I took the car into Toytoa dealer for a full service at 110K miles. They defined it to be 1) oil change 2) coolant change 3) multi point check priced at 640.00. I can get a oil change done for 100.00 at dealer. So I asked him what does the rest go for? He said coolant change for engine and inverter. Very complicated. And for multipoint check. How can 550 go for coolant change? Multipoint check is nothing but fishing for more business so I dont include that as a service. Any thoughts any one? Does that sound like a lot for coolant change? Is that so complicated?
Is it any wonder why there is so often a recommendation here to find an independent shop instead of going to a dealer?
They have to give you a price breakdown by item! On my Toyota the coolant service was $140 using extra long life Toyota coolant. An oil change is about $65. The checkup involves no parts and should cost no more than $100 max. Total $305. My oil change also incudes lubing hinges, etc.
A good independent garage should be able to do all that for the above amount. Since you are out of warranty you can easily go anywhere you want.
There’s a separate cooling system for the inverter, let’s add $140 more for it, gets you to $445. Ask for a price for each: oil change, engine coolant, inverter coolant, and inspection.
It may come down to where you live. If you live in a high cost of living area, $450 of services could run up to $640. You did says $100 for an oil change, and that is 2 to 5 times higher than I would expect, and I live in a high cost of living area. You don’t need to get these services done at the Toyota dealer. They can all be done by an independent garage. If you don’t know a good one, ask everyone you know for recommendations. Pick from the ones mentioned the most.
It’s not complicated to replace the coolant in the hybrid system. It just requires a factory scanner or programing to operate the hybrid coolant pump to remove all the air.
Tester
“It just requires a factory scanner or programing to operate the hybrid coolant pump to remove all the air.”
There, I fixed it - special tools = $$$ on the bill…
Multipoint check is nothing but fishing for more business so I dont include that as a service.
The dealership may differ on that point. An inspection is a service, and they have to pay their mechanics by the hour to do the inspection; so it follows they have to charge the customer by the hour for the inspection service. And to remain in business, they need to make a reasonable profit beyond that. Without knowing what exactly they checked and inspected, there’s no way to know if the fee was correct or not. But figure paying about $100 per man-hour to inspect stuff.
One of the problems w/hybrids is that inde shops probably aren’t going to be as experienced as the dealerships are for service. Usually the recommendation here for a 2010 would be to use an inde shop for something like this, which would lower the fee. But for a hybrid, I’d probably continue to use the dealership unless you can locate a local inde shop that is fully experienced and tooled up for Toyota hybrids. $640 isn’t an unreasonable price to pay if they did a good job that keeps the car running reliably and trouble free.
Thanks a lot for all the inputs. Total came to 680. This was for - oil change, coolant change (motor, inverter), air filter,cabin filter, wipers, new headlight bulb and multipoint check. AFter 10% discount it came to 640. This is in San Francisco - a high cost environment, so I accept the cost. Nevertheless some of your inputs that it could have been around 500 sounds more real.
I have another question. The dealership suggested front brake rotors be ground and pads replaced for $450. I thought its best left alone. Let the rotors grind some more (Brakes are fine right now) and perhaps it will get to point where I replace them instead of grinding them. Any comments? I always thing mechanics like to keep on suggesting brake replacements and tire replacements when there is enough wear in them.
If the front brakes are fine, no pulsation and sufficient pad thickness what is the reason for replacement? What is the pad thickness?
BTW, we also get more than $600 on a six cylinder hybrid 100,000 mile service (that is when your coolant was supposed to changed).
How does inverter coolant loop work? Where is coolant pumped? To aux radiator?
Yep
You could probably change the headlight bulb, wipers, and cabin air filter (which is probably behind the glove compartment) yourself to save some money.
The original post didn’t mention the filters, wipers, headlamp - so with all those tossed in the price seems OK, and in San Francisco not that bad at all.
I change my cabin air filters, but some are expensive, like $25 for my Civic from the local NAPA store. At premium Toyota prices for the parts it can add up quickly. The rear window wiper from my '01 Sequoia has a special do hicky added on so it is real expensive to replace.
On the brake resurfacing, suggest not to go that route. Rotors on newer cars even when new aren’t overly thick, so by the time they wear enough to consider doing a resurfacing there isn’t really enough material left once they are returned to true. New replacement brake rotors – at least for econo-box cars – aren’t overly expensive. So when it comes time for the brake job, suggest new pads and new rotors.
Whether you can wait or not, or for how long, that depends on the condition and dimensions of the current pads and rotors. I think it makes sense to error on the side of caution w/brakes. If the motor stops working, that’s an inconvenienced. Brakes stop working … a major safety concern.
Rotors on newer cars even when new aren’t overly thick, so by the time they wear enough to consider doing a resurfacing there isn’t really enough material left once they are returned to true.
These brake rotors are much thicker than rotors of 30 years ago. In the southwest we have no rust problems and these brake rotors are good for 2 or 3 brake jobs, you should not have rust problems in San Francisco either. There is .118" of material available for wear and resurfacing before reaching minimum thickness, this is plenty, these rotors are thicker than the rotors on my truck.
New Toyota front brake rotors are $82 each, you shouldn’t need them, the rotors on a hybrid can last the life of the vehicle.
New Toyota front brake rotors are $82 each, you shouldn’t need them, the rotors on a hybrid can last the life of the vehicle.
As should the rest of the brake system. I used to service a Prius that had 220,000 miles and still the original brakes.
Do you think San Francisco’s legendary hills would have an adverse affect on brake life? Would the conventional brakes be used significantly in a hilly stop-and-go environment?
Sure certain types of driving in San Francisco can result in rapid brake wear but with my visits to SF the roads that I traveled were no different than my own. The hilly streets shown in films can be found but were not traveled on by the residents that I road with. Real estate in SF is very expensive, I think people from Oakland will tell you they are from SF just for an easy reference, so are we really in old San Francisco?
Lived in San Fran for a while, remember a lot of brake shops, no doubt brake life is signifigantly shorter in SF in my mind.
I was just wondering what your experience is/was with regen braking being sufficient or not for hilly city driving and constant jack-rabbit stop and go.
We’ve sure come a long way. Over 200,000 miles on original brakes on a Prius today. Back in the 80’s in LA it wasn’t unusual for the family sedan to need new brakes at 25,000 miles.