Just got the 2012 Prius in June and have put around 12,500 miles on it. I have loved the car so much but last Wednesday night I came out of work and the car would not start. Thinking maybe it was just the 12v battery I called Toyota care. After attempting to have it jumped it still would not start. It was towed to the dealership located in Carsldat, NJ. It has been over a week now and they still have not been able to fix it! They say they have run a diagnostic test on it and nothing comes back fine but they still can’t get it on. They say they are now testing each wire individually. I have no confidence in this dealership as they say they only have one tech who can work on the Prius. They also have not given me any updates unless I call first. What are my options at this point? Can I call Toyota Corp and have it taken to a different dealer who actually have techs who are trained on the Prius? I am still under warranty. The only thing keeping me sane at this point is that they at least gave me a loaner car (even though I did have to call Toyota Crop first).
It sounds like your battery was low and whoever jumped it reversed the polarity (which causes a fusible link to blow). Testing the Prius "wire by wire" is not a valid troubleshooting technique. There are diagnostic procedures for "car won't start" and they are very basic. 1) check power 2) check fuse These techs are obviously not trained on the Prius. I would def call Corp.
Just got off the phone with Toyota Corp and told them my issues. They said I can have it towed to another dealership and that Toyota care should cover it but not sure and I would have to call Toyota Care on my own. (Annoying) She then said she would call the dealership that I would like to get it taken to that I bought it from to see how many techs they have. After putting me on hold she came back laughing saying that they told her they were too busy and to call back after 4! (Annoying and very unprofessional!) I am thinking of giving them a few more days to fix it and at that point I am looking at going through the lemon law process here in NJ. I am very disappointed in Toyota to say the least.
If the dealership cannot find out the problem within a few hours, the technician does not know what they are doing. I think usnavystgc is on the right track. I bet the technician is not train. The Prius Electronic Hybrid system requires someone intimately knows where and how to jump a car.
Let them sit on it for 30 days while you drive a rental. After 30 days, file for arbitration or contact a lemon law lawyer... new car, problem solved.
