NHTSA Complaint #11191996 — 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS

TAKATA RECALL I AM WRITING BECAUSE MY VEHICLE'S HALOGEN LOW BEAM HEADLAMP BULB LIFETIME IS SHORTER THAN EXPECTED AND TOYOTA SEEMS UNWILLING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE WITH ME. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, I FOUND THAT THE SHORT BULB LIFESPAN IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2010- 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS VEHICLES. I AM NOW CHANGING THE BULBS EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS.TOYOTA OFFICIALLY STATES IN THEIR 'CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM ZHB CERTAIN 2010- 2012 MODEL YEAR PRIUS COVERAGE FOR HALOGEN LOW BEAM HEADLAMP BULBS' THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COVERED UNDER THEIR WARRANTY: IF THE OWNER EXPERIENCES THE CONDITION DESCRIBED ABOVE, HE/SHE SHOULD CONTACT A LOCAL AUTHORIZED TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS. IF THE CONDITION IS VERIFIED, THE DEALER WILL INSTALL VOLTAGE ADJUSTMENT WIRE HARNESSES AND REPLACE THE HALOGEN LOW BEAM HEADLAMP BULBS WITH NEW ONES AT NO CHARGE TO THE CUSTOMER.' WHEN I TOOK MY CAR INTO A TOYOTA AUTO NATION IN HAYWARD FOR SERVICE ON SATURDAY 3/9/19. I WAS TOLD THIS WARRANTY EXPIRED ON FEBRUARY 2019, AND IF I WANTED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM IT WOULD COST BETWEEN $500- $600. I EXPLAINED THAT I HAD A DOCUMENT FROM TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS THAT HAS A DIFFERENT DATE OF OCTOBER 31, 2019. THE SERVICE PERSON SAID, HE WOULD CHECK THE DATE AND EMAIL ME BACK. HE EMAILED ME BACK ON WITH THIS REPLY: 'UNFORTUNATELY AS PER TOYOTA YOUR VIN DOESN'T NOT SUPPORT THAT TSB AND BECAUSE YOUR VIN DOES NOT APPLY TO THE TSB OUR PARTS DEPARTMENT CANNOT ORDER PARTS TO SUPPORT THE REMEDY FOR YOUR VIN AS THEY ARE UNAVAILABLE.' I FEEL THAT TOYOTA DOES NOT WANT TO REPAIR THIS KNOWN SAFETY HAZARD, UNLESS I PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THE PARTS AND LABOR. THE LINK ALSO INDICATES THAT THERE ARE 'APPROXIMATELY 390,000 VEHICLES COVERED BY THIS CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM' AND THAT 'THIS COVERAGE WILL BE OFFERED UNTIL OCTOBER 31, 2019, REGARDLESS OF MILEAGE.' .