S: My car

[Airencracken]

Just hit 85,000mi. Check engine light comes on, also the overheat light. Took it in to have it checked out.

Electric transaxle went bad, that's what's overheating.

Cost to fix?

5850.00

I had one payment left on the ****er.

Sigh.

[DarkFury]

How old is the car?

7 year 100,000 mile extended warranty might have covered it. :shrug:

[Airencracken]

Yeah the car is almost five years old.

Obviously in hindsight an extended warranty might have been a good idea, however that information is useless to me now.

[Kevster]

Yeah the car is almost five years old.

Obviously in hindsight an extended warranty might have been a good idea, however that information is useless to me now.


Yeah the car is almost five years old.

Obviously in hindsight an extended warranty might have been a good idea, however that information is useless to me now.

Holy Double-Post Batman!

That really sucks about your Gen-1 Prius, man. Sorry to hear about that. :(

[Airencracken]

Well, I called Toyota (the company proper, not a dealer) and they're looking into it. Maybe there's a glimmer of hope after all.

[mechmike0034]

Toyota - Oh, what a feeling... :spock:

[ufcrusher]

How about dem dar Pious. (Note intentionally misspelled)

[Airencracken]

To be quite fair, I've never had any other problems with the car. Also the problem seems to be exceedingly rare (after doing some light research) and I'm supposed to get a call from my case worker on the issue tomorrow.

[ray]

To be quite fair, I've never had any other problems with the car. Also the problem seems to be exceedingly rare (after doing some light research) and I'm supposed to get a call from my case worker on the issue tomorrow.

Not sure if you've ever seen this website, but there's a lot of great information and help that you could seek:

www.toyotanation.com

[brainsmile]

Good luck with that

[DarkFury]

Yeah the car is almost five years old.

Obviously in hindsight an extended warranty might have been a good idea, however that information is useless to me now.
Understandable....

However there are "some folks" who make fun of folks who buy the "extended warranties" on vehicles... and this is an example of why on a car, they can be invaluable.

Even on a Toyota... (which is a highly considered brand in cars).

[InfiniteNothing]

Really, it's just a matter of long term winning. Maybe he loses this time if the repair costs more than the warrenty but on the next car maybe he wins and it makes up for this loss.

[Jeffbx]

Cost to fix?

5850.00

I had one payment left on the ****er.

Sigh.

OUCH! I felt that one from here. Keeping my fingers crossed for ya... don't back down!

[Houdini]

Sorry to hear about that! Hopefully things will work out.

I recently realized I was scammed by my stealership during my car's 50k mile free service. Control arm bushings were bad. I knew it and told them. They said they weren't. Then, with "Inspection II" I find out that they are bad (only a few thousand miles later.) Same symptoms, but they want $800 or so to fix. BS

Now my "service engine soon" light is on, a week after the "Inspection II." Probably an O2 sensor or something, but who knows.

IOW, I can sympathize.

[cheapie]

Understandable....

However there are "some folks" who make fun of folks who buy the "extended warranties" on vehicles... and this is an example of why on a car, they can be invaluable.



:shifty:

[Prngr44]

I bought an extended warranty on my '02 Ranger only because I got it for 67% less than a normal consumer because my aunt worked at the dealer. Even then, it was still ~$500 and I didn't get my money's worth from it. I had a power window motor go and it was only ~100ish to fix (- my $50 "deductible.)

My horn goes out while under the extended period... not covered. Wha? $300 to fix it? I'll go hornless thank you.

Best of luck Airen. Sounds like they're at least looking into it.

[DarkFury]

I bought an extended warranty on my '02 Ranger only because I got it for 67% less than a normal consumer because my aunt worked at the dealer. Even then, it was still ~$500 and I didn't get my money's worth from it. I had a power window motor go and it was only ~100ish to fix (- my $50 "deductible.)
Do you buy "Life Insurance" AFTER you die? :D

It's just a protection... just in case. It's good that you didn't use it, however I've sure willing to bet that there were a bunch of other Furd Ranger customers that sure got their money's worth out of their warranties. BTW... was your horn not under the "Bumper to Bumper" coverage? I guess you must've only bought the basic Drivetrain Extended warranty if they didn't cover it during the warranty period. :shrug:

I've had 2 Furds (89 Probe and 96 T-Bird)... and both of them couldn't stay out of the shop for the first 5 years of their life. So far, I haven't had to use my warranty on either my Dodge Ram 1500 or my Chrysler 300C... however it's there "just in case". :thumb:

[chrissy]

We bought an extended warranty on our explorer - didn't go through the dealership because we were told by numerous people and researched various sites to buy one separate from the dealer.

Went with what we found to be the #1 out there... they took our $2000 and the next year, they are out of business. OF course we get notice of this after we make an appointment to have the rear compresser fixed.

Needless to say, the compresser is broke and we are out the $2000 for the warranty.

[DarkFury]

We bought an extended warranty on our explorer - didn't go through the dealership because we were told by numerous people and researched various sites to buy one separate from the dealer.

Went with what we found to be the #1 out there... they took our $2000 and the next year, they are out of business. OF course we get notice of this after we make an appointment to have the rear compresser fixed.

Needless to say, the compresser is broke and we are out the $2000 for the warranty.
Yup... that's the "opposite effect" of a warranty not purchased through a dealer.

Personally... I'll NEVER EVER EVER buy another "aftermarket warranty" simply due to the fact that some dealers act shifty whenever you present one of those to them. I had to CONSTANTLY argue with the local Furd Dealership with my Probe which had a "GE Warranty" on it. GE only wanted to pay a certain amount for a repair, yet Furd wanted to claim a higher amount... and was trying to make "ME" pay the difference. Of course GE still wanted their $50 deductible as well.. so that was nothing but a bad situation all around.

Straight up... if you gonna buy a warranty, get the one sponsored by the manufactuer... only thing is, please know that most warranties are "negotiable" during the deal on a vehicle. Do a little research up front via the internet and you might be able to knock off several thousand on the cost of the warranty and still get the best protection. :thumb:

[Airencracken]

Well, it looks like Toyota is going to pay for the part. I still have to pay for the labor, which is about $1900, but that's much better than $6000.

[InfiniteNothing]

Nice! It looks like Toyota likes to take care of their Prius customers.

[MrGreg]

In the long run, if the average consumer came out ahead by purchasing the warranty, the warranty companies would be losing money. If they were losing money, they wouldn't sell them.

There are certainly instances where individuals come out ahead with the warranty, but on average I don't think it's worth it.

[mechmike0034]

Yup... that's the "opposite effect" of a warranty not purchased through a dealer.

Personally... I'll NEVER EVER EVER buy another "aftermarket warranty" simply due to the fact that some dealers act shifty whenever you present one of those to them. I had to CONSTANTLY argue with the local Furd Dealership with my Probe which had a "GE Warranty" on it. GE only wanted to pay a certain amount for a repair, yet Furd wanted to claim a higher amount... and was trying to make "ME" pay the difference. Of course GE still wanted their $50 deductible as well.. so that was nothing but a bad situation all around.

Straight up... if you gonna buy a warranty, get the one sponsored by the manufactuer... only thing is, please know that most warranties are "negotiable" during the deal on a vehicle. Do a little research up front via the internet and you might be able to knock off several thousand on the cost of the warranty and still get the best protection. :thumb:

Note that many new car dealers sell aftermarket warranties. Like Fury says, avoid them. Buy the factory-authorized (GM Protection Plan for GM for example) warranty if you choose to buy one.

DF already made this point - I just wanted to clarify it.

[Napoleon54]

In the long run, if the average consumer came out ahead by purchasing the warranty, the warranty companies would be losing money. If they were losing money, they wouldn't sell them.

There are certainly instances where individuals come out ahead with the warranty, but on average I don't think it's worth it.
Right, but that's how every type of insurance works.

The question that needs to be asked is if you want to take the risk. Would you rather buy the coverage and probably not need it, or would you rather NOT buy the coverage and take a chance of getting stuck with a much bigger bill? Insurance companies are a bit like Robin Hood. They take a little from everyone and give a lot back to the few who need it. Except, of course, it's usualy volunary and they also take a big chunk off the top for themselves. And they don't carry bow and arrows or rescue fair maidens. Aight, maybe insurance companies aren't like Robin Hood after all. Screw them.

[ray]

That's great to hear Toyota's covering it. When I brought in my 2002 Camry for it's first "major" service in 2004, the service techs managed to screw up my transmission. I had to floor the gas to make the car go on reverse. I brought the car back to Toyota where I had the service and they admitted fault and replaced my transmission for free and offered me a rental car for the duration my car would be in the shop.

I may not own an exciting or performance car, but I have been very pleased with the level of service I've gotten from Toyota of Thousand Oaks and Toyota of North Hollywood.

[DarkFury]

Note that many new car dealers sell aftermarket warranties.
Point taken... I should have said "Manufactuer" not "Dealer" in the quoted post.

I bought my "aftermarket" warranty from a dealer... however when I moved out of town and went to another dealer, I had the troubles mentioned above with the GE Warranty.

[clutchy]

$6000 fix for five years?!?

how bout that gas mileage...:rolleyes:

[InfiniteNothing]

$6000 fix for five years?!?

how bout that gas mileage...:rolleyes:

1. Toyota is taking care of the part so it's not 6K anymore
2. This is a very very rare problem.
3. Does poking at a guy in a suckage thread make you feel big?

[Airencracken]

Well it should take a week to fix and we got them down to 1600, so not so bad. Still a pisser since I only had one payment left, but I'll look at it as four extra unexpected payments.

[cheapie]

1. Toyota is taking care of the part so it's not 6K anymore
2. This is a very very rare problem.
3. Does poking at a guy in a suckage thread make you feel big?

i think he was actually poking at the car. :wavey:

[Cubsfan]

We bought an extended warranty on our explorer - didn't go through the dealership because we were told by numerous people and researched various sites to buy one separate from the dealer.

Went with what we found to be the #1 out there... they took our $2000 and the next year, they are out of business. OF course we get notice of this after we make an appointment to have the rear compresser fixed.

Needless to say, the compresser is broke and we are out the $2000 for the warranty.

Was that Warranty Gold? They screwed me over too.

My current extended warranty is with Nissan.

[Prngr44]

Do you buy "Life Insurance" AFTER you die? :D

It's just a protection... just in case. It's good that you didn't use it, however I've sure willing to bet that there were a bunch of other Furd Ranger customers that sure got their money's worth out of their warranties. BTW... was your horn not under the "Bumper to Bumper" coverage? I guess you must've only bought the basic Drivetrain Extended warranty if they didn't cover it during the warranty period. :shrug:

Ha! :P

That's the thing, it was supposed to extend the bumper to bumper to 6 years, 75k. Evidently there a stupid little asterisk about things like the horn. I probably could have had it replaced had I pushed but I just didn't feel like the battle.

I'd buy it again, like you said for peace of mind, but only if I got the same discount.

[chrissy]

Was that Warranty Gold? They screwed me over too.

My current extended warranty is with Nissan.

No. Through Primeguard. They have bankruptcy cases in both HI and CO right now.

[DarkFury]

Ha! :P

That's the thing, it was supposed to extend the bumper to bumper to 6 years, 75k. Evidently there a stupid little asterisk about things like the horn. I probably could have had it replaced had I pushed but I just didn't feel like the battle.

I'd buy it again, like you said for peace of mind, but only if I got the same discount.
Last time I checked, the horn was still between the bumpers...

Personally, I woulda pushed the issue with them since a "horn" is not a "maintenance item". :D

[clutchy]

1. Toyota is taking care of the part so it's not 6K anymore
2. This is a very very rare problem.
3. Does poking at a guy in a suckage thread make you feel big?


1. Good, do they know about his creative use of vehicle in order to gain more mileage? ala turning off the car and coasting. Honestly i thought airen drove a metro. Does anyone know what turning off a hybrid does to the engine or in this case the electric transaxle?

2. good to know.

3. No, i was mostly pissing on the car.

[Airencracken]

1. Good, do they know about his creative use of vehicle in order to gain more mileage? ala turning off the car and coasting. Honestly i thought airen drove a metro. Does anyone know what turning off a hybrid does to the engine or in this case the electric transaxle?

2. good to know.

3. No, i was mostly pissing on the car.


I've never turned the car off and coasted to get better mileage. Where did you come up with that? That's like the whole point of a hybrid, it turns off the ICE when it's not needed...

[thresher]

I am just freaking out that you had a "case worker" from Toyota. :0 When do you have to replace the duracells on those things?

[Airencracken]

I am just freaking out that you had a "case worker" from Toyota. :0 When do you have to replace the duracells on those things?

Fortunately the warranty for those is longer, but beyond that I don't know.

[clutchy]

I've never turned the car off and coasted to get better mileage. Where did you come up with that? That's like the whole point of a hybrid, it turns off the ICE when it's not needed...


if that wasn't you then i'm crazy, you were the guy who was bragging about getting 60mpg with little tricks like coasting up to stop signs and turning off the car going down hill were you not?

[Airencracken]

if that wasn't you then i'm crazy, you were the guy who was bragging about getting 60mpg with little tricks like coasting up to stop signs and turning off the car going down hill were you not?

That's a negatory Ghostrider.

I have gotten 60mpg before, but that was just because I was on a highway with a 45mph speed limit and I used cruise control and kept hitting green lights. I never turned off the car because it does that on it's own. That's part of the hybrid system.

[clutchy]

then call me crazy. Hope everything works out for you... what's with this hazy crap we've been having :(