NHTSA Complaint #11171475 — 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS

COMBINATION METER DISPLAY NOT ILLUMINATING WHEN THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION IS TURNED 'ON' I HAVE A 2008 PRIUS THAT I MAINTAIN REGULARLY AT AUTHORIZED TOYOTA DEALERS WITHOUT A MISS. DASHBOARD ON TOYOTA PRIUS STOPS WORKING INTERMITTENTLY. WHEN IT FAILS, ONE CAN'T KNOW THE SPEED OF VEHICLE, MILAGE, GEAR (D/R/P/N) ETC. THIS HAPPENED COUPLE OF TIMES EVEN DURING MIDDLE OF DRIVE. WHEN IT HAPPENS, I CAN'T EVEN STOP THE CAR. I HAD DO BIT MORE RESEARCH TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP THE CAR WHEN THIS HAPPENS. I TOOK IT A DEALER NEAR BY THEY DIAGNOSED ITS DUE TO DEFECTIVE COMBINATION METER. THE QUOTED $800 TO FIX THIS. WHEN I ASKED DEALER ABOUT WARRANTY, HE SAID THERE IS A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT BUT IT WILL ONLY COVER 9 YEARS FROM DATE OF PURCHASE. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH ON INTERNET, THIS ISSUE APPEARS TO BE VERY COMMON IN TOYOTA PRIUS MODELS AND FOUND A REFERENCE TO WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT. I NEVER RECEIVED ANY SUCH COMMUNICATION, MORE OVER THIS IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE THAT INVOLVES NO CONSUMER FAULT. I FOUND NO REFERENCE TO THIS IN TOYOTA WEB PAGES IN "MY TOYOTA" SECTION, RATHER FOUND REFERENCES IN INTERNET (ATTACHED). I CALLED 1-800-331-4331 NUMBER THE DEALER GAVE ME, THEY WEREN'T WILLING TO HONOR THE WARRANTY BECAUSE 9 YEARS GONE FROM MY DATE OF PURCHASE. I TRIED TO EXPLAIN WHY ITS SAFETY ISSUE WITH NO CONSUMER FAULT. FIX IS VERY COSTLY FOR CONSUMER FOR PROBLEM CAUSED BY TOYOTA.