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Dealers that know little about the prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by siudad, Nov 28, 2008.

  1. siudad

    siudad New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2008
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Joliet, Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    My experience with prius dealers is that either they don't take you seriously if you express a concern about your car or they tell you you need unnecessary repairs because they don't really understand the vehicle or they need to sell some parts and labor.
    I bought a rebuilt 07 prius and while it came with a short full warranty I took it to the local toyota dealer to have them check out a knocking sound in the engine and a loud rumbling sound when the car was coasting and slowing. They told me there was nothing wrong that the sounds were normal charging sounds for a coasting prius. WRONG. I emailed the seller and told him of my concerns and he said to wait. The car eventually died on my way to work and the seller had to replace the engine and transmission luckily at no charge to me. Now there are no engine noises whatsover. Why couldn't Toyota tell there was something wrong.
    Also on this vehicle an electrical connector between the hybrid system and airconditioner was cracked. Another dealer discovered it after I was getting fault messages. THey told me the only fix was to entirely replace the hybrid system and the air conditioner at a cost of $6,500! My seller told me to bring the vehicle in and he replaced the electrical cable which was as he reported to me about a $50 part!
    Bottom line: What they said was fine and normal broke down and what they said was broken and had to be totally replaced was easily fixed.

    I also have a 2001 prius. I had replaced the hybrid battery myself and had occasion to have discussion with the Joliet Il dealer. He questioned why this had to be done. When I told him it was because the cells were giving off varying voltages and fatal error messages, he said they had never had to replace one before. I almost exclaimed to him that I guess I had more hybrid repair experience than he did but it would not have served any real purpose I guess. This is the same dealer who wouldn't take my concerns seriously right after I had gotten the car. The other dealer was in Downer's Grove Il. Are there any Toyota dealers out there who aren't whores or incompetent?
     
  2. rickt

    rickt New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2008
    6
    0
    0
    Location:
    Woodbury, MN
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    To answer your questions about dealer competence - probably NOT!

    This is why whenever financially feasible I've always tried to keep a vehicle only until the factory warranty expires. I purchased a Mazda 6 new in 2003. After the warranty expired, I had multiple issues with the front suspension, brakes, and body rust. I actually tried three different dealers without resolution. In desperation I contacted the national customer service center. Although it took many weeks, many calls, and a fair amount of screaming, I was able to get all the issues resolved at about one-third of actual cost. This was for a vehicle more than a year beyond the four-year warranty period with 92,000 miles on the clock. I managed to get the dealer to give me $7500 on the 2009 Prius trade.

    So, at least in this one instance, I was able to convince Mazda that they needed to stand behind their product even beyond the warranty period. I suppose it didn't hurt that both of my kids bought new 2006 Mazda 3s.

    rickt
     
  3. jelloslug

    jelloslug It buffed right out!

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2008
    813
    54
    0
    Location:
    Greenville, SC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    As for the AC connector, on my '08 salvage car I had the same problem. I spoke with several reputable Toyota part suppliers and they all verified there there is no separate part number for the AC compressor to inverter wiring harness. They only way to get a new one from Toyota is to buy the inverter and the AC compressor. I bought a used connector off of ebay for $75.
     
  4. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2004
    2,480
    176
    0
    Location:
    Gaithersburg, MD
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Imagine how bad it was for those of us who bought '04s right after they came out lol. Dealers didn't even know how to make them move...let alone how to diagnose problems.