NHTSA Complaint #10488865 — 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS

OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE APPROX 32 DEGREES F. GEAR SHIFTER ON DASHBOARD WOULD NOT ELECTRICALLY SEAL-IN OR STAY IN POSITION AFTER GOING INTO REVERSE, THE FIRST TIME. BACKED CAR OUT OF DRIVEWAY AND SHIFTED INTO DRIVE, IT IMMEDIATELY WENT BACK INTO NEUTRAL POSITION AND WOULD NOT STAY IN DRIVE - ELECTRICALLY. THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP THE CAR IN GEAR WAS TO PHYSICALLY HOLD THE GEAR SHIFTER INTO DESIRED POSITION. PHYSICALLY HELD SHIFTER IN DRIVE POSITION AND PULLED BACK INTO DRIVEWAY. ONCE IN DRIVEWAY, TESTED SHIFTER AND FOUND IT WOULD NOT GO INTO ANY GEAR AND "STAY". AFTER WORK, TEMPERATURE WAS 60 DEGREES F AND SHIFTER THEN FUNCTIONED PROPERLY. DROVE TO TOYOTA DEALER AND LEFT CAR. THEY STATED A TECHNICAL BULLETIN WAS ISSUED BY TOYOTA ON THIS ITEM AS DESCRIBED. TICKET # 490621; PART NUMBER 33560-47023 "LEVER ASSY. SHIFT, WAS REPLACED. PART COST 164.93 AND LABOR WAS 416.14 FOR A SUBTOTAL OF 581.07 PLUS TAX OF 34.33 FOR GRAND TOTAL OF 615.40 USD. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A COLD WEATHER AND AGE RELATED ISSUE. PLUS, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TOYOTA ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DESIGN FLAW ISSUE I'VE ENCOUNTERED, BUT THE FIRST RELATED TO DRIVABILITY AND POSSIBLE SAFETY ISSUE. *TR