NHTSA Complaint #10369393 — 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS

LEASED A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 3 MTHS AGO. RIGHT FROM THE START GIVES VERY LOW MILEAGE: 39-41MPG AND HAVE BEEN TRACKING IT BETWEEN EVERY FILL UP. ALWAYS FILLED UP 10 GALLONS AND RESET TRIP METER EVERY TIME. GIVES ONLY 390-410 MILES PER FILL UP. COMPLAINED TO THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER AT GREENTREE TOYOTA AND THEY SAY THAT NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THE MILEAGE SHOULD IMPROVE AFTER 10,000MILES. RIGHT NOW THE CAR HAS OVER 5200MILES. FOR THE LAST 2 MTHS, I STARTED NOTICING THAT THE SPEEDOMETER IS READING HIGHER TOO. IF THE ROADSIDE RADAR SHOWS 35, THE PRIUS SPEEDOMETER SHOWS 37 AS THE SPEED. AN OVERAGE OF 2 MILES. SO, IF WHEN I HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR 900MILES IN ACTUALITY, THE ODOMETER WOULD READ 1000MILES AND HENCE THE CAR IS AGING AT A FASTER RATE AS FAR AS MILEAGE IS CONCERNED AND ALSO THAT THE FUEL ECONOMY IS AFFECTED EVEN FURTHER SINCE THE CAR IS NOT GIVING EVEN THE 39-41MILES PER GALLON. THE DEALERSHIP MANAGER CHARLIE MONECO TELLS ME THAT IT IS NORMAL INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR THE SPEEDOMETER TO BE OFF AND THAT THESE ARE NOT CERTIFIED SPEEDOMETERS. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER MANAGER [XXX] TELLS ME THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THAT IT IS WITHIN LEGAL LIMITS FOR THE SPEEDOMETER TO BE OFF. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER TECHNICAL MANAGER [XXX] BLANK TELLS ME THAT THEY TEST DROVE TO LIKE VEHICLES AND FOUND THAT BOTH VEHICLES DID THE SAME MILEAGE AND HENCE THE CONCLUSION THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR. I QUESTIONED THE TESTING PROCESS SINCE THERE IS NO OUTSIDE SOURCE LIKE A RADAR THAT IS CLOCKING ANY OF THE CARS TO TELL WHICH ONE IS AT WHAT SPEED. CALLED TOYOTA MOTOR CORPN. AT 1-800-331-4331 AND SPOKE TO [XXX] AND SHE SAYS THAT IF THE DEARLERSHIP AND ITS SERVICE CENTER IS SAYING THAT THEY CAN DO NOTHING, THEN THEY STAND BY THE DEALERSHIP. TOYOTA CANNOT HELP ME ANY FURTHER. THE CASE NUMBER FROM TOYOTA IS # [XXX] LODGED TODAY 12.06.2010. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR