ConsumerAffairs.Com is at it again

[IsrAmeriPrius]

The ambulance chasers keep trolling:

But a growing number of ConsumerAffairs.Com readers are reporting that the Prius hybrid technology is not aging well. With some Prius models in the U.S. on the road now for eight years and approaching 100,000 miles, owners are beginning to encounter problems that are unique to the hybrids.

Bernadette in Fresno, California, bought her Prius in 2004. She said that the hybrid display began to malfunction "within a few months and did not work with the result of being unable to get gas into car."

Now Bernadette told ConsumerAffairs.Com that, "the display began to do strange things two weeks ago but this time I recognized it when the radio kept turning off and the display kept saying odd things."

The display unit in the Prius has to be replaced again and fortunately for Bernadette the car is under extended warranty.

...

Zhirair in Glendale, California also owns a 2004 Prius. "I have been having a monitor problem. It won't work properly," he said.

Zhirair has reported the problem to Toyota and he said the automaker is unwilling to provide any assistance because the monitor in his Prius is no longer covered by the Toyota warranty.

"There is a technical service bulletin out on it from Toyota which tells the dealer how to repair the problem but only if the car is under factory warranty," he said. "My car has 49,000 miles on it and is out of warranty."

...

Danny in San Antonio, Texas, owns a 2003 Toyota Prius with 91,000 miles on the odometer.

"When we went to start it the dashboard lit up with multiple warning lights. The dealer picked it up and said that the transmission went out and it would cost $6,000 to fix and the Prius was out of warranty," he told ConsumerAffairs.Com.

"When we explained to the dealer and to Toyota customer relations that the transmission was part of the Hybrid Power train covered for 5 years and 100,000 mile they refused to cover it. Not even a partial coverage. This considering the car was working fine when it was last shut off," Danny said.

Richard in Palm Desert, California, drives a 2001 Prius with 103,000 miles on it.

"The car has died on the freeway four times. The second time the dealer had the car for 53 days waiting for parts," he told ConsumerAffairs.Com

"The car is extremely hard on tires, just can't keep them balanced. The heat inverter has gone out twice, the service rep said these cars just don't do well in the desert. The gas tank has been replaced and the steering column replaced," he said.

...

Finally, in Bedford, Texas, Chuck told us that the "12-volt battery in my 2002 Toyota Prius discharges and it won't start if the car isn't run every day. Repeated trips to the dealership have not cured the problem, despite an upgrade of battery."

The growing number of complaints and problems owners of aging Prius hybrids are encountering suggest that a wary consumer ought to look long and hard before buying one of these hybrids on the used car market.

Toyota warrants the hybrid drive system for 100,000 miles, but as Danny in San Antonio discovered, there can be some uncertainty as to which of the Prius components are part of the hybrid drive and covered by the warranty and which are not.

Sales Top 1 Million but Some Owners Find Prius Doesn't Age Well[/b]

[ATOM_SF]

Now I'm a total Priuschat newby and I can tell from the article that it doesn't hold water. The quotes are rehashed from other articles on the site. If the Prius was falling apart as implied, they shouldn't need to copy the quotes.

[Tideland Prius]

I don't know of any US Prius that is 8 years old. Even if you bought the earliest 2001 model in Sept 2000, it's only 6½ years old.

[burritos]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jun 12 2007, 07:42 PM) [snapback]460512[/snapback]</div>

The ambulance chasers keep trolling:
[/b]

The only way GM and Ford can survive the toyota hybrid tsunami is via third party misinformation campaign.

[TonyPSchaefer]

The absolutely truly sad part of all this is that people read it, pass it on, and believe it. Word for word they believe it.

When we are out in the public doing shows there is always someone who comes up and mentions the Sudsbury plant, replacing the batteries after 100,000 miles, and the death of emergency workers.

Say what you want about this slander; it works.

[galaxee]

wait, so a problem with the display screen causes you to be unable to fill your gas tank?!? omg... i gotta sell this pos right now.

tell me what car i can buy that is bulletproof, has no potential for failure EVER, and is completely unsusceptible to operator error under any and all conditions. and tell me why they haven't sold millions of them this year alone.

[TonyPSchaefer]

I was showing some coworkers how the RFID fob works. One of them said very condescendingly, "yeah and as soon as you misplace that fob someone's stealing your car."

I just looked at him and said, "I've yet to see a car that can't be stolen by someone who has the keys."

This has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I offer it as an example of how people will just look for something damning to say.

[Frank Hudon]

how about all the 700R tranny's that GM had fail with low mileage or how about all the leaking plastic intake manifolds that cost GM owners hundred's of thousand dollars in repairs. How about all the Ford trannys that popped into reverse and ran over the drivers as they got out to check their mail boxes. How about all the crappy Chrysler V8's with the ThermoQuad carbs that leaked and caught fire. How about all the GM quadra jet carbs that flooded and set the cars and trucks on fire. How about all the Audi's that burnt up when subject to the load of mountain driving. How about all the Audi's that the cruise control caused to suddenly accelerate. Enough for now but the list is endless and they have 3 or 4 cars that caused trouble. non issue. Piss useless journalism in my opinion.

[avdavsim]

The morons at ConsumerAffairs.com have to go back to Logic 101.

Anecdotal evidence proves nothing. Show some valid statistical data and then you may have a point. I suspect that statistical data doesn't support their agenda that the Prius is unreliable, so they bury it under a small pile of anecdotes. Nice try.

[Ethereal]

She said that the hybrid display began to malfunction "within a few months and did not work with the result of being unable to get gas into car."[/b]

Stop pouring gasoline into the MFD and it will last longer!

Is there a word for this depth of stupidity (on the part of the interviewed OR the interviewer)?