Cracked Trunk Trim Piece - Not Warranty Covered?

Seems strange that's not covered under the 3 year, 36K mile bumper to bumper warranty. Is the dealership claiming that the damage was intentional or results of contact with another car?

 

You not only have a crack but also a hole. It sounds like it is very fragile and easily breaks unless you baby it.

See the photo below. It looks like very poor engineering design, with that little piece of plastic taking all the tension and shear stress when you open and close the hatch or perhaps even when you go over a bump etc. I would open and close the hatch very gently on a Gen 5 Prius/Prius Prime after seeing this. I doubt Toyota will honor the warranty, but they will probably claim that you slammed the hatch.

 

I've seen on a FB group post that someone had it covered under warranty. Unfortunately, the new piece broke while the dealership was installing it.

There's quite a few people reporting the issue and it is definitely an issue but I feel Toyota will refuse to cover it for as long as they can. That and it looks like the whole part need to be redesigned.

 

That piece is largely trim, and doesn't seem like it should be subject to any huge force unless the spoiler is pushed. Are all these cars non-powered-hatch ones that might be being pushed from the spoiler? Not that there's any warnings in the manual about doing so, and that manual warns about everything.

You can see what's under there in picture 5 in this production line gallery:

写真家・佐藤健寿、プリウス工場を撮る | フォトギャラリー | プリウスジャーナル | トヨタ自動車WEBサイト

There has been a production change there, visible in the manuals. A strip of rubber (or something) was placed between the bottom lip of the plastic and the metalwork starting from 05/2023, according to the parts catalogue: 87B68 = 87268-47050 PROTECTOR.

Actually looks like it has a detailed shape, not just a simple strip of rubber. But it's not shown in the assembly/disassembly in the repair manuals - presumably not updated? I can clearly see it on my car, tightly in the gap.

That could be connected in some way. Was it a water seal that might be increasing stress, or was it an attempt to prevent movement to reduce stress?

 

It could simply be a manufacturing defect. The only way I can think of it cracking like that is thru some external force of putting pressure on it like sitting on the hatch etc. Hope they cover it for you.

 

I wouldn't take his word as gospel. Check with Toyota USA yourself?

 

I don't know if this is releveant but when I upgraded from my 2008 gen 2 to my current 2013 gen 3, I noticed a drop off in the quality of some of the internal rear trim parts and also the trunk roller blind. Anything to reduce weight but also cost to the manufacturer.

 

I think you are onto something. Gen 2 was iconic.

Gen 5 doesn't even have a telescopic retracting hatch blind like Gen 4 did. They put an incredibly cheap cover flap that seems to get in the way of everything. That is in addition to the smaller trunk.

 

For reference here is the part number (based on 10 minutes of searching) you can use to price what it would cost out of pocket to buy the replacement part.

Here is a link for a listing with pics of the part on aucfree.com

Lens And Body, Lamp. Tail Lamp. (Rear) $375
81581-47080

This second price is from the impex japan site. Have not purchased from them myself but others have and reported positive experiences. Takes some time to ship and shippin not included in price I understand.

Lens And Body, Lamp. Tail Lamp. (Rear) $147

 

Shipping cost from Japan will be very high.

You can negotiate the part price with the dealer. The cost to dealer is far below MSRP.

Perhaps upgrade to a light bar if you have an LE/SE while you are at it.

 

The cost lohikaarme paid to ship a spoiler looks like just $25 which would be similar width. I would check out his post and the rest of his thread on this topic if saving a potentially a $100 or so is a big deal to you.

 

Call Toyota Corp until they get so tired of you they do something about it. Provide all the documentation you are finding online including photos. I can see maybe the first reporting being considered owner negligence but multiple reports is obviously a manufacture defect. There’s always small claims court too. Good luck!

 

That's a good deal. When I used to order US-discontinued parts from Amayama, shipping costs were astronomical.

My car is new now, and hopefully there won't be need for any parts other than filters.

 

You need to ask the service manager to open a case for you. Show them all the other Prii with the same issue. This is the first step.

 

*sigh*

The cargo cover on the 2023 Prius is actually an ingenious design, easily folding in half when you don't need it. It's been lauded by testers. And it's not cheap.

 

That goes without saying?

 

Well, mine automatically folds into a quasi-one-dimensional tube when you don't need it.