I own a 2006 Prius and am experiencing major electric issues with the car not shutting off and restarting on its own. The car is not supposed to even run without the key fob inside the vehicle, and on 6 different occasions now, I've come out of my house (where the keys have been) to get into my car, only to find it running. I've parked my car and turned it off, and while getting out, I had the car display an error message on the GPS screen that say that I can't open the door unless the car is in park. In light of all the recalls and the indecision over computer glitches causing rapid acceleration, I contacted the dealership.
Koons Toyota of Westminster, the dealership where the car was purchased, is now charging me for a diagnostic check and is saying they have one guy in the entire Toyota dealership that is certified to work on it. Translated, this means I also get to pay for a rental car for up to a week in addition to the repair for any computer-related problem they uncover. They also don't have the part needed to reshape my accelerator.
It amazes me with all the negativity that these dealerships aren't bending over backwards to at least give stellar customer service. If they expect to retain any sort of brand loyalty, they should eat the cost of safety testing the product lines that they've profited on. Although I understand it's not the dealership's fault, it would be an excellent opportunity to rise to the occasion. It's bad enough that in the best of scenarios, we're stuck with $35,000 cars that are now worthless potential deathtraps. By the way, I'm saving my receipts; that way, when they finally admit that these problems are computer-related, I can get reimbursed.
