I've only been a professional wrench for +40 years with multiple licenses and I've seen and heard this all before. You asked, but the decisions are all yours. Wish you the best.
Again,,,, You should never 'add brake fluid'. You're just making a problem if you do. There is a Max and Min line for a reason. It's a translucent reservoir for a reason. Resist the urge to open that cap and let moisture in.
Most if not all of Toyota’s service recommendations are miles or months, whichever comes first. Concur about not adding brake fluid, it typically drops as a consequence of pad wear, and it’s pointless to “top up”. However, regarding the cap on brake fluid reserve, while a snug fit, don’t see it as being air-tight, sealed.
DOT 3/4 is most definitely not a 100K mile fluid. If your brake fluid drops close to minimum in the reservoir that means you need maintenance. Either you have a leak of some kind or you pads/shoes are worn. Fluid should be flushed every 2-3 years or 30K miles at minimum...regardless what you drive.
Basically means pads have thinned, pistons have come further out the calipers, and brake fluid has filled the increased void behind the pistons. With new pads you need to push the pistons back into the calipers, and the fluid level in the reservoir goes back to where it was at the outset. Barring leaks.
Having owned 2 Prii and an HV RAV4...as it relates...you will need to flush the fluid before the pads/rotors ever need work.
Yup, per Toyota Canada: Lovely maintenance schedule format (attached), for the last few years of 3rd gen. For 4th gen, they completely stripped it out of the paper/pdf documents, made it online-only, in a format similar to the US Warranty and Maintenance Booklet, event-by-event, so impossible to see the patterns, unless you labouriously translate it back to spreadsheet table (which is likely how it's created...).
See thread #27. That's what OEM maintenance manuals used to look like, before total cost of ownership (TCO) was weaponized in the automotive industry. OEM sought to lower their TCO, by deferring maintenance, claiming lifetime fluids; pushing out oil changes to10K miles and requiring full synthetic oils. That pushes their TCO over a 5-8 year period down; making them look more competitive. Some of us wants to drive a car until the wheels fall off or when the universe has other plans. We tend to do REAL maintenance, rather than just the OEM minimum - to get us past the OEM warranty period. You can go down to your local library and ask if they have an old OEM manual. I just took a look at my old 1997 Honda Civic OEM manual. It's stating 3yrs or 45K miles DOT3 replacement. Now all of a sudden DOT3 is lifetime?????
I suspect your Toyota manual is from the Canadian dealers network and not Japan. Never put anything past people in the car business. I think BMW has a maintenece manual that Medel, do you service your Prius or do you take it to the dealership for service?
The transaxle does have real gears just like a conventional automatic: what it does not have are clutches, solenoids or torque converters. Of all your maintenance cost reduction issues this is probably the least concerning. Most likely its tearing the battery assembly down in order to clean buildup off the battery fan blower wheel. While not totally unwarranted I would be ok with waiting a couple more years on this given the miles. Unless it codes for battery overheating. This is where you are fooling yourself on the most expensive potential expense; a bad engine in the future. So many Toyota owners end up with oil burning and resulting carbon buildup clogging the second most expensive repair, your catalytic converter. 5k mile oil changes are like life insurance for the car, find ways to get it done twice outside of the dealership for the same $67-$150. The dealership I use has a service email list that gives me a buy one get one free oil change for $89 total, a real $45 each time. Or find a small hybrid shop and take ALL your work to them. Brake flush? It's a good idea - not for braking power - but to avoid a $2500 brake booster down the road. What's just as important as an oil change? Engine coolant drain and fill. Which is an easier diy than any of the above. Prevents old coolant from causing gasket erosion which prevents the number one most costly repair listed above.
