Hi everyone, hope you can help. I just ordered a Prius, and was told it should arrive in 10-12 weeks; they claim to be a fairly high-volume dealership. FYI, the dealership is in a close suburb of Washington, D.C. I never bought a car which was in high demand. In such cases, I was able to negotiate free standard maintenance on the car for the first 4 - 6 scheduled times, saving mucho dollars. I hope, but am not too optimistic, that I will still be able to do it with the Prius too. However, I could not get the Prius Scheduled Maintenance, nor the typical/Toyota-recommended service charges for such maintenance. I would really appreciate it if someone would send me a brief list of this info; I probably only need to know something like: "3-month (or 3000 miles) maintenance @ $$$;, 6-month (or 10,000 miles) maintenance @$$$" for up to the first 5 or 6 scheduled times. If you wouldn't also mind noting when Toyota recommends maintenance or checking on the electric motor/battery, I would also like to see that too. Thanks a million in advance. Bob > Hi, > I ordered my Prius on the 28th of April. I'm told to expect it to take 7 > months. We chose the Silver with the #9 package. I have owned several > different colored cars in the past and found white to look clean the longest, > but have a light tan Van that also remains looking clean for a long while. Our > temps are mild here in W. Wa., so really look forward to owing the new Prius. I > think I have read all there is to read about it and I'm convinced that is the > way to go. > Don > > lrrp114

Michelle - you are a genious and a lifesaver!!! HOWEVER, are there SUGGESTED Toyota PRICING for such service, particularly for the 15,000, 30,000, and 45,000 heavier servicing????????? Thanks a lot for at least starting me off on this pre-negotiation fact-finding. bob >

I noticed that the maintenance interval for the 2004 Prius has been reduced from 7500 miles to 5000 miles between service events. I have a 2001 Prius and take it to the dealer every 7500 miles. Can someone tell me why the interval is reduced for the 2004? Is this the case for all Toyota models or just the prius? At one time Toyotas had a 10,000 mile interval, and I don't know when they changed from that. I booked my 2004 in February, and still antcipate long wait- Probably November of this year.

Everywhere in the world, all Toyotas have a 10,000 mile service interval, except in the USA. No-one knows exactly why, but probably it is because dealers and oil companies make too much money out of it to want to change. Vast amounts of oil are used unnecessarily as a result. Jerry UK

Makes me think maybe they've found out the gas engine is on more than they thought originally. Is there a way to find out how many hours of operation and/or miles does each have (the electric motor and gas engine)? If we could know this figure we could do the oil changes more reliably. tito Shrikant Chaudhary

I suggested to Toyota to put hour meters on the motor and the engine as more accurate way to schedule maint. I never heard anything but some one did tell me that the hours can be gleaned at the dealer during diagnostics. That could be a warranty problem for those who convert the car to an ev. Ray