Toyota Prius Platinum Warranty Work Denied

[Valencia Orange]

Toyota Prius Platinum Warranty Work Denied

UPDATE: I just received a call from the Toyota Dealer and they are going to replace the air filter box.

The other day I washed my car, and when I opened the hood to dry the car I noticed two upper plastic tabs on the air filter box were broken. These are the two tabs that are located at the top of the box by the center hinge that keeps the lid on straight. You will notice if you look at your air filter box there are two tabs by each latch. These tabs are very strong, and I can not imagine how they could have broken.

I immediately took my car to the Toyota dealer, and they advised me they would have to call a Toyota representative to look at the filter box after they realized the replacement part was over $500.00.

I paid for an extended Platinum warranty and the car only has 40,000 miles.

On Monday August 31, 2009, I received a call from the service writer that the Toyota representative was on his way to the dealer. I arrived around one and waited two hours in the lobby, and then informed the service writer I had to leave to pick my son up at school. I told her I live five minutes from the dealer and as soon as the Toyota representative comes I will come back. Around 4:30 I left a voice mail message for the service writer and did not hear back from her. I drove to the dealer around five, only to find out that the representative had not called the service writer back and she doubted he would be coming. He never showed up on Monday.

As I stated above, I spent two hours in the lobby of the Toyota dealer waiting for a Toyota representative to arrive, and he never called to say he would not be there on Monday.

On Tuesday around 8:00 am I receive a call from the service writer that the Toyota representative was there. I drove the car down to the dealer. I politely said hello to the Toyota representative and stood by as he examined my car. He said absolutely nothing to me.

He started to take pictures of the car. He took a picture of the left rear bumper, right rear bumper, tire, yes he took a picture of the left rear tire and checked that I had the right size tire on the rim, which of course I did. He took additional photos of the interior, mileage, hood, vin sticker, air filter box, air filter lid, and I am sure I am forgetting other items he took pictures of. During this procedure I stood by and watched what was going on. He then left and walked in the service writers’ office.

I watched him laugh with the service writer and then watched as two of the service writers look at each others phones as I stood outside by the car. Fifteen minutes later a mechanic came by and looked at my car, opened the air filter box and talked to the Toyota representative.

As the mechanic opened the air filter box he broke one of the tabs and it fell to the ground. Several minutes went by and the Toyota representative left and I waited outside by my car. After about 20 minutes I asked the service writer where the Toyota representative was, and I was informed he was talking to Toyota headquarters. At this time I had to leave and go to work.

Three hours later I received a call that Toyota would not replace the air filter box. When I asked why, they said normal wear and tear caused the tabs to break and this was not covered by the extended warranty.

I explained to the service writer, I did not open the filter box. The car was always serviced at Toyota and I have all the records to prove this. My records show the car had at least seven or eight oil changes done by a Toyota representative. In addition I explained that your mechanic broke one of the tabs as he was examining my car. The service writer sounded like she really did not care.

Later on during the day I spoke to the service manager who said he would see what he could do. I faxed a letter to him and the owner of the dealership explaining my problem. I have not heard a word from Toyota as of the writing of this post.

It should be noted; I was very polite during the inspection by the Toyota representative. My car has always been serviced by Toyota and it is in excellent condition.

I am extremely surprised Toyota denied the repair. Normal wear and tear of a Toyota product should last longer than 7 or 8 openings of a latch and removing a lid to inspect a filter. In addition it was a Toyota service person who took out the filter to inspect it and replace it when needed.

I am still waiting to hear back from the Toyota.dealer. I have contacted them today and have not heard a word from the service manager.

[morpheusx]

Pretty crummy they wont cover it, but I still am curious as to what could have caused it. Perhaps a cleaner you or someone else used in your engine compartment dried out the plastic.

[Boo]

Really sorry for the way Toyota is treating you.

Note that there is an express exclusion in the Extra Care Platinum Plan for "Nuts, Bolts, Clips, Retainers and Fasteners", so legally, Toyota may be right in denying your claim.

But I really think that Toyota should do the right thing and fix it for you for free.

[paprius4030]

You shouldn't have been so polite. You should have asked for copies of the pics for your lawyer. Let them wonder if you really have one or not.

[kkayser]

[quote=Valencia Orange;948802]Toyota Prius Platinum Warranty Work Denied

UPDATE: I just received a call from the Toyota Dealer and they are going to replace the air filter box.



Don't ever go back to that dealer. a good dealer would have just replaced the box. On my 2004 I had some paint blistering on the wheels. I stopped by Andrew toyota in Milwaukee on the very last day of the warranty. They replaced all 4 wheels without even contacting Toyota.

[octavia]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I am not interested in having to work as hard as you have had to for warranty work. I've mostly owned hondas before this and never had a problem even remotely like this.

[morpheusx]

[quote=kkayser;950963]

Originally Posted by Valencia Orange

Toyota Prius Platinum Warranty Work Denied

UPDATE: I just received a call from the Toyota Dealer and they are going to replace the air filter box.

That's great news.

Originally Posted by octavia

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I am not interested in having to work as hard as you have had to for warranty work. I've mostly owned hondas before this and never had a problem even remotely like this.

I have 2 different friends where Honda has tried to deny warranty coverage as well. The first friend has an 2008 Accord and the A/C quit working, they told her that it was low on freon, but didn't have a leak. Tech even told her that sometimes it just seeps out, tried to charge her $200 until she started threatening everyone.
Another friend she has a 2008 Civic and it frequently stalls when she starts the car and there is a delay when she pushes the gas pedal. They told her that was normal if the car isn't warmed up. She has been too nice because she has dealt with it like that for about a year now.

[jayman]

Originally Posted by morpheusx

Another friend she has a 2008 Civic and it frequently stalls when she starts the car and there is a delay when she pushes the gas pedal. They told her that was normal if the car isn't warmed up.

That is unheard of with modern fuel injected motors. An old car or truck with a hand choke, sure very believable

An Aunt of mine had a 1987 Honda Accord, I think it had 3 carbs. The routine starting procedure in cold weather was to leave the starter engaged for 30 seconds, to prevent stalling.

She needed a new starter every 3 winters

[J_w73]

not sure of the full facts but I have just found out that some emissions components have stricter/extended coverage in california. I am trying to get some up to date info on toyotas but I found this sheet here for hondas. Alot of components are 15 yr/150,000 miles in California. And looking at the sheet the air cleaner box and air cleaner cover are some of them.. so there shouldn't have been any hassle what so ever

http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/Documen...t/apl27540.pdf

CA PZEV

System Covered/Part Name Federal

CA/CT/ CA/CT/

MA/ MA/ME/

ME/VT NY/VT

Air Cleaner Housing 3/36 3/50 15/150

Air Cleaner Housing Cover 3/36 3/50 15/150

edit.. formatting all messed up.. 15/150 is for PZEV California and other California emissions states.

[Shawn Clark]

This is pretty crazy, trying to deny warranty coverage for clips breaking on a box that is NOT subject to "normal wear and tear." It's not a f****** wear item, Toyota! Clutches, brakes, shocks/struts, windshield wipers, filters, etc. but not this. It is supposed to last the life of the vehicle, otherwise the clips would be easily replaced. I would have liked to see them try to explain that to a judge...idiots.

Gotta say, I've NEVER had a component of an air filter box break so this must be a design flaw. I've had some problem with knobs and rear window latches on the Tundra. Toyota uses brittle plastics in some places where metal or similarly tough material is required. After a few years items that should last the life of the vehicle fail. Can't say that I'm impressed with Toyota's materials selection. On my Tundra I bought a set of custom made aluminum latch hinges to replace the CRAP that Toyota put on (both cracked despite rare use--the first one broke when a 5 year old closed it...so it wasn't exactly brute force.) And don't get me started on the weak bolts in the housing for the Tundra rear differential...wait til you have one of those shear.