Servicing a 2010 Prius

This will be my new signature.

 

Dealers really vary in what they try to sell to customers. I have a 9 year old 2010 with 88,000 miles. I have oil and filter changes done at the dealer and they occasionally suggest a cabin air filter replacement which I do myself. If they started to try to sell me a lot of other services, I'd go elsewhere. A brake fluid flush might give you peace of mind but I don't think you need it.

Our other vehicle is a Nissan. Our Nissan dealer doesn't try to sell extra stuff either.

 

I googled a bit, with mixed results. A common refrain was "do what the manufacturer recommends", which clouds the issue further. Toyota USA says nothing about brake fluid change, but here's a snip, from a 2012 Toyota Canada maintenance schedule:



I believe 2012 is the year they started saying this. I know our 2010 booklet says nothing. This is for all Toyota Canada vehicles.

Still, the debate is kinda trivial: the cost for DIY is about $15 (2 pints of Toyota DOT3 brake fluid), and an hour or three, depending on if you do it with the car on the ground, or take the time to raise and support it, remove all the wheels. It's a good idea to do this in conjunction with a tire rotation or brake job.

Taking it into the dealership and spending $100, not that bad.

 

The Prius' brake system "may" be more sealed because of the electric brakes.
The "norm" had always been 2 years because of the moisture. You want to do it BEFORE the fluid
gets too much moisture in it(darker), in the reservior, and then spreads to the calipers.
3 years would be the MOST I would go. I've made lot's of money replacing calipers because people don't want
to FLUSH the brake system. They figure since it's working, don't mess with it.

 

My friend, I wouldn't do business with these guys at all, ever! They're playing games and can't be trusted. I'd follow the advice of others here who've suggested other service facilities, especially since your car is no longer under warranty. I've lived in Socal all my life and have done brake fluid flush/replacements a few times on my Alfas. But the cars were over 15-20 years old, and the dealers never charged anywhere close to a hundred bucks. My 2012 PIP had 103,000 miles, 6 years old (at the time I sold it) and I never considered, nor did my dealer suggest, a brake fluid replacement. Tire rotation is free, even if you didn't buy tires from them, at Discount Tires; and they even balance the tires each time! Don't get shafted! Good luck!


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
AChoiredTaste.com

 

Whatever.

What can I say, I get cranky when people try to tell others what to do without knowing anything about their circumstances.

 

When anyone from any business try to upsell me on anything I don't need, I always say "Sure I'll take it, but if there's a fee then forget it."

 

One time I left my 1/2" torque wrench at @Raytheeagle place at one of the prius meet ups and couldn't rotate the tires myself confidently w/o the tool, I went to Les Schwab and ask how much the rotation will be because I heard from word of mouth that they were free there. The guy said rotations are free, I replied great, I'll leave my keys here. He said balancing was part of the rotation. I said no thanks to balancing, and he said it was required and they won't rotate without balancing, I said okay have it balance. He said there will be a balancing fee total of $45 w/rotation being free. I said I won't need it and know 2 tire shops across town that has done mine for free for years. He said no tire shops around will rotate it for free haha.

 

I sent them a message for a quote for oil change, on the terms that I supply the oil and filter because I was going to be in SF and didn't mind changing EO a bit early. The quote was $161, and I was going to drive 3 hours to get there.

 

Now I know why you stop about 50 miles shorter.

Another good monetary reason to DIY if you can.

 

Cranky is not the word most would use. I gave the OP "friendly advise" because I am a career Mechanic that doesn't like to see people get shafted...especially by commission driven Service Advisors. Not all...but "most" people buy a Prius to save on gas and because it's a rock solid reliable vehicle that seldom breaks...which means more money in their pockets. Paying someone to perform routine preventative maintenance like brake flushes, pin lubes, changing the oil/filter, changing the 2 air filters, exchanging the ATF and/or rotating the wheels are simple tasks that anyone without disabilities can do...with technical info and how to's often shared and discussed here on PC. That money saved doing it your self buys a lot of gas too. So...whether jafca09 can, will or wants to take my advise to perform these simple tasks are his decision and no judgments were made or inferred regardless...and that applies to you or anyone else. I don't know you, you don't know me and neither of us knows jafca...so perhaps we should try and keep it friendly. YMMV

 

You may want to go back and read your original message, it wasn't in he"friendly advice" category, hence my reaction to it.

As for the cost of a Prius, everyone forgets about the original cost and repair costs -- it is *not* a cheap car to drive. If I were going for cheap, I'd buy a used corolla or something like it and you'd never even come close to making up the difference. Car payments and repair bills are out of pocket too...

I'd much prefer keeping it friendly. Knowing what your job history I can kind of understand your reaction now, but still, you should really tone it down. When someone asks a question, I answer to he best of my ability if it's something I know, and I'd NEVER tell them it's about time they learned how to do their maintenance by themselves unless that is what they asked.

I personally can't do that kind of maintenance physically but I have the money and don't mind spending it to get other people to work on it. If a dealer wants to do something expensive and I don't know about the issue, I'd ask here, just like the OP and I would not appreciate someone telling me to do it myself.

With that said, I apologize to the group, and I'll shut up.

 

Perhaps "my environment" is not as sterile as some, but that's considered friendly in most circles. No harm, no foul.