Must I take my Prius to a Toyota dealer for routine maintenance?

I have a 2010 Prius III. Dealer is telling me work needs to be done by a mechanic that is Toyota hybrid-certified, or else my warranty will be invalid. I am not a d0-it-yourself owner, and have carefully had all scheduled maintenance done at Toyota. Mileage now 29,000. They tell me next service is $500. Any advice aappreciated.

 

Your dealer is at least misinformed, if not just lying. I would never let that dealer do any work on my Prius. You can either DIY or find a good local shop do standard maintenance items. Hybrid related items need to be done by a mechanic that understands the Hybrid components. There are several qualified independent Hybrid shops in California.

The 30,000 mile work that they are quoting is full of unnecessary items. Use the list in your owners manual to limit the cost, but consider adding a drain and refill of the Transmission fluid at this time (Use Toyota Type WS ATF if you DIY - instructions can be found by searching this discussion group, dealer cost should be about $100).

JeffD

 

I must have the dealer from hell-always overfills even when it is noted on the order, once left the oil cap OFF after oil change, then when they did the recall on the inverter water pump, they didn't secure it and left me stranded on a trip!

 

Why continue using that one?

 

I did not take my 2008 Prius to the dealer once. I have mechanic friend and he charges about half of what a dealer typically charges.

 

Thank you ! I really appreciate your feedback. Lucymama

 

If you don't want to do it your self, we'd love to do it for you. And, for much less than $500.

Avi