2001 Toyota Prius

I OWN A 2001 PRIUS. MY CAR HAS THE SAME PROBLEM FOR WHICH THE NHTSA ISSUED A SAFETY ALERT IN 2005, FAILURE OF THE MAIN COMPUTER, RESULTING IN THE GASOLINE ENGINE'S SHUTTING ITSELF OFF. THE COMPUTER FAILED AFTER ONE YEAR OF SERVICE. IT TOOK TOYOTA 18 MONTHS TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. I HAVE INVOICES DOCUMENTING ALL THE EVENTS THAT OCCURRED. THE DEALER HAD ME REPLACE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ASSEMBLY AT MY COST OF $450 AND REPLACED THE WRONG COMPUTER (THE ONE CONTROLLING THE POWER STEERING). THIS MONTH I GAVE UP AND HAD A COMPETENT DEALER REPLACE THE ECM. THE DOCUMENTS I RECEIVED INCLUDED TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN OF JUNE 12, 2003. THE BULLETIN STATES THAT FOR THE ECM IN THE 2001-2003 MODEL YEAR PRIUS THE ECM PART NUMBER HAS BEEN REVISED. THE RELEVANT INFORMATION TABLE IS LABELED "PRODUCTION CHANGE INFORMATION." IN OTHER WORDS THE ECM IN MY CAR WAS DEFECTIVE FROM THE TIME THE CAR LEFT THE FACTORY BUT TOYOTA IS REFUSING TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS BECAUSE NOW THE CAR IS TOO OLD. THIS CAR IS A LEMON. IT IS ONE OF THE FIRST PRIUS GENERATION MARKETED IN THE U.S. THE POWER STEERING HAD TO BE REPLACED TWICE. THERE WERE 2 OR 3 OTHER RECALLS AS WELL. HOWEVER, I AM A RETIRED PROFESSOR AND NOW THAT I HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM AT MY EXPENSE I NEED TO KEEP THE CAR IN ORDER TO GET TO MY PART-TIME TEACHING JOB. THE REPAIRS TO THE ECM ALONE HAVE COST ME $1848.19. I WANT TOYOTA TO REIMBURSE ME. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN PROVIDE. BY THE WAY, A SAFETY ALERT ON THESE MODELS AS USED PURCHASES MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA. G.JAY WEINROTH *TR

REPEATED INCIDENTS OF STALLING OF THE GASOLINE ENGINE. BATTERY CONTINUES TO FUEL VEHICLE AT LOW SPEED. WILL RESTART AFTER SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF. CONTINUES TO DO THIS AT ANY AND ALL SPEEDS. HAVE HAD VEHICLE GAS TANK BLADDER REPLACED AT OUR EXPENSE (OVER 600.00) COMPUTERS REPLACED (MULTIPLE) ON RECALLS. NOT ONLY A NUISANCE BUT VERY DANGEROUS. DEALER HAS GIVEN NO HELP IN FINDING THE CAUSE. *NM

PROBLEMS STARTED IN NOVEMBER 2003. HAD OIL CHANGED AND AN HOUR LATER ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON IN THE VEHICLE. IMMEDIATELY RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE IT TOOK 2 WEEKS TO REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP (37,000 MILES). SINCE THEN THE CAR HAS BEEN BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AN ADDITIONAL 9 TIMES TO THE CURRENT DATE (MAY 2005) FOR SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS. THE COMPUTER HAS BEEN REPLACED TWO TIMES. THE ENGINE HAS BEEN REPLACED. THE INJECTORS CLEANED, THEN A FEW MONTHS LATER HAD TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED. THE THROTTLE BODY HAS BEEN REPLACED. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR WHEN IT WOULD NOT ACELERATE AND HAD TO PULL OVER IN TRAFFIC. THE FIRST TIME THE DEALERSHIP SAID THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS WHEN THE CAR GOT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY COULD NOT RECREATE THE CODES OR SITUATION SO THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING. THE SECOND TIME (APRIL 2005) ALL FOUR INJECTORS WERE REPLACED AS WELL AS THE MASS AIR FLOW SYSTEM. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT OUR TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR A TOTAL OF 17 TIMES SINCE THE CAR ARRIVED AT APPROXIMATELY 180 DAYS!!! 10 OF THOSE 17 TIMES HAS BEEN BECAUSE THE WARNING LIGHTS HAVE COME ON. HAVE ENTERED INTO ARBITRATION AND WE ARE AWAITING AN ANSWER ON THE DECISION.

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING FUEL IN VEHICLE IS CONSUMED FASTER THAN IT SHOULD BE. THE GAS TANK HAVE BEEN REPLACED TWICE, AND THE VEHICLE IS IN THE SHOP AT THIS TIME FOR ANOTHER FUEL TANK. CONSUMER FEELS THAT VEHICLE MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED DURING TRANSPORT TO DEALERSHIP BECAUSE THE FRONT END IS OUT OF ALIGNMENT. VEHICLE HAS HAD FIVE FRONT END ALIGNMENTS SINCE OWNERSHIP. *AK