DANGEROUS issue for Gen2 prius re steering!

Hi Justin.....the case is moving along. In MA, on sends a '93A' letter -a formal request for compensation. Defendent has 30 days to respond or risk 'triple damages'. Toyota did not respond....so court case will soon loom. I'm out $50 to go to court- no big deal. I'm very curious what is behind the no response. Does Toyota fear opening a can of litigation worms? do not know. First they claimed: "normal wear and tear" (laughable at 135K).......then they blamed on accident (Toyota certified company really went to bat for me - letter denying accident had anything to do with steering). We'll see. Perhaps with my wiki-legal education my case is full of holes......at any rate- it will be a learning experience. ...and I did post my case on the NHTSA web site. Can't figure Toyota out on this. I would think they would replace my bumper and be thankful i didn't make more waves.

 

Finally had day in court with Toyota, decision will be sent to me shortly. Toyota leaned hard on the fact the recall /replacement happened 60k miles before the steering failure. "could have been a rock that caused it"....... No hint on pending decision. Judge seemed to be leaning Toyota. We'll see.

 

Ya....Ive considered lots of "should have saids".....still amazed they are taking the position they are.

 

update: I lost the case. The magistrate admitted he knew nothing about auto mechanics. The Toyota rep stated since the recall was done 60 k miles previous (mishap happened at 130K) that it was not a defective part. (I suggested it was defective installation- torquing issue?) . The rep stated a rock could have hit the steering shaft- not their problem. Disheartening. Obviously, terrifying malfunction and to happen at only 130k after having 2 recalls on the part in question points to Toyota responsibility. The mechanic who fixed it (not toyota) stated he is confident it is now safe. In hindsight -should have just taken it to Toyota.

 

Suffice to say, never going to that dealer again. Yes, should have had them done the recall work. ...at the time I just feared dealership gouging. After the appeal in court, I sat down and this guy behind me leaned over to me and said :"I'm a mechanic...they did not properly torque the bolts on the recall part". Disappointed by that dealer. figured they would have my picture posted on wall at dealership as 'ideal customer' ...who we almost killed through our faulty part installation and only wanted a plastic bumper as repayment..... anyway, I posted it here- and that was another thing I wanted to do least a similar event happens to someone else (hope not!) Thanks for the support , and all the best!