My horrible Prius experience thus far! Can I claim Lemon now??

Haven't been on the GM forums or blogs, eh? Go there and bring up the business success of Volt. You'll get attacked personally and relentlessly bombarded with reponses referring exclusively to performance & engineering. Being an enthusiast venue, they just plain don't care about accounting/profit or products for the mainstream.

That bit of perspective helps with the understanding of posts here where the OP has basically already made a decision prior to starting a thread and doesn't respond to feedback.

 

One of my old favorite shows! Showing my age a bit!

 

Geesh lighten up. The OP admits to being frustrated, and that isn't what he said:

"As of now they took in my Prius, gave me a different one to temporarily use and they are going to have a "Toyota Specialist" diagnose it. Hopefully this will resolve the issue! I'm just very fed up with this because I drove the Prius they lent me for now and it is SMOOTH over 60mph! Just as it should be! Ugh!

Seems to me part of diagnosis would be comparison. Right? So all the OP is doing here is saying that the problem ISN'T normal because the loaner Prius doesn't exhibit it.

Infact the OP is hopeful the issue will be resolved.


That has nothing to do with being "angry that other Prius actually work". That's YOUR interjection.

And being frustrated and fed up? Well if I just spent $25,000 on a new vehicle and was experiencing these difficulties? I might be a little fed up too....

I know we all love Prius here, and this is Prius Chat.....but it IS possible that this particular Prius has a legitimate problem, and that the OP is having difficulty getting it resolved.

If a degree of frustration comes along with this reality....I can cut the OP a LOT of slack for this. Even with modern manufacturing standards and quality control, which I believe is excellent, occasionally things happen. From Japan to being sold in the USA who knows?

I'd want the frame checked, to make sure it is straight. Maybe somewhere along the line in shipping something happened?

In anycase, jumping all over an OP for being frustrated and OMG! Not being happy with his Prius! Give it a break people.

 

Which is why my first post, and the fourth post of this thread, directly answered his questions about the lemon law in his state. I try to answer the question first, and comment on it later. I would feel badly if I commented on a real question without also answering the question. You will find me treating many trolls as real questions, in an abundance of caution. This does not mean I only develop an opinion later, it means that the first response is to provide information and help. Once the questions are resolved, I do tend to offer life advice rather than technical advice. I will try to remain more technical.

 

However, let's not overlook the reality that the OP did not contact corporate for assistance, despite the advice to do so. That decision to work exclusively through the dealer only could have prevented some of this.

 

The OP is on 6 weeks of ownership, and most people that discover a problem with a new car, start with the dealer and then escalate if needed.

And so far, it does sound like the dealer has made earnest attempts to correct the problem. 1st step first, and usually that starts with the dealership.

Out of the gate, "Corporate" would probably suggest the owner take it to a dealership.

 

Asking about a lemon claim is escalation.

 

Uhuh....and if the dealership is unable to resolve the problem I would expect the OP to escalate.

Your point?

You still START with the dealership.

 

I'm sorry you are having this issue with your Prius. I had to deal with lemon law too on my last prius. About your original question about the scratches, while you go though the arbitration process with Toyota, a scratch or dent will not be taken into consideration at all. If you win your case, when they take your vehicle, it will have to be in "like new" condition. General rule of thumb if I remember correctly was "if it can be hidden by a credit card, it'll be considered normal wear and tear". Hope that helps at all

Oh and btw, If you are wanting to get a replacement or repurchase, DO NOT expect Toyota to file for you. They will waste your time until you are no longer under any warranty period. If your going to do something, file immediately.

 

Well said. Even in a perfect Prius world there might be one that bucks the trend.

 

Any updates on your Prius, are they able to fix it? What did they say is wrong with it?

 

Yes...did you get resolution to your problem?

If it makes you feel any better, I recently purchased a new 2013 Prius, and specifically remembering your post, when I test drove my vehicle, I purposely took it on the freeway and up to 70mph, just to make sure it didn't demonstrate any abnormal vibrations.

I'm not really being kind, or unkind. I've found that on the internet, and often in life, people love ya when you agree with them, and hate you when you disagree.

You've let this post go dead a long time.....so what happened?

 

Glad they got it fixed! Now Hopefully you can enjoy your car!