NHTSA Complaint #10808527 — 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS

WHILE DRIVING, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL COMBINATION METER THAT DISPLAYS THE VEHICLE SPEED AND OTHER INFORMATION WENT BLANK. AFTER PULLING OVER CAR, I TRIED TO TURN IT OFF USING THE POWER BUTTON BUT IT WOULD NOT TURN OFF. AFTER A FEW TRIES, I HELD DOWN POWER BUTTON FOR 5 SECONDS AND IT FINALLY DID GO TO ACCESSORY MODE, BUT DID NOT TURN OFF ALTOGETHER. IT TOOK SEVERAL PRESSES OF THE BUTTON TO FINALLY GET THE CAR TO SHUT OFF. I TALKED TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER WHO TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND TOYOTA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR THE COMBINATION METER TO 9 YEARS (T-SB-0172-09). UNFORTUNATELY, I WAS 4 MONTHS PAST THE 9 YEAR MARK, SO IT WOULD COST ME $1500 TO REPLACE THE PART. I HAVE SINCE TALKED TO TWO OTHER PEOPLE I KNOW WHO HAVE THE SAME MODEL PRIUS AND THEY HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE IN THE PAST YEAR, ONE OF WHICH WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY AS HE HAD THE PROBLEM BEFORE THE 9 YEAR MARK. THE OTHER WAS IN THE SAME SITUATION AS ME AS IT HAPPENED AFTER THE 9 YEAR MARK. AN ONLINE SEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS IS BECOMING A VERY COMMON ISSUE AND HAPPENING TO MANY JUST AFTER THE 9 YEAR WARRANTY EXPIRES, RESULTING IN A LOT OF UPSET OWNERS. I DID CHECK MY FILES AND SEE THAT A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT NOTICE WAS SENT TO ME A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THAT STATES THAT THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN REPORTED BY A LIMITED NUMBER OF OWNERS AND THAT IF IT DOES HAS HAPPENED TO MY CAR, I DID NOT NEED TO TAKE ACTION AT THIS TIME. IN HINDSIGHT, I SHOULD NOT HAVE FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS AND INSTEAD TOOK MY CAR IN AND INSISTED ON A WARRANTY REPAIR. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE HANDLED AS A RECALL RATHER THAN WITH A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT WITH A LIMITED WARRANTY PERIOD. THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 34000 MILES ON IT.