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2010 Prius V break down and in repair for 3 months

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by LKH2010PriusV, Jan 10, 2016.

  1. LKH2010PriusV

    LKH2010PriusV New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2016
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Washington DC Metro Area
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Frustrated, thought I would share my experience.

    My trouble free 2010 Prius V broke down in September (2015) as I was merging onto a highway at 60 mph ... and everything just suddenly died. The engine just died with an 18 wheeler blaring its horn as to why I would suddenly stop in front of him. A very unpleasant experience, was able to coast but ended up stuck in a lane because of guardrails ... anyway 4 hrs later, it is at the dealership I purchased it from. It was the weekend, so they were closed. wrote a note with key and put it in drop box.

    • Get a call from service department (some lady yelling at me that I cannot just drop off the car for service without an appointment and I should pick the car back up and schedule an appointment). I politely told her that the car was not driveable.
    • They finally looked at the car later in the week, the mechanic claimed is was baffling him as to what happened to my car (that in all his years of service, he had never seen a prius fail this way) the dealership give a loaner car (that was unexpected, but much appreciated)
    • Eventually some other mechanic looked at it and claimed it was a dead (12V) battery ... said they needed to change the battery and my prius would be fixed ... I argued 10 different ways it was not the battery since the car started without issue, power windows worked fine, lights worked fine, and the battery was changed a little over a year ago ... but he insisted.
    • I caved and said to keep the old battery and when it does not fix the problem, not charge me for a new battery
    • A few days later the dealership calls me back and says the car is fixed (with the new battery) ... I said there is no way ... but they said it was fixed, insisted that I pay for the new battery and could pick up the car
    • I went to pick up the car, paid for the battery, but when they went to go get the car that now worked, it would not start.
    • Fast Forward ... they said it was a transistor ... waited a few weeks, put in a new transistor, and it also blew
    • Fast Forward ... communications with Toyota in California ... they said to try another transistor
    • Fast Forward ... waiting parts ... waiting parts ... waiting parts (not sure how to explain how my one prius needs to wait months for a single part ... (Toyota with millions of prius vehicles ... seriously?)
    • We are now into December (near Christmas) finally all the parts arrive ... (3 service reps later, 4 loaner vehicles later) pick up the car and it works ... yeah ... super happy ... (I had slightly less than 100,000 miles) everything under warranty) ... almost 6K or work covered under warranty.
    • But as I drive it around I realize my defrost is not working ... the car is always fogged up ... then I realize the AC is not working. so take it back
    • They say my compressor is broken (It was definitely working when I gave them the vehicle). and are claiming it is a pre-existing condition ... which it was not broken.
    • I am now in dispute with them about that ... but at this point. I am seriously concerned.
    sudden break down ... at highway speed ... 3 months to fix an issue and 6K to fix.

    Not sure that the prius is safe to drive because of the way it failed. My wife is now afraid to drive it, even if I get it back.

    Thoughts ?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    108,038
    49,114
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome! was there a recall on your car for the ipm module?