Cracked Trunk Trim Piece - Not Warranty Covered?

2023 Prius at ~7,500 miles here with a crack. I took it into the dealership and they claimed there was "outside influence" and thus isn't covered under warranty. I'm taking the car back in next week for an unrelated issue and will follow up with them.

The service manager said to call Toyota Customer Engagement directly and open up a case with them. I've contacted Toyota and provided links- we'll see what they say.

 

[ Same issue here. Taking to dealer to find out of covered?


QUOTE="Poseidon, post: 3410314, member: 206831"]Hi all,

A month ago I started noticing a crack on a trim piece on the trunk of my '23 Prius, and later found a few other folks on Reddit that had similar issues. Car was driven normally, but I suspect bumps may have caused that plastic piece to start cracking, which grew over time. I took my car in today for my 10k service, and was surprised to hear that this is not currently covered under warranty, and that (according to my service rep) it would cost 1k USD to fix. The rep did mention they would have their warranty manager reach out to Toyota to see if this is a known issue, but for now, I'm out of luck.

Does anyone else have the same issue with their '23 Prius, and if so, how has your dealer responded?

Pics attached below for reference:

[/QUOTE]

 

It’s covered under warranty. Took mine in today part will be in next week.

 

That's good news. Any documentation, reference of some sort, for others?

 

My 2023 Prime cracked in exactly the same manner. There is no support under it so it flexes whenever the hatch is closed. I tried to superglue it but the plastic doesn't bond. Have not asked Dealer about it but this will embolden me. If they changed the design to provide more support it is evidence that they know it is a problem.

 

Just a general tip: If you ever worry about plastics bonding with superglue, use one that comes with a primer.

I use this one just because it's easily available locally for me, but I'm sure there are other options:
Loctite Super Glue Plastic Pen

I always had terrible luck with CA glues until I started using them with primers.

 

Yes, please check the receipt to see if they reference any service bulletin so that we can refer to it when dealing with another dealer if they balk about coverage. It's nice, but unfortunate, to know others are having the same problem. I thought I was going crazy.

 

I HATE that cover! I keep hoping for an aftermarket replacement.

 

Same issue on our 2023 XLE AWD. 15000 km, but unsure when crack occurred as only noticed when washing the car. Dealership has forwarded to Toyota Canada, hopefully a positive response this week.
Fosburg
Vancouver

 

Still no service bulletin to reference? Wife had to eat the cost of her 23 Prius AWD, dealers and Toyo central are not budging on this. Class action suit time?

 

IDK if there would be enough people to get a Class action going, or if it would be worth the cost to be honest.

But I'd just keep annoying corporate, and I'd instead work with others online that have reported the issue to also contact corporate.

They probably need to have a lot of people, with the same problem, in the same spot, with the same general presentation, and proof of repairs that were (or weren't) covered to come together and show them its not just a one off.

It might not be super common, but it is a flaw.

On the plus side, I believe toyota has retroactively refunded people for issues that weren't noted in a TSB until after it was deemed a manufacturer's defect for other car problems in the past. so keep records and receipts.

 

Do remember how Toyota treated you, next time you're car shopping. Not sure if the competition is any better, but it's at least satisfying.

 

From the dealership experiences, sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't have been just as good with a Kia!

Toyota USA seems slightly better than Toyota Canada. Maybe we should make a thread elsewhere asking who had the better experience with which corporate car manufacturer when it came down to issues.

 

I ended up sending a direct email to Toyota Corporate asking for a resolution. I included a link to this thread, and multiple links across the web of other people facing the same issue. They called me back after a couple of days and said that they'd send out a field technician to look at it. This is currently waiting to be scheduled.

I'm not hopeful that Toyota will stand by their product: the representative who called, while polite, wanted to set expectations that if it's deemed by the dealer and technician as outside influence then their findings stand. It'll likely be the same loop of "we're not going to cover it because we don't want to admit that this part was poorly engineered". When I pointed out the at least 10+ instances of this issue occurring across the internet the representative said that Toyota has to take this on a case by case basis.

For those of you who had this issue, regardless of whether it was fixed under warranty or not, please help reach out to directly to Toyota Corporate so they can document it and hopefully issue a service recall of some sort.

This has been a huge headache and waste of time for me and I genuinely hope Toyota stands by their products on this. We'll see how this process plays out.

 

I've got the same thing on my '24 (sorry, no pics) and I'm currently at the dealer for scheduled maintenance, and I showed them the issue. I'll post the answer they give me about it, but if they refuse to replace it, they'll have a fight on their hands.

Post edit: they said they would forward the issue to the service manager (whatever that means).
I tried to post a picture, but nothing happens when I click on the icon.

 

I liked the old roll-shutter type cargo cover on my Gen 3, but I have to admit that the newer, simpler one works just fine.

 

I know I didn't cause it, and I doubt anyone else did. My theory is that it cracked from the vibration of closing the trunk.

 

Good news. I just heard from the dealer, that the trim piece will be replaced under warranty.