Hello! My 08 Prius with 35K made strange creeking noise when driven over bump or dip when it 's cold. The dealer have had the car for 4 days and they said the noise came from bad control arm. But they told me they cannot start working on this until they communicate with Toyota about the case. They said "bad control arm" rarely happens on Prius and they will have to "register with Toyota" before they can fix the problem. I don't understand. They are authorized Toyota dealer. And control arm is just a part every car has. Why they have to let Toyota know before they can fix my car? Thanks!
My guess is that the dealer's service manager wants to make sure that Toyota tech support agrees that the control arm is the problem, since this part's failure is rare. This will increase the likelihood that the dealer will be reimbursed by Toyota for the warranty repair.
A control arm isnt a part that goes bad from everyday wear and tear. They probably suspect youve been in a minor fender bender (or been off roading). I know the balljoint can be replaced, im sure they would have made it were the bushings could be replaced.
Thanks for the answers. I just got the car back. They replaced "control arm sub-assy, suspen". And the noise is gone now!!
