[cwynn]

It's starting to get comical. This is a week follow up on message " recalibration of ECU"

They told my wife to come by and pick up the car it was fixed. When she tries to start the car to leave the service center all the same lights came back on. Inother words the same problem, what ever that problem is. The 2nd in command told my wife that they are stumped because all the warning lights come on which makes no sense.

It was 10 days ago it was towed in for the second time. At the beginning of the week they told me that Toyota engineers in California were not responding. This was true for the better part of this week. I was told this morning that the Prius mechanic was in contact with his Prius instructor trying to get a fix on the problem. Then I was told that ah ha the engineers in Cal. had checked in. I'm not privy to what they told the mechanic to try, but I believe it was to reprogram the ECU with new settings. I was told that they were not sure if this would fix the problem, but that the next time the problem occured that my wife could simply drive it in for service. To ignore the warning not to drive the car.

So do you think I have a case yet for asking for replacement Prius. I wonder what my options are here if any. They gave us a Dodge Van to drive in the mean time and fuel prices go up each day.

craig

 

[moocatdog]

It's starting to get comical. This is a week follow up on message " recalibration of ECU"

They told my wife to come by and pick up the car it was fixed. When she tries to start the car to leave the service center all the same lights came back on. Inother words the same problem, what ever that problem is. The 2nd in command told my wife that they are stumped because all the warning lights come on which makes no sense.

It was 10 days ago it was towed in for the second time. At the beginning of the week they told me that Toyota engineers in California were not responding. This was true for the better part of this week. I was told this morning that the Prius mechanic was in contact with his Prius instructor trying to get a fix on the problem. Then I was told that ah ha the engineers in Cal. had checked in. I'm not privy to what they told the mechanic to try, but I believe it was to reprogram the ECU with new settings. I was told that they were not sure if this would fix the problem, but that the next time the problem occured that my wife could simply drive it in for service. To ignore the warning not to drive the car.

So do you think I have a case yet for asking for replacement Prius. I wonder what my options are here if any. They gave us a Dodge Van to drive in the mean time and fuel prices go up each day.

craig

Craig,
Sorry about your hassles. Have you called Toyota USA? I doubt they'll just hand over a different car, but you can always ask.
Good luck getting this resolved quickly and satisfactorily.
Moo

 

[veggivet]

Does North Dakota have a lemon law? Back East several states do, and if your new vehicle goes in for the same problem three times without a satisfactory outcome, you are entitled by law to a new vehicle. Worth checking into!!

Hope they get it right soon. :roll:

 

[cwynn]

They do!

http://www.lemonlawamerica.com/

It looks pretty open to interpretation.

Thanks !

 

[air4ce]

As somebody who has had experience with this (I used to work in a customer relations department) I have two suggestions:

First: Don't waste your time with the dealer. Go to the top. I understand Toyota HQ in the USA is in Erlanger, Kentucky, but you should probably double-check that. Address your letter ( and it should be a letter, not a phone call or e-mail ) to:

Toshikaki Taguchi, President and CEO of Toyota Motor, North America. Of course, he will not deal with it. But a letter that has a referral slip from the Presidents office will get much more attention.

Second: If you don't get any satisfaction after a reasonable time, go to the media. Newspapers are always better than TV, because the clipping of the story can be photocopied, mailed etc very easily. Say that you took Toyota at their word that their new technology was ready for the market, but you have had nothing but grief. Supply them with the Name and Address of the person you wrote to at Toyota. It is a great headline - "New Technology Fails Test". The newspaper reporter will phone Toyota for comment and I can guarantee you will get fast action.

 

[Daniel]

Cwynn, what city are you in? I am in Fargo, and I know a lawyer I could ask for a reference. That is, she would know who takes this sort of case, should it go that far.

I'd imagine that Toyota would be very anxious not to get bad publicity this early in the Prius program, and if three tries do not fix it, maybe they would give you a replacement and take back yours to study it and determine what failed. At the very least they ought to give you a Camry to drive rather than that Dodge van.

 

[cwynn]

CEO: Jukitoshi Funo
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.
19001 S. Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90509

So far this is what I've come up with when and if I have to start sending out a letter. I've discussed our options with my wife. I'm going to prepare a letter with invoices confirming the situtuation. We will hold this letter and see what happens next.

The service dept. in at this dealer in Minot ND is trying to resolve the problem. I can not help but think that once the problem is isolated it can be fixed. So far it seems Toyota Service at the corporate level has dropped the ball.

The car became ours Jan 24, 2004. We drove it about a month. It's now been under service on and off for two weeks.