Prius 2012 - Service

[Christie]

My Prius is a 2012 vintage and has been serviced by the Toyota agent. But their quality of service has been not top-notch of late.

I am planning to get my Prius serviced by a reputed mechanic who says he can do the job.

I am not mechanically minded. But enjoy my Prius very much.

Does this mechanic need any special (diagnostic) equipment to service my Prius satisfactorily?

All comments will be greatly appreciated.

[Catlover]

Where do you think your Toyota dealer has let you down.?  I ask because if your Toyota man has let you down, your independent may let you down with the same thing. Ie the grass always looks greener on the other side.           
Secondly, have you approached your Toyota dealer with your problem? and how did they react?
Now our Auris hybrid is 11 year old, outside the benefit of the Relax aToyota warranty scheme, and the 5+ servicing discount no longer available, I approached my local independent, who is good and less the 100 yard way, and he said he will service the car but won’t touch anything related to the high voltage hybrid side.        
By going independent, have you took into account you will loose the advantage of the new Toyota Relax warranty scheme, where you have the service done by a Toyota dealer and get a further 12 month warranty. This goes up to 10 year/100k miles. And remember when you have a Toyota service you get the free hybrid Battery health check that extends the warranty on the hybrid Battery by 12 months up to 15 years. Your local indie won’t do that. Of course you can go back to a Toyota service and pay them £45 for your hybrid health check/warranty.          
A lot to think about, especially if you not mechanically minded.

[Chris Dance]

I agree with Joe with regard to servicing a hybrid vehicle like the Prius. I have found our local Toyota dealer always helpful and any issues soon get sorted. However, my son recently had dealings with the same dealer and although the staff he saw were apologetic and making promises nothing changed and it took ages to get problems resolved. A lot of the staff has changed in the past year at that dealers. I wonder if this is why customer care is not as good. Perhaps Christie there has been a change of staff at your dealers hence your problems. If you are not satisfied with the dealer I would suggest you talk or write to the manager with any issues you may have. General question is have Toyota dealers high standards dropped in the last year?

 

[Duffryn]

I notice that Christies' location is 'Non UK', so standards could generally be different wherever he/she resides anyway.

[TonyHSD]

On 7/23/2021 at 5:08 AM, Christie said:

My Prius is a 2012 vintage and has been serviced by the Toyota agent. But their quality of service has been not top-notch of late.

I am planning to get my Prius serviced by a reputed mechanic who says he can do the job.

I am not mechanically minded. But enjoy my Prius very much.

Does this mechanic need any special (diagnostic) equipment to service my Prius satisfactorily?

All comments will be greatly appreciated.

Nope, no need anything special, just a normal toolbox. These cars are easier to service than most other makes and models with standard petrol or Diesel engines. Plenty of info on YouTube too. Best to use genuine Toyota or high quality aftermarket parts. 👍

[Cyker]

22 hours ago, Chris Dance said:

I agree with Joe with regard to servicing a hybrid vehicle like the Prius. I have found our local Toyota dealer always helpful and any issues soon get sorted. However, my son recently had dealings with the same dealer and although the staff he saw were apologetic and making promises nothing changed and it took ages to get problems resolved. A lot of the staff has changed in the past year at that dealers. I wonder if this is why customer care is not as good. Perhaps Christie there has been a change of staff at your dealers hence your problems. If you are not satisfied with the dealer I would suggest you talk or write to the manager with any issues you may have. General question is have Toyota dealers high standards dropped in the last year?

 

To be fair, I think the good dealers are still good and the bad dealers are still bad; My local dealer has always been average to poor in terms of customer service - Even a basic question requires at least a half-hour wait, and the service department seem competent for basic servicing but I feel they really don't take any pride in their work any more than the average Halfords mechanic; They do what's needed but no more, have no initiative to check beyond the first thing they find - I don't know if they just don't care or are just constantly overloaded.

So far they have at least changed the oil or air filter when due, but they didn't change the diesel fuel filter when that was due (The guy I spoke to said it's never normally changed as it's in the tank, despite it being a service item and being clearly in the engine bay!) and they have never changed the key's coin Battery despite charging for it on major services.

OTOH there are a few members here who sing praises of their dealer experiences; So far it seems the more North you go the better the dealer experience! (Or maybe just the further you get away from the cesspit that is London )

 

[Catlover]

Maybe with covid things have changed staff wise. Perhaps some were furloughed or didnt get that benefit and had to look for work eleswhere (family etc).  I noticed at my regular Toyota deaedr the front service staff have changed, was two men doing it, now its two women. Nothing wrong with that, its just fitting staff changed and they not up to spped yet.  Just a thought.

[Cyker]

Yeah, for some where the service was good but has dipped that sounds legit.

For mine tho, they were already bad to begin with - When I was there waiting to pick up the Mk4, one guy was complaining that he'd waited 40 minutes for someone from parts to see him, and the receptionist was apologetic, saying they were short-staffed because of covid etc., but I know from past experience that that is normal for them! (It's why I always drive another 10 miles and go to the other dealer for parts - They still have an actual parts desk, with real humans you can walk up to and talk to! Without having to wait 30 minutes for them to wander down! Amazing!)

 

[Duffryn]

I've been waiting since 20 May for a promised call-back from my closest (but not my usual) dealer! Very poor customer service.

[Christie]

Thank you all for your response. I am not in the UK, but in NZ. Your comments are helpful.