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Temporarily dead Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mwilliams, Sep 12, 2004.

  1. mwilliams

    mwilliams New Member

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    Last week, my 2004 Prius wouldn't start about 20 minutes after I parked it & turned it off. All the warning lights were on. I couldn't turn the car off or on - it just sat there in some kind of purgatory. After several attempts to start it, I called Prius Roadside Assistance. They asked if I had run out of gas (no, I had an almost full tank), and then put me on hold while they located a dealer nearby that had an open service department. Just as they came back on line, the car started.

    This incident had freaked me out, so I went straight to the open service department. The mechanic came out and checked the oil, shook his head in amazement, got a rag to wipe the dip stick, and then checked it again. He showed it to me: there was as much oil above the fill line as there was below it! He said that the oil had probably gotten into the wrong places and caused my problem.

    This service department was great. They gave me a loaner & performed the cleanup for no charge. They also re-flashed the bios, again, since there was another update. I am totally happy with them.

    I called the dealer where I had purchased the car, and where the 6 month maintenance had been done, just to tell them about the problem - no hostility, just letting them know... The service manager refused to believe that their Prius-certified mechanic had over-filled my oil, and implied that the other service department had made the over-fill story up. I told him that I had seen the dip stick with my own eyes, and that no one but his service department had opened the hood of my car. He still was skeptical and very very defensive.

    I know which service department I'll be patronizing in the future, but still wonder: why did the car have problems a month after the excess oil was put in? Wouldn't I have seen some problem sooner?
     
    #1 mwilliams, Sep 12, 2004
  2. jamarimutt

    jamarimutt New Member

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    Do the oil changes elsewhere, where you can choose oil and filter, and see what goes on. Going to the dealer for an oil change is a waste of money, time, and, judging from many posts, a potential risk for your car.
     
    #2 jamarimutt, Sep 12, 2004
  3. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    2005 Prius
    Please name the dealerships involved in order to educate other Prius owners which service department to avoid and which one is reliable.

    Thank you.
     
    #3 IsrAmeriPrius, Sep 12, 2004
  4. mwilliams

    mwilliams New Member

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    I don't know if I should name names. I really like the sales department at the one that screwed up the oil change, and we (my husband has an Avalon) have never had a problem with this dealer before. And I HATE the sales department at the dealer that has the good service.

    What is good protocol here?
     
    #4 mwilliams, Sep 12, 2004
  5. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    There is no law saying that you have to use the selling dealers service dept. Get your car serviced where they provide the best service for you. Your the one paying the bill and you have to get the best value for the dollars you spend. If you find that the good service dealer provides that and does so for a few years then a letter to the selling dealer explaining why you refuse to use their service dept is in order. It won't make a bit of difference to them but it will to you. Your husband and his service needs are being addressed properly and he pays his money for that, and your's will be too.
     
    #5 Frank Hudon, Sep 12, 2004
  6. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    2005 Prius
    People have been posting on good and bad experiences at both sales and service departments at various Toyota dealerships. It helps educate other forum members and guides them in avoiding problems.

    By the way, a quick perusal of your past messages quickly identified the incompetent service department.

    http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?...highlight=#6415
     
    #6 IsrAmeriPrius, Sep 12, 2004
  7. mwilliams

    mwilliams New Member

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    What a detective! Now that I've been found out, the GOOD service department is at Marina del Rey Toyota.
     
    #7 mwilliams, Sep 12, 2004
  8. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamarimutt\";p=\"38876)</div>
    Careful about selection effects, here. Human nature being what it is, the (presumably) small fraction of people who have had problems are much more likely to post complaints than the (presumably) large fraction of people who had good results are to post compliments. In the absence of more specific info a dealer with a trained Prius tech surely is a better bet than the average shmoe.
     
    #8 richard schumacher, Sep 13, 2004
  9. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    2005 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mwilliams\";p=\"38987)</div>
    Neither dealership is close to me, as I live and work in the Valley, but it is good to know in case of an unexpected problem once my Prius (hopefully) arrives.
     
    #9 IsrAmeriPrius, Sep 13, 2004
  10. Portland Prius

    Portland Prius New Member

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    Our 2004 Prius had the same issue, although it went dead while moving at about 30 mph. All the emergency lights went on. We were able to roll to a safe stop but wonder how bad a situation this could be, if it had happened while moving at high speed. We had the car towed to a dealer, who was able to start the car the next day with no problem. The dealer could not find anything wrong, but reset all the computer programs to be on the safe side. We are wary that this could happen again. We don't know about the oil overfill, but we did have a gas overfill a couple weeks before the incident. Also, the car recently had dealer servicing, the recall replacement of the computer system and a reprograming related to faulty temp indicators.
     
    #10 Portland Prius, Sep 25, 2004
  11. Portland Prius

    Portland Prius New Member

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    Correction: The replacement of the display was due to temp malfunction and was not a recall.
     
    #11 Portland Prius, Sep 25, 2004
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