I purchased a 2017 Prius this past January with 90K miles on it. Along with the car, I purchased a gold service agreement. Two days ago my A/C goes out. Took the car to the dealer and after holding it for a day and half and running all kinds of diagnostics, they quoted me $4,400 to replace the damper servos and wire harness. Unfortunately, the gold service agreement doesn't cover any of this. The dealer apparently fought with the warranty company elevating this to their management. I called the warranty company and was directed to the Toyota general assistance line where I spoke with a goodwill "advocate." I laid it all out for him and said I have only owned this car for 5 months. It was purchased from a Toyota dealer, has had all scheduled maintenance (only 1 since I've only owned it 5 months), and I have been a Prius owner for 11 years and never had a problem like this. I also said that the service agreement does specifiy which A/C parts are covered for repairs, but I didn't know what a damper servo was until 2 days ago so wasn't looking for it. It doesn't say that the damper servo isn't covered. Has anyone had luck with these goodwill claims with Toyota? Any other suggestions on how to handle this? This is a faulty part that was very deep inside the car and it really is no one's fault but the manufacturer in my opinion. Thanks for your help.
Sorry; Extended warranties usually only cover power train and ONLY certain parts of the power train . The low failure parts, and is used mainly as a sales tool. I know most, if not all, of those contracts don't cover timing belts. A big thing in pre-2000 cars. If that broke, it would destroy the engine - NOT Covered. A few cars like the new VW 1.5L turbos, still has timing belts. Those damper servos are buried behind the dash board, in the HVAC system. Some requiring removal of your entire dash assembly. While your AC compressor, evaporator, and condenser is probably covered, nothing else is normally covered under such contracts. Unfortunately; goodwill claims are few and far in-between. Look for TSBs, NTSB, and consumer office claims, to boaster your goodwill claim. Good Luck.....
So apparently the Damper Servos are covered under the Platinum agreement. So for those of you playing the home game, get the platinum service agreement if you want the best coverage and peace of mind.
Years ago my 2004 Prius had a problem with the steering shaft and I had it repaired. Then Toyota issued a recall on the steering shaft, but for a different problem and my claim was denied. Then there was another problem in the steering shaft that needed repair and I had it done. Then Toyota issued another recall on the steering shaft so I called Toyota again. It took several iterations and a lot of documentation, but in the end, Toyota reimbursed me for most of my costs. You do have to be persistent, but success is possible. JeffD
That platinum agreement is only good for 6 years or 100K miles. Your car is already beyond that; so even if you had it, it wouldn't apply. Insurance companies has a very, very good idea of when things will likely fail and charge accordingly. Another way of looking at this is, your paying for 3 additional years of bump-to-bumper warranty and/or 64K additional miles. If there's an engine problem, it's only ONE additional year and 40K miles of additional coverage; over and above the original manufacturers warranty. That's over a thousand dollars a year of addition expenses over a 3 year term. That is over and above other normal expenses - that's added to your annual car expenses. These warranties DO NOT dovetail or add onto at the end of the manufacturers warranties, they overlap the manufacturers warranty, making it appear to be a longer warranty than it really is. Toyota Warranty Options | Cost Review
So they reimbursed you for the costs after you paid out of pocket? I can't sit too long for this car and I'm worried if I pay for it I won't have a case to get reimbursed. Thoughts?
Toyota often makes future "warranty enhancements" reimbursable if you already paid for repair. In your case it is a big job requiring dash removal for most servos. If you do pay for repair, consider using a reliable lower cost independent but keep necessary documentation and inform the shop.
