I went in to service my 2007 Prius yesterday in Yonkers, New York. They charged $400.00 for the fifteen thousand mile check up. Today I discovered that the two air filters - engine and cabin that they replaced at a cost of $160.00 can be purchased on line for $60.00, the total for both. I am certain that the engine filter probably didn't need replacing as online it says it has a million mile warranty. Has anyone else dealt with this? I bought the car in Raleigh/Durham North Carolina, the 5,000 mile check up there was $19.95. I had to have mine done here in New York they charged me over $200.00. How can I protect myself against this kind of price gouging? The service attendant seemed involved in this deceit. Is it possible he was scamming me?

 

You paid much more than you had to.

First, you can find the air filters for even less. Metro sells the engine air filter for $12 and the cabin filter for $15. Second, it's an easy DIY job -- takes two minutes max and no tools.

Beyond that, dealers are notorious for selling you stuff you don't need when you say, "##K mile" maintenance. Their package often includes items the manufacturer's package doesn't. Instead, show them the maintenance booklet for your car and tell them you want only what's listed.

To save even more, consider doing oil and filter changes yourself. It too is an easy DIY job, and it assures you that it's done right. There are many reports on the forums of dealers mishandling even that simple job, such as by overfilling.

 

The engine air filter should be cleaned yearly or in my case, I just replace it in the fall change. This tosses out the accumulated spring pollen and summer dust for the fall and winter driving:

There are two front clips and one on the left. It is a piece of cake to inspect and replace.

As for the engine oil filter, again, change the oil and filter at one time. This gets rid of a lot of stuff that has no business being in the oil.

Bob Wilson