I have a 2017 Prius Prime Advanced and my gas/EV driving ratio is roughly 1:4 from day one. My car is around 90K miles right now and today I try to find a dealer to service my car. The first one quote me for $2129.56, and this is after deducting my pre-pay package for oil change. I am attaching their quote here so you can see how they charge. However ridiculous it is, it is not where I have my issue. That is intelligence tax. I just politely tell them that I am only looking for what was recommended by Toyota, not dealer. So I need a update on the quote to show me basic things to do. and then they start to have problem with that. The advisor keeps refusing my request to provide me the quote and said that is all needed for 90K miles maintenance. After repeating my requests for more than a dozen time but still can't get a quote, I told him I can't work with somebody who failed to hear his customer so badly. and now it's the second dealership. I repeat the same request with same tone, try not to carry over my bad mood to the new advisor. He quoted me a price for $1044.95. He is however at least more cooperative and is willing to honor my request to drop these service that I don't really need them to do for me. Afterward the price becomes $569.27. Still rather high but at least he talked like a real customer servicer. So I took this latest list, get back home, and check Toyota maintenance guide, I attached the screenshot of what is said on the Toyota documentation. Now I get confused again about these weird items: Install EShield Fuel System Treatment Install Boost Fuel System Cleaner Install Premium Coolant Conditioner Perform Air Conditioning Deorderizing Service Perform Brake Fluid Exchange Perform EV Charging Port Cleaning All of a sudden the second friendlier dealership doesn't looked that trustworthy to me anymore. This is, according to the advisor, the minimal package for 90K miles service. I am not seeing it minimal at all and is that "EV charging port cleaning" really a thing or joke? I slept for only 4 hour last night to submitted my report at work, but I don't feel tired. But the two and half hours I spent to deal with these scams at dealership drain all of my energy for the rest of the day. This is getting so out of control. I remember just 10 years ago these guys are still semi-professional. I wonder what happened to all of our dealerships these days. With all the crazy markup and rude and unprofessional sales guys, now even service guys are no longer trustworthy? This is so sad.
Our 2016 hybrid (not prime) has 96K miles now. All I've ever done is change the oil/filter on time and change the engine air and cabin air filters on time. All those dealer suggestions are simply a money grab. Pay attention to coolant levels and top off if needed. You probably also need a new 12V, if you haven't already changed it.
My 12V has failed twice already. The last replacement was 6 months ago. All it take for me to do is to go to Costco to buy a battery, come home and replace it myself in 10 minutes. Dealer will probably ask for $200 dollar labor if I ask them to do it. 17 Prius Prime is a super low maintenance car, you barely need to do anything on the car. But one dealer warn me that if I don't keep my service record at the Toyota network, especially for things like battery air filter replacement (forget what they ask for but probably another $150 ~ 250 too), they will refuse the warranty claim for my traction battery. So for 2017 Prius Prime, is there still any componenets that is still under warranty? The only thing I wasn't sure is the hybrid battery. There are different words even from different dealers for that
Attached is a table format summary of the Toyota USA's maintenance schedule, as outlined in the Warranty and Maintenance booklet, for the Gen 4 Prius, and undoubtedly the same applies to the Plug-In variant.. Here's what Toyota USA says to do:
Thanks for sharing. I actually have a very similar list for my old cars and I started to create one for Prius just last night. I am usually against strong regulations, but from the business practices I saw at dealership for the past 10 years, from selling new cars, dealing old cars, and servicing cars, I think these business needs to be regulated a lot tighter than how you see in most states now. Many dealer basically has become a legal scam operating right at the boundary of law these days.
The ONLY thing on that list that may need to get done is the brake fluid exchange. Other OEM's like Toyota Canada, and Honda specify 3yr or 30K to 6yr or 60K mile brake fluid changes. Brake fluid may be tested to see if it needs changing, but at 8yrs and 90K miles - I'd probably change it to be on the safe side. The Toyota OM does say check brake fluid, but doesn't state visual level check or chemical strip testing. The other thing that may need to get done is changing the ATF. While Toyota states that this is a lifetime fluid, my experience has been that going 90K-100K miles, that fluid is full of metal filings from wear and tear along with 90K miles worth of heat cycles. While these transmissions are resilient, swapping out the ATF around every 100K is cheap insurance vs a transmission failure. Around $200-$250 service. Those are the only two things I would deviate from the Toyota OM. This is from my experience fixing, maintaining, and flipping cars on the side; over the decades. Service advisors are paid on commission. I would've asked to speak to the lead service writer or owner of the dealership, if I was treated that way at your first dealership. You may also file a complaint with Toyota USA corporate too. They shouldn't have 'pushed' when you asked for ONLY written OM 90K maintenance be performed. Hope this helps.... PS; Keep an eye on your engine coolant levels. 2016-2017 model years have been known to spring a leak in the exhaust gas heat exchanger, behind the CAT. Under CARB rules, your covered for 15 years or 150K miles. If you get an engine over temperature lamp; you've likely lost most of your coolant from that leak. You should pull over and shut-down as soon as you can get to a safe spot on the road - to avoid engine damage.
The maintnenance is not in the "OM" (aka Owner's Manual). Again, the publication to mention is the "Warranty and Maintenance Booklet". If it's not at hand, a pdf can be downloaded, one source being the Toyota Tech Info site (just google), iunder the "Manuals" tab. Here's the 90k mile page: My 2 cents, much of the above is either nonsense or DIY territory. Also, I would not replace either engine or cabin filter unless warranted. The inspections of various mechanical components and fasteners are vague to the point of being impossible to perform, basically tacked-on by Toyota to avoid potential lawsuits. Full document attached:
No it's my turn bitching about their charge. I found a nice video from Car Care Nut about the $209 "HV battery cooling intake system maintenance and filter replacement" is really about: This is the video to replace cabin air filter yourself: This is how engine air filter is replaced: Just these three super simple items that scammy dealer would ask for $210, $179, and $118 respectively. The part for these works are around $50 (from Toyota official part, not random cheap alternatives on Amazon/Ebay) The estimated time to finish is 30 minutes to be super generous. So that means the dealer is charging me $900 hourly rate for their labor. I think even the lawyer or brain surgeon doesn't have the audacity to ask for this hourly rate.
Yes, the emission control and traction battery. Check my thread above #6 and your traction battery is 10 years or 150K miles. Fun fact is that warranty went to 15 years and 150K miles for the 2020 model year and above. Re: Costco battery, I'm pretty sure they will install them for free and you avoid the core charge. I've found that the gen4 battery needs a recharge about once a year and I do annual maintenance on them. Top off electrolyte levels and recharge if necessary. I usually get 10+ years out of those non-sealed flooded lead acid batteries and I'm still on my original; but I don't have all those electronic gizmos of the advance. YMMV
