I experienced the MFD issue described in multiple posts and appreciated reading through everyone’s experience. It always makes you feel better knowing what the problem is and how it can be solved. My ’04 has 50,850 miles and the dealer stated that they could order a refurbished unit for 592.00. I called the 1800.331.4331 number to plead my case that this is a problem not based on wear and tear of the car and that my car isn’t even 3 years old. They were extremely polite and sympathetic but stated that I had to negotiate directly with the dealer who I then called back and wouldn’t budge. After I started using the phrase “good faith†as suggested in a post here on the forum they offered 10% off. Is it unusual for the 800 number to refer me back to the dealer? Has anyone been successful in having Toyota cover the cost even when you exceed the 36,000 mile clause in the TSB? Thank you in advance for any responses!
Toyota usually wouldn't cover. They covered 1/2 the cost of our Camry's A/C problem (cause it straddled the warranty timeline). Check the thread that Galaxee made WRT to the MFDs and ordering them.
My situation was almost identical to yours and I was successful at getting Toyota to foot half of the bill, which was 1,000 dollars including labor. I did a little write up about my experience at http://www.law2.byu.edu/millerj/cars/2004prius/more.htm check out the link for some ideas on how to make a good case for yourself, and let us know if you are successful. Good luck.
that's about the price you're going to see for a refurb. around here they're $470something plus tax and installation. around 50k the chances of having a full good faith coverage are getting pretty low, unfortunately.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Nov 29 2006, 09:01 AM) [snapback]355176[/snapback]</div> Is replacing the MFD something I could do in my garage? I've been an auto mechanic (in a past life) but don't know if doing this requires Toyota special XYZ-tool at $3500 (or whatever). My buddy has a fragged one in his '04 and I told him I'd be willing to do it if, and only if, it's "do-able" by me. GeronimoPFudgemuffin
GPF- it's just ripping apart the dash panels, no scantool required. however they're pretty nazi-ish about the whole exchange process for refurbs... they won't let you out of the shop with a refurb until they've got the defective one back.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(shocker @ Nov 28 2006, 07:40 PM) [snapback]355012[/snapback]</div> So ... does this mean you didn't get the extended waranty? Mine was replaced under that ~ & they paid 100%. No way of telling whether it was a rebuild or not ... but at the time (say about a year ago) it took 3 or 4 weeks for it to "come-in". I don't know if that meant, "rebuild another one" ... or, "order another from Japan".
Unfortunately, yes, that means I didn't buy the extended warranty. I was naive and figured that if something was going wrong with the cars and that Toyota recognized it was a problem then they would cover the repair of the faulty area. Sigh.... lesson learned about the harsh world.
Question, does anyone know what exactly is going wrong with the units? In other words what is being fixed in the units? Is the problem a poor solder job, failed IC, or are ribbon cables just being reseated? Just curious...... -B
