Brand new Prius resets after power off (time, radio presets, avg mpg)

tell them to remove the starter guard and refund you your money for it

 

Welcome to PriusChat!

I'm not an electrician, but it sounds rather plausible to me that the starter guard is the problem. There was another thread right on point just a couple of months back -- also involving Toyota Santa Monica. Follow this link for an interesting read about the product, its costs and benefits, and the various troubles encountered in its sale and/or use.

 

YES YES YES. That is the problem. Demand it be removed and your money refunded. Call Toyota regional, tell them what that dealer is doing and that it's having an ill effect on the car. These freakin' dealers will baulk at inflating tires beyond "Toyota recommendations" , but install some crap like that, on a car that is very sensitive to it's electrical system status.
Where is that "recommended" by Toyota.
If they had told me they don't sell cars without it...I'd say that's right, not to me you don't, and walked.
Tell them they messed up your car and you want it off, not replaced or anything else. It's criminal that they are ruining peoples brand new car experience.

 

It is obvious that 12V power is being disrupted while the car is IG-OFF. The question is what is causing this disruption.

The "starter guard" is a likely suspect. See post #22 of the following string: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...ittle-switch-not-identified-3.html#post701923

How frequently do you drive your car and how many miles do you drive daily? If you don't drive the car sufficiently, the 12V battery will discharge. Maybe this is causing the starter guard to disconnect 12V battery power.

 

I don't know that I would go that far. If the installation was subpar, then they should fix things. Your car should work fine, and the start guard could provide you with benefits. The two questions are these: Is the benefit worth $600? and Can the dealer correctly install the item?

It is a bit too late to bother with the answer to the first. You'll have some benefit from the start guard (properly installed). This brings us to the second question. This is where I'd push the dealer. They haven't broken the car, but they really are not helping things by using either a defective product or installing a product incorrectly.

 

theres no way that the benefit of starter guard is worth $600. i can think of a lot of things you can get for 600-900.00 that are more benefitial, like on the low end of 165.00 is the glass breakage senor, 600-700 would be a lojack, 900.00 would be the extended warranty deal. 750 or so for the 3m invisible film!!!!

maybe thats an idea, maybe instead of demanding the dealer refund you your money you could try maybe getting a store credit and walk out with an alarm upgrade, lojacks, stuff like that. maybe they would be more inclinced to fix it if you asked for a store credit??

i bet if more toyota of santa monica customers wrote letters asking for a refund for thier starter guard purchase, got turned down, and took them to small claims court, they probably would stop selling it

how to sue a toyota dealer:
step 1) first you need to write a letter (certified preferred) describing the problem and asking for a refund and if they do not comply tell them you are taking legal action

step 2) research the owners and 'agent of service' of toyota of santa monica

step 3) file out all the paper work at your local small claims court and pay the filing fee (30.00), put down the money you are seeking, do not put down court costs such as filing fees or process server fees you can ask for these if you win

step 4) find a process server to serve your lawsuit. this will run 50.00, make sure you put down the correct 'agent of service'

go to court, bring witnesses about how the starter guard is defective and causing the car to lose power, etc etc, make sure to show copies of all the documents to the person who responds (the employee of toyota santa monica) before seeing the judge. this is called "discovery'

when you go to court, the court will have negioaters there, they might be able to negioate a deal with the plaintiff and defendent without having to see the judge.

you can spike your damage assesstment up by adding on things like costs you had to pay out of pocket to get the device removed, or rental car expenses you had to pay while your car was in the shop



another thing you can try when you talk to toyota corporate office is threaten to sell the car or allow the car to be repossessed over this

 

Wow! This is unreal. They've decided to soak their customers for about $500 net profit on a part that screws up the car. The greedy b@$+@#%$.

 

Hey ANIMAL,
We're in the same boat. You only paid $600. I had to pay $695. I hope you didn't fall for the BS package offered by the Russian finance manager at SM Toyota.

I'm wondering if the Starter Guard will void the warranty like RonHowell suggests, especially if it is acting up and is a problem. In any case, our cars are warranted and I plan to fully exercise our rights if and when problems arise.

Lets stay in touch if we ever have to take legal action.

 

Sounds like there might be a consumer fraud issue lurking in the background here. Anyone who's been force fed one of these things consulted a lawyer?

What exactly does this device do that the manufactured in systems don't? Or in other words, what value does "Starter Guard" add to the car?

 

Gimme a break.....the thing is a total rip-off that these people should not have accepted in the first place. A $30.00 portable "jump start pack" from wal-mart would be a far greater benefit to the owner, and even someone else too,.or a $9.00 set of jumper cables are a better solution.

 

you don't need a lawyer, just take them to small claims court. you just have to be careful about time limits, like you have to write them a letter and wait 30 days, then from the time you write the letter you might only have a year or to file you claim

 

Animal,
What ever happened with the Starter Guard issues and SM Toyota? I am now having the same problem with you. The car resets itself overnight.

 

Did you and Animal end up getting the starter guard taken out or charged-up/replaced the 12V batteries?