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TOYOTA RETURN MY PRIUS!!!

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Hatman, Mar 6, 2014.

  1. Hatman

    Hatman Junior Member

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    Hello All, I had a love affair with my 2010 Toyota Prius for four years and 58,706 miles. On February 24th, 2014 that all changed when my 2010 Toyota Prius broke down in the middle of the road without any prior warnings. February 24th started like any other work day. Get in car and drive to work. The traffic was a bit heavy that morning so I decided to exit about three exits prior to my usual exit, and take the local route. One minute off the highway the car just failed and rolled to a complete stop in the middle of the road. My dashboard had the “CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM” error message. I tried several times to start the car but the Prius refused to start. I decided to call AAA, and they arrived an hour and half later. Sitting in the middle of the road caused a backup and one driver gave me the bird! AAA finally arrived and towed me to the local dealer. When I arrived, I was able to see a service tech quickly and we engaged. I told him about the sudden failure of the engine, leaving me stranded in the middle of the road. He checked the Prius for any recalls. I listening in horror as he named two active Safety recalls for the 2010 Toyota Prius. This took me back to the first Safety Recall for the brakes a couple of years ago. Remember that software patch? The service tech announced the first Safety Recall, the Intelligent Power Module (IPM). This is exactly why my Prius failed in the middle of the road. Thank god I was not on the highway. I can’t imagine driving on the highway with my family and the car suddenly fails and just stops in the middle of the highway. I was lucky that morning. I wonder how many 2010 Toyota Prius owners have experienced the same Hybrid System failure around the country. Toyota is saying it’s a software problem. In my case that software problem let to a full Hybrid System failure. Which now requires parts that Toyota doesn’t stock up on. As I write this, it’s Thursday March 6th. Working on TWO WEEKS now!!! I’m calling Corporate Toyota with my case number. I call every day and I let them know I’m still waiting and reminding them I’m working on two weeks now. I can’t wrap my mind on how a Global entity like TOYOTA can’t find the parts. In the world we live in today, we can get just about anything around the world overnight or next day delivery. TOYOTA is holding my car hostage!!!!! Are any 2010 Toyota Prius owners around the country going through the same? The second Safety Recall is the brakes again. Brake Booster Pump Assembly? When this happens, you will have FULL BRAKE FAILURE. Thanks Toyota, the brakes again. I’ll be lucky to rub two nickels together on any attempt to sell the car now. At this point I just want Toyota to fix the car so I can trade in and get another car. But I know I will feel very guilty knowing this death trap is still on the road and is going to kill someone or their family.

     
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Sorry to hear of your bad experience. :(

    Unfortunately, the inverters are apparently on backorder, which explains why it is taking a while to get one for your car. Toyota dealers are testing all inverters before doing the software update for the recall, and replacing those that fail this test. No doubt increasing the shortage.

    I'm very surprised that no one was willing to help you get your car to the side of the road. I find it hard to believe that your car sat in the middle of the road for 1.5 hours. That's very unsafe.

    Have you received a loaner from the dealer?

    FYI, paragraphs would make your post much easier to read. ;)

    SCH-I535
     
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  3. telmo744

    telmo744 HSD fanatic

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    I would be very interested in knowing where you have read that.
    Seems you have had a bad experience, but try to focus on reality, please!

    And by the way, your last post was Aug 2009 and you complained about DELIVERY TIME.

    You could complain againt Priuschat, is full of Prius owners...Prius, that death trap!
     

  4. After 3.5 years it still takes forever to deliver a post because of slow servers, maybe they're on recall too :unsure:

    I'm confused by Hatman's post. He learned that his vehicle is one of many (at least a few hundred thousand) that were part of a recall. But when a recall happens, customers have to be notified. Did Hatman receive any notice of the recall, before the incident? If so, and he didn't act on it, then that's a lesson for him to learn.
    Had he acted immediately on the recall like most Prius owners did, he probably would have still been a satisfied customer today.
    I'm just not sure what to make of his experience yet.
     
  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    If you checked in here only semi regularly you'll hear about the serious service bulletins otherwise you leave your fate to the US Mail and you know how that can be. ALSO - if you never gave the dealer your email address or have serious spam blockers - that could be another cause .... similarly if you regularly take your car to the dealer they would automatically catch it - so you can't dump all the blame on others besides yourself.

    btw - while under warranty, every time I've taken our prius into the dealer, where they have to keep the vehicle and it doesn't run, they've let me have a free rental. That's pretty much SOP. oh ... and you don't really need to put the entire OP in caps. All that said ... life is not perfect. every car has its dark days believe it or not. and ... all dealers have limited parts available at the repair location. So even if you trade for a chevy impally - you'll still have to wait for parts. Welcome.
    .
     
  6. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Car had an old recall notice. You ignored the old recall notice. Recall problem surfaced, now you are surprised?
     
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i get all the recall notices by regular mail.
     
  8. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Why focus on little things like that! lol. It's Toyota, it's everyone else BUT the OP.

    Shock horror, a four year old car with 60,000 miles on breaks down. Saying that, so did mine and I was not impressed either. But there's a way of saying it.
     
  9. CapeAnn

    CapeAnn Member

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    Sorry your broke down in NYC. Also bites that you were stuck in the roadway for so long... but then again it's NYC.

    I hope they get you your part in short order and you are back on the road. CapeAnn - part time resident of NYC.
     
  10. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    The SKY is falling. The SKY is falling.
     
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  11. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Haven't received the letter. I'd be annoyed if my loaner wasn't a Prius. I have yet to find a Parts Dept. that actually stocked the needed parts. Toyota's footing the bill for the rental so there's no incentive to delay the repair.

    Call Toyota's help desk all you want but they don't make parts, they don't ship parts, and they don't fix cars so I'd be extremely surprised if they help you.

    Don't know where you got stuck. Maybe NYPD thought the traffic jam you caused was just the normal daily backup.

    Chill.
     
  12. PriusGuy32

    PriusGuy32 Prius Driver Extraordinaire

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    The car just stopped on the roadway, it didnt coast at all?? Unless you were idling along in stop and go traffic and the car stalled out while you were stopped and couldnt coast, I dont see how you could be stuck in the roadway like that.

    And with that said, I get notices not only via US postal mail, but also through the Toyota Owners Site which is free to join. And of course Priuschat too.

    You wont have to "rub two nickels together" to sell your Prius if you want to, but you can if it makes you feel better. A 2010 with 58,000 for sale on the used market should sell for around $16,500 or more depending on packing/options. This still represents a very favorable resale value comparatively speaking.
     
  13. Dylan Doxey

    Dylan Doxey Senior Member

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    I bought my 2014 Prius about two months ago. The following week I put the VIN into the recall search on toyota.com

    Toyota Safety Recall and Car Service Information

    This returned a result which had the words "no sale" in the description! I took the car to the service department and they resolved it immediately.

    Despite the awesome products that Toyota produces, they are distributed by American automobile dealers which are notoriously inept and greedy. Just like in any other service, you will be most satisfied when you are proactive and verify things on your own.
     
  14. Hatman

    Hatman Junior Member

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    Hello All,

    Its March 23rd and I still don't have my 2010 Toyota Prius back.
     
  15. jhinsc

    jhinsc Senior Member

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    No other update than "not having your car back"? Have they given you any more information about status of parts? Hope you have a loaner car!
     

  16. Well...I'm still confused:

    1. Back from where, like where is your car? Is it at home, at a Toyota dealership, at a VIP, etc.?
    2. Who else have you tried to contact? If your car is at a dealership, then when do they expect to service your car?
    3. Did you receive any notice of the recall, before the incident?

    Not to sound mean but I don't see how calling Toyota Corp. every day and leaving messages is going to speed things up. Try contacting someone else and get through to someone directly.
     
  17. Carol Reed

    Carol Reed New Member

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    This past Sunday we accelerated onto a HWY in our 2010 Prius. Exactly the same thing happened to me that happened to this person (IPM failure), and the car completely shut down. It was in the evening on a dangerous 2-lane highway (HWY 17 for those who know Santa Cruz). Luckily we were able to coast to the shoulder, while the cars whizzed by at 60-70 MPH. We sat in our car on the narrow shoulder for 45 minutes waiting for help to come after calling AAA immediately. And yes, I did receive the recall notice. I have my car serviced regularly and all the recalls are supposed to be handled with the service. I had two services after receiving the recall notice, and actually assumed everything was taken care of. I did not pay attention to the details since I rely on Toyota to handle things. After two days in the Toyota Service after the system failure, I finally received a call that the parts have been "released" but won't arrive for 1-2 weeks! I will get a loaner, but I am quite troubled. We actually could have been in a pretty serious accident. We were very lucky. I love my Prius, and in fact it is our second one. We are also owners of a 2005 Prius with 250,000 miles running smoothly on its original battery. But, problems like this concern me.
     
    #17 Carol Reed, Dec 3, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 4, 2014
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    another poster just reported that there are a lot of rats in santa cruz, and they chew through the wiring in the car.
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    hatman! what's hattening? :rolleyes:
     
  20. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Trust, but verify.

    Log on to Toyota Owner's Online and enter your VIN to see what services were performed.