[whatshisname]

I have owned my Prius since July of '02 and I must tell you it is the finest car I have ever owned. I have owned ten automobiles since 1950 and they included both Cadillacs and Lincolns. Six of the cars were new, the others used. My Prius came to me with an added benefit of a three year warranty by Toyota on the tires as well, which also included tire repairs. I got a flat in February, a small puncture and they fixed it free of charge. Since then the wife and I drove it just a few miles two or three times a week to the supermarket and perhaps two times to Santa Cruz about 50 miles away here in California. Then, in the beginning of August we drove it on a 1700 mile round trip to Idaho and the tire began leaking when we traveled about 350 miles to Winnemucca, Nevada where there was no Toyota dealer. I have a very well made battery operated tire pump so I was able to keep going. On the trip back the tire really began leaking so I stopped in at a Goodyear tire dealership and they were able to repair it for me. They found it was the original repair that was leaking and not very well done. Enough said about that. Goodyear repaired it with a much larger patch and wished me luck. We got home ok, but now the tire seems to be leaking again, but only a very small amount of air is being lost. I asked for a new tire, but Toyota wants to fix it again, for the tire's third repair on the same puncture. Common speed on the freeways between cities is rarely below 65 miles an hour. I don't think the thrice patched tire will be safe at that speed and going slower may be a menace to other drivers. It's guaranteed. I think for safety I should have a new tire. Am I being unreasonable?

 

[Henry]

Sure sounds to me like Toyota should replace that tire under the Road Hazard warranty. If I were you I would replace that tire immediately, at your own expense as seems necessary, then file a claim for reimbursement directly with Toyota (see the Road Hazard brochure that came with your Prius for the procedure to follow). If you saved all your paperwork from the various repair attempts, as well as the sales receipt from your new tire purchase, this should be a no-brainer. Good luck! And let us know how this turns out.

 

[whatshisname]

Tire Warranties: Fair or Unfair

My earlier comments about dealer resistance to my request for a new tire to replace a faulty one are no longer applicable. I received my new tire today and all is cordial. I must suggest to Prius owners who may have a similar problem someday, persistence pays. All it took was talking to additional people in the chain of organization. Eventually I encountered someone with the power to say yes and he did. Thanks Toyota.

 

[stevewa]

Eventually I encountered someone with the power to say yes and he did. Thanks Toyota.

That appears to be the key with most warranty items. It appears the service writers are trained to say no by default.

We have a saying at my workplace, for any customer question, the salesperson always answers "yes" while the tech support rep always answers (of course not!).