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Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
Sometimes it feels like that's not the case. (e.g. Right to repair).
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Right to repair is a tricky subject. There is already a court settlement between independent shops and automakers to provide independent shops access to the diagnostic tools available to dealerships. That happened back in 2014.
The most recent battle has moved beyond just repair and is a fight to gain access to the source code. This is a level of access that even dealerships don't have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
Speaking of brakes, I thought that my 8 year old Avalon could use a brake fluid change. Maybe it doesn't, and Toyota doesn't recommend a brake fluid change for the whole life of the vehicle. But seeing how several Prius owners have had their brake actuator go out, which ends up costing well over $1,000 to replace, I thought it might be a good idea to do some preventative maintenance.
But to do it on a hybrid (or maybe on any modern car with ABS) you need the special scan tool from the OEM. In my case, an expensive subscription to Toyota TIS (like $2,000 per year). So I thought I'd just have the dealer do it.
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I'm surprised your Avalon doesn't recommend brake fluid changes. My 2005 and 2009 Prius required changes every 2 years - which is pretty standard for any modern car with ABS brakes. The issue is that people that never activate ABS can trap old fluid in the ABS valves and gum them up.
Any independent shop should have a tool capable of activating the ABS system and purging brake fluid on your Toyota. However, if you want to do it the cheap way like me you can simply change the fluid, do a series of hard stops to cycle the ABS and then change the fluid again. Cheaper than a visit to the shop.
When I said automakers try to make vehicles easy to service I was talking about access to parts. I wish more people could see the development process we go through on a new model with service people there giving input from the first digital review.