Handbook and service record

[TimJ1]

I have recently purchased a Prius and have no handbook or service record. I have now discovered this was an import so not supported by Toyota UK. The trader I purchased this from is not that helpful either. Does anyone have any suggestions. Thanks. Tim

[Gerg]

Hi, 

What mileage is the Prius? 

Are you looking for suggestions of items to service, or a list of things that eventually wear out?

Or clues that give an indication of heavy or light previous use, and indication (beyond written) of proper servicing having been done? 

Also, what use are you expecting to put the car to? 

[Duffryn]

Why not take it to a friendly Toyota dealer to see if they'll give it a once-over for you, or, if not,  investing in a full service there might encourage them to be a bit more helpful. Will be at a cost obviously, but would (hopefully) put your mind at rest.

Good luck.

[Chris Dance]

Did you buy from a Toyota dealer or an independent? It must have been serviced somewhere. Did the previous owner not have any records at all?

Years ago I had a Volvo serviced by a local mobile mechanic. He always supplied me with a receipt detailing work done.

Duffryn's suggestion is a good one. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

35 minutes ago, Chris Dance said:

Did you buy from a Toyota dealer or an independent?

Must be an independent as it is a Japanese import - which aren't supported by Toyota GB.

[TimJ1]

On 10/14/2020 at 10:21 AM, Gerg said:

Hi, 

What mileage is the Prius? 

Are you looking for suggestions of items to service, or a list of things that eventually wear out?

Or clues that give an indication of heavy or light previous use, and indication (beyond written) of proper servicing having been done? 

Also, what use are you expecting to put the car to? 

Just under 50k mileage

I wanted to see when the car was last serviced, was it a full or part serviced

I think it must have been a taxi so expect it may have had some hard wear however looks and feels ok to me. I also dont know how to tune radios properly and all electronics and wanted to have a handbook to see what else car can do for me

At moment car is sitting on drive as still wfh. One day I may drive it and go and see my kids!!

[TimJ1]

On 10/14/2020 at 3:56 PM, Duffryn said:

Why not take it to a friendly Toyota dealer to see if they'll give it a once-over for you, or, if not,  investing in a full service there might encourage them to be a bit more helpful. Will be at a cost obviously, but would (hopefully) put your mind at rest.

Good luck.

Thanks, I may do that however not sure what the service intervals are as I havent got a handbook

[TimJ1]

On 10/14/2020 at 7:27 PM, Chris Dance said:

Did you buy from a Toyota dealer or an independent? It must have been serviced somewhere. Did the previous owner not have any records at all?

Years ago I had a Volvo serviced by a local mobile mechanic. He always supplied me with a receipt detailing work done.

Duffryn's suggestion is a good one. 

I bought it from an independant, there were no records at all and told me Toyota keeps a record of all services.

Toyota GB website wont give me any details

[TimJ1]

On 10/14/2020 at 8:04 PM, FROSTYBALLS said:

Must be an independent as it is a Japanese import - which aren't supported by Toyota GB.

Yep, from an independent and not supported. However it will be supported by Toyota somewhere where it was imported from however dont know where that is. I dont assume Japan either and suspicious it may be Belgium

[FROSTYBALLS]

RHD or LHD?

If RHD probably Japan, either directly to the UK or via another country, as there is an established market for Japanese Domestic Market vehicles in the UK - not just Toyotas.

[Duffryn]

Tim you state the car is at 50K, do you mean miles or kms? 50k (of whatever) seems a bit low for a taxi.

UK models have 10k mile servicing, alternating intermediate/full. If yours is 50k miles then it is due (or maybe had) an intermediate service. What does the oil look like? Is the w/washer bottle full? May give a clue as to any recent servicing.

[Devon Aygo]

2 hours ago, TimJ1 said:

Yep, from an independent and not supported. However it will be supported by Toyota somewhere where it was imported from however dont know where that is. I dont assume Japan either and suspicious it may be Belgium

What is he chassis/vin/frame number ?

A 17 Digit number starting with JT would suggest an EU destination

A Shorter number starting ZV would suggest a Japanese destination

If want to PM me with the number I can look and see what I can find.

[Gerg]

Beyond what has been mentioned above, I can only think of checking the engine air cleaner filter element, as a very rough guide to the car being recently serviced.  This takes about 1 minute, and needs no tools at all.  

The 'electronic' version of the owners manual was available, for free online, via the Toyota website.  I had a very quick look for you, and couldn't find it this time, perhaps that facility has been moved to elsewhere?  I have never saved that link, perhaps someone else has?

There is a copy of the Prius plug-in technical manual for your edition of Prius floating around the internet.  It is predominantly the same car as yours.  This is probably only of use if you are thinking of servicing the car yourself etc.

The supplying dealer sounds fairly useless, do you know if they arranged to have the car rust-proofed on arrival in the UK?  The JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars generally don't have much in the way of underbody protection. The UK's winter road salting will get to it fairly quickly if this hasn't been done.

Devon Aygo (above) works in a Toyota dealership, so his advice is at least as good (and probably much, much better) as going to one of your local (Steven Eagell?) dealerships, but then finding someone who is really helpful.

Some dealers in your area (and almost certainly elsewhere) do a 'Taxi service kit' bundle of parts at a seriously reduced price (~ £60 - £70?).  This would have 5 litres of oil, air filter, oil filter, drain plug washer and pollen filter.  If a Toyota dealer isn't where you will get your car serviced, then buying this kit of genuine parts and getting it fitted by your mechanic of choice is probably the next best way of maintaining your car.  If you don't get some information as to when the car was last serviced, at the very least I would change the engine oil and filter with some urgency.

The JDM cars have radios that, in part, work on different frequency bands to European market car radios, so a 'converter' adaptation might be necessary. Or some 'grey' importers just fit a new aftermarket radio head unit that blends in with the rest of the dashboard.  A photo of your dashboard, posted here, might give someone the chance to see what you have fitted currently. 

[TimJ1]

On 10/16/2020 at 5:30 PM, FROSTYBALLS said:

RHD or LHD?

If RHD probably Japan, either directly to the UK or via another country, as there is an established market for Japanese Domestic Market vehicles in the UK - not just Toyotas.

It is a normal RHD. If it comes from Japan why does someone else import it apart from Toyota?

[TimJ1]

On 10/16/2020 at 6:44 PM, Duffryn said:

Tim you state the car is at 50K, do you mean miles or kms? 50k (of whatever) seems a bit low for a taxi.

UK models have 10k mile servicing, alternating intermediate/full. If yours is 50k miles then it is due (or maybe had) an intermediate service. What does the oil look like? Is the w/washer bottle full? May give a clue as to any recent servicing.

It has 50,000 miles on the clock. I will check both oil and screen wash bottle. I think it was a taxi as there seems to be leads hanging at front and in glove box

[TimJ1]

On 10/16/2020 at 7:17 PM, Devon Aygo said:

What is he chassis/vin/frame number ?

A 17 Digit number starting with JT would suggest an EU destination

A Shorter number starting ZV would suggest a Japanese destination

If want to PM me with the number I can look and see what I can find.

I am still waiting for the new car registration document so unable to send this to you

[TimJ1]

On 10/17/2020 at 10:17 AM, Gerg said:

Beyond what has been mentioned above, I can only think of checking the engine air cleaner filter element, as a very rough guide to the car being recently serviced.  This takes about 1 minute, and needs no tools at all.  

The 'electronic' version of the owners manual was available, for free online, via the Toyota website.  I had a very quick look for you, and couldn't find it this time, perhaps that facility has been moved to elsewhere?  I have never saved that link, perhaps someone else has?

There is a copy of the Prius plug-in technical manual for your edition of Prius floating around the internet.  It is predominantly the same car as yours.  This is probably only of use if you are thinking of servicing the car yourself etc.

The supplying dealer sounds fairly useless, do you know if they arranged to have the car rust-proofed on arrival in the UK?  The JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars generally don't have much in the way of underbody protection. The UK's winter road salting will get to it fairly quickly if this hasn't been done.

Devon Aygo (above) works in a Toyota dealership, so his advice is at least as good (and probably much, much better) as going to one of your local (Steven Eagell?) dealerships, but then finding someone who is really helpful.

Some dealers in your area (and almost certainly elsewhere) do a 'Taxi service kit' bundle of parts at a seriously reduced price (~ £60 - £70?).  This would have 5 litres of oil, air filter, oil filter, drain plug washer and pollen filter.  If a Toyota dealer isn't where you will get your car serviced, then buying this kit of genuine parts and getting it fitted by your mechanic of choice is probably the next best way of maintaining your car.  If you don't get some information as to when the car was last serviced, at the very least I would change the engine oil and filter with some urgency.

The JDM cars have radios that, in part, work on different frequency bands to European market car radios, so a 'converter' adaptation might be necessary. Or some 'grey' importers just fit a new aftermarket radio head unit that blends in with the rest of the dashboard.  A photo of your dashboard, posted here, might give someone the chance to see what you have fitted currently. 

That is good stuff to know and thank you all for your help.

Once I receive car registration document back I will be more comfortable. I guess the dealership did not bother to send it to DVLA as waited for six weeks for it however none arrived so had to apply myself. I have now been waiting another three weeks and guess I will have to wait another three weeks.

I decided to buy car from dealer as felt safer buying it this way rather than a private seller. Then experience I have had since with the car has now put me off dealers as well now. I know they are all not the same however once bitten twice shy

[Catlover]

TimJ1, when you say you bought the car from a dealer, do you mean a Toyota dealer, or just a general car dealer?             
It is possible it could have been used as a taxi in Japan and then shipped to the UK for sale. These cars are to slightly different specs to those marketed for sale in the uk from new, therefore some parts could be difficult to acquire in the future.          
Just a thought.

Just re read all the posts carefully........ I see you bought it from an independent dealer - not a Toyota, and Frostyballs calls it an imported.  I suspect it is a used Japanese registered vehicle then imported to the UK, that’s why Toyota UK cant support it.

[Gerg]

You don't have to wait for your DVLA records to find the VIN number, it is marked on the car as per this posting:-

https://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-vin-vehicle-identification-number

On the comments section of that link, a poster has the same problem/question as you, as per this screenshot:-

[FROSTYBALLS]

31 minutes ago, TimJ1 said:

It is a normal RHD. If it comes from Japan why does someone else import it apart from Toyota?

The Japanese domestic market vehicle (JDM) road worthiness tests (called 'shaken') are a lot stricter than European tests and are geared towards owners changing vehicles more often. Tests are done at 3 years old and then bi-annually. Costs also increase with vehicle age.

There has been a market in the UK for years for used vehicles for used JDM vehicles which would be too costly to put through another shaken, but which would pass a UK MOT. Also Japan is a RHD market.

If your car is a JDM vehicle, it would probably have a frame number than a VIN.

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, TimJ1 said:

It is a normal RHD. If it comes from Japan why does someone else import it apart from Toyota?

It is not illegal to do so, people look for bargains (but sadly don’t think of any potential complications in a purchase).

[Devon Aygo]

12 hours ago, TimJ1 said:

It is a normal RHD. If it comes from Japan why does someone else import it apart from Toyota?

The Japanese equivalent of an MOT is very strict so it is now common place for importers to buy up these cars which would require significant investment to continue in Japan and sell them on and as the one of the larger RHD markets the UK is a perfect place to sell them on.

There are now many companies who specialise in purchasing these "Grey imports" en-masse at Japanese auctions and then selling them on to importers in the UK, the term Grey import was coined for cars being legally imported but no recognised or supported by the manufacturers the term Grey also denotes that more often then not there history outside of the EU/UK is largely unknown and therefore a Grey area. 

Toyota are generally fairly reasonable when it comes to Grey imports and whilst there is no chance of any manufacturers warranty cover, nor any chance of goodwill from Toyota UK towards repairs or technical support ( for JDM only issues ) they will upon request and provision of the relevant information enquire back through Toyota Europe and then back the Toyota Japan to see if there any outstanding safety recalls and if there are actually allow the repairs F.O.C in the UK and charge the costs back to Japan, they also provide access for dealers to Japanese parts catalogues or the ability to order Japanese only parts through the normal parts supply lines without additional transit costs. Many manufacturer refuse point blank to offer any support for JDM imports.

Once you have the vehicle details do contact Toyota and ask them to enquire if there are any outstanding recalls ( Prius has had recalls ) as Toyota UK have no idea what JDM cars exist in the UK as the DVSA do not pass on such info, it may take a little while as Toyota UK report to Toyota Europe so we have to pass the recall check request back to Toyota EU they then look to see where the car was destined for and pass the request on to the Destination market controller, they will check and confirm any outstanding recalls and send information back to Toyota EU  more often then not this information will require translation from Japanese into what ever language is required by the person at Toyota EU who's responsibility it is to interpret the Japanese instructions/guides they will then create suitable guides/instructions and one they are satisfied the information is workable/acceptable in the EU translated on into English and sent to Toyota UK who will then forward the information to the dealer nearest to you for completion.

 

[TimJ1]

On 10/21/2020 at 8:58 AM, Catlover said:

TimJ1, when you say you bought the car from a dealer, do you mean a Toyota dealer, or just a general car dealer?             
It is possible it could have been used as a taxi in Japan and then shipped to the UK for sale. These cars are to slightly different specs to those marketed for sale in the uk from new, therefore some parts could be difficult to acquire in the future.          
Just a thought.

Just re read all the posts carefully........ I see you bought it from an independent dealer - not a Toyota, and Frostyballs calls it an imported.  I suspect it is a used Japanese registered vehicle then imported to the UK, that’s why Toyota UK cant support it.

Thanks for feedback. It is still a strange one to me and cant put my finger on it. Still a pain as no handbook

[TimJ1]

On 10/21/2020 at 8:12 PM, Devon Aygo said:

The Japanese equivalent of an MOT is very strict so it is now common place for importers to buy up these cars which would require significant investment to continue in Japan and sell them on and as the one of the larger RHD markets the UK is a perfect place to sell them on.

There are now many companies who specialise in purchasing these "Grey imports" en-masse at Japanese auctions and then selling them on to importers in the UK, the term Grey import was coined for cars being legally imported but no recognised or supported by the manufacturers the term Grey also denotes that more often then not there history outside of the EU/UK is largely unknown and therefore a Grey area. 

Toyota are generally fairly reasonable when it comes to Grey imports and whilst there is no chance of any manufacturers warranty cover, nor any chance of goodwill from Toyota UK towards repairs or technical support ( for JDM only issues ) they will upon request and provision of the relevant information enquire back through Toyota Europe and then back the Toyota Japan to see if there any outstanding safety recalls and if there are actually allow the repairs F.O.C in the UK and charge the costs back to Japan, they also provide access for dealers to Japanese parts catalogues or the ability to order Japanese only parts through the normal parts supply lines without additional transit costs. Many manufacturer refuse point blank to offer any support for JDM imports.

Once you have the vehicle details do contact Toyota and ask them to enquire if there are any outstanding recalls ( Prius has had recalls ) as Toyota UK have no idea what JDM cars exist in the UK as the DVSA do not pass on such info, it may take a little while as Toyota UK report to Toyota Europe so we have to pass the recall check request back to Toyota EU they then look to see where the car was destined for and pass the request on to the Destination market controller, they will check and confirm any outstanding recalls and send information back to Toyota EU  more often then not this information will require translation from Japanese into what ever language is required by the person at Toyota EU who's responsibility it is to interpret the Japanese instructions/guides they will then create suitable guides/instructions and one they are satisfied the information is workable/acceptable in the EU translated on into English and sent to Toyota UK who will then forward the information to the dealer nearest to you for completion.

 

Thanks Lee

The car was registered in UK in 2014 however may be older then! Would they also change the mileage on the clock too?! 

[wass]

Partially related to this topic, I believe that Japanese imports are not taxed in the same way as UK vehicles either. Ie A 16 plate uk prius  gives you a road tax of zero whilst a 16 plate japanese prius gives you the same road tax as a 18 plate uk prius.