From love it to hate it : how my Toyota [Prius] journey comes to an end

Howdy DaveLeePrius

OOPS, you're right on the '"86" Camry Sta Wagon... My TYPO error, it was an '88.

Would you believe... that's the first mistake I've ever made?? Welll.... would you believe.... Gotta get my keyboard fixed so it'll quit making typographical errors.

 

You bought your Prius about the same time as mine (March 15th 2006). Mine has been trouble free with zero issue.

When the Special Service Campaign came out about stalling, I checked the affected VIN Number and mine was not part of the campaign. My Prius barely missed it. Have you check your VIN # and if it was affected, did you get the update / fix for it?

I think it was wise of you to get the refund and maybe get the next generation Prius.

Dennis

 

I am going against all the advice so far expressed on this subject and say trade it in on a new car.
The dealership now knows what action you will take if another of their vehicles turns out to be a lemon. Therefore, I think that they will take extra care to see you do not get another lemon. OK, I realise that nobody can tell with any certainty if a car is going to be a lemon but I would be surprised if they didn't do all in their power to ensure you get a good car.
In the event that a new car from that dealership showed signs of a problem they would be very foolish if they did not spend more time finding and rectifying any problem, fearing if they don't fix it you would start another lemon flavoured law suit.
prius_fr, if the Prius suited you apart from the problems it had, get another one, if it did not, get a different Toyota.
At least a Prius would be eligible for a HOV sticker - if there are any still available.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Feb 13 2007, 03:58 PM) [snapback]389700[/snapback]</div>

I have "written off" American vehicles (after personally owning or leasing a string 5 of new ones from 1985 through 2000 due to my own personal poor experiences with them regarding multiple problems--including transmission, fuel pump that died within 6 months on the road, multiple major electrical failures, air conditioning leaking water all over the front floor...twice!!!, etc, etc, etc). None of these vehicles did I drive more than 75K miles. Generally these problems were fixed under warranty, and often after the warranty had expired (it's good to have a friend in the biz!), however, were a real pain in the neck inconvenience for someone who relied heavily on a single vehicle during that time period.

Now, my 2000 Toyota Tacoma pickup, after 142K miles (90K on the first set of tires that I could have easily done 100K legally but winter was approaching so I opted to buy early) has finally given me a "problem." The temperature dial cable snapped and I had to have it replaced. WOW. Was I stranded on the side of the road? NO! Were my feet sitting in a puddle of water? NO! Was I a bit chilly when I noticed it? Yes! BFD!!! During the ownership of my first Prius (2005), I noticed that the AM radio reception had become poor after several months. It was replaced under warranty and all was well. Was I stranded on the side of the road? NO! Were my feet sitting in a puddle of water? NO! The unit was simply replaced at the next regular service interval as I drove my friend's demo car around.

My experience is only corroborated with my friend who has been the service manager or now the service director over multiple dealerships at the places I purchased all of these vehicles. He was a dyed-in-the-wool fanatic of Chevrolet in particular, and GM in general. Most of his dealerships are now Japanese makes. He said only this week, the biggest difference has been the 70% warranty service business volume he used to consistantly do on both Chevy's and Jeeps. Compare that to his typical 10% warranty service business volume he does on all the Japanese makes.

And by the way, he has always run a very profitable service business or taken ones in shambles and turned them around with a year's time.

I also can have the mid-sized ultra fuel efficient vehicle NOW with both state and federal tax incentives. Where can I buy the Chevy Volt right NOW? LOL Until I can, it's what we refer to in the computer industry as "vaporware." Don't hold your breath until it actually ships. In the meantime, where are all those mid-sized GM vehicles with similar fuel economy? Oh, too busy making Hummers...okay. Where are all the EV1's that no one was actually allowed to own?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius_fr @ Feb 13 2007, 04:19 PM) [snapback]389676[/snapback]</div>

I almost did the same thing when my Prius conked out due to the "stall." The fact my dealer all but kissed my butt saved Toyota Canada from a bad situation.

Given what has happened to you I would have done the same thing. I actually did do the same thing with the 2000 GMC Sierra I used to own. In hindsight I can laugh about it, but it was the worst vehicle I have ever owned, and I have posted about some of my "wonderful" experiences.

Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

 

Here you are, IN CA of all places ... most stringent lemon laws in the nation, and you choose to take it in the shorts. You could have easily gotten a new car. Oh well.

 

Prius_fr,

I'm very sorry that your Prius experience was a nightmare. From your experience it seems Toyota is as concerned about customer satisfaction as the other manufacturer that is crucified here. Either Toyota built a POS car or Toyota's POS dealer didn't know how to fix it. If the first case, if Toyota is so customer satisfaction oriented they should have just stepped in and resolved the problem. If the second case, Toyota either should have sent someone who knows what they are doing or had the car taken somewhere else. It is unfortunate that they only responded to a lawsuit. The only difference is that Toyota didn't tell you, "It's supposed to do that."

I suspect and hope that Toyota can't resell the car to another unsuspecting retail customer as the title should be branded "LEMON". This car should replace some QC executive's company car so he can share the exhilarating Prius experience. Too bad you can't take the Toyota dealer's Service Manager in uniform to the competing dealer to buy your replacement vehicle.

I wish you the best of luck with the next one.

 

Such a crazy story. I can't blame you a bit for wanting to get rid of it and not look back. It's just too bad they couldn't figure out what the heck is wrong with it! Intermittent faults are a PITA but there is always a cause...it just takes effort to find it. I hope Toyota's engineers go over it for as long as necessary...it's in their best interests as well as ours.

My Accord was a great car (though I couldn't deal with the coupe's cargo limitations anymore), so you might consider looking there before you buy the Land Yacht. Maybe 5-speed Fit just for kicks? The Korean makes have been improving in quality, too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 13 2007, 09:02 PM) [snapback]389900[/snapback]</div>

My own experiences were similar. It'd be one thing if someone never owned a GM product was calling them POS's, but having bought a bunch of new ones, and having 2 of them end unhappily, I'm just not wanting to gamble on them any more. Cars are too expensive. And once I experienced that you can actually buy a Honda, drive it for 10 years (usually I would have traded after 5 or so), and not have to do things like replace alternators or heater cores, and then sell it for about 40% (yeah, that was a CRX -- I'm sure a plain old Civic would have been somewhat close to that value though) of what we paid for it, there's not a lot to draw me back to GM. If they have that PHEV out, I would at least take a look and consider it, assuming a company that I'd trust more hasn't got one already out there on the market.

And btw, I don't fault the OP any on their attitude towards Toyota. After all, the higher the expectations, the greater the irritation and disappointment when they are not met.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius_fr @ Feb 13 2007, 12:19 PM) [snapback]389676[/snapback]</div>

I wonder if it is legal to post the car’s VIN on this forum; if it is please do.

 

How much were the attorney fees, or did the settlement cover those also?

 

Based on your experience I can understand being dissatisfied w/ the Prius. But for you to conclude that the Prius, Toyota, etc. are just bad, period, is a poor conclusion. Me, I've had my Prius since Nov 2005 and I have over 25,000 miles on it w/ no problems whatsoever (other than somebody denting in the front of the bumper ). But hey, you've made up your mind so I hope you're happy w/ whatever you end up with.

 

I want to know who exactly which service department "provided your serivce." This is just about anyone's nightmare scenario, when it comes to cars. I bet it was something easily repairable. What a bunch of yonkels.

Good luck, and I recommend a Honda. My first one was at 185 K when we donated it. We didn't take good care of it, or it would have gone the distance. Our second one is at 145 K, and I have been less satisfied, because those 1998 and on up are tricky in the Cat department. I had to buy a new Cat for about 700 bucks, and spend a huge amount of time just making sure that is what I needed. Long icky story.

I'm crossing my fingers about the Prius. It seems great so far, but its only got 6 K on it.

What car wouldn't be great at that point, eh?

I sure wish we knew exactly what's up with your car!

 

prius_fr:

I sympathize with your situation. If I were you I would dump THAT Prius as well. However, I might get another Prius since it has given me the HOV right and nice MPG. I have been mostly a Honda-person. None of my Honda/Acura gave me any problems (other than maintanence) for 7 years (that is when I usually sell my vehicles). My only BMW has been a disaster in reliability but it is a love-hate relationship. <_<

My Prius is the 1st Toyota. So far so good for me after 16K miles. I also frequent Piercey (where I bought my Prius) and Fremont Toyota for service. Their incompetence (according to you) make me worry. I personally don't think that your Prius has many problems. It probably just has ONE, but they simply cannot find the root cause of it. Very sad.

Well, good luck with your new vehicle, whatever you may choose to buy.

 

I used that same Lemon Law attorney in the past for a Nissan Truck. It only cost me $500 and whatever they got over my payback.

My frustrations were the same. It was mostly the dealerships inability to fix the issue. Nissan was not helpful and kept telling me to take the truck back to a dealership. The dealership said it was a Nissan issue and Nissan said it was a dealership issue.....what idiots. I swore I would never buy another Nissan again and haven't.

I think what big companies forget is that with the Internet consumers are more educated about future purchases and certainly will let the masses know about their misfortune and mistreatment. They can either address our concerns or go out of business, as we have the power!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 13 2007, 03:31 PM) [snapback]389681[/snapback]</div>

Is the clusterphuck the car or the story? :blink:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius_fr @ Feb 14 2007, 05:37 PM) [snapback]390488[/snapback]</div>

Was that a quote from Toyota Corporate, or from one of the two inept dealers?

And you've never made it clear exactly when Toyota Corporate became involved in the problem. Was it early on or was it only after you filed your Lemon Law case against them?

I'd say put your bitterness behind and go for the a new 2007 Prius. Definitely get a different color or something so it doesn't "feel" like the same car. Grab the $1,575 federal tax credit by taking delivery before March 31. Go to a completely different dealer that you can get testimonials from from others here. And drive a hell of a bargain deal with the incentives and Prius sitting on lots these days.

And before giving up on those HOV stickers and taking the the comment of someone here as simple fact, why don't you contact the CA DMV directly and ask for a waiver transfer to a direct replacement Prius under the circumstances. Surely if you had totalled the car (which effectively the Lemon Law has done) there are provisions to transfer the permit to a like-qualified replacement vehicle, no?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ Feb 13 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]389703[/snapback]</div>

I agree, all cars have quirks about them, you shouldn't expect greatness based off of a name. an example would be...I traded in an A4 Audi for my 07 Nissan Versa because the Audi was in the shop for service at least twice a week. I thought the Japanese name Of Nissan would have been a safe bet, boy was I wrong, After the first 600miles It was in the shop for a bad clutch plate or something like that, the engine was getting noisier and the MPG was plummeting, 6months and 6500miles later I traded it in For my 07 Touring Prius, 1 week and 1100 miles later this puppy is running like a champ and I couldn't be happier.
Its all just a big game, sometimes you win sometimes you dont.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TomorrowMatters @ Feb 15 2007, 06:27 AM) [snapback]390770[/snapback]</div>

Well .. After 104 service repairs per year on your Audi A4 I hope you were able to take advantage of your local lemon law. My A4s (turbos) were fine reliable cars. I switched to Prius because I'm addicted to technological inovation, The Prius roominess was important to me, I wanted the great gas mileage (twice the Audi's at first, now down to 1 1/2 times), and although the A4 was ULEV I loved the idea of of contributing even less to contamination of the environment. Reliability wasn't in the equation though. And to tell the truth, I very much miss the Quattro all wheel drive, the turbo factor (thrust) and the great handling on the mountain twisties. There is definitely a price we all pay for this environmental friendliness and excellent Prius reliability (at least most Prius's).