2005 Prius Recall

[Aldoron]

I bought a 2005 Prius last night (see this thread for a summery if my miserable experience) and this morning I called the customer hot line for help setting up the gate opener (anyone else have trouble with that?) when I heard about the defect/recall due to a weakness in the steering shaft assembly that may crack when the tire comes into contact with curb.
On my left front wheel it looks like there may have been an impact of some sort (here's a pic of the wheel).

After being pissed on and told its raining by every single person I have had top interact with I am extremely suspicious of all this. And I am wondering if someone is trying to fleece either me or maybe even the dealership.

Here is what I have been told by the sales man regarding the previous owners.
The are gay
They traded in the 2005 Prius for some other car on 09-19-07.
Less than five minutes into the paperwork portion of the trade-in the guy handling the financing had to leave his office for a form of some sort. He stood up and went out the back door of his small office. Then one of the men got out of his chair opened the back door and yelled down the hall at the fincace agent that he was not going to be treated so rudely and the couple stormed out and completed to tradin via the Internet/email or the like.
They only provided one key to the 2005 Prius they traded in.
They claim to not know where the other key is.
The salesman made seemingly ridiculous reasons why I did not need the other key.
I know that they want to sell the car but their behavior was incredible.
The car was not at the dealership long enough for them to clean it out or even wash it.

What I wondering/afraid of is if the previous owners hit a curb and, being aware of the possible defect and value of a used Prius in Dallas they figured they could easily get it past the staff, whose knowledge of the Prius seems to end at fast turnover rate, know that it's an easy sell. The guy that sold it to me had never driven one more than 50 feet.
Or maybe the dealership knew and took advantage of my wife and my vulnerable position.

I told the dealership I would bring them a check today but now want to get it looked at by an independent mechanic before I hand over dime one.
First: can anyone recommend a qualified mechanic who can accuratkly inspect this car. I would rather it not be anyone who works for Toyota for obvious reasons.
Am I being cautious or paranoid? Does any of this sound fishy to anyone else?
Thank you for any help with this.


Here is the transcript of the recall message from the Toyota hot line.
"Due to insufficient strength a potion of the steering shaft assembly may become loose or may develop a crack under certain operating condition.
Such as when the wheel is turned forcefully to the lock position at low speed or the tire contact roadside curbs while driving
the steering shaft assembly consists of the intermediate shaft and sliding yoke which connects wheel; to the steering gearbox
The campaign will entail the replacement of the intermediate shaft assembly number 2
On all involved vehicles the steering sliding yoke and the steering intermediate extension shaft number 1 will be inspected and replaced only if necessary"

[Marlin]

There was a recall. It only applied to certain Priuses made at particular plants during specific dates. You dealer can verify whether you Prius is one of those. If so, the steering part will be replaced for free.

[narf]

Yup, some car salesmen are jerks. I also can't tell you whether the previous owner was gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

There was a recall to replace a steering part part due to some small cracks being found. If your car hasn't been updated then by all means get it done. (It's free) (Maybe find a dealer that isn't full of jerks?). Any dealer can look up the car's VIN and tell if it has had the recall applied.

The other good news is that the damage in the picture is only to a plastic wheel cover. It could have been done just by sloppy parking. If the wheel underneath isn't bent, you could just buy a new wheel cover and be done with it.

[efusco]

I think you are being paranoid.
I think your dealer is jerking you around and you're clearly not comfortable with the situation. Is there some reason you can't wait for a better situation or a different car?
I seriously doubt there's any damage to the car, I've got curb scrapes on 2 or 3 of my rims just like that and none were due to significant impacts. As stated above you can easily find out if your car fell under the recall and whether it had that recall work done yet, it's not something you need an independent mechanic for.

Again, you seem really frustrated and uncomfortable with this whole situation, understandably, if possible why not just step away from it and wait for a better dealer and situation?

[Tideland Prius]

I would find another dealer and car.

Yes there was a steering wheel recall for the 2005 model (I believe it came out in early 2006).

Also you need two keys. Why? Well one key is $400 so there goes $400. Secondly, that means there's someone out there with YOUR car key. I don't think I can live with that fact. (Or someone trying to sell his/her other key and make a profit).

[galaxee]

wow, you are a bit paranoid. if you don't trust em, don't buy the car. period.

as far as the recall goes, have another dealer check the VIN to see if it fell within range. it is a FREE fix for you and the dealer makes like an hour on it. an independent won't know whether the steering shaft has been replaced, they were recall jobs and therefore the job was only done by authorized toyota shops.

they should provide you with a second key included in the price of the car OR knock a few hundred off because it only has one key.

[douglas001001]

Can the OP reset the fob-s that the sks recognizes ?

I know there is an add fob procedure. If it can be reset, he can eliminate the other fob from working.

I don't know what the laws in your state are, but you said you bought it, so refusing payment might not get you anywhere other than getting the car repo'd and a lot more and worse things to deal with.

[nmrickie]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Aldoron @ Sep 21 2007, 09:38 AM) [snapback]515801[/snapback]</div>

The are gay[/b]

You should have never purchased a gay car. The radio will only play Judy Garland songs. :P