Toyota increases cost of capped-price servicing

Routine maintenance costs for one in five new cars sold in Australia have gone up after Japanese car giant Toyota increased its servicing costs across all models.

However, despite the price rises, Toyota cars still have among the cheapest prices for scheduled services.

As of 1 January 2023, Toyota increased the cost of its capped-price servicing program by between $15 and $50 per visit.

Toyota vehicles sold new in Australia are eligible for fixed-price dealership services for the first three to five years (depending on the vehicle).

Budget-priced models such as the Toyota Yaris hatch have been hit with service prices increases of more than 25 per cent.

While every annual 15,000km service was previously capped at $195 for the Toyota Yaris hatchback, owners will now have to fork out an additional $50 each visit – adding up to an extra $250 over the course of the five-year Toyota Service Advantage program.

Toyota Corolla owners will pay an additional $40 each 15,000km/12-month service, which equates to an increase of almost 20 per cent over the previous service price of $205 for the first five years or 75,000 kilometres.

The Toyota HiLux – the biggest-selling vehicle in Australia for the past seven years in a row – is now $30 more expensive to service per visit for diesel models at $290, but the ute requires a visit to the dealership every 10,000km or six months, adding up to $1740 over the first three years of ownership, compared to $1560 previously.

Servicing for basic Toyota HiLux models fitted with the 2.7-litre petrol four-cylinder engine costs an additional $25 per service, though each visit costs less than the diesel equivalent: $245 per service for the first 36 months/60,000kms.

The third-best selling vehicle of 2022, the Toyota RAV4 SUV, has received a $30 cost increase per service – though these $260 visits are less frequent (12 months/15,000km) than they are for the Toyota HiLux (6 months/10,000km).

The new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series costs $400 to service every 10,000km or six months – an increase of $25 each visit, or an additional $250 for the first five years of scheduled log-book services.

The V8-powered LandCruiser 70 Series has jumped up by $50 to $425, making it the most expensive Toyota to service.

The Toyota Kluger family SUV fared the best from Toyota's line-up, with its 12-month/15,000km services going up by $15 to $265.