Experience with Toyota Motors, Inc.

I am the owner of a 2001 Toyota Prius with 113,000K miles. Many people ask me about my long-term experience with the car, and truthfully, the car has had multiple massive failures (before 80,000 miles the "continuously variable transmission" went out, a part which alone costs $8,500; a month ago I had to have the entire exhaust system replaced, a part which alone costs close to $2000, and right now, it has suffered a complete collapse of the entire hybrid battery system--the parts for which would cost close to $5000).

Toyota makes truly exceptional cars, and has a great reliability record. My car is unusual--a real stinker of a car. But the 2001 Prius--the first model year of that car--has suffered problems at rates much, much higher than would be expected from a Toyota product.

Still, you aren't going to be buying a 2001 Prius. You are considering buying a 2010 Prius, in which the problems of the 2001 have surely been resolved. But the 2010 is a new generation; who knows what the reliability record of it will be? What you need to know is how Toyota Motors, Inc. deals with the few problematic cars that do roll out of its factories. When one buys a bad egg from Toyota, do they stand behind their products, and fix problems that are clearly either design or manufacturing defects?

This blog is here to tell you exactly that, so that based on my own experience, you can decide whether the 2010 Prius is the right car for you.

Stay tuned...