08 with 300 miles on it needs new fuel tank?

That sounds like BS. Look at your warranty book to see if the fuel tank is covered.

 

Hi Ryan,

Did your dealer explain why the problem would not be covered under warranty? Unless you had an accident that impacted the fuel tank, or overfilled the tank; any problem should be covered under the 3 year / 36K mile basic warranty and may also be covered under the emissions control warranty.

The MSRP of a fuel tank for 2004 - 2006 models is $350. Hopefully the price for newer models will be similar.

I do not think it is acceptable practice to use putty for the repair of any fuel tanks.

 

Overfill or not, the fuel tank is undoubtedly covered by the comprehensive warranty. The dealer should have no issue filing a warranty claim to reimburse their costs for replacing the tank.

Ask them why they expect you to foot the bill. If the service manager gives you sass, call Toyota corporate and keep moving up the ladder until they capitulate.

 

unless you topped off the tank and overflowed through the charcoal canister, that's a warranty issue. they will be able to tell the difference when they pull it apart.

 

:welcome: Welcome to PriusChat, ryanmorley! A new Prius should be covered by the bumper-to-bumper new car warranty for 12,000 miles or 12 months. At 300 miles, you're probably still on your first tank of gas, so no way you could have flooded the tank through the evap canister. You simply got a defective car.

My advice is to never go to this dealer again! If they try to rip you off after two weeks, imagine what they'll try to do to you at regular 5000 mile service intervals. Go to a different dealer! And call Toyota to let them know how this shyster treats its customers.

 

Actually, I believe that the dealer's service dept will get more by charging you retail prices for the repair vs. the warranty reimbursement that they would receive from Toyota. However I accept your judgment that the dealer is trying to be fair.

Assuming that the warranty claim is denied, I suggest that you take a look at the fuel tank and take some good photographs of the damaged area. See if it is reasonable that the damage could have been caused by you driving over a large rock, i.e., is the damage at the leading edge of the tank nearest to the ground.

If that is not plausible, then your argument should be that the car was damaged in transit from the factory to the dealer (or maybe the tank was damaged before it was installed), and that you should not be held responsible for such damage since you experienced a problem so soon after you took delivery.

If it is plausible that you might have damaged the tank, then it will probably be harder for you to secure warranty relief.

Good luck.

 

If it is indeed "road hazard" damage, check your comprehensive insurance coverage. I would think that would cover it less any deductible.

 

Bummer. These things are just not made for unpaved roads. Good luck, and please let us know how this works out.

 

Hate to be a parrot and ape all of the previous responses, but long story short. It's covered under the warranty, even if you had damage from rock or the road (all of which is reasonably foreseeable).

I'd go get a second opinion. This happened to me with another vehicle. One dealership told me it wasn't covered, but the next dealership didn't blink and covered it under the warranty. AFTER the repair, I told the second dealership that the first had denied the claim. I was told that this was because the first dealership has a number of related warranty claims and was unable to process anymore without arousing the suspicions of the manufacturer. Whether that was true or not, I do know that the second opinion took 5 minutes out of my day and saved me $$$ on repair.