Warranty expired at 18 months/36K: here's failure list

How did you get a 36/36k warranty on this? The late-'80s Hondas in my household had only 12/12k warranties.

And how did you miss the front seat belt buckle recall that hit both of ours? The websites I checked show this and two other recalls for the '87 Civic. And the '02 Civic? Too many to count.

Every car in this household in the past three decades, five of them Japanese-branded, has had safety recalls. While we loved our Hondas -- spouse still does -- and they set a very high standard that this Prius won't be able to challenge for many more years, they were not as perfect as portrayed above.

 

Here's my short list from recent cars:

2009 Honda Accord - owned 2 years and 32k miles. Rear brake pads completely worn at 20k mile mark. Factory defect, replaced with newly designed OEM pads. New brakes squealing after 4k more miles.

2009 Honda Civic - owned 2 years and 17k miles. Front end noise when shifting from P to D on occasion, never fixed. Drivers side power window defective auto up control at about 15k miles.

I've had other cars with more or less problems. No brand is perfect.

Vic

 

trade it in on a gen II. 04 and 08, 85000 and 20000 miles, nothing but oil changes and tire rotations. not one rattle, nothing.:rockon:

 

You claimed for a failed bulb under warranty AND class this as a failure? lol

You're kidding right?

 

I had the same issue with my 07 Civic Hybrid. The Auto-Up would get 3/4 of the way up, and go back down. It would go all the way up if you didn't use Auto-Up but you could see it shift a little. Mine was replaced with about 5k miles on it. Also had a transmission go bad around a year after I had it, under 10k miles. Talk about an experience, sometimes it would run right and sometimes it wouldn't.

I had a 95 Mazda Protege, that had been recalled for a faulty light/turn signal switch. IF the headlights were on, and you flipped the stalk for the signal, the headlights would go out. Sadly, this was bought used from a Honda/Mazda dealer and they didn't fix it ahead of time. I found out by researching that it was a recall and took it in to have it fixed. Needless to say, lots of driving at night was done without signaling.

 

I had 3 Hondas, and 3 Toyotas. I will stick with Toyota.

 

if a armrest piece brakes off maybe you where to hard on it?

bullying is not good you know ;-0

 

So far at 13,500 miles I got the software fix for the brakes and had a loose plug to a window switch in the drivers side window panel.

Gee if that is all I have deal with in the first 17 months and 13,500 miles I'm sure not going to complain.

 

1. Hatch won't fully lift when cold unless you push it up 34K, dealer replaced lifter pistons

Whoah, wait. I thought this was just an issue with the Prius in cold weather. This is fixable? You have no idea how many times I've thoughtlessly banged my head on the hatch in the morning over the past two years lol.

 

In another thread discussing the pros and cons of buying an extended warranty, I mentioned that the issuer has to pass on the costs of warranty abuse. it is this sort of thing that I mean.

 

'04 Prius, about 125k miles.

2 silly recalls ignored (mats and brake pedal shave)
recall on steering column performed
repairs: 0
dealer maintenance: 0
diy maintenance: maybe $400 total.

It might be around in 40 years as part of my estate.

 

2010 Prius, 26K miles.

1 recall (brake thing)
Repairs:0
Dealer Maintenance: 2 oil changes
DIY maint: 0

Complaint: only getting 55.6 MPG average lifetime.

 

There is a recall for that

Just a quick reprogramming.

 

I think your list of issues is incredibly minor. You had a dead battery...that happens. Something got stuck in the seat height adjustment mechanism...that happens...

The "brake issue" isn't really an issue, its a feedback adjustment. As for the clunking start...a fluke starting concern that is a lot more common on a lot of cars than you think.

Headlight bulbs? A wear item that would have cost you $35 at PepBoys to put right...no HIDs.

Gas pistons on the hatch...I have never had a hatch with gas pistons not start having problems raising in cold weather after a couple years...on any car. Again...very minor issue.

Big success IMHO.

Your 80's Civic and Tercel didn't have any issues because they didn't have any features. You're telling me they went to 150k miles on the original battery? I don't buy it.

 

It's true that cars have gotten more complicated, and have more stuff to fail, but some of these issues are valid criticisms.

Short-run-cold-start noise. There is a design flaw in there somewhere. They should find it and fix it. I don't care if other cars do it too.

Short 12V battery life. C'mon. We've only been making lead acid batteries for 100 years. Discharge from being small is one thing, but failure (needing replacement) is another. Probably outsourcing to China, without adequate quality control.

Short headlight bulb life. Can happen to anyone, but 30-40k is very short. Probably more outsourcing to China.

Hatch struts only last 2 or 3 years, no matter the brand. However, if you really do prioritize reliability, you use springs.

 

My oil filter wore out at 5,000 miles and needed to be completely replaced.

 

Come back to me when we see an engine failure. The thing makes a clunking noise under a very rare set of conditions. Its a "characteristic", not an issue.

Toyota doesn't make batteries. The 12V battery is made by a little company you might have heard of...Panasonic. Discharged batteries are VERY common on new cars as they sit on lots and get started a lot without having adequate time to charge. This again is something outside of the manufacturer's control.

Toyota doesn't make lightbulbs either. Little company you might have heard of...Philips. Do you turn them on a lot during the day? 35k miles isn't terrible life for a halogen bulb...and anyways this is a wear item...

Nobody in the industry uses springs in hood or hatch applications. Also dangerous...

Again...if you think these are troublesome issues...you are incapable of being satisfied with any modern car made by any manufacturer.

 

Prius:
28k and nothing.
Vectra: (upmarket malibu)
0.1k windscreen cracked
0.2k windscreen wiper motor failed
0.5k heated mirror failed
10k fuel pump failed
15k satnav headunit failed
18k heated mirror failed
20k fuel pump failed
25k door control module (windows, locks, mirror) failed
30k fuel pump failed
35k dumped it's nice person for a prius.