Engine Replacement at 113,000 miles?!?!

I should have added that when I originally authorized the work I was under the impression I would be getting new parts (the only reason I took it to a Toyota dealer), not salvaged parts. It wasn't until the delay was quite long that I found out that the parts I was waiting for were coming from a salvage. Of course, they didn't come from where they claimed even then (another of their lies.)

It's probably a good thing I wasn't within convenient travel distance when these parts started to go and they claimed that it wasn't their problem despite being within their "1 year warranty." I haven't hit someone in anger in over twenty years, but that doesn't mean I won't. (Sparring and competing don't count.)

 

Sometimes, after patient logical explanation, the meathooks are the only option

 

If the one year warranty is written down, then I'd discuss this with your state's AG.

 

Different state so that won't help. There is a lot of other crap they are trying to claim such as any repairs would have to be done by them (again, not practical and not that I would ever let them within 100 miles of my vehicle again.) Plus the dealership was sold, but the same lying pieces of excrement still run the service dept. The lying sack actually tried to tell me that the new dealer was not responsible for previous warranties. That would be true if there had been a bankruptcy, but this was a sale so they are on the hook.

It comes down to this: The best thing I can do is settle the score through various means. One of those is making sure their potential customers know what sort of dealership they run. After my experience (prior to the part failure) I had written off buying any further Toyotas. It was only after I moved that I reconsidered and bought a Prius. Dealers like this are a liability to Toyota and should be driven out of business.

 

Sounds like you were caught in a classic fuster cluck. I had a similar issue with my 2000 GMC Sierra once it turned out to be a lemon, and that service department learned first-hand that I have an explosive and violent temper.

Although Manitoba has weak lemon law protection, in the end I was able to intimidate a buy-back. I even found a buyer for them, a complete zealot die-hard GM loyalist. Scary that such folks exist

I started up the truck: KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Delusional GM loyalist: I'm not worried about it ....

I would personally estimate I cost that dealership - and GM Canada - several hundred thousand dollars worth of lost sales. How bad was my personal word-of-mouth vendetta? A pushy lawyer contacted me and told me to zip it. I gave him a comment that rhymes with "duck shoe" and hung up on him, never did hear back

I think the problem now is that Toyota has become so big and bloated, they quite frankly could give a s*** if they lose a relative handful of customers because of an outright crook of a dealership

I really do hope Toyota has an employee actually read this forum. There are enough horror stories about dealerships, which no doubt will cost them some sales

My dealership is as good as gold and I have an excellent rapport with them. I do know when my Prius had The Stall, that could have turned ugly *very* quickly if my dealership had handled it the same way the GMC Truck dealership handled my lemon POS Sierra

 

Indeed Priuschat is viewed by Toyota employees at several levels. I wish there were more tangible evidence that problems posted led to some 'retraining' of Toyota sales and service businesses.

Even more optimistically I wish that Toyota service shops would say things like "You don't really need to come here for cabin air filter (etc.) replacements. If you want to just do (followed by instructions) at home you can save yourself some money."

Businesses operated in that way could really generate long-term customer loyalty and good word of mouth advertising.

The views of an optimist...

 

Ah, to be young again, when the entire world is viewed through innocent eyes, forever optimistic about the future

Flash forward to middle age, and you become a mean, cranky SOB, just like me ....

 

Well, they had already felt a bit of my wrath on jacking around with my vehicle for so long. I came pretty close to having it loaded on a flat bed and taken to the dealer in Tifton in the middle of the original repair after the first several lies and brush offs to my calls. I entered the dealership unannounced and had a full head of steam. "Mr. Service Advisor" caught a glimpse of my temper with other customers standing around to witness my blunt assessment of their "service" and his lies. He suddenly became "Mr. Kiss nice person" as he pursued me headed toward my truck on the lift (to size up what it would take to move it.) I did get a "free" rental out of it. Funny thing, I never got a survey form from Toyota although I did get a call from the dealership's management where I told them what I thought of how my case was handled.

I learned long ago that at times the only way to get things done was to make a controlled release of the temper...with just a few safeguards still in place. Patience is only a virtue when the bad guys aren't relying on your patience in order to screw you. When they count on me being a sheep I bare the fangs and claws and am fully prepared to use them. "In for a fight, in for a funeral" is an historical motto I'm fond of.

Since I've got obligations to others to consider, I can't be as free in dealing with such problems as I was when I was younger. Too bad, the world needs more of that about now.

Have to say, when I discovered the problem with the salvage parts and took it to the local dealer here within the supposed warranty period, they were good about working with me. They matched the parts prices I found to contain the cost. I try to make things "win-win" rather than being greedy.

 

So true. A lot of the bulls*** we're now stuck with (Financial, environmental, legal, etc) is because too many folks went baaaaaa and pretended there wasn't a problem at all

 

Dredging up an old thread here I realize, but I have to say sometimes a knockety car can be a good thing for a fellow, at least one mechanically inclined. I just bought my 04 Prius for a steal of $550, because it had a knocking rod. At that price you can't go wrong on one with a good battery in it. I then went down to the local yard and picked up a nice engine from a crashed car for $450 the next day (after confiming I had bearing flakes in the oil sump). Still waiting for my service books to arrive I got antsy and dove into it, and found the job amazingly easy & quick to do compared to many things I've replaced engines in. Took me about 3 days (evenings after work) and had it done by time the books arrived, having never set a hand inside the front of a Prius before that. This site did prove very helpful to assist in the few questions I had, and my little goof of forgetting to latch down the battery plug ,lol.

If you are lucky enough to just hear an engine getting "loose" before it gets to the knocking stage, bearings are only about $60/set, & can be replaced in the car as long as the crankshaft hasn't been damaged yet. The engine can also be easily removed with the transaxle & crossmember/axles still in the car if it does fail, making a lot less work & no need to disturb the hybrid parts.

 

I'm shocked, $550 for a Prius....

 

The seller -did- mention to me after he made the offer to me that he didn't realize what it was still worth & knew it was too low, however stood by his word on the deal we made when he delivered the papers, even after getting a sight-unseen offer of $800 to steal it away. True man of his word...

 

Interesting story.
I mean the part about buying the car for less than used battery is worth. That man was very anxious to get rid of that car.

 

I am just getting ready to do the ICE engine replacement. I have been searching thru the sight to find info on how to do this. Other then removing power from the battery I haven't seen anything else on specifics that are different to any other engine replacement. My main reason for replacement is due to burning oil and the engine shuddering at very low rpms or just before it shuts down (like at a stop light). Could this be transaxle issue as well? Car has 250k miles on it. I got it at 200k and have no idea of the service records before then.

 

I would buy a complete lower mileage engine and transaxle. Switch it all at once, it'll be much easier doing both together. shuddering can definitely associated with the transaxle. So don't take a chance and change both.

 

Thanks! I know the guy helping me has already gotten the engine I will find out about the transaxle. He has never done an engine change in a prius but has done 1000s in other vehicles. Is that part of it any different that we need to know about? He is just nervous because it is his first one and he is family and really doesn't want to mess this up.

 

techinfo.toyota.com has all the info on a subscription basis. It's best you figure out what's causing the shuddering. You don't want to do this twice

 

If it's burning a little oil, it shouldn't require an engine replacement, especially at such low mileage. are you sure you can't just add a little to it when needed? Many Prius cars do use/burn oil, there's no guarantee the next engine you put in will be better.....it could be worse.