dealer swing wrenches on YOUR car.
If you make them aware that you're an educated consumer, they generally won't try to gouge you with unneeded maintenance, and the maintenance that they do perform is usually up to scratch.
What you have to watch out for is ANYTHING that IS NOT ON THE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE.
These include, but are not limited to:
A/C charge or refresh.
Brake flush.
Throttle body maintenance.
Transmission linkage adjustment.
Turbocharger waste gate adjustment.
Traction Batter charging.
etc...

You would be amazed at how many times a customer drives a perfectly healthy car in for an oil change only to be told that their baby is on death's door and needs $500-$1000 worth of work.

It goes something like this for me:
If it's not on the maintenance schedule?
Then it's NOT maintenance.....it's a repair.
Those require an explanation and in most cases a second opinion.

That's why I usually just DIY.
By the time you schedule an oil change, go to the dealer, verify that they put the right oil in and actually changed the filter, and checked to make sure that they put the right amount of oil in, you could have done the work faster and more accurately yourself.


Or?????
You can just trade out cars every 2-3 years and pay for the occasional unneeded maintenance.
There are advantages to going that route as well, but it's just not how I do it.

YMMV.

 

As long as the maintenance gets done you're fine. But the 5K service is a glorified tire rotation, and I wouldn't pay Jiffy Lube to rotate tires.

For your 10K service you may end up paying less at the dealer. These cars require synthetic oil, and the Toyota dealer where we used to live would charge $49 for the oil change using 0w20 oil. Most oil change shops will charge about twice that for the correct type of oil.

And lastly, just like ETC said above, don't get talked into maintenance that's not needed. You DONT need an oil change every 5,000 miles unless conventional 5w20 oil was used.