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General Question about Warranty

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by urielus, Jul 22, 2013.

  1. urielus

    urielus Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2010
    3
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    Location:
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    It has been a while since I've posted...and I clearly should have asked this question looooooong ago: I've had a 2008 Prius since November of 2010, and have been taking said car to the local Toyota dealership for servicing every 5,000 miles because I had it in my pea brain that, in order to keep the warranty valid, the work must be done by the dealership.
    Not true?
    The reason I'm now questioning this is because at the last maintenance, last week (55K), I was informed that the drive belt has cracks... and the dealership quoted $180 to replace it. Well, the little light bulb in my head went off and I checked Prius Chat, and found posted actual instructions on how to change a drive belt... or, barring actually doing the work myself, another Prius owner who had been given a similar diagnosis and quote was told that $180 seems to be expensive, given the price of the actual item plus the labor involved. The advice to the other driver was to gather quotes from other repair shops and compare prices before making a decision. Does work done by a non-Toyota shop invalidate the warranty? Just checkin'.
     
    #1 urielus, Jul 22, 2013
  2. Rich12

    Rich12 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2012
    176
    29
    0
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    An independent mechanic, a retail chain shop, or even you yourself can do routine maintenance and repairs on your vehicle. In fact, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which is enforced by the FTC, makes it illegal for manufacturers or dealers to claim that your warranty is void or to deny coverage under your warranty simply because someone other than the dealer did the work. That said, there may be certain situations where a repair may not be covered. For example, if you or your mechanic replaced a belt improperly and your engine is damaged as a result, your manufacturer or dealer may deny responsibility for fixing the engine under the warranty. However, according to the FTC, the manufacturer or dealer must be able to demonstrate that it was the improper belt replacement — rather than some other defect — that caused the damage to your engine. The warranty would still be in effect for other parts of your car.
     
    #2 Rich12, Jul 22, 2013
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