NHTSA Complaint #11390567 — 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS

A RECURRENT AND HARD-TO-DIAGNOSE PROBLEM I HAVE HAD WITH MY 2008 PRIUS FOR SEVERAL YEARS IS THE FACT THAT THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY (SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAGE, DRIVE / REVERSE ETC.) WILL OCCASIONALLY NOT TURN ON WITH THE CAR ON DAYS THAT ARE COLD AND RAINY. ALTHOUGH NEWER MODELS (2019) BOTH EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE AND HAVE ENJOYED A RECALL FOR THE PART (THE COMBINATION METER) TO BE FIXED, FOR OLDER PRIUSES SUCH AS MINE THE EQUIVALENT WORK IS LIMITED TO THOSE WHO PAID FOR AN EXTENDED WARRANTEE RELATING TO THE KNOWN PROBLEMS OF THIS ONE SINGLE PART--A WARRANTEE THAT I WAS NEVER OFFERED WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2011, AND THAT ENDED IN 2015. THE 2019 RECALL'S INFORMATION IS HERE: HTTPS://PRESSROOM.TOYOTA.COM/?GENERATE_PDF=58021 EVEN IF I HAD PURCHASED THE PART'S EXTENDED WARRANTEE, WHETHER OR NOT I'D EVEN ABLE TO *USE* IT BY DEMONSTRATING TO THE TECHNICIAN THAT THE PROBLEM IS OCCURRING IS QUESTIONABLE, NOT TO MENTION LITERALLY UP TO THE WEATHER. THE PROBLEM BEEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR TECHS TO DIAGNOSE SINCE THERE AREN'T MANY COLD AND RAINY DAYS TO SET IT OFF WHERE I LIVE, NOT TO MENTION IT WOULD OFTEN RESOLVE ITSELF BEFORE THE CAR CAN BE TAKEN INTO THE SHOP FOR DIAGNOSIS. IT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE THIS TIME AROUND BECAUSE THE PROBLEM WAS WORSE THAN IN THE PAST, SEVERE ENOUGH THAT I COULD NOT TURN OFF MY CAR. THE FACT THAT TOYOTA WOULD HIDE REPAIRS FOR A MASSIVE SAFETY FLAW BEHIND A LIMITED-RUN WARRANTY, WHEN THE PROBLEM IS ACTUALLY BROADER AND AFFECTS CARS PRODUCED OVER 15 YEARS APART (2004 TO 2019) IS ONE THING. BUT THE FACT THAT THIS PROBLEM ACTUALLY CREATES A HAZARD FOR THE DRIVER--NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN OFF THE CAR, NOT BEING ABLE TO KNOW IF YOU'RE IN DRIVE OR REVERSE, OR EVEN HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING!-- MAKES THIS LIMITING BEHAVIOR SEEM SOMEWHAT DESPICABLE. I FEEL THIS RECALL SHOULD INCLUDE ALL AFFECTED PRIUS MODELS, BECAUSE THIS IS CLEARLY A BROADER DEFECT.