Toyota Yaris Hybrid Service due

[caroline C]

Hello! I'm after some advice please?

My Yaris Hybrid registered 2018 is due annual service/ MOT mid May. I own her so can go to any garage. 

Last year I had it serviced at Halfords, but they charged £45 more to service a hybrid . I've had a bit of a read about this and some car websites say Hybrids shouldn't cost more than an extra £20 to service, Any recommendations about this please? And garages you recommend, eg Protyre vs Kwik Fit etc? Thanks!

[Bper]

Hi Caroline, It's essential to find a reliable garage that offers fair pricing for hybrid servicing. You might want to consider independent garages that specialise in hybrid vehicles, as they often provide competitive rates and personalised service. Asking for recommendations from friends could also help you find trustworthy options in your area. As for Protyre vs. Kwik Fit, both are reputable chains, but it ultimately depends on their expertise with hybrid vehicles and their pricing policies. It might be worth calling a few different garages to compare quotes and ask about their experience servicing hybrids.

Is there any particular reason why you haven't chosen to take your Yaris to a Toyota dealer for servicing etc.

[Cyker]

TBH you can service it pretty much anywhere; Servicing just means changing the oil and oil and air filters for the most part; The main part of servicing is checking the car for problems but I have my doubts how much of that gets done.

I think with hybrids there is an advantage to servicing them with Toyota, as they also do a hybrid healthcare check which adds additional warranty to the traction Battery, and now with the Relax scheme it also adds a 1 year general warranty from the date of the service.

It will cost more though - If price is the main factor then you're better off taking it to a local trusted mechanic as they can do the minimum required stuff for less than any of the franchised garages. The electrical side of the car mostly takes care of itself.

 

[Mojo1010]

Owned a used 2016 for 5 years. Never once serviced at the dealer. Had 4 oil and filter changes during that time, took it to national tyres which was about £50-60 per change. It just needs oil & oil filter change as the main part. 

Changed the air filter once and couple of times the pollen filter, that's it. Saved 700-800 from dealership price. Now I have a new car have to service at the dealer for a few times at least to maintain warranty. 

[Bper]

26 minutes ago, Mojo1010 said:

Owned a used 2016 for 5 years. Never once serviced at the dealer. Had 4 oil and filter changes during that time, took it to national tyres which was about £50-60 per change. It just needs oil & oil filter change as the main part. 

Changed the air filter once and couple of times the pollen filter, that's it. Saved 700-800 from dealership price. Now I have a new car have to service at the dealer for a few times at least to maintain warranty. 

Hi Mojo,so how much are paying having to now take it to a Toyota dealer.?

[Cyker]

 

[Jimota]

Think I’d get a quote from Toyota before I approached an independent garage.  It might be more expensive but at least you get the advantage of the Relax warranty.

[RonYarisX]

3 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

 Now I have a new car have to service at the dealer for a few times at least to maintain warranty. 

As others have said, servicing at Toyota on a car outside the manufacturers warranty will extend it up to 10yr, but requiring a new car to be maintained within the dealer network to maintain warranty was made illegal, in Europe at least, many moons ago. Manufacturers are no longer allowed to hold a gun to your head. 

As long as the car is serviced to the same schedule as it would be at a Toyota dealership, and the same parts are used, there's no reason the warranty wil still be intact.

I've never had to service our Toyota yet, but with every other manufacturer I've owned, the problem has been I've never found an indi or specialist to be any cheaper ( often found them to be more expensive ). If they're slightly cheaper then the main dealer has always matched their price.

If it's being serviced much cheaper elsewhere, chances are they're not servicing it to the manufacturers recommendations.  

[Cyker]

True, although it's easier to claim on the warranty if the servicing is done by the dealer otherwise you get the extra step to prove work was done properly.

Also, if you have a long dealership history, you're more likely to get goodwill.

The relax warranty was a clever move, and with hybrids it makes sense as you also get the HHC free.

 

I'd be very reluctant do take my car there for any other work, e.g. tyres and brakes and especially non-hybrid system related diagnostics, but for basic servicing I've been happy with them so far.

 

[TonyHSD]

Toyota dealer only or diy service. In the dealer you will get hybrid Battery health check and another year warranty. 

[caroline C]

19 hours ago, Bper said:

Hi Caroline, It's essential to find a reliable garage that offers fair pricing for hybrid servicing. You might want to consider independent garages that specialise in hybrid vehicles, as they often provide competitive rates and personalised service. Asking for recommendations from friends could also help you find trustworthy options in your area. As for Protyre vs. Kwik Fit, both are reputable chains, but it ultimately depends on their expertise with hybrid vehicles and their pricing policies. It might be worth calling a few different garages to compare quotes and ask about their experience servicing hybrids.

Is there any particular reason why you haven't chosen to take your Yaris to a Toyota dealer for servicing etc.

Thanks for your advice. Mainly because Toyota dealer charge more and when I bought my Yaris I had so much sales talk from them to buy extras I didn't need, I tend to avoid them now! Thanks

 

[caroline C]

19 hours ago, Cyker said:

TBH you can service it pretty much anywhere; Servicing just means changing the oil and oil and air filters for the most part; The main part of servicing is checking the car for problems but I have my doubts how much of that gets done.

I think with hybrids there is an advantage to servicing them with Toyota, as they also do a hybrid healthcare check which adds additional warranty to the traction battery, and now with the Relax scheme it also adds a 1 year general warranty from the date of the service.

It will cost more though - If price is the main factor then you're better off taking it to a local trusted mechanic as they can do the minimum required stuff for less than any of the franchised garages. The electrical side of the car mostly takes care of itself.

 

Thanks. That's interesting. Though my Battery did die 2 years ago, on a really hot day, left on drive for 2 days. Had to get her towed. I'll look at Relax scheme, thanks

[caroline C]

16 hours ago, RonYarisX said:

As others have said, servicing at Toyota on a car outside the manufacturers warranty will extend it up to 10yr, but requiring a new car to be maintained within the dealer network to maintain warranty was made illegal, in Europe at least, many moons ago. Manufacturers are no longer allowed to hold a gun to your head. 

As long as the car is serviced to the same schedule as it would be at a Toyota dealership, and the same parts are used, there's no reason the warranty wil still be intact.

I've never had to service our Toyota yet, but with every other manufacturer I've owned, the problem has been I've never found an indi or specialist to be any cheaper ( often found them to be more expensive ). If they're slightly cheaper then the main dealer has always matched their price.

If it's being serviced much cheaper elsewhere, chances are they're not servicing it to the manufacturers recommendations.  

Thanks. Very helpful to know about the law in Europe about this. I didn't know that. Will pass this on.

[MikeSh]

1 hour ago, caroline C said:

Thanks. That's interesting. Though my battery did die 2 years ago, on a really hot day, left on drive for 2 days. Had to get her towed. I'll look at Relax scheme, thanks

The are two batteries. A 12 Volt one that is basically the same as any car, and a large, high voltage one - the traction Battery - that is part of the hybrid drive. 

I'd guess that the failure you had was the 12V, which is not uncommon and they are pretty much a consumable. The traction Battery is much more expensive and the cost of replacing it on, say, an old car might well be a difficult choice. Having a warranty for this through the annual hybrid healthcare is worth thinking about.

If you get it serviced annually by a dealer that healthcare check is included in the price. If you get the service done elsewhere they cannot do this check, or at least they can't provide the Toyota warranty. In that case a dealer can do the check and warranty as a standalone job but will charge for it - about £50 I think.

[jthspace]

Just booked the 2 yr / 20,000 service with hybrid Battery check for £315.  Booked SE at St Ives (Cambs) for a while-u-wait and will make a day of it with a nice riverside lunch (weather permitting).  Worth the 26 mile journey to avoid SE in Cambridge 😵‍💫🤣😎

[wildtapholer]

I've just had my car serviced for the relax warranty, it's 10yrs old now and it gets the extra years warranty of trouble free worry.

[caroline C]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:44 PM, MikeSh said:

The are two batteries. A 12 Volt one that is basically the same as any car, and a large, high voltage one - the traction battery - that is part of the hybrid drive. 

I'd guess that the failure you had was the 12V, which is not uncommon and they are pretty much a consumable. The traction battery is much more expensive and the cost of replacing it on, say, an old car might well be a difficult choice. Having a warranty for this through the annual hybrid healthcare is worth thinking about.

If you get it serviced annually by a dealer that healthcare check is included in the price. If you get the service done elsewhere they cannot do this check, or at least they can't provide the Toyota warranty. In that case a dealer can do the check and warranty as a standalone job but will charge for it - about £50 I think.

that's interesting. Yes, it was the small Battery. Sounds like there's pros and cons to using the dealer. Thanks a lot!

[MikeSh]

23 minutes ago, caroline C said:

Sounds like there's pros and cons to using the dealer.

Indeed. I have our 8yo Smart dealer serviced. It's not cheap, but every service gives us another year of breakdown cover, which can be a significant cost on an older car. (It's also on a plan including the MoT, so the costs are fixed for a couple of years.)

[jthspace]

On 4/10/2024 at 1:01 PM, jthspace said:

Just booked the 2 yr / 20,000 service with hybrid battery check for £315.  Booked SE at St Ives (Cambs) for a while-u-wait and will make a day of it with a nice riverside lunch (weather permitting).  Worth the 26 mile journey to avoid SE in Cambridge 😵‍💫🤣😎

Service was carried out, small issue was the online booking I did through the app never went to the dealer, despite me getting confirmation.  Dealer was helpful and did the service ASAP, we walked into St Ives (Cambs), nice walk along the river and lunch.  By the time we walked back, the car was ready. The only thing that wasn't done was the recall for the SOS software as they couldn't connect to the Toyota servers.

Great service from Steven Eagell in St.Ives