3-day old 2010 Prius already in shop - advice needed

Check into the lemon laws in your state, all cars have them. Also a lemon law folder should of been added to your paperwork-by law.

 

I know you want your car sooner than later but I would ask them to take it back and request that you get a new one. I don't know if Toyota or anyone does that sort of thing but it is brand new and obviously defective. I wouldn't want the dealership to learn how to take apart something as major as the dash on my new vehicle.

G

 

I think even with "Lemon Laws" the dealership, Toyota get's a chance to make it right.

This would be very upsetting if I was in your place. It seems a little ridiculous that it is taking as long as it has taken them to even get the replacement part. Expedite, or Overnight Delivery should be possible.

I think you need to give Toyota the chance to repair, but I would simultaneously be pursuing lemon law protections and documenting everything that has needed to be done, and is being done.

Sometimes things ultimately turn out okay. You might end up with a perfectly reliable vehicle and a platinum warranty to boot. But my fear with a dashboard tear down would be future problems and/or noises. That's why documentation step by step will be important.

Good Luck.

 

Let's face facts. The 2010 Prius is a brand new car with major changes over the previous model. There are going to be some initial problems, just like any new complex product. Sorry that you had to be one of those who suffered the consequence. However, you did make a decision to be an early adopter of a new product.

As long as Toyota fixes the problem and provides an automobile (at no cost to you) while yours is in the shop, I don't see why you have any reason to complain.

Keith

 

I agree: Check the Lemon Law for Texas. Some states have a provision that if the car is at the dealer for a certain amount of days, then the Lemon Law kicks in.

 

Sounds to me like it could just be a loose cable. Either they can't get to that cable or the dealership ruled that out and a dash replacement really is needed. A new display will take some time to receive as that won't be something they keep in stock. Obviously this is an unwanted delay, but I wouldn't be worried about the integrity of the car, I would expect it to be fine after this.

Lemon laws primarily apply if they try to fix a particular problem three times and still fail (or something to that effect). I'm not familiar with a minimum stay at the dealer (and this must not apply to bodywork, because I was out for more than 30 days when my Subaru was in an accident a few years back).

It would be interesting to see if any Prius has been certified a lemon.

 

It looks like a 30 day period in Texas. Here is a link to a page with consumer friendly info (although, you may want to google the statutes for TX to make sure this is correct). There are other tests besides the 30 day period that could bring it under Lemon Law, such as 4 attempts (2 for you because its under 12K miles) to fix, etc. Texas does not have a very favorable Lemon Law to consumers, which is what I'd expect as I don't think Texas is known as being very consumer friendly.
Bottom line, you will probably just have to get it fixed, unless it really takes a long time for them to repair.

Texas Lemon Law Consumer Guide

 

Wondering if any Toyota fell under a lemon law! Kidding aside, it does take quite a bit of shop service over a long span of time, in order for the lemon law rules to apply.

Knowing how meticulously Toyota handles repairs, they would likely get it right. About the worst you could end up with would be some sort of squeek from the dash. You'll simply need to turn up the radio volume to drown it out.

 

I have to agree with the good doctor. Toyota has gone above and beyond the call by offering the warranty. Frustrating as it is, sounds to me like they are treating you right on this. Relax and wait for them to fix it.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong - you have the free use of a rental car until the problem is fixed?
So what's the problem?

 

I'd let them give you the display out of mine that is sitting in port if they's give me the platinum warranty.

It's probably just a plug in unit and I can't see where the replacement would cause any future problems.

 

Some of the reply posts have been a bit harsh IMO. Here's my take:

You were waiting, unknown how long in your case, for your new Prius.
Your first car buy.
Shelling out a bunch o' bucks.
Friends and neighbors know it's coming.
You encounter this debilitating problem early in the honeymoon.
Back and forth comms with the dealer.
Special trip and time to pick up rental.
Concern about your new baby sitting at the dealer.
Concern about the repair process and impact to potential squeaks etc.

Okay you got the warranty extension. I'm sure you'd forego that to have this problem not to have happened, as 98% of us here would.

I feel for you, and sorry this had to happen to anyone. Sure s#$t happens - but c'mon folks - easy to see the problem from the outside - have some empathy.
Just wonder if the display modules can be accessed/removed from the front, and not need to remove the dash....

 

I think your new Prius will be fixed and have no more issues. It may take a little while because it's a new model and the service people are not familiar with them yet. In the mean time enjoy your rental car. A failure such as this definitely doesn't mean it's a lemon or that it will fail again, it just means one important part happened to fail. Sorry you were one of the unlucky three but I bet it will work out OK for you.

If it happens to me I may have a different take on it though.

 

To the OP:

I'm very sorry to hear about your problems. But hopefully this will offer some encouragement: although the G3 is a brand new model, Priuses have been here in the U.S. for roughly a decade. There are many skilled, Prius certified mechanics around. My guess would be that most dealerships would give their "top" Prius mechanics the honors of working on the new 2010s.

As most of the technology will be familiar to those same mechanics, I would believe that they should be able to do a good job of making the necessary repairs.

Best wishes,

Frank

 

You absolutely can get a brand new car! A similar thing happened to my mom last year. She got a brand new Mercedes CLS and had the car for 3 days. I spent an afternoon with her and we drove the car into an underground garage in town so we could have lunch. We were gone for no more than an hour. We went back to the car so we could leave and the car was completely dead. Nothing we did started the car at all. Jump start didn't work. They had to tow it out on a special tow truck that wasn't high up since it was a subterranean garage the next day, yep the car had to stay in the garage overnight. We could not believe that happened to a brand new car.

Mercedes claimed they could fix it (even though like yours they didn't know why it happened) and blah blah and my mother said absolutely no way! She didn't want a defective car and that she won't settle for anything but a new one. A week later she got the new one and thank god a year later hasn't had one problem with it since

Be persistent and DEFINTELY get a new Prius! Your car was a lemon and you should not settle for them "trying" to fix a problem that they don't even know what caused it. I hope everything works out for you. I'm sure it will

 

Should they throw the old car away? or send it back to japan?

 

Absolutely not! The Toyota Prius is completely recycleable .... I have watched it happen on TV!!!