Recall Nightmare: My Day is Gone

Well, that's kind of your fault for buying into this mass hysteria and getting something that's hardly a safety issue fixed right away.

 

I plan to wait 3-4 weeks. Not urgent for me, and I'd rather have the accelerator folks and frantic Prius folks taken care of in the first wave.

I don't think an insurance co would have a case - we haven't even received a valid notification yet other than media stuff. But understand your frustration with the service delays.

 

I hate going to the dealer for anything!!

A good place to stay away from if you can.
I Do my own oil changes,I just like to do it!!

I will wait to get mine done!!A week or two,to much goin on at toyota.

 

I'd be calling every day for non-accidents, because that's how many potholes I brake over in a week. Meanwhile, a non-hybrid rear-ended my brand new Prius a few months ago.

 

Some people have legitimate safety and usabilty concerns. Your hyping that these are just mass hysteria is insulting. How do you know? I certainly would rather get my brakes fixed then enter a complaint on the database afterwards. Its called being proactive.

Since the delay was short in getting this to the field, I would think part of the repair documentation would include instruction on how not to piss off your customers. A simple, this may take a while you may want to get a ride might be in order, instead of we will get right to it and then delay.

Its called cutomers service.

 

People's hyping that this is a huge safety concern and needs to be addressed right way is insulting.

 

Keep in mind: When you set an appointment, there is not a mechanic waiting, tools in hand, to work on your vehicle. You have set a time to talk with the service writer.

You didn't say if you mentioned you wished to wait when you set the appointment initially. We are only able to take so many waiters per hour and we frequently have people come in who indicated they were dropping off a car and tell us they want to wait when they arrive. This is akin to making a reservation for six people at a restaurant and showing up with 12. They'll do whatever they can to accommodate the discrepancy between what you said you were going to do and what you actually did, but it may take longer.

 

This is standard for every trip I've taken to the dealership. They present the fiction of an appointment time, but the reality is always first come (physically present), first served.

I take it as given that a trip to the dealership means at least a half day, even if it is for an oil change. In a few freak instances it might go quicker, but don't count on it.

 

Just goes to show - topic of Car Dealers can get as nasty as topic of Politics. And we've had a few of those sprinkled around PC too....
:argue: :argue: :argue:

 

My Prius works fine. Not into mass hysteria. As a psych nurse working with severely psychotic people I am used to keeping a cool head and keeping things in perspective.

 

i would cancel and reschedule. hassle for sure, but better than sitting at dealer all day. i have mine set for next tues. i have another commitment at 1 PM, so will not stay any longer

 

Rick,

You are correct in there are a total number of hours available for a given number of technicians.

My point is that it's not like going to a dentist, where you've scheduled "chair time". Instead, appointments are scheduled in an attempt to even out the flow through the service drive, as opposed to the service department. Now, waiters are only scheduled with "x" spots available per hour; otherwise people will get stacked up in the lounge.

 

It's not just Priuses clogging the dealership. Most every model has a recall or 2. I'll wait until my first oil change in a few months to get the flash.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure I budget some time and bring a computer to do work while it is being done.

 

A few comments:

(1) I feel your pain, and your experience brings into question Toyota's handling of this situation -from their inability to act on customer complaints spanning many years, to Toyota service departments that can't even agree on whether the oil service interval is 5k or 10K miles.

(2) Having to wait a long time at a service department, even with "an appointment", is nothing new. I've often had to wait hours with other brands/cars I've owned...so this is not unique to toyota. That said, one would hope with all the bad press and ill-will from customers, that Toyota would do a better job in implementing the software update, and to get you in and out with minimal delay.

(3) If you caused an accident because your Prius brakes did not work effectively, your insurance company would still be on the hook to cover personal and property damages. You would not be held liable. As far as i am aware, there's not time limit that this recall has to be performed by, and it would be unrealistic to expect that everyone can have this service done within weeks, or even months after the recall has been issued.