Pleading a warranty case for broken radio

You're 9 months past warranty so the problem surfacing 3 months ago won't make a difference, but you can try pleading your case as it can't hurt and you have nothing to lose.

I'd make a big point that this problem is unacceptable for a car with only 25K miles.

 

Barely out is still out..... You say 3 months ago. Was this documented at the dealership while still under warranty? If not then your best bet is to get in touch with customer relations and tell them how much you love Toyota and ask nicely if there is any way it can be covered or maybe be fixed at a discount.

Worst comes to worst get a used unit off eBay or junk yard and put it in yourself and have a cheaper audio shop do it. They wouldn't charge more than $50 to install it.

 

As already stated, the situation you are in, IS the situation you are in.

Sometimes I feel sorry for Toyota, when people complain about something breaking out of warranty "but it was close". Toyota has to put a limit on their warranty...a start and a end.

Even though I commiserate with the OP, that sucks. But it can happen with your Radio in your Prius, or with the Blender you bought at the local store.

As already pointed out, you have little to lose. Just present the reality to Toyota and point out the low miles on the vehicle. Toyota DOES have a vested interest in maintaining good customer relations. You might get them to agree or at least discount the replacement. But simultaneously be prepared to face the reality that "Maybe Not".

If not? If I was paying out of my own pocket, I'd surely be looking at aftermarket replacement possibilities.

Good Luck, let us know how it goes.

 

write them an honest and respectful letter. make your points clearly and succinctly. they have been very generous to many. all the best!

 

Take it to another dealer and ask to have it covered under good will. They will contact the dealers district rep, and he will make the call. They put money aside for these types of good will repairs. I have done it with Lexus.

 

Dealers don't do repairs to radios, they do an exchange with companies that are set up for radio repair.

 

Yes repair equals replacement on a radio.

 

When I see something like this I always wonder what the reaction would be if it were flipped a bit. A car just barely still in warranty goes In and the owner is asked to pay for part of the repair bill. All holy heck would break loose.

OP - it does not hurt to ask though. If you so not know who to contact I'm sure that the dealer would point you in the correct direction.

Just one thing that you can check. On my car if nothing is plugged into the aux jack it will only select the CD player - same as what you describe. If you have not done so already perhaps it might make sense to play around with and inspect the jack itself. Try a different cable and also pulling it out a hair or putting pressure on one side or the other. I do not know if I would trust the dealership as their first instinct is to replace the entire unit. It might not be this, but there is no cost to try and it would take just a few minutes to be sure.

 

That'll never happen (legally anyway). I once had to have an entire engine (on a Mustang) replaced 500 miles past warranty because I had not taken it in for its last service under warranty and the dealer neglected to catch the internal oil leaking while it was still in warranty. I had taken it in to the same dealer religiously every 3K miles so the warranty still covered it. There's always a window of time when it comes to warranty so being within 5K miles/3 months out of warranty shouldn't make a difference. However, the OP was 9 months past warranty.

 

I was going to suggest the same thing - try a different cable, and (less likely) a different device that you are plugging the aux cable into. If you unplug the aux cable while the head unit is set to the aux input, the head unit will switch away from the aux input (there is a sensing function in the jack, so it "knows" when there is nothing plugged into the jack, and won't allow you to select it). NOTE: This doesn't happen if you unplug a device from the aux cord (leaving the cord plugged into jack in the car).

 

Not really the point that I was making but OK. Essentially what I was trying to say is that a customer expects (and rightfully so) that a car even 1 mile below the warranty cut off would be fully covered because that is what has been agreed to. However they seem to think that past the cut off the company still has some obligation to pay some or all of the repair and that is just not the case. The customer really should have no expectation that the company will cover it. However companies can and will make exceptions. If the customer goes into it and pleads their case respectfully and well and is generally decent then you hope that the company will help out with the repair and in the process buy some good will. All that being said, I really do not believe that there is any sort of window - the car is either covered by the warranty or is not covered.