2007 Prius Destroyed by Toyota Dealer

[hill]

Originally Posted by Wildkow

Are you sure you're getting a whole new engine or are they swapping out the parts that were ruined because of lack of oil?

Wildkow

The labor costs (not even considering costs for individual parts) involved in disassembly to inspect / remove burned valves, piston rings, bearings, jornals, etc then rebuild, would quickly outweigh the cost of the whole motor in many cases.

[Sheepdog]

it would upset me highly but a free rental car and a complte restoration of where I was and I'd be ok with it. I would want support if anything happens later attributed to the swap tho, or you could get a lawyer and make a lot of noice and get maybe a newer car. who know?

[a priori]

New Car? No, that one is not happening.

New Engine? Sounds like a great deal to me. I would just be very clear with them that what you are getting is a brand-new engine at no cost to you. I would follow the advice of making arrangements with the service writer to be there at the point of removal of the old and insertion of the new engine.

I see two down sides: 1) Aggravation and loss of your time. Make clear to the dealer that you appreciate their honesty and integrity, but you still are out a lot of time and it has caused you aggravation. Many people lose time and are aggravated, but yours is coming specifically because of their actions. This is reason enough to have a very nice loaner (Prius is likely not available) and free service for awhile. 2) You won't have your car back for awhile! No need for further explanation on that one.

I suggest you also get a couple of things clear with the dealer. One is what this does for your warranties. Do certain clocks start all over again? How does this affect your HSD warranty? Another is this: What about the odometer? I think neither you nor the dealer can roll back the miles, but you want to have some clear designation of the miles at the time the new engine is installed. This is, in many ways, tied to the issue of the warranties.

I wish you well! I know my 2007 is running well with 15,000 miles, but I wouldn't mind a shot at having a 2007 with 0 miles (on the engine, if nothing else!).

[priusforever]

I would at the least ask for the best extended warranty there is just so that you will have peace of mind down the road.

[dcrna]

Dont let them rebuild it!!!!

[jelloslug]

Originally Posted by jpartdq

Thanks everyone for the input. I am a little shocked myself that a Toyota dealership did it. They also claim to be the #1 Toyota dealer in South Carolina and even have awards from Toyota to prove it. I think their reputation is very important.

I wanted to push for a new Prius but I figured that'd be asking a lot. But at least they did admit fault so I think they know I could get a lawsuit going in a heartbeat. I'll update this thread later today when I talk to them so you can see what the final diagnosis is.

Ben

Which dealer would this be? If you don't want to say which one, what city was it in?

[mingoglia]

Originally Posted by jayman

The Prius has an all-aluminum motor, like most new vehicles now. Run low on coolant and severely overheat the motor, or run it without oil and also overheat it, it's probably beyond repair. Parts warp, etc

An engine swap is a fairly straightforward process these days: unplug the various wiring harnesses, follow the steps in the manual to remove various bolts, use a motor lift to remove the motor/cvt as one unit. Separate the motor from the cvt, bolt up the new motor, reverse the procedure to reinstall

With older motors, one of the most common errors was forgetting to hook up the return spring on the carb. You'd know as soon as you fired it up the first time, it would scream. Sometimes it would run ok at idle, then first time on the street you'd press on the gas, it would keep going. Come up to a red light, take your foot off the gas, uh-oh.

Another common error on old cars was to forget to hook up the automatic transmission kickdown linkage/TV cable, or forget the spring for it. Depending on whether it was a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge, you'd get very odd shift feel as the kickdown/TV proportioned line pressure to the clutches in the valve body. Or, the 1-2 shift was harsh/delayed, or kickdown wasn't proper. You could easily fry an automatic transmission by not properly setting the kickdown/TV.

The nice thing about modern cars like the Prius is that there is no worry of any of that. The throttle is by-wire, it either works or it doesn't

I'm not sure what a Prius factory crate motor includes. They may have to swap over minor things like exhaust manifold and air cleaner box, or it may be complete. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Probably the biggest thing that could go wrong is improper bleeding of the coolant system for the engine and the inverter.

Very well said. In the past, I'd cringe about getting a new motor installed. With everything these days being plug and play with harnesses that can only be plugged in one way, and either work or don't work there is little risk. Back in the day it only took that one little vacuum hose or similar to make things "run", but never the same.

With that being said though, there are others that may see this as a bad thing. These are people that still think a new motor is bad because of the potential for other things to be missed. Unfortunately, if I was looking at two exactly the same year Prius', one with a new motor, and one with the original motor...and the price was the same. I'd still probably go with the one with an old motor. I've personally lost faith in dealership techs and their ability to do good work (for instance, use a torque wrench, follow bolt tightening sequences, etc).

Mike

[rfred]

I'm starting to catch just the faintest whiff of troll. I'm going out to the garage right now, remove all of the oil from the engine, drive the car on the interstate and see if the dashboard doesn't light up like a Christmas tree before the engine is destroyed.

Not!

[Godiva]

Can they reset the odometer to 0 if they put in a new engine?

I don't think this devalues the car at all. In fact, new engine is a perk.

I agree. New engine. You're lucky they took responsibility. Free rental for length of repair. And some major butt-kissing. Like perhaps throw in an extended warranty for FREE.

BTW my Dad did this once with my relatively new 1979 Ford Pinto. It seized in the driveway and I shut it off immediately. I asked him....did you put oil back in it after you drained it? He got this sheepish, surprised look on his face. I cried I can't afford an engine rebuild. (I couldn't afford an oil change, that's why he was doing it.) He said he'd fix it. I had use of his car the entire time he had it. Two weeks later and it was fine. I don't know what he did but he was able to get it going. There was a mechanic that lived across the street so I can't swear they didn't roll the car over there and Ted rebuilt the engine. Maybe he did. Don't know. But when I picked it up it worked fine and I had it for 10 years with only regular maintenance and a new starter at 7 years.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Godiva

Can they reset the odometer to 0 if they put in a new engine?...

BTW my Dad did this once with my relatively new 1979 Ford Pinto...

No. However the OP will have the repair invoice that shows the mileage when the new engine was installed. All factory warranties will continue in force as if the original engine was still installed. In particular, the powertrain warranty provides the relevant coverage, 5 years/60K miles from the in-service date.

For those who DIY oil changes, a good habit would be to put the new oil and new oil filter in a conspicuous location near the car being worked on, and also place the ignition key (or fob) in that location. Hopefully this will prompt the DIYer to ensure that the new oil has been installed and that the job is complete, prior to starting up the engine.

Another good habit would be to ensure that the old drain plug washer has been removed and replaced with a new washer. In any event, there should be one washer only: no washer is not enough, and two washers are too many.

A final good habit would be to double-check that the oil drain plug has been satisfactorily tightened (to 28 ft.-lb) and that the oil filter has been tightened to at least 1/2 turn after the gasket has contacted the engine, but no more than 3/4 turn.