Major electrical fault in my genIII

I was rudely awaken by my wifes prius blaring the horn. I poked my head in the garage and the headlights, front turn signals and reverse lights were all illuminated. It took me 30 mins trying to find a fuse for the horn. I finally gave up and poked a screwdriver and unplugged both horns.. My garage had a strong electrical burning smell. The car started and backed out. I couldnt shut the lights off. Also, there was an error message about the park lock unable to engage. I went out this morning & it was completely dead. I opened the fuse box under the hood to access the + terminal to jump it and noticed some sort of white box on the left side completely melted. Looked kind of big to be a relay. Anyhow i jumped the car. It drove with the reverse lights on and my backup camera stayed on in fwd motion. Halfway to the stealership i rcvd a call so it switched screens. Then went to the map. The position of the car was backwards and off by about a mile on screen. I also observed a periodic drag while cruising. Like if I were barely tapping the brakes. I have been such an advocate for toyota, but frankly i think this car is crap. Between this and my cold soak knock. I have about 33 k miles. Anyhow, we will see what happens. I also requested the tsb with the knock be taken care of. Once my car tripped a misfire cel. It's my only proof to them that it happens. Wish me luck...

 

Ds called a moment ago. They know the part that failed, (obviously) just not sure why it was zapped. On phone with toyota trying to troubleshoot. Made no mention of my cold soak knocking. They are so quick to assume you are a complete idiot & try to dumb down their explanations..

 

Nothing added.

 

Hmmm. That's a possible theory. I do infact live in the country. Also, i have seen mice outside of my structure. I have 2 cats and the mice don't seem to want inside. Hopefully the dealer doesn't find that as the cause.

 

So far 5 days at the DS and no results. My patience is wearing thin as the car spent almost 2 weeks for a cold soak knock and they managed to break my windshield. Also, this Avalon they loaned us suck the gas...

 

No, i simply don't have time. Im assuming they know where to look and would have told me if it were a rodent. Oologah is a small town about 30 miles north east of Tulsa Oklahoma. In the states.

Btw, where in the UK are you? I spent many months in Farnborough on business.

 

When the car has been sitting for a period of time while cold. I would start it and the ice would come on amd knock and bang really loud. It once tripped the cel for cyl 1 misfire. Im just annoyed because its a Toyota. I expect perfection from them. Not multiple visits for serious problems. Plus my warranty is almost out. Im seriously considering dumping the car.

 

Dont get me wrong. I love the styling of the car. I care for it properly. I have nothing but Toyotas in my fleet. I have a 94 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo. (the toy) 98k fun hard driven miles. Not one problem. A 97 Lexus lx450. 189k miles. Still drives like day 1. My commuter is a 93 camry with 241k miles. Still can go another 100k easily. And then the Prius. 33k and nothing but problems. I properly maintain my vehicles. I hope this isn't typical. Maybe I got a lemon?

 

So frustrating! Ds called and said car was ready. When asked about cold knock, he said the electrical prob caused it. Think i'm goimg to trade it in on a chevy cruze. Im so dissappointed..

 

I was being sarcastic about the cruze. I don't know what to do. Im at a crossroad where i need to decide weather to keep it and hope for the best, or dump it while i'm ahead. I guess extended warranty is an option, but i don't want to keep dropping it off at the ds...