[gerdemb]

Hello,

I'm the happy owner of a 2001 Prius with 40,000 miles. Until now, I've
been taking it to the dealership for the free maintenance every 7,500
miles, but now I'm going to have to start paying.

What have other owners done at this point? Should I stick with the
dealership or try the local Jiffy-Lube. The dealership has been
sending me a flier advertising $45 (5,000 miles), $131 (15,000 miles)
and $243 (30,000 miles) service. These prices don't include parts and
supplies and seem steep to me, is this what others are paying? Is
there any risk in going to a local shop that probably knows nothing
about the Prius?

I'm curious what others have done at this point.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[Phoenix]

Periodic Maintenance at Toyota Dealer

I have a 2002 Prius with 38,000 miles and am facing the same decision.

Our family also has a 1998 Camry. After the Camry warranty ran out, we continued to have the car serviced at the Toyota dealer. It now has almost 80,000 miles, and the only thing that I have paid for beside routine maintenance is for an alignment (at the dealer) and two tires (at Costco).

Dealer service is slightly higher, but they know your car; and it is basically insurance on continued good service out your vehicle. Unless you have an accident or abuse your car, you will probably spend much less on routine maintenance over the life of the vehicle than you would have paid for an extended warranty.

Also, I don't trust the quick lube places after an 18 year-old tech changed the oil on my son's car and forgot to refill the crankcase. Luckily my son saw the idiot light as he pulled out onto the street and immediately drove back to the lube shop.

Now, I even check the oil on the dealer's lot before driving off after service.

Probably when the Camry passes 100,000 miles, I will start doing the oil changes, etc. myself. It's just nice to have them check the entire car over and wash it, a pretty good deal for about $100 a year.

 

[RSnyder]

The odd 7,500 mile services are just oil change and tire rotation. You can probably get that done anywhere with similar chances for goofs as the dealer. If you can do it yourself, even better, then you can take the time to get the oil level just right.

The even 7,500 mile services (divisible by 15,000) are more extensive and unless you find a really good independant shop that's taken the time to get training on and test equipment for the Prius, you're probably much better off going to the dealer's service department. It's pretty important to run the scan tool on the car during this service and you probably don't want to buy one for yourself. Also, there are enough specialized TSBs and specially extended warranty items that you want a good record with Toyota service to be able to take advantage of them if needed.

Don't trust your dealer to know the right service items, go over the service schedule with them each time you hand your Prius over. Most service departments don't see enough of them to keep all their customer facing employees aware of their special needs. For instance, they will often do a power flush of the transmission fluid as a "standard" part of 60K or 90K service. It's not specified in the Prius service schedule and I really don't think its a good idea to do this to the electric motor seals in the transmission.

 

[Normich]

free maintenance???

What free maintenance? I just picked up my new Prius last week and only get one free oil change, some free inspections and discounts on some other services like tire rotations. I don't think this is a Toyota thing it seems more like a "loyalty program" run by the dealership.

By "free maintenance" do you mean the "Toyota Auto Care Prepaid Maintenance Program" mentioned in the back of the Maintenance Guide? I assume that you have to purchase this. Or ... did I miss something?

Normich
2004 Salsa #9

 

[ehurtley]

Re: free maintenance???

What free maintenance? I just picked up my new Prius last week and only get one free oil change, some free inspections and discounts on some other services like tire rotations. I don't think this is a Toyota thing it seems more like a "loyalty program" run by the dealership.

By "free maintenance" do you mean the "Toyota Auto Care Prepaid Maintenance Program" mentioned in the back of the Maintenance Guide? I assume that you have to purchase this. Or ... did I miss something?

Normich
2004 Salsa #9

Maybe his dealer tacked on the maint. program either for free, or they do it standard, and make it sound like it's included. (Kind of like at some restaurants how they ask if you "want a refill" without making it clear that you'll be charged for that refill.)

 

[moocatdog]

Re: free maintenance???

What free maintenance? I just picked up my new Prius last week and only get one free oil change, some free inspections and discounts on some other services like tire rotations. I don't think this is a Toyota thing it seems more like a "loyalty program" run by the dealership.

By "free maintenance" do you mean the "Toyota Auto Care Prepaid Maintenance Program" mentioned in the back of the Maintenance Guide? I assume that you have to purchase this. Or ... did I miss something?

Normich
2004 Salsa #9

Maybe his dealer tacked on the maint. program either for free, or they do it standard, and make it sound like it's included. (Kind of like at some restaurants how they ask if you "want a refill" without making it clear that you'll be charged for that refill.)

To help attract buyers, Toyota provided free maintenance on Classic Prii. That bonus was discontinued with the 2004 model year.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[Normich]

Thanks

Thanks, Moo. Guess I have to pay for my own oil changes. Sigh.

Normich

 

[mrv]

Re: free maintenance???

What free maintenance? I just picked up my new Prius last week and only get one free oil change, some free inspections and discounts on some other services like tire rotations. I don't think this is a Toyota thing it seems more like a "loyalty program" run by the dealership.

By "free maintenance" do you mean the "Toyota Auto Care Prepaid Maintenance Program" mentioned in the back of the Maintenance Guide? I assume that you have to purchase this. Or ... did I miss something?

Normich
2004 Salsa #9

All 2001-2003 Prius sold in the US came with the first 5 regularly scheduled maintenance visits complementary (free) from Toyota, good at any Toyota dealership. That's out to the 37,500 mile service (6mo/7500mi intervals).

Toyota did not continue the free maintenance program for the 2004s. However, they did continue the free 3 years/36,000 miles of Toyota Roadside Assistance and Tire/Wheel Hazard warranty coverage, though.

Some individual dealers may throw in a free oil change or two as part of a customer loyalty thing on purchase of a 2004, but that's dealership dependent for the 2004s.

 

[Hep]

I think you should make your decision based on how you are treated by your dealer. As much a pain as it is to buy a new car at our dealer, the service department is a joy. My wife's Camry needed a new headlight bulb. She called and they said just drive by. She pulled in, the service manager popped in a new bulb, said "no charge" and she was out the door. They know us by name and have never tried to sell us services we did not need. Is it worth a few extra bucks for the oil change? For us it is.