Is the 30,000 mile service necessary?

What are they going to do for that kind of money?

 

At 30,000 miles this is all you need to do and it should not cost anywhere near what the dealer is quoting you. In fact you can change the cabin and air filters yourself in 5 minutes.
Toyota Parts and Service

 

I'm going in for my 30,000 miles soon. My car is lowered so rattles a lot. I imagine over time my bolts get loosened from all the shaking.

Should I ask the dealer to "Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis"? How much will this run me, or should I ask someone else to do this? Thanks.

 

Look in your documentation, see what Toyota says to do. If the dealership has not spelled out what they plan to do, ask them to do so. Compare the two. If there are differences, ask why. Bottom line: you really only need to follow Toyota's requirements. If there's a big contrast between Toyota and dealer, discuss with them. If they're not responsive, try another dealership, and/or discuss with Toyota directly.

 

I've read about their sales tactics on this forum ad nauseum, so I'm well aware of what I need and don't need. What I'd like to know is, are they allowed to refuse to perform my oil change when I gleefully decline their 30,000 mile service?

Well I was going to go in there saying "Just give me the oil change please." I can change the engine air filter and cabin air filter myself. I also get free tire rotations from Firestone and lifetime alignments. Oh yeah, and I have a free Oil Change coupon from the dealership. LOL. Yup, I plan to spend about $25 on my 30,000 mile service. (for the 2 filters from Amazon). WOOT!

Thanks.

 

Yes. The charge will probably be one labor hour.

Nothing wrong with that. Oil change for free, and a nominal labor charge to check the tightness of the suspension components.

 

No.

It shouldn't be too difficult: outline Toyota's requirements, and what you plan to do yourself. If they really give you the gears, for trying to stick to the schedule (and a bit of DIY) complain to the service manager. Maybe also let the dealership manager no the service department is driving away business, and so on. And talk to Toyota.

You know, I think I'm winding up, LOL. Depending on the people working there, they may well meet you halfway

 

If you plan to keep your car for 100,000+ miles, 30,000 is a good time to do your first transaxle fluid change, for $100+/-. Thanks to jdenenberg for coming up with the 30/90/150/... ATF change recommendation. Maybe your service advisor will combine into a single hour the labor for that into the labor for torquing the body bolts. It never hurts to ask.

 

Is this really true? I mean I'm sure the dealer will try to upsell me on this, but I really need this done now if I want to keep the car long term?

 

If you just ask the dealer for the oil and filter change and then buy the two filters yourself (keep the receipts), they will do all the other inspections, anyway. They will try to find more work to do and the "inspections" are the way they do this. Ask for it and pay for it, or don't ask for it and get it for free!

 

Ok, I understand that. But regarding the comment about transaxle fluid: how true is it that I need that replaced now? I understand it's just a matter of preventative maintenance, but since it's not in the book, is that something they'll inspect for me?

 

I doubt the dealer will try to upsell you on this, since it is a "lifetime" fill.

How true is it? I would say it is best practice to change it earlier rather than later. Opinions vary on the mileage for the first change. A good discussion of transaxle fluid changing can be found at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...bleshooting/38524-transaxle-oil-analysis.html

 

no

 

I think I will wait on the transaxle fluid for quite some time. After reading the thread http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...bleshooting/38524-transaxle-oil-analysis.html it appears the majority of owners do not change it until at least 60-75k miles, if at all before 100k miles.

Thanks guys.

 

^^
I am a fan of cheap self-insurance and I want the car to last 400k miles, so I DIY exchange about every 60k miles. To your point, while I think you are correct that the larger majority of all Prius owners do not exchange ATF earlier than the Toyota recc, that is not the case for the sub-group of owners with exceptional Prius expertise. A short list that immediately comes to mind includes Bob Wilson, Pat Wong, and Hobbit.

 

Yeah those guys are pros. They are the hardcore Pre-Maint. guys and DIYers. I like to consider myself somewhere in between them and the completely negligent.

 

I changed mine at 42k, every used oil analysis I saw on this site suggested it would be a good idea. Make sure they use ~3.8 quarts of ATF-WS fluid. I drive 15 miles out of Baltimore to find an honest dealer and they charged me $84 for this.

Also make sure your dealer does not overfill the engine oil. The way I achieve this was to give them only 4x1 qt bottles of my own oil. They also took some chalk and wrote 4 qts synthetic on the black air filter.

Other than that, an air filter change and a parking brake adjustment I don't remember doing anything more.

 

Yeah they always overfill mine but I always forget to remind them not to, so I end up going back to the dealership. But you give them 4 quarts? I thought the issue was that the Prius needs less than 4 quarts. (from everything I read, 3.5 quarts is ideal)

Anyways, my plan of attack is to ask them not to overfill the oil. I'll ask for 3.5 quarts exactly. Although I'm not sure how they'll achieve this since I think the oil is pumped in a tube from the ceiling. After I get the car back I'll check it myself before I drive away. If it's not right, I'll tell them and expect them to drain some. Hey, I warned them.

 

Mac,

To get the right level of oil fill, bring your own (synthetic?) 3 and a half bottles of oil.

We just change our own.