 |
 |
| Home |
| About Us |
| Our Blog |
| Photos | Cars | Resume |
| Contact Us |
|
|
|
Because our 2004 Prius was one of the first 2nd generation models to arrive in the US it has had a number of recalls over the years. The first recall notice we received was for a bug in the computer software, so the next time we had the oil changed on the car we simply brought the Prius in and had the tech upload the new software. I then read on Prius Chat about a software bug that would cause the cars gas engine to just shut off while in motion, but figuring I had already taken care of the recall I simply ignored the warning. Plus I figured that the Toyota techs would check for recalls each time the car was brought in for service. Then in May of 2006 I took the Prius into Magnussen Toyota of Auburn for a tire rotation and an oil change, within five minutes of leaving the dealership all of the warning lights came on and the engine shut off. I was only about two miles from the dealership but it was uphill and there was heavy traffic so I decided to pull over and see what was up. My first thought was that they had drained the oil and then forgot to fill it. When I went to check the oil level I noticed the dip stick was about 3" from being fully in the tube (idiots), but the oil level was O.K. I also foolishly let the dealer install a new air filter, I told the service manager to bill me for the filter and I would install it, but he insisted that there was no extra charge to have them do it and I figured there was no way for a mechanic to screw up installing an air filter, I was wrong. When I opened the hood I noticed the air box only had two of the 4 latches clipped so I decided to look a little more, when I opened the air box I found all sorts of bugs, leaves and debris on the filtered intake side of the air box. I then concluded that the incompetent mechanic probably bumped the old filter while removing it and all of the junk fell onto the filtered side of the air box, with some of this garbage likely falling right into the intake manifold, then instead of removing the debris he decided to just let it run through the engine. At this point I called up the dealership and explained my situation, the service manager first tried to explain how the intake of a car works (I have a degree in auto repair) and then without admitting any guilt agreed to tow the car in. When the car and I arrived at the dealership he said the problem was likely a computer glitch that happened because I hadn't had the recall performed. When I explained that I had a computer recall performed about a year ago he told me that there was a second one that applied to my car. I asked him why they didn't inform me of this second recall during any of the last 5 oil changes he said that they had been really busy and maybe had forgotten to check. I argued with him about the piss poor job of their mechanic, and he assured me that it would be 'looked into'. In the end the computer update recall fixed the problem and they waived the tow fee, but refused to refund me the money spent on the air filter and oil change. Note:Because I have always done my own maintenance, prior to owning the Prius I had no experience with dealerships service departments. But having owned a Prius I quickly learned that most dealerships service departments are run by complete morons (called service managers) who have no idea what they are talking about and don't care about actually taking care of your car. I now avoid dealership service centers like the plague. Update 8/28/06: A few weeks ago the screen on our 2004 Prius started acting really weird and randomly switching between screens and giving strange error messages. I did a quick search on Prius Chat and found that this is a really common problem that affects not only the Prius but also some 2004 Land Cruisers and Highlanders with navigation screens. Unfortunately our Prius had about 50,000 miles on it and was no longer covered under the factory warrantee but I read a few stories on the web of Toyota fixing this problem, even on cars that were out of warrantee, so I decided to just take it into the dealership and not mention what I knew about the problem, just to see what they would say. A few days latter I got a call saying that the screen would have to be replaced at a cost of $4,200,and that the dealership had called Toyota corporate to see if they would help with the cost, but that corporate hadn't offered any help. The dealership suggested that I call and see what I could get done with corporate. I called Toyota corporate with a list of ten reasons why they should cover this repair, I was told someone would call me in two business days and let me know what Toyota was going to do. After waiting three days for the call I decided to call myself and see what was going on. I was told that Toyota was willing to pay for half of the repair and that I would have to pay for the other half, I explained that that wasn't an option and I once again explained why Toyota should cover the whole cost of the repair, I did however mention that if necessary I was willing to pay up to $500, and not a penny more, realizing that after all the car was out of warrantee. I also suggested they look into using a refurbished display since this is what Toyota uses when warrantee work is done and I had heard it was significantly cheaper. I heard back from Toyota a few days later and I was told the refurbished screen and labor would come to 1,000 dollars and that Toyota was still willing to pay half of that. I argued that Toyota corporate was originally going to pay $2,000 of the $4,000 repair and so now they should take that $2,000 and pay $1,000 of it to the dealership for the repair and then give me the other $1,000 for all of hassle this has been. That didn't fly and since my sister really needed the car back I agreed to the offer and ended up paying 500 dollars for the repair. This just goes to show that doing your homework and fighting back can save you a ton of money, in my case $3,500. 8 reasons Toyota should have covered the faulty screen in our Prius
| |