2016 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

MY WINDSHIELD IS CONSTANTLY GETTING HIT WITH PEBBLES AND NOW HAVE TWO LARGE CRACKS IN MY WINDSHIELD. I AM NOT DRIVING ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN I HAVE SINCE I HAVE OWNED CARS AND I AM NOT SURE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. IT MIGHT BE A DESIGN PROBLEM OR THE WINDSHIELD IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE THE FORCE OF A TINY PEBBLE.

CRACKED WINDSHIELD. NEW MODEL VEHICLE W 10000 MILES WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM AN IMPACT OF A SMALL ROCK OR OTHER ON THE HIGHWAY. NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN, 30+ YEARS DRIVING. VERY THIN AND FRAGILE GLASS AND COMPLICATED EXPENSIVE ELECTRONIC SENSORS WILL REQUIRE 2 REPAIR SHOPS, 7 OR MORE COMBINED HOURS, AND MANY DOLLARS FOR THE REPAIR. TOYOTA DOES NOT COVER THE REPAIR, ALTHOUGH MY CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY AND I HAVE PURCHASED A TOYOTACARE PLUS PREPAID PRENIUM MAINENTANCE PLAN. AAARGH!! FRUSTRATED CUSTOMER! IS TOYOTA GOING TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THESE LOUSY WINDSHIELDS?

I TOOK DELIVERY OF MY 2016 PRIUS IN JANUARY 2016. AT HE TIME OF DELIVERY, THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAYED MPH, HOWEVER THE OWNER'S MANUAL INDICATED THIS COULD BE CHANGED TO KPH VIA A SIMPLE USER INTERFACE ON THE DASHBOARD. I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT SUCH A CHANGE IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR MY CAR, AS IT WAS MANUFACTURED EARLY IN THE 2016 MODEL YEAR PRODUCTION RUN. THE INABILITY TO ADJUST FROM MPH TO KPH MAKES IT DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE TO CORRECTLY FOLLOW THE POSTED SPEED LIMITS WHEN I VISIT CANADA. THIS REPRESENTS A SAFETY ISSUE WHICH SHOULD BE REMEDIED.

THE VEHICLE DOES NOT REPORT SPEED IN KPH, ONLY IN MPH. THIS MEANS THAT EVERY TIME I CROSS INTO CANADA WITH THIS VEHICLE, I HAVE DIFFICULTY DISCERNING WHETHER I AM FOLLOWING ALL VEHICLE SAFETY AND TRAFFIC LAWS OR MAINTAINING A SAFE SPEED. TO REPEAT, WHILE EVERY OTHER VEHICLE I HAVE EVER OWNED HAS A SPEEDOMETER THAT READS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND METRIC UNITS, THIS VEHICLE DOES NOT. IT REPORTS SPEED IN MPH *ONLY*. THIS IS FINE IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT EVERY TIME I CROSS INTO CANADA I'M LEFT GUESSING.

A STONE STRIKE CAUSED A CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. REPLACED IT AND SOON AFTER WE HAD SOME HAIL WHICH PITTED THE NEW WINDSHIELD AS WELL AS CAUSED A HUGE CRACK. ANOTHER PEBBLE STRIKE CAUSED ANOTHER IMMEDIATE LONG CRACK. ALL THESE HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING. THERE HAVE BEEN A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 4 CRACKS ON THIS VEHICLE WHICH WE HAVE HAD A TOTAL OF 12 MONTHS. WE HAVE NEVER HAD THIS KIND OF PROBLEM BEFORE.

THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED WITHIN 3 DAYS OF PURCHASING THE CAR AS BRAND NEW. I DIDN'T HEAR A ROCK HITTING IT AND I CAN'T SEE AN IMPACT PATTERN. I WOKE UP ONE MORNING AND THE CRACK WAS OVER A FOOT AND IT SPREAD FROM THERE INTO MULTIPLE CRACKS. THERE WAS NO CHANCE TO GET THE WINDSHIELD REPAIRED AT ALL AND IT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BUT I DON'T HAVE THE 1300 DOLLARS THAT THE DEALER IS SAYING IT TAKES TO GET IT REPLACED AND THEY CLAIM IT WAS A ROCK AND NOT A DEFECT WHICH I'M DISPUTING.

RODENTS WERE ATTRACTED TO THE SOY-BASED WIRING USED BY TOYOTA AND CAUSED EXPENSIVE DAMAGE BY CHEWING WIRES. TOYOTA HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS WIRING AND RODENT DAMAGE FOR 4 YEARS AND I WAS UNAWARE OF THIS WHEN I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE. THEY REFUSE TO PAY FOR MY DAMAGE AND ALSO REFUSE TO REPLACE THE WIRING WITH NON-SOY WIRING, WHICH MEANS IT COULD EASILY HAPPEN AGAIN. MANY OTHER CUSTOMERS, I DISCOVER, HAVE REPORTED RODENT DAMAGE TO WIRING BECAUSE OF THE SOY-BASED MATERIAL.

THE CAR'S WINDSHIELD SEEMS TO BE SOFTER THAN PREVIOUS MODELS. I HAD THE WINDSHIELD COMPLETELY REPLACED A FEW MONTHS AGO, AFTER A FAILED REPAIR OF A LARGE CHIP. A CHIP REPAIR WAS DONE ON THE NEW WINDSHIELD ON APRIL 7TH. IN THE CAR WASH LAST FRIDAY, I NOTICED SEVERAL SMALL CHIPS IN THE WINDSHIELD. MY HUSBAND DRIVES A 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. HIS WINDSHIELD WAS ALSO REPLACED EARLY THIS YEAR. HE NOW HAS A SIZEABLE CHIP IN THE NEW WINDSHIELD. IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH 2016 TOYOTA WINDSHIELDS, NOT JUST IN THE PRIUS, BUT IN OTHER MODELS AS WELL.

I HAVE A 3 FT. LONG CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD THAT OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY A MONTH AND A WEEK AGO. IT HAS BECOME A SAFETY RISK TO DRIVE AS THE CRACK REFLECTS SUNLIGHT IN MY EYES WHEN DRIVING DURING THE DAY, OR AT THE END OF THE WORK DAY DURING SUNSET. TOYOTA IS UNABLE TO PROVIDE A WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT.

WHILE DRIVING CITY STREETS AT A MAXIMUM SPEED OF 55,ON SUNDAY 4/2/17, MY WINDSHIELD MUST HAVE BEEN HIT BY A SMALL STONE. I DID NOT NOTICE WHEN IT HAPPENED. ON MONDAY, 4/3/16, I NOTICED A SMALL MARK ON THE WINDSHIELD WHICH I MISTOOK FOR A BUG. I LATER NOTICED A SMALL LINE COMING FROM THE "BUG" WHICH I MISTOOK FOR FLUID. BY TUESDAY, 4/4/17, THERE WERE "LINES" IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AND I REALIZED THAT I HAD A CRACKED WINDSHIELD. BY WEDNESDAY, THE CRACK WAS 16" IN LENGTH. I TOOK MY CAR TO TOYOTA SERVICE AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY WERE NOT RESPONSIBLE UNDER WARRANTY; THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS CAUSED BY "IMPACT". THE CAR HAS 8400 MILES ON IT. MY CONCERN IS WITH THE QUALITY OF THAT WINDSHIELD. IF A SMALL PEBBLE CAN CAUSE THAT MUCH DAMAGE, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS AN INFERIOR PRODUCT. I HAVE DRIVEN FOR 49 YRS IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES, THROUGH BLIZZARDS, HAILSTORMS, AND HAD FLYING DEBRIS HIT MY WINDSHIELDS. I HAVE HAD FENDER BENDERS AND BEEN REAR-ENDED. NEVER HAVE I HAD A BROKEN WINDSHIELD. A WINDSHIELD THAT IS THIS DELICATE IS A SAFETY ISSUE. IT SEEMS TO ME, THAT IN THIS WORLD OF PROFIT-DRIVEN CHOICES, THAT THE WINDSHIELDS ARE BEING MADE CHEAPER, AND THEREFORE LESS EFFECTIVE IN TERMS OF PROTECTION. I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF IT WERE MORE THAN A PEBBLE THAT FLEW AT MY CAR. IN CA, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DRIVE WITH A CRACKED WINDSHIELD. SO NOW I AM IN THE PREDICAMENT OF GETTING THIS FIXED IMMEDIATELY. HANDILY FOR TOYOTA, THEY WON'T REPLACE IT GRATIS, SO IT IS A NICE $1,300.00 REPAIR JOB FOR THEM. THEY PLEASANTLY ADVISED ME THAT MY INSURANCE WOULD COVER THE $800.00 OVERAGE OF MY $500 DEDUCTIBLE. WITH THE ISSUE AT HAND BEING MY SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW, I HAVE LITTLE CHOICE. CHEAP WINDSHIELDS MUST CREATE A REGULAR BASE OF REPAIR WORK FOR ALL THE AUTOMAKERS WHO USE THIS PARTICULAR AUTO GLASS. THIS SHOULD BE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF VEHICLE SAFETY.