Combination Meter Warranty Enhancement

Ok got it now.

Another realization - when the problem occurs my odometer doesn't run up. Prius owners could simply disconnect the part to falsify their odo readings.

 

true, but then you would be lying when you sign the affidavit that the odometer is correct.

 

Brought my '05 in on Monday January 7 for the combination meter replacement. At the time the car was dropped off, I gave them a printout of the documented CM failures, dates and additional miles driven (totaling 1,527miles). I was told that regardless of what I reported, they would use the mileage recorded on the odometer which is 1, 527 miles LESS than the actual mileage.

They supplied me with a 2012 Corolla LE loaner vehicle that is nasty (coffee stains everywhere), a cracked front bumper, a "maintenance required light" illuminated on the dash, and an inspection that is expiring in 2 weeks. I hate dealerships as I do not trust them and fear that my car will not be the same when it is returned.

It is now Friday and the dealership claims that the new CM has not arrived. The shabby loaner didn't do anything to boost my confidence in these guys...

I thought that the repair was to take 3 days. What's up with that?

 

I wonder if the odometer error will show up on Carfax.

 

The dealership that told me 3 days is also the one who didn't know the warranty enhancement program covered a loaner car. The other dealership I talked to that was familiar with the warranty enhancement program said it would take 2-3 WEEKS. Go figure.

Let us know when yours is done. I'm taking mine in on Wednesday.

 

Carfax would not know that I accrued an additional 1,527 miles while the CM not functioning. I self reported this to the dealership because I track my gas expenditures and consumption on Gasbuddy. I was hoping that the mileage would be adjusted to show the actual miles. I have no intention of selling the car. I'll keep it 'til it drops. So far, it looks new and runs great. You did, however, bring up another issue with purchasing used '04 - '09 prii whose CM's needed replacement. The mileage will be inaccurate. I wonder if owners will report this when the title is transferred.

 

Will do. I am hoping that I'm not stuck with the Corolla for 3 weeks! I almost died when it took $40.00 worth of gas for a 3 day commute to and from work. The Prius costs roughly $28.00 for the same amount of travel! I will also give everyone a heads up about what to expect when picking up the car. I gave it to them spotless so I am expecting that it will be returned in the same condition. I don't expect to see any warning lights to be illuminated from them messing around in there but who knows. They were told to do an inspection after the new CM is installed as my current inspection expires on 1/31.

 

I would expect the dealer to report that the odometer is not accurate on any vehicle that required a CM replacement. They may only be off a mile, or they may be off way more, but they are not accurate.

 

That's an interesting statement. I will definitely ask when picking up the car if the information is somehow reported to the state (dept of motor vehicles) similar to information that is reported regarding annual state inspections and accident reports. Car fax would not get the information directly as they acquire the information from public records similar to a background check (state records).

I would expect that if one of these vehicles was traded in and resold by a Toyota dealership, there would be access to these records by VIN and the Toyota dealership would have to disclose the information. If the dealerships are not under obligation to report to the state that the CM has been changed and that the mileage may not reflect the actual accrued miles...then buyer beware as the saying goes.

That could, however, work both ways, If the car had under 150,000 miles on the odometer and the combination meter intermittently failed, then the hybrid battery gave out, could Toyota refuse to honor the warranty? I think not. Only because they could not prove how many miles were actually accrued during the CM's series of malfunctions or the amount of time that the CM was non-functioning (days? years?).

My CM began failing in June of 2011. The only reason that I did not get it repaired was the cost vs how many miles were already on the car. Of course, now that it's a free repair...

Another point that I'd like to make: I did not need the dealership to either document the problem or to "test" it in any way before bringing it in. I have heard that dealerships want to "diagnose" the problem for an extra $110.00 to verify that a CM replacement is needed.

 

I bought my '07 touring in August and I have not seen this problem or said letter. How do I request the letter for mine so that if/when I do have the issue I can get it done?

 

I never received the official letter from Toyota indicating that was an enhanced warranty on the combination meter. I found out about the enhanced warranty from reading the posts here on Prius Chat. Apparently, letters were being sent out to Prius owners as early as late September 2012. When I first learned of this, my first stop was the local Toyota dealership. I informed the service advisor of the enhanced warranty and asked that my VIN be checked to determine if my car was eligible for the CM replacement. I was told by the service advisor that no such "warranty enhancement" existed. What the guy actually said was "that you shouldn't believe all the BS that you read on those websites (PriusChat)." Not satisfied, I then called Toyota corporate. The rep ran my VIN and told me that it was in the range of vehicles that are targeted for the CM replacement at no cost. I then scoured the internet and finally found a copy of the letter that Toyota corporate had sent to all dealerships as well as a sample letter that was sent to Prius owners. After a lot of "run around" and calls to the local dealership from Toyota Corporate, my car is in for repair. To this day I have still not received any notification directly from Toyota and wouldn't have known that this repair was available if it weren't for the folks who contribute to this outstanding website! MY advice would be to call Toyota Corporate. Ask them about the warranty enhancement - ZTV covering 2004 to certain 2009 model year Prius vehicles. They will check your VIN against their records to see if your car is among those eligible for the extended warranty on the CM.

 

The dealership received the new CM today - one week to the day that the car was dropped off. No indication as to when it will be installed or when the car will be ready for pickup. It seems as though I should have it back within the next day or two. I'll keep you posted.

 

I never got the letter either and ended up removing my CM on Sunday before discovering the enhancement yesterday. The local dealer said they couldn't and wouldn't do the CM repair unless I had the original letter even if my car was part of the VIN range and proceeded to tell me that if I hadn't recieved the letter, then my car was not qualfied.

I called Toyota and complained and told them what the dealer said. Nice CS rep checked my vin and said it was covered. I tolder her what the dealer said. She opened a case and said I'd be contacted within 3 days. 30 minutes later, my local dealer called me to schedule an appointment.

I told them I'd already taken out the meter and had been about to send it off for repair. The adivsor said to make the prius driveable and just bring it in and they'd take care of the rest. No need to put it all back together. No doubt they'd prefer this as it will save them 30 minutes or dissassmbly for an expert or at least an hour for a tech who hasn't remove one yet. They said they've only ever replaced one CM in a 2nd gen Prius.

 

I'm glad that you caught the error in time and that the work will get done under the enhanced warranty. I hope that the dealership is giving you a loaner while your car is being repaired. That is included in the enhanced warranty. It may take a while.

It seems as though the dealerships are reluctant to do the repairs as my local dealership received 2 calls from the corporate office before they agreed to the repair.

Tomorrow will be day 9 for me and still no Prius. It looks like cooljw's statement about the repair taking 2 - 3 weeks is right on target. I remain uneasy about leaving my car at the dealership as mine is the first to be repaired under the warranty. Yesterday I was told that the new CM had arrived. Today a different service manager said that the new CM had not been received. I did check up on the car by driving to the dealership after hours. It is in the lot with the dash disassembled and the CM removed.

 

I left my 2004 Prius at the dealership last Thursday for the CM replacement. I think it will be the first one they have done. They initially told me they hoped it would be ready in a week, but today they called and said they had been told 10 to 15 days to get the replacement CM. They are providing me with a rental car (2012 Ford Focus).

I will post an update when the replacement is completed.

 

I dropped mine off at the dealer today. This dealer has done a few but not a lot. They have one Prius that is still waiting for the new meter and it has been 49 days! But that seems to be an outlier as others have gotten theirs in less time. Also, it seems like 3-4 weeks is more accurate than 2-3 weeks.

Good luck everyone.

 

A little off topic but interesting experience today.

Today I went back to the dealer to get some things out of my car that I'd forgotten to take out. The service rep took me to my car, which was parked in their back lot. All the cars there had a lockbox on the back window with the car key inside. The service rep used her key to unlock the lockbox then gave me my key fob so I could open the car to retrieve my belongings. (you guys see where this is going?)

I then pointed out to her how ridiculous it was to leave the smartkey fob attached to the car's own window since that means anyone could open the car! To demonstrate, I locked the car, put the fob back in the lockbox, and re-opened the front door which willingly unlocked since the fob was near enough. She was like, wow! I was floored that she and apparently the dealership did not realize this. To further demonstrate, on the way out I saw another Prius and tugged on the front door and sure enough, beep-beep and door opens.

I'm not sure how many Toyota's besides the Prius have the smart key system. But there are plenty of Priuses out here in CA. I simply cannot believe the dealership overlooked this. It seems like a huge security problem. Really does not inspire much confidence here.

The rep said she would mention it to someone.

 

Yes Patrick, I rec'd the same on Jan 17. Same information.
My display works OK up to this moment. Touch wood.

 

My 09 has had the problem a while now, about a year and a half, hardly see the the speedometer anymore. Never got the letter but Toyota of Concord NC recognized the problem and assigned a tech to my car and I was out of there in 30 minutes, letter or not. They tell me about a week and a half to get the part and they'll call and we'll schedule the work, takes about 2 hours to complete. Glad I got on Prius chat and found out about the warranty enhancement! Really appreciate the threads on here!

 

It is odd that the dealership told you that they would "order the part" which takes at least a week and half and then call you to install it. Dealerships are not permitted to order the part until the car is on their lot, they remove the old CM, and send it in. The mileage is not programmed into the new CM at the dealership. Reason for the dealership keeping the car until the work is done? The car is not permitted to accrue additional mileage while waiting for the new CM to be received and replaced. The dealership is required to provide a loaner car during the process. My car has been at the dealership since January 7th. Two weeks have passe. Today starts week #3.