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IPM Extended Warranty (Canada?)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by chancharles, Feb 28, 2017.

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  1. chancharles

    chancharles Junior Member

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    I am from Canada and own a 2010 Prius. Recently, I have got this "Check Hybrid System" message and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.. Brought the car to dealership and have the IPM Transistor replaced (cost >$2k). I checked various forums and noticed that this particular component/issue is covered by some extended warranty after the 2014 ECU software recall in the US.

    I called Toyota to see if they would honor the same extended warranty in Canada. They flatly declined.. Do I have other options? Does anyone have the same issue in Canada and are you able to recover some of the cost?

    I think it's unfair that they extended this warranty only in the US and not globally. Obviously, whatever software fix they put in is not enough to prevent the problem from happening.
     
    #1 chancharles, Feb 28, 2017
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I agree. What's your kilometers, over the 160,000 limit?
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Feb 28, 2017
  3. Siward

    Siward Active Member

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    That makes me nervous. I live in Toronto too.
     
    #3 Siward, Feb 28, 2017
  4. chancharles

    chancharles Junior Member

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    @Mendel Leisk I am around 127k and my car was bought new when it was out.
     
    #4 chancharles, Feb 28, 2017
  5. Siward

    Siward Active Member

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    Isn't the hybrid warranty 8 years / 160,000 in Canada?
     
    #5 Siward, Mar 2, 2017
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yes:

    upload_2017-3-2_6-27-39.png

    Maybe a miscommunication with them? Actually: the dealership should be on top of this.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Mar 2, 2017
  7. chancharles

    chancharles Junior Member

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    Both the dealership and Toyota Warranty Canada claimed that the IPM transistor is not part of the hybrid system.
     
    #7 chancharles, Mar 3, 2017
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Googling, on this page:

    Green Car Congress: Toyota recalling about 701,000 Gen 3 Prius vehicles in US over software issue in inverter assembly

    They say that IPM stands for Integrated Power Module, and that the IPM is inside the Hybrid Inverter Assembly. Up the page, Toyota Canada's warranty says the "inverter" is warrantied for 8 years or 160,000 kilometers.

    My impression: not only do we not get the extended warranty, they're attempting to evade their responsibilities as defined in their their original warranty. Maybe @Tideland Prius can comment?
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Mar 3, 2017
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Well that is just weird. The inverter (as far as I know) falls under the Hybrid Warranty so if the transitor isn't part of it, then what is? the plastic casing?

    Try taking it to another dealer (might be fruitless if TCI just flat out denies it). Also, call TCI again (hopefully you get a different representative).

    @Prius Team might be able to respond but keep in mind that they're part of TMNA and not TCI so different jurisdiction.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Mar 3, 2017
  10. chancharles

    chancharles Junior Member

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    Called TCI twice.. Finally got an official statement:

    The IPM, even though it's inside the Hybrid Inverter Assembly, is NOT covered under the Hybrid Component Warranty.

    They claimed that if IPM is covered, it would be listed explicitly in the manual.

    I expressed my disappointment and disbelief on this but there seems to be no way they are going to change this position. Not sure whether there's anything else I can do.
     
    #10 chancharles, Mar 10, 2017
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Sounds like Toyota Canada is pulling a stinker... :cautious:

    Class action suit? (n)
     
    #11 Mendel Leisk, Mar 10, 2017
  12. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Well that's ridiculous. What exactly does "inverter with converter" cover then?
     
    #12 Tideland Prius, Mar 10, 2017
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    #13 Mendel Leisk, Mar 10, 2017
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  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'd hate to see this just fade away. Toyota Canada is saying something inside the the inverter is not covered by the inverter warranty. Wasn't this item precisely the focus of the recall?? And Toyota USA, post recall,was issuing 15 year warranty extensions, IIRC??

    Would it be worthwhile to make a small claims court application?
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Mar 11, 2017
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  15. chancharles

    chancharles Junior Member

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    I can try CAMVAP or contact these guys directly: Contact Us | Consumer Law Group Class Actions to see if I have a case.

    Either way, it's going to take a while. However, I feel that this is bigger than my own issue and affects every Canadian Prius owner.
     
    #15 chancharles, Mar 11, 2017
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yes.

    If you just go through small claims court, and the decision was in your favour, would that set a precedent I wonder, start a cascade.

    It doesn't seem a tough argument for a lawyer: to say that something physically inside the inverter, part of the inverter circuitry and paramount for inverter operation, is part of the inverter.

    And on the other hand, for Toyota to argue against this, isn't going to win them any popularity contests.

    @Prius Team will hopefully weigh in; it might not be technically their bailiwick, but who else have we got.
     
    #16 Mendel Leisk, Mar 11, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2017
  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Would this excerpt from the Toyota USA warranty extension amount to an acknowledgement that the IPM is an inverter component?

    upload_2017-3-11_12-27-4.png

    Also, regarding:

    Did Toyota Canada say under what (if any) warranty the IPM is covered? For example, Comprehensive, Powertrain, Major Emissions and so on? Or is it just unwarrantied, lol.

    The wording of the Hybrid-Related Components Warranty is worded a bit more extensively in my 2010 Sales Brochure, not sure if that might be ammo:

    IMG_6430.JPG
     
    #17 Mendel Leisk, Mar 11, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2017
  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yes. I would think if the OP did his/her due diligence and did the recall per the manufacturer's suggestion and it still failed, then it's up to TCI to fix it.

    Also, it's silly to say "well if it was covered, it would've been mentioned." Err, no. It's like having a bulb fail within the 3 year new car warranty and then being denied claim because "the tungsten filament failed and not the glass bulb. If the filament was covered, we would explicitly mention it". No, the bulb doesn't work because of the filament.

    It's implied because the component resides inside the warrantied part and is a required functional part of said warrantied part.
     
    #18 Tideland Prius, Mar 11, 2017
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