Am I the only one having issues with a new Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by 14T shelley, Jun 13, 2013.

  1. 14T shelley

    14T shelley Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    We bought a new 13 level 3 with sunroof 9 weeks ago. It has been to the dealer 3 times because 1. the bluetooth kept failing and had to be re-paired often. (it would lock any phone so we could not make or receive calls) 2. The radio started locking up and had to be powered down to work again.
    The dealer replaced the radio and bluetooth by removing the parts from a new car after Panasonic & Corporate would not supply tracking # after claiming shipment of the replacement parts.

    The new radio and bluetooth work nicely but the reception SUCKS. We live in a rural area and the radio station we normally listen to is too weak to tune to. Every other car we own (thats 6 cars folks) we can listen to this station.

    Today while driving to work (60 miles) my noticed that the backlighting on the inst cluster and radio dimmed down so much that she had a hard time seeing the speedo. After a few minutes it brightened up again and later it dimmed and then went back to normal.
    What the heck is going on? Are these normal issues? Do owners normally have problems with their new cars. Should I paint the car yellow? Do I trade this in on a C-Max?
    Bill
     
    #1 14T shelley, Jun 13, 2013
  2. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Does your state have a "lemon law"? Every car maker produces a certain number of lemons, sounds like you got one with flaky electronics. Bottom line: if you have such a law you can demand a new car after meeting certain requirements. At the very least, ask for a demo Prius to drive for a few days to see if you like it better.
     
    #2 rdgrimes, Jun 13, 2013
  3. 14T shelley

    14T shelley Junior Member

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    Lemon law does not apply as none of the issues affect the drivability...yet. Imight have figured out the inst light dimming. It might be the "auto-dimming" feature that didn't work for the first 5000mile and we didn't know it. It may have been "fixed" with the radio change.

    Bill
     
    #3 14T shelley, Jun 13, 2013
  4. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    yes trade it in. but the odds are you will have more issues with the max.
     
    #4 spiderman, Jun 13, 2013
  5. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Don't assume that, find out what your laws specifically states. "Driveability" is not a term that's easily defined. But you do need to let the dealer try to help you before taking any other steps. And they probably know the law pretty well too. The district Toyota rep can also help you.

    BTW, the display illumination can be adjusted for sensor sensitivity at the dealer, maybe its set too sensitive. See the OM under "customization".

    I'll add that these type issues are certainly not normal for Toyota. Luck of the draw.
     
    #5 rdgrimes, Jun 13, 2013
  6. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Sounds like they didn't plug the antenna lead in (or in completely) to the head unit.
    If that's the case- it's an easy fix.
     
    #6 ny_rob, Jun 13, 2013
    WE0H likes this.
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