100,000 mile service recommendations- 2021 Rav4 Hybrid

You should drain and fill transmission oil and the coolant. Brake fluid change anywhere from 3-5 years. I would just do it at 100k. Spark plugs should be done soon also. Just my opinion.

In addition to what onelilcrazyazn said:

My guess is that it's time for shocks. My wife's XSE has 78k miles and it's in need of a new set.

The HV battery filter is easy to either clean or replace.

Rav4Sabrina said:

I see in the owners manual it recommends Replace engine/ inverter coolant, how much is appropriate to pay for this (in California)? And is it really needed at 100k or could I go longer?
Also is cleaning the HV Battery cooling intake filter an easy at home task? is it worth just replacing the filter, looks to be only $5 for a new one.

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Replacing the coolants at 100K is recommended for severe service such as trailer towing, mountain driving, and cargo on the roof. Perhaps 30K miles a year would quality as severe service.

The HV battery filter is super easy to DIY. Go for it.

Shocks? Do a bounce test to see if they are bad.

Spark plugs, perhaps.

If the plugs are iridium type, they sometimes go on far longer than 100k miles

I agree with the ecvt transaxle fluid change at 100k. That's an appropriate mileage to be safe. We had a camry hybrid, same basic design Ecvt. I changed mine at 115k and it came out slightly darker than the new. However, the color is not the only indication of the fluid's capability to keep the MG's cool. I would change it to be safe. The good news is it is so simple you can do it yourself if you want to save money. There is a drain plug and a fill plug and it is simply filled to the top of the fill plug.

I agree with others. Changing all the fluids the dealer recommended is correct. Toyota may say lifetime fluid on hybrid transaxle fluid but nothing is lifetime. If you do it yourself, you'll save $600 or more. If you can't $800 that they quoted is pretty reasonable.

I will say one other thing. If you are restrained by your budget and cannot complete all the advised services, here is some more information you can consider to prioritize these services:

Coolants - This will degrade over time and become acidic which will eat through the aluminum of the cores used to radiate heat. Depending on the coolant used, that may happen in 2 or 10 yrs. The acidity could probably be tested with a PH test kit. The coolant should also be tested to verify it still has ability to not freeze. I would recommend thsi be done at the dealership as I believe to get it all, it must be flushed with a pump system.

Transaxle fluid - Based on my 115k mile 2018 camry hybrid with very similar design transaxle and my experience with the fluid looking very near to new and what I know: These transaxles do not have a torque converter or a clutch pack like a conventional automatic and do not have a chain like a typical CVT transaxle. Therefore, there are no sacrificial wearing parts and very little contaminates in the fluid. If it were my car, I would do this as one of the lower priorities, but probably complete this myself. For mine, I bought the fluid and purchased a very large fluid transfer syrenge to help transfer fluid.

Brake fluid - Brake fluid absorbs water THROUGH the rubber brake lines and eventually becomes as saturated as possible with water. This reduces the boiling point temperature. In the event of a hard/long braking situation like a long downhill or hitting the brakes hard, the brake fluid gets very hot since it is right next to rotor and pads. If the boiling point is never reached, the fluid will not boil. If it does reach the lower boiling point, the fluid boils, and gas is created in the brake lines. This creates a system with spongey feeling brakes. This would be my main concern with not performing this service. That being said, I have never had a car that I have driven that has ever reached this point. I did buy a 2500 Chevrolet avalanche that had spongey brakes and resolved this by bleeding. It was likely towing something heavy and overheated the brakes. In my opinion, if it were my car I would wait based on my brake usage if budget did not allow.

Battery filter - I would clean or replace myself and never skip this service as I want to prolong my battery life and this is cheap and simple.

I hope this helps!

- Mark

Does anyone have a PMS guide like mandatory replacement, things to check and optional at 10k, 20k.. At 100k etc etc.? This would be a good reference when already outside of warranty.

As stated Toyota.com