I was under the impression that a new Prius, under warranty, had its warranty-required service free if you went to a Toyota Dealer to get it done.

I just called Northridge Toyota, the closest Dealer to me, and they told me it's $70 each time. So... which is it? I don't want to pay for something I'm supposed to receive for free.

 

With our Camry and Echo, we were always charged something for the preventative maintenance items. I thought the warranty covered just non-accident related repairs.

We used to get discount promotionals and get $25 off on an oil change.

Bob Wilson

 

$70 for an oil change??? Or were you having other things done at the same time? I haven't had my first oil change yet, and you're scaring me.

 

Preventative maintenance is not covered under the warranty.

Are you looking for just an oil change, as your subject line suggests? If so, $70 is too much, though that may be the going rate at a dealership. Any competent mechanic can do it for much less. Heck, it's an easy DIY job. I hadn't changed my own oil in 20 years, but I'm doing it on my Prius.

There are other DIY jobs that are easy and will save you money. The engine and cabin air filters are each 2 minute jobs and require no tools. Rotating your tires is a little more work, but your local tire store will probably do it for less than the dealer.

For whatever you get the dealer to do, make sure you don't ask them for their standard 5K (or 10K, 15K, etc.) service. Many dealers have packages that include things that go beyond what the owner's manual recommends. Just look in your manual, see what the car needs for that service interval, and tell the dealer that's what you want - no more.

 

First off, a free oil change under warranty does not exist anymore. Secondly, $70 for a simple oil change is crazy. Do the oil change yourself and save more than half of that price.

 

Thanks everyone, that makes me feel a lot more confident about this whole situation.

I've seen it mentioned that doing this yourself can screw your warranty, is that true? I thought I needed to go to a dealer so they could log it reliably and all.

JimboK you nailed it, he said $70 but then he did mumble quietly "5K service," he noticably lowered his volume for that part which marked in my head as "danger," but I didn't know what kind. That must be the $70 number. So I guess what I need to do is call again and ask for JUST the oil change price before I do this, and say no to any other crazy things they were looking to do. Admittedly I'd like to overfill the tires and loosen the brakes a little (they're already kicking in too hard at 7mph!), but maybe I'll let that go... I can probably fill tires myself for a lot less than it sounds like they'd want.

 

No, doing it yourself does not void your warranty. But document carefully what you did and when. I'm pretty thorough: I keep all receipts for oil, filters, etc.; I note the mileage and date I did the work; and I take a dated digital picture of the front end of the car on ramps with the drain pan sitting beneath it and four bottles of motor oil sitting next to it. Maybe that last step is a bit **** (and a sign of my own paranoia), but it's simple and should be very convincing if my DIY maintenance is ever questioned.

Presumably the $70 quote includes at least the Toyota recommended 5K service (I would hope). That service interval includes tire rotation and visual inspection of brakes. I skipped both of those at 5K. I rotate my own tires every 10K, unless I'm too busy, in which case I'll have the local tire shop do it. I've done a 10K tire rotation on every front wheel drive car I've owned, with excellent, even tire wear. I eyeball the disk pads when I rotate the tires, and I figure the annual state safety inspection is otherwise sufficient for brakes. The Prius is inherently easy on brakes (see below), made even more so in my case by my driving techniques.

What you're experiencing with the brakes may be the Prius' normal transition from regenerative braking to friction braking. Above 7-8 MPH with light braking, engagement of brake pads and shoes is limited. Instead the otherwise wasted kinetic energy is recaptured by the hybrid system to help charge the battery. As you brake slowly past the this threshold, you will notice a slight "grab" as friction braking takes over. I'm not sure there's any adjustment for that. (Maybe others here can confirm or refute.)

 

Oh I know! I don't want to steer this off-topic, but in another thread I've discussed a few Priuses I've driven in the past, one of which whose friction brakes became far too tight and went absolutely crazy as a result. I want to head that off at the pass because that was dangerous for everyone involved.
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...l?page=2&pp=10

 

Good info, and thanks for the link. It sounds like you (and the thread) are suggesting it can be adjusted. If so, I stand corrected. Always trying to learn!

 

Where do people get this? Would changing your wiper blades cancel the warranty also? Of course not. But the only way changing your own oil would ever screw the warranty is if it caused engine damage, from to little or to much oil or the filter came off.