Toyota Will Pay For HID Repairs, I got the Letter!

OMG!

They all lied.

There really is a Sandy Claws.

:rockon:

 

My HIDs are working just fine (still knocking on wood) for now. I'd like to get a copy of that letter for my records.

 

Interesting... ditto, my HIDs are fine. At least this should get this one spammer w/too much time on his hands to spot spamming the Toyota Prius account on Facebook.

Rokeby: Ha re: the reference to Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

Can't read the text, please post a high resolution picture.

 

It's readable for me. Try clicking on the image.

 

Toyota do not admit defect of the HID headlight. It will only refund the different of the reduced price of HID bulb and the cost of the ECU as the replacement is un-necessary.
So it is still no warranty repair. But the reduction to $150 a bulb is still too expensive as you can get it much cheaper on ebay.

 

Did you click on the "+" icon in the upper left corner to obtain a bigger picture? Seems well readable to me.

 

I am going to bookmark this page. I just spent $322 to have one side replaced. I wonder who is getting these letters, and under what circumstances?

 

Dave,

Did you replace on your 2010??? The letter seems to state the specific years. 2006-2009. This does not affect the 2010 as you seem to own???

Thanks! Bob

 

No, no, please check my signature: I own two Priuses. I'm talking about the 2005, not the 2010.

I realize I may be out of luck because my car is too old, but I wouldn't mind not having to pay $322 for a headlamp replacement. I'm not used to that.

 

Couldn't hurt to ask the Dealership based upon your information you now have at hand about the letter being sent out. Maybe since your (obviously) a good customer, they will drop the price and work something out with you???? Let's hope so!
Sorry missed the signature part....

 

Dave,

call the Toyota customer service number. They might be able to do something for you other than what's covered in this letter. This letter covers 2006-2009. But the 2004/2005 have other problem that Toyota did not admit in this letter.

Toyota used ones that have shorter than expected life span on those model years(2006 is included too). The symptom was that light goes out and the only way to bring it back is to turn off and turn back on again to let balast charge the bulb.

I paid out of pocket and contacted Toyota about it. Didn't really work out for me. but my dealer said Toyota sometimes works with customer to get a solution. Worth the shot.

I paid $1100 for repairs of both side(dealer ripped me off on the labor charge. Claiming 3 labor hours when someone could've done it in 20 minutes on each side). I hope I can get $300 back on the bulbs through this program.

During the repair, dealer also replaced ECU and made a claim through the platinum warranty program so I didn't get charged for it.

Good luck to you guys.

 

The letter does nothing for those who haven't done the repair before, it only reduce the MSRP of the HID bulb from $300 to $150.

If you bring the car to the dealer for HID headlight repair, it will cost you $150 per bulb plus the labor to remove and reinstall the bumper cover during the repair which amounts to 3 hour @ labor rate from $80 to $100/hr. Good thing is that the ECU is no longer required to be replace. So a typical repair at the dealer will be ~$450 for one bulb to $600 for two bulbs. It is still a very expensive repair if you cannot DIY.

I hope Toyota will change to cover this under a new extended warranty for the HID bulbs.

 

Ehh. I may make some calls; I've still got the original invoice. (This work happened just last week, before my daughter drove the car in question home for the holidays.)

I won't hold my breath, though, that I'll get any money back.

 

This is a half-baked attempt to stop the tide of complaints. I have had HID problems with my 2005; why is it not included in this program? If the lights are defective, Toyota should step up and cover 100% of the costs to original owners at the minimum.

Additionally, Dublin Toyota did not remove my front bumper to remove both of my headlights. They pulled out the top bolts along the top of the bumper and simply pulled the bumper down - about 10 minutes of work to do that. So if they are billing 3 hours they are just taking advantage of customers.

Just because they kiss you a little before they hose you does not mean you are not being hosed.

 

Agreed, I had the problem on my 2005 on BOTH sides. However, it was covered under the extended warrantee and Toyota goodwill reimbursement.

But it is a fact the problem existed in 2005 also.

 

I got this letter in the mail today. I was wondering if it was sent out to all registered owners of the cars in the date range specified, or if it's just sent out to people who have contacted them about their headlights, or people who have made a NTSB report, or...?

I read the letter twice and was not sure what it meant.

I had this repair done in October, $336 for one bulb on one side, ECU not included, at least not mentioned on the receipt. The service advisor said Toyota wouldn't cover it under the extended warranty that i have (40K miles on the car when the light went out)(I had just taken the car in for the routine service. Service advisor informed me my right headlight was out. I never knew there was a problem prior to that).

So...after this unpleasant expensive experience, i turned to PriusChat and learned all about the HID problem, and called Toyota and said my car suffered from what is a common well known problem. I was asked what it would take to satisfy me and i said i wanted to be reimbursed. They did reimburse the full amount by check.

So when i got this letter today, at first i thought it was a kind of recall, and that they were telling me i can bring my car in and have the other side replaced too--or, if i start having problems with the other side, they will reimburse me if i pay for it. But the more i read the letter over, the less i understand it.

I hope this means if problems occur in the future with either one of my headlights, Toyota will cover the cost of the repair. In the letter they claim that this type of light has a longer lifespan than normal halogen bulbs. I've been driving for about 45 years, several different cars, several that were well over 100K miles, and only once had to replace a headlight, so.....what are they talking about?

 

I received my letter today even though I've never had any HID replacements/repairs. Mine still work fine.