There is an interesting article in the WSJ today page D2 pertaining to assistance from the dealer and manufacturer in expired warranty expensive repairs. The article takes up about one half of a page in a good experience a Porsche owner had in the replacement of an engine in which the car was out of warranty and what he did to get the help. I once had the same type of experience in which the warranty on my Porsche was out of mi. by 10k and time of 3 yrs. This was about 10 yrs ago. The car needed the ECU replaced. The Orlando dealer and the factory rep worked together to repair the car at no charge to me. Also there is a video, Warranty Fix at WSJ.com/Autos. This information is useful for any make of car including Prius.
I work a lot with manufacturers and if you are a loyal customer who has had all recommended maintenance done at the dealer, they are MUCH more likely to help you out in case there is a failure after the warranty runs out.
