'02 Prius steering rack

My 71 year old FIL paid $1500 today to replace a steering rack in an '02 Prius that's 3 1/2 months out of warranty.

The car has 27k on the clock and is literally driven to church on Sundays. It hasn't been hit, driven over curbs, etc... He babies it and drives it like it's made of paper. The trouble indication was severe shuddering during low speed maneuvering.

I've seen messages around the 'net that allude to a possible warranty extension to this part, but can't find any concrete data, including on Toyota's pay-per-use TIS, to arm him with when he meets the zone manager. I am willing to help him persue this to arbitration, if necessary. The dealer is not being helpful.

Can anyone offer information to help?

There's no way a steering rack on any 39 1/2 month old car with 27k should go completely bad.

Thanks! Barry

Reply to
Bonehenge
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Toyota does not have zones - they have districts and regions. He is probably going to meet with the district service manager. If the warranty is expired, then there will no be any warranty coverage. Any assistance he gets towards the cost of the repair will be goodwill assistance.

His chances of receiving goodwill assistance will be better if he shows that he is a regular service customer with maintenance receipts at the dealership, even if there is no recommended service to the rack. This comes under the "good customer" principle. Like a favored customer at a restaurant who gets preferential treatment or a high roller at a casino, good customers are much more likely to receive goodwill assistance. If you go regularly to your favorite resturant and then go to a different one, it is not reasonable to expect the same treatment as you get at your regular one.

Shouting, screaming, threats of arbitration and lawsuits will get you nowhere, under the principle of getting more bees with honey than vinegar. Politely pointing out that nothing you father did or could have done (if that is indeed the case) to the steering rack could have caused it to fail prematurely, and politely hint that as a safety-related item, he would hope that it would last longer.

Good luck!

Reply to
Ray O

Thanks!

I will pass that along.

Reply to
Bonehenge

You're welcome

Ray O (former district service manager)

Reply to
Ray O

Over the weekend, the FIL found a letter from Toyota extending his steering rack warranty to 5 years. That's GREAT news!

The bad news? He paid out of pocket on Friday afternoon. Monday morning, the next business day for the service dept., Toyota of Wallingford, (CT) refused to refund his money, and directed him instead to Toyota. They don't deny that this is a warranty issue, but state that he should have said so on Friday, and the transaction is now complete.

My stance is that the dealership, A.K.A. "The Professionals" should have KNOWN that this could be a warranty issue, especially since he flat out ASKED on Friday of there were any bulletins covering the problem, due to the circumstances of the failure, and Toyota's reputation for standing behind their cars. He didn't remember having the letter. Mistakes are always understandable, the corrective action is what really counts. The dealership was nice enough to provide him with the address to send the receipts to. Wasn't that wonderful of them?

This guy does ALL his service work at dealerships, even TIRES. Luckily, Toyota of Wallingford is not the only Toyota dealership in the area, the others can now collect guy's service money.

Reply to
Bonehenge

Brother's? (Um, is it STILL Brother's, or has Lia bought THAT, too?)

Reply to
hachiroku

I agree, time to find a new dealer!

Reply to
Ray O

Toyota of Middletown is looking good as a replacement service location.

Reply to
B a r r y

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