service technicians

depends on the dealership. larger dealers and high-volume prius dealers tend to have more trained techs. some dealers don't have techs that are motivated enough to do the training. still others don't want to spend the money.

i suggest you find a dealer that has a few techs, make sure they know their stuff, and stick with that place for your service.

some things can be done by non-certified techs, but that's a limited list and is strictly routine stuff. anything that needs repair (aka, computer issues) will have to go to the dealer.

 

I maybe wrong,but I believe that all the dealers are supposed to have at least one Prius/hybrid technician( only Toyota Masters ) by now. Also beginning this year,any Toyota Master tech has to also be Prius trained to keep their Master status. Not all techs are Toyota Masters. Toyota doesn't want just any tech trained on them.Do you want the lube tech working on your 200+ volt HV battery? To be a Master Tech, not only do you have to have 5 years with Toyota but also have all 8 ASE certifications ( ASE Master ) and have completed all required Toyota classes/courses passed. As galaxee said,not all techs want to be Prius or Master techs( hope your hubby,galaxee, is patient in reaching this level, ). When you get up to a Master or Master Diagnostic level, you begin to get all the diagnostic problems and customers who have been back again with the same problems. Also the amount of "gravy" you get falls off. Example; brake jobs,maintenances, tune ups,etc. These pay better then the diagnostic concerns,especially if it is brain stumper. So as galaxee mentioned, if you find a dealer/tech that takes pride in his work and knows what he is doing, stay with them. They could be your best friends and source of info,

 

Here in the UK I haven't my Prius long enough to have the need of any service but I've been wondering about the availability of technicians. And this raises questions of how long the training takes, where they are trained (do they have to go to the USA or Japan?).

One of the things I've found remarkable about the rise and rise of computers in almost every aspect of life in the last 20 years or so, is the fact that there always seem to be "experts" available who can fix (or say they can) things that go wrong. Where did they come from?
Will we likewise see a great proliferation of hybrid "experts" in the coming years? Do any of you have children or grandchildren who are already showing a natural ability and deep interest in hybrid technology and yearning to go on a training course so that they can get a job in the nearest Toyota garage?
Incidentally, what is the location of solobristol? Is it Bristol, UK?

 

I will definitely take my Prius to a dealership for any service other than oil changes. However, I'm pretty sure that their Prius Technicians aren’t the ones changing the oil. The deciding incident for me was when I took the car back after an oil change and asked them to check the level (it was well above full on the dipstick). The car was returned and they apologized and agreed that the level was high and that the “technician†had taken some of the oil out. When I had a chance to check if for myself, I found that the level was exactly where is was when I took the car in. If it weren’t for that experience, I would probably still be taking the car to my local dealership (Fitzgerald’s in Gaithersburg MD) for oil changes.

I wish that I had a dealership like other people have found. I should be able to trust their service and diagnostic abilities, and not be skeptical that they are just lining their pockets with my money. And if I lived in Circleville Ohio, I would be trying to make Rick my new best friend.

 

Aw shucks, . Actually,I enjoy new technology and learning. There are more like me out there,you just have to find them. Sure ,there are ones you don't won't to have anything to do with, but not all of us are that way. Just have to find the right pair ( service writer/tech ) to deal with , no matter the dealer. Hope everyone finds theirs, .

 

Just to let everyone know, Rick has been a huge help to lots of us on the boards, answering questions and looking at tech documentation in his spare time, if he has any, with regard to our specific inquiries. There I times I wish I lived where he is so that I could get his kind of service an attention to my vehicle.

 

Avoid taking the car to the dealer... the Prius expert is simply the mechanic who can read and understand the technical manual.

 

I agree 100% with Rick. In Claremont, CA, Eric Foster flies the desk and Andy Chen spins the wrenches. I hope that all Prius owners can find such a good team.

 

Small town dealerships may not have a Prius-trained tech on duty when you take it in to get serviced. I prefer to take mine to a high volume dealer where the techs get plenty of on-the-job training.

 

Heyo, Rick, any chance you can poke FTS next time you talk to them
and find out why SSC50p only applies dielectric grease to M5, and
none of the other transaxle connectors?
.
... because I'm sure never gonna get this answer out of any of the
locals...
.
tnx!
.
_H*

 

Rick would a dealer be offended if I asked how many Prius tech's they have. I have been taking my Car to my independent automotive shop because first at 5k the person taking my reservation for the service told me the tire rotation was not recommended. At 10 k the express oil change people rotated my tires but did not adjust the pressures so I had 42 back and 40 front. I understand that the people in the Express oil change are not the "best of the best" but I would like to have a relationship with the shop. What do you suggest? I do not believe that the well trained people in the back are bad. The Express people are under pressure to preform quickly. I am not totally naive but at the same time I want it done right.

 

That is one reason I ordered/bought my Prius at a dealer farther from my home ((though still in my work area) by about 50 miles. They have been a seller of Prius' for years, while the closer Toyota Dealer wasn't even one of the places you could buy one a couple of years ago.

I decided it was worth doing business with a dealer that had more experience with this technology B)

 

Why do you slander people who have spent years becoming good mechanics and then good Prius techs?

If you were talking about any car other than the Prius (or maybe the Insight, but I don't know Honda) I might agree with you. A car is a car is a car, but not the technological marvel that the Prius is.

I encourage you to take your Prius to the mechanic down the street. I'll take mine to a trained, knowledgable tech certified by Toyota and ASE as masters.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for that comment, Bill! Seems like there are a number of people here who think they could fix their car better than that educated, years-experienced tech over at the dealership.

Thing about the Prius is, it's not a regular car. Sure, for say a Tundra any old mechanic could rip that engine apart and put it back together in working order (heck, that's my husband's huge job this week). But with the Prius, systems are different. Something that causes Problem A in a conventional car will cause Problem B in a Prius because of the way it's put together. Many problems that come up require solutions from the field because Toyota hasn't seen them before. That takes a creative, problem-solving oriented mind and a thorough knowledge of and experience with the interior workings of the vehicle. And cars in general. Something that reading the tehnical manual will NOT teach you.

 

Finding the combo is the key. I can name three dealerships that are nightmares waiting to be experienced (Prius and other Toys). The one I use is 180 miles but they do know what they're doing. I called the more local one last week and asked if the display should dim significantly if I turn the lights on. The answer, "well, I don't really know; if you bring it in maybe we could find out"! The dealership I will be using was very firm on seeing the PRI as soon as possible.

 

have you used the dimmer switch on the left side of the steering wheel? my husband got one of those the other day. the service writer was setting the guy up with a rental car and they quickly found out it wasn't necessary.

now if the dimmer switch doesn't work... then it's time for a trip in. and you made a good choice going to the folks who didn't answer with an "i do not know"

 

Hi hobbit,I will try to remember to check with the regional FTS's about why only M5 gets the grease and not any others. I have not had to do any of those recalls as of yet,so I can't say from experience why.

hdrygas,it would be fine to ask about the Prius or trained techs. I would think a dealer would be proud to answer your questions. And as galaxee noted,ask to talk with them. I have spoken with quite a few customers,hybrid and non hybrid owners. In this business,sometimes the tech doesn't get to see the customer much and when he does,needs good PR skills. A happy and confident customer will always be back and ask for him to work on his/her car.

As for jararimutt, take your car down the street,as Bill mentioned. Just hope they can diagnose it, because they need to be able to access all the ECU's and need a tester that can read CAN circuits. And if they are lucky,how about if they get a HV Control System code,of which there are 19 pages of in the repair manual. Lets say it is a PAO40,Drive Motor "A" Position Sensor Circuit/Range Performance(whew!). Now the INF code (sub code ) is 500. Detection condition is "Motor Resolver output is out of normal range. Say what? Could they repair it or even now what in the heck all this means? How about the fact of the high voltage involved? I hate to think of what could happen. And this is only one of maybe hundreds of codes( haven't tried to count them all,haha). Nuff said?