3-day old 2010 Prius already in shop - advice needed

[dzpjpants]

Purchase Date - June 19, 2009
Problem Date - June 21, 2009

1st car purchase ever.

Bought at dealership in San Antonio, TX.
Drove to Houston.
50 miles outside of San Antonio, entire left side display went out. Gas gauge, speedometer, etc. were not visible.
Used the fuel consumption/mph calculation to assist in speed determination in order to make it home.

Took car to Houston dealership on June 22, 2009

Told this is the 3rd car in all of North America to experience this issue and the fix was "unknown" and they would have to work on it.

Rental car received.

June 24, 2009 -- Dealership determined that the previous 2 cases reported had their entire display replaced as a fix for this event. The part was ordered, but no definitive date of delivery was received.

June 25, 2009 -- I was able to get Toyota to agree to upgrade my warranty to a Platnium plan at no additional charge to me.

Today is June 29, 2009 -- car is still in shop.

Still no date of delivery for the part.

What are my options?
I had the car for 3 days; Toyota has now had it for 8.

I am unsure of what else I should be asking for and how to proceed. Any advice that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[REDWIND88]

Check into the lemon laws in your state, all cars have them. Also a lemon law folder should of been added to your paperwork-by law.

[greylar]

I know you want your car sooner than later but I would ask them to take it back and request that you get a new one. I don't know if Toyota or anyone does that sort of thing but it is brand new and obviously defective. I wouldn't want the dealership to learn how to take apart something as major as the dash on my new vehicle.

G

[The Electric Me]

I think even with "Lemon Laws" the dealership, Toyota get's a chance to make it right.

This would be very upsetting if I was in your place. It seems a little ridiculous that it is taking as long as it has taken them to even get the replacement part. Expedite, or Overnight Delivery should be possible.

I think you need to give Toyota the chance to repair, but I would simultaneously be pursuing lemon law protections and documenting everything that has needed to be done, and is being done.

Sometimes things ultimately turn out okay. You might end up with a perfectly reliable vehicle and a platinum warranty to boot. But my fear with a dashboard tear down would be future problems and/or noises. That's why documentation step by step will be important.

Good Luck.

[Tech_Guy]

Let's face facts. The 2010 Prius is a brand new car with major changes over the previous model. There are going to be some initial problems, just like any new complex product. Sorry that you had to be one of those who suffered the consequence. However, you did make a decision to be an early adopter of a new product.

As long as Toyota fixes the problem and provides an automobile (at no cost to you) while yours is in the shop, I don't see why you have any reason to complain.

Keith

[MUPAUL]

I agree: Check the Lemon Law for Texas. Some states have a provision that if the car is at the dealer for a certain amount of days, then the Lemon Law kicks in.

[nerfer]

Sounds to me like it could just be a loose cable. Either they can't get to that cable or the dealership ruled that out and a dash replacement really is needed. A new display will take some time to receive as that won't be something they keep in stock. Obviously this is an unwanted delay, but I wouldn't be worried about the integrity of the car, I would expect it to be fine after this.

Lemon laws primarily apply if they try to fix a particular problem three times and still fail (or something to that effect). I'm not familiar with a minimum stay at the dealer (and this must not apply to bodywork, because I was out for more than 30 days when my Subaru was in an accident a few years back).

It would be interesting to see if any Prius has been certified a lemon.

[MUPAUL]

It looks like a 30 day period in Texas. Here is a link to a page with consumer friendly info (although, you may want to google the statutes for TX to make sure this is correct). There are other tests besides the 30 day period that could bring it under Lemon Law, such as 4 attempts (2 for you because its under 12K miles) to fix, etc. Texas does not have a very favorable Lemon Law to consumers, which is what I'd expect as I don't think Texas is known as being very consumer friendly.
Bottom line, you will probably just have to get it fixed, unless it really takes a long time for them to repair.

Texas Lemon Law Consumer Guide

[efusco]

You're no where near "Lemon Law" actionable issues. The display is bad, it's an electronic part and the car is brand new on US soil so parts availability will be a bit limited. Sure, it's frustrating, but I'm confident that you'll get your part and your car will be fine. The $1000+ value "I'm sorry" in the form of an extended warranty is a very nice thing and isn't something they had to do and it should give you confidence that this and future issues will be taken care of.

If this is the 3rd case of this I wouldn't be surprised to see a TSB put on on the issue in the near future, and perhaps a minor design change to prevent whatever is causing the problem. I had to have my combination meter replace on my early '04 Prius, stuff happens, just roll with it and you'll be fine.

[Leadfoot]

Wondering if any Toyota fell under a lemon law! Kidding aside, it does take quite a bit of shop service over a long span of time, in order for the lemon law rules to apply.

Knowing how meticulously Toyota handles repairs, they would likely get it right. About the worst you could end up with would be some sort of squeek from the dash. You'll simply need to turn up the radio volume to drown it out.