Prius NIGHTMARE - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Odie · 03-04-2006, 11:19 AM

I bought my PRIUS '03 new.....In October 2005 Union 76 distributed dirty gas.....my Prius was affected and they had to clean inside the engine. Conoco/Philips paid for the job (about $400) We changed gas. Symptoms prior to this was that the car would stall all the time....for 8 months and the dealer could not find out what was wrong all that time until Conoco sent out a press release saying they distributed dirty gas.

A month ago the steering froze up on turns....I drove straight to the dealer with the last bit of steering I had left. They replaced the steering unit....cost (2000 dollars) We paid it.
At this time I had the oil changed and they said the coolant was low. They could not find a leak and filled 'er back up.

NOW....the car gave a loud THUNK! and broke down. It was towed to the dealer. PROBLEM: there was a four inch hole in the engine caused by a rod which also punctured the oil pan....all the oil lost. Currently the car is in the shop....getting the engine torn down....cost 1250 dollars. They called the Toyota rep who asked if the car was well maintained...YES it was. We had to authourize the cost of tear down. We are asking that Toyota pay for this and so far no answer. The cost of this repair will near 8000 dollars we hear. Current mileage on this vehicle 60,000.

We know a very intelligent Toyota mechanic in Canada who said the coolant may have leaked into the oil circulation system and destroyed the lubrication properties of the oil. When the problem became bad enough the piston seized and the shaft snapped.

We were looking at a RAV 4 as our next vehicle before this happened. Let us see if Toyota makes this right.

I LOVE THIS CAR and how it handled.....BUT NOW......
ANYONE WANT TO BUY A USED PRIUS?

Ruffrydasean · 03-04-2006, 12:39 PM

Wow... hope you get straightened out... that's ridiculous.

Tideland Prius · 03-04-2006, 12:58 PM

wow

X72 · 03-05-2006, 09:29 AM

I think that you should be covered by the powertrain warranty, which I believe is 5 years or 60,000 miles.
I am sorry about your other car problems, but they are unrelated to the engine failure. That is something that you simply must firmly in your mind be convinced that it is Toyota's responsiblity. Be firm but without screaming or foul language. If the repair is not totally paid for by Toyota and you cannot find satisfaction at the dealership (keep talking to different people higher up the food chain than your service writer), then contact the Toyota manufacturing representative for your area. If that doesn't work, you will have to get take them to small claims court.

Good luck!!

I agree with that the most likely scenario was a head gasket leak of coolant into the oil leading to the premature failure.

X72 · 03-05-2006, 09:51 AM

Odie, if your car has 60,001 miles and the powertrain warranty is 60 month/60k miles, then your car is technically out of warranty. Toyota should goodwill this repair if you are only slightly over 60k miles. Your ace in the hole is if your last repair receipt shows them charging you for the coolant they added to your car and if the repair at that time had the car under 60k miles, which demonstrates their was a problem prior to the warranty expiring and that they were aware of a problem (they added coolant).
The delay you are feeling now is that if there was any oil left in the engine, they may have seen the oil to a laboratory to see if there is any coolant in the oil (a used oil analysis).

Talk to manager of the service department. Keep talking to people up to the general manager until you get the answer you want.

Odie · 03-05-2006, 10:13 AM

ODIE here....thank you for ALL your responses.....We have been very calm about this whole incident since this happened (with the dealer/ service dept). The last three oil changes on this car were done by this dealer. They did pressure checks to see if there was a coolant leak....none found. They always mentioned the "coolant was low" each time. Each time they just added the coolant and that was that. The car was well under 60K at that time.

Not sure if there was any oil left in the car after the rod punctured the oil pan. I will call them to ask them to check the oil for coolant. They may not want to if they believe it would be their fault! (incriminating evidence?)

I realize the other problems we had with the car are unrelated to our most recent nightmare. I just wanted to give a history on what has happened since getting it. I am the primary user of this car, work two days a week as a nurse in Seattle, drive 60 miles to work; so the car was more of a long distance car. I never drove it harshly or above 65 mph. I think we just got a bad car off the line! IT happens and yes, we may have to eat this bill and start over on vehicles. We just promised ourselves that we would be dedicated TOYOTA people forever after getting this Prius. Hubby is still stuck on the RAV 4 for our next vehicle. Me? I am freaked out over this whole thing!

I never thought I would have to take a LOAN out for car repair! (8k is a lot of $)

Tideland Prius · 03-05-2006, 12:24 PM

Well if it happened during the warranty period, you may contact Toyota and tell them about the situation.

We had A/C problems last last summer around the 60,000km mark (basic new car warranty). It continued after the warranty expired and finally they figured out what's wrong (bad wire.. go figure lol). So we contacted Toyota Canada and they agreed to reimburse half the cost of the repair. Not bad.

Cyorke · 03-07-2006, 10:07 AM

Yeah you need to stay on them about the repairs. If you have had a problem with coolant vanishing since before the warranty expired and they ahve it documented then you ahve a pretty good case to stand on with Toyota.

Another thing to think of is they dont want bad publicity on the Prius right now. WIth the push that Toyota is putting behind all of their Hybrid vehicles. Like others said dont get rude but definitley stand your ground. Call Toyota Corporate and ask to speak with your area dealer rep or anyone else youcan.

Odie · 03-07-2006, 10:26 AM

Does anyone know if a froth develops if the coolant mixes with oil? That is what I last heard. So far the dealer says that "Toyota is interested in the engine". I am not sure what that means or entails but we are praying that they WANT that engine for study and would kindly drop us a new engine into our vehicle.

Thanks again for all the responses.

Odie

Cyorke · 03-07-2006, 10:51 AM

yes a froth will develop when water or coolant mixes with oil. It will make the oil look more like mud than used oil like you normally think of it. Normally oil has more of a black color to it but with water/coolant mixed it will look more brown.

It is good that Toyota is interested in your engine to some extent. It must be the first time something like this has happened or it is happening to often and they are trying to figure it out before it gets to bad. Maybe that will get them to pay for the new engine in your car without to much hassle from you.

Odie · 03-07-2006, 11:13 AM

The supervisor told us there wasn't any froth in the oil. Since we were low on coolant for three oil changes then does anyone know where the coolant was going? We never saw coolant on the ground at all.

Thank you, Chris, for your interest and replies.

Odie

Cyorke · 03-07-2006, 11:44 AM

It is hard to tell where the coolant was going. It is possible that it was leaking and then evaporating before it could leak onto the ground. If that were the case then there would be evidence of it somewhere on the engine block. Normally by co==some kind of crusty pink residue. Since the coolant Toyota uses is red when it dries up it normally turns pink. IT could ahve been leaking into the cylinders througha blown headgasket but if it were to do that then you would normally see some kind of steam/smoke coming from teh exhaust. It is odd that you say they pressure tested it and could not find a leak. Like you said the coolant had to be going somewhere unless they were jsut lazy and said they tested and never did or tested and did not wait long enough to see if there would be any leaks.

Geotpf · 03-07-2006, 03:11 PM

I would call Toyota corporate and see if they can help you. They are fairly protective of the Prius's reliability, so they might cut you some slack.

Odie · 03-07-2006, 06:13 PM

Hi....I will call Toyota Corporation and let them know what has happened. We are not getting any answers yet from the dealer even though the engine is hanging in the shop and being dismantled. We have to have another vehicle sooner than later since we both work and have kids. Any suggestions other than a Toyota???? Thank you.

ODIE

Cyorke · 03-07-2006, 06:47 PM

You should talk to the dealer aobut some kind of rental or loaner program. OR you can try talking to Toyota corporate about it. The dealer has stated that Toyota is interested in your Prius so you should ask if they have any kind of case number on it so when and if you call corporate you can give that case number. Like I said in a previous post you are going to ahve to stay on them They are not going to jsut roll over for you. But I am sure they may be willing to do more since it is the Prius is the Crown jewel right now in teh Toyota lineup.