Why I Hate my 2006 Prius

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The bulbs are D4R bulbs
(They were $69.99 on line)

Toyota's North American headquarters (1-800-331-4331) assigned me a case number (0905-1132-95) and eventually conceded that $1100 to replace one headlamp was a little expensive – it was supposed to be $1500 for both of them.

Toyota's list price on each bulb is $408.87

15 minutes is pretty fast for a bulb replacement on that car - how did you get 'em in without pulling the assembly? Most guys are saying they popped out the washer fluid tank for the pasenger side. I found it annoying and went through the bumper cover like they do at the dealer.

Toyota's been under threat of a class action over this issue, and I just got a letter from Toyota indicating that "it has come to their attention that they did not offer a competitive price on the bulbs" - so anyone who paid the $1500 to a dealer and kept the receipt can get a partial refund now.

It does not address the fact that they were also unnecessarily replacing the Electronic Control Unit for the headlamps along with the bulbs. It also does not address why the headlamps failed prematurely, but offers advice on how drivers can prolong the life of their headlamps by not using them so much...

So it's really not the car I hate - it's the total lack of customer support from Toyota that I'm ticked at. Basically, I bought almost $40K (counting the options, upgrades, and interest on the loan over time) worth of headache, only to find that when there's a problem Toyota's position is essentially that there is no problem, and even if there is, you broke it so we're not going to be helpful.

I will not buy a new Toyota ever again.

The more I deal with Totota, the more I love my Nissans.
(Bought a new Altima in 2000 and a new Xterra in 2002 - never an issue with either vehicle, and I still have the Xterra)

— LeftCoastCreative

Wow, you got hosed by the dealer. I just replaced a headlight bulb on my '06 Prius. Bulb was $13 and it took me 15 minutes to replace it in my driveway. What the heck kind of bulbs do you have in that thing?

—

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