What should one expect to pay for the 5000 mile service?

Have the bill for my 5K service in front of me. With tax it came to $35.82. That included changing oil and filter, rotating tires, filling windshield washer and "27-Point Inspection". Labor was 21.45, parts were 12.45, "misc.: was 1.11 and the tax was .81. They didn't charge me for removing the excess oil after they overfilled it. Be sure to check your oil level after they change yours.

jiffy lube. oil change. $20.

(Probably the first of several responses like this) I don't trust the quickie oil change places not to damage my car. Cross-threaded drain plugs, requiring replacement of the oil pan, are the most frequent complaint (and are not covered under warranty... good luck getting the oil change place to pay for it.) Wrong fluids, failing to put fluids in, putting fluids in the wrong place, breaking things - these are all frequent complaints regarding JL and the others.

This is a good time to determine where you want to take your car for service when you have trouble. If you get a fair price from the dealer, you've found your mechanic. If you already have a good mechanic, the matter is settled. It can save you thousands in the long run - no fooling.

Mike

This is the very reason I have been changing my own oil since I have owned cars starting back in 1964! I am assured of doing it right. I am assured of putting the correct oil in the crankcase. And I am assured of putting the correct amount of oil in the crankcase. And since I own a torque wrench, I am assured of replacing the drain plug with the proper amount of torque.

Stan

• I would use the local Jiffy-Lube (or similar), which will cost you about . If you do this, it is very important to tell them not to overfill the oil reservoir. It takes about 3 1/2 quarts to fill it. I would ask for conventional 5W30 oil for at least the first 15,000 miles. Other posters here have recommended Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic oil after 15,000 miles.

Unless you live in a particularly dusty and dirty area, you certainly do not need cabin filters, etc.

earle

*

"Bill" replied:

Wow, whatta deal, Bill! Where is your dealer?

I had my first 5K service yesterday. I took the full package: Oil, Filter, new drain plug gasket, rotate and balance tires, lube hinges and all lube points, Inspect everything.....

I decided to go for the full standard service because this was the first time and probably good to check everything. Next time I'll probably get only the oil and filter for $28.95 with the 5th change free. Dealer's list price for the 5K service was $89.95. I had a coupon for a 10% discount and a $10 CVS gift card. Result with added environmental charges, shop supplies, tax, etc. cost me a net of $76.38.

-Al

I pay about $28.75 for the same service at Lighthouse Toyota of St. Augustine (FL).

All those are very good bargains in that you are establishing yourself as regular customers at the dealer (assuming the dealer has a good shop). When a bigger problem inevitably comes along you will have good standing. It's amazing how much advantage there can be having a dealer to stand up for you.

Mike

Hey! I could have written some of this!!! I had my 5000K checkup yesterday, expecting it to be ca $40, given what some of the folks said here, and it was... $89.95. (I was pleased to see they gave a 10% discount to AAA members, though.) I asked about the price, and they claimed it was because they did all this stuff--which now I see Bill got done for that much-lower price.

They also charged $23 to take a screw out of a tire--which VW did for free. I won't have them do THAT again!

I don't know what I think of this dealer, who is within a long walk of my house and may try the place where I got my car.... Guess it depends on what needs to be done and what the weather is.

Corwin Toyota, Fargo, ND.

Wow, and I didn't even have a coupon. I'm thinking prices vary remarkably from one part of the country to another. Certainly a mechanic living in LA is paid a LOT more than one living in Fargo.

The Goodyear warranty specifically excludes road hazard coverage HOWEVER the Toyota Roadside Assistance program extends tire coverage to road hazards and reads as follows:

"Tire and Wheel Road Hazard Coverage: For the term of the 3-year,

36,000-mile warranty, reimbursement will be provided up to $20.00 per incident for the repair of a flat tire damaged by a Road Hazard"

The warranty goes on to define "road hazard" as "objects and road conditions such as potholes, rocks, wood debris, metal parts... (I'll stop there).

They owe you $20.00 Jean. You will find all of this in the tri-fold roadside assistance booklet that should have accompanied your manual. In fact, $23.00 is pretty high for replacing a screw with a plug unless they dismounted the tire and used a patch instead.

BTW, tire coverage is being dropped for the 2006 model.

They don't owe her; she has to file a claim for reimbursement with Toyota; start by calling the Roadside Assistance phone number.

Send a copy of your bill to:

Cross Country Automotive Services Toyota Prius Reimbursements P.O. Box 9145 Medford, MA 02155

Pre-authorization is required. This service was performed by an authorized Toyota dealer who, in turn, has an obligation to understand and comply with the terms of your warranty. If they didn't obtained pre-authorization they owe you $20.00. I assume, based on their failure to properly inform you, they didn't comply with their own warranty. Otherwise you will recover it by sending your bill to the address above. For customer service questions call 1-800-331-4331. You will probably need to have your VIN handy and it should have been written on the plastic roadside assistance card they should have given you when they delivered your car.

Also, with this dealership, if I use their shop for all scheduled maintenance, they'll give me free tires for life and warranty the engine for 300K miles.

Interesting. Maybe this is because I didn't have a flat? One would think it would be better not to go that route, but...

Hmmm. Maybe I'll give that a try. BTW, they also said they weren't supposed to plug the tires, but the damage was such that they could this time. They made it sound like next time I'd have to get a new tire. Well, at least they aren't the tires that lasted ca 7K miles. Now THAT would have made me very unhappy!

Really! Where are you? I gather not in Massachusetts.

Jacksonville, FL. The dealership is some 35 miles south, in St. Augustine, but I bought my Prius there rather than one of the five closer dealerships (including one just two miles away), partly because of the service dept. incentives, but mostly because their waiting list was just over two months at a time when everyone else around here was six months to over a year.

Then that is doubly smart. Good on you!

Mike