Left Axle Seal - Replaced at 60K

After reading various thoughts and opinions here on PriusChat, I decided to drain and refill my transaxle oil at 60K. I was going to do it myself, but serious time constraints led me to call the dealer to see if I could negotiate a deal. At first, they wanted $89.95, but I talked the service manager into doing the transaxle fluid and the PCV valve for $89.95. Considering that the fluid and PCV valve cost $38, and it would take me over an hour to do both of these things (the PCV valve is not easy to get to like other cars), it was definitely worth my time to have the dealership do it.

The service associate came over to me after the car got up on the lift and told me that my left axle seal was leaking. I was somewhat skeptical because right before coming to the dealership, I had my car on a lift and had inspected underneath the car while performing my own oil change and tire rotation. I asked if I could go back and see it, and sure enough, it was definitely seeping out pretty good. I am leaving later today for a 2-month 10,000+ mile journey, so I had them replace it.

$262.50 for labor
$8.64 for the PCV Valve
$31.12 for 4 quarts of transaxle oil
$10.97 for the axle seal

While I was waiting, I checked PriusChat and discovered that the driver's side (left) axle seal is a fairly common problem...with most folks needing to replace them around the 80K-100K mark due to normal wear and tear.

Mine was replaced at 60,318 miles, and as luck would have it, just 318 miles outside of the 60K power-train warranty. If only I had taken it in 319 miles sooner. hwell:

Kind of a bummer, but what can you do. At least it was discovered before becoming a real problem...especially since I'm going on such a long road trip.

Bryan