2016 Toyota Prius

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON THE HIGHWAY AND A SMALL ROCK HIT MY WINDSHIELD. WITHIN MINUTES, A 6 INCH CRACK HAD DEVELOPED. BY THE TIME I ARRIVED AT WORK (ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER), THE CRACK HAS EXTENDED TO OVER A FOOT. I CALLED A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND ASKED IF ANY KNOWN DEFECTS EXISTED. I WAS TOLD NO RECALLS EXISTS FOR MY WINDSHIELD. SPOKE WITH MY INSURANCE AGENT AND REFERRED TO SAFELITE AUTOGLASS FOR REPLACEMENT, SINCE IT COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. THE NEXT MORNING, I DROVE CAR TO WORK AGAIN AND NOTICED CRACK HAS PROGRESS A FEW MORE INCHES OVERNIGHT. BY THE TIME I LEFT WORK, THE LATERAL EXTENDING CRACK HAS NOW STARTED EXTENDING TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD, FORMED A JAGGED C-SHAPE. VISIBILITY WAS NOW LIMITED FROM THE CRACK AND FROM THE GLARE FROM THE SUNLIGHT REFLECTING OFF THE CRACKS. I CALLED SAFELITE AND WAS TOLD THAT THE ONLY REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELD WAS AN TOYOTA OEM, BUT THAT IT WAS ON BACKORDER FOR ANOTHER 3 WEEKS AND AT A COST OF ALMOST $800. FEARING ANOTHER POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITION, I DID NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE MY CAR UNTIL THE WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED. TODAY, I WAS READING PRIUSCHAT WEBSITE AND FOUND THAT MY CASE IS CERTAINLY NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. I AM CONCERNED NOW THAT SINCE I REPLACED MY WINDSHIELD WITH AN TOYOTA OEM PART, I AM AGAIN SUBJECTED TO REPEAT DANGER VEHICLE CONDITION AND ADDITIONAL HIGH COST OF REPLACEMENT.

UNDER T-SB-0144-16. ALOT OF 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS OWNERS ARE COMPLAINING A CLICK NOISE FROM REAR OF VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. I CONFIRMED THROUGH PRIUS CHAT UNDER TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 0144-16 THAT CLICKING NOISE IS FROM THE SUPPORT NUTS ON THE REAR SHOCKS. I ATTEMPTED TO HAVE IT FIX AS A RECALL. THE TOYOTA SERVICE REPAIR IN SAN BRUNO CALIFORNIA SAID MY BASIC WARRANTY EXPIRED & THEY REFUSED TO FIX IT EVEN THOUGH THE ISSUE IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY-RELATED DEFECTS AND THERE ARE ADEQUACY OF EXISTING SAFETY COMPLAINT WITH MANY PRIUS CUSTOMERS VIA PRIUS CHAT/TSB.

WHEN BREAKING WHILE TRAVELING OVER BUMPS/RIPPLES ON THE ROAD OR OVER ROUGH ROAD CONDITIONS SUCH AS POTHOLES OR ROADWORK, THE VEHICLE FEELS AS THOUGH THE BREAKS ARE SKIPPING OR FAILING. THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES UNDER THE SAME OR SIMILAR CONDITIONS. THERE IS A SENSATION WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP, THAT THE CAR IS NOT GOING TO STOP IN TIME OR THAT YOU HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE'S ABILITY TO STOP SAFELY.

WINDSHIELD CHIPPED EASILY AND DEVELOPED INTO VERY LONG CRACK AFTER SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. POSSIBLE SOURCE OF INITIAL CRACK WAS UNSEEN PEBBLE/DEBRIS THAT HIT THE WINDSHIELD DURING FREEWAY DRIVING. REPLACEMENT CLAIMED THROUGH AUTO INSURANCE. THE RAPID AND GREAT INCREASE IN LENGTH OF CRACK IS VERY CONCERNING. MATERIAL DURABILITY MAY BE IN QUESTION.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V672000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER ROBERTS TOYOTA (LOCATED AT 1027 NASHVILLE HWY, COLUMBIA, TN 38401; (931) 388-3006) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

I WAS DRIVING ON I-40W WHEN I GOT A ROCK CHIP ON MY WIND SHIELD. THE NEXT DAY WHILE DRIVING I NOTICED A CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD, NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROCK CHIP, STARTING ON THE LEFT BOTTOM OF THE WINDSHIELD AND CURVING UP TO THE RIGHT FOR ABOUT 6". THIS CRACK KEPT PROGRESSING DAILY AND NOW EXTENDS APPROX. 3/4 OF THE WAY ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. THE WINDSHIELD FOR MY CAR IS ON NATIONAL BACKORDER WITHOUT ANY IDEA AS TO HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO GET IT IN.I WENT ONLINE AND IT APPEARS FROM THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DISCUSSING IT, IT APPEARS TO BE WIDESPREAD AND PROBABLY THE REASON FOR THE BACK ORDER. WITH THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS I'VE BREADTHS SHOULD BE A RECALL. AS A SIDE NOTE WHENEVER MY CAR'S VIN # IS RUN IT COMES UP AS A 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS C NOT A 2016 PRIUS FOUR TOURING. THE TECH AT THE AUTO GLASS SHOP TOLD ME THAT THIS HAS BEEN A RECURRING PROBLEM.

THE OEM WINDSHIELDS THAT ARE INSTALLED ON NEW 2016 PRIUS 2 MODELS ARE CLEARLY NOT TO STANDARD. I HAVE A HUGE CRACK ACROSS MY WINDSHIELD FROM A VERY TINY PEBBLE WHILE TRAVELING AT 12 MPH. WHAT THE HECK TOYOTA??? I WAS TRAVELING ON THE 101 SOUTHBOUND IN LA IN A MERGING LANE MOVING AT A PACE THAT JOGGERS COULD KEEP UP WITH WHEN A STRAY PEBBLE CRACKED MY ENTIRE GLASS.

WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH ON THE FREEWAY, A VERY SMALL ROCK HIT MY WINDSHIELD AND CREATED A CRACK THAT WAS ABOUT 1 INCH BY 1 INCH IN SIZE. MERELY TWO DAYS LATER, I WOKE UP TO FIND THE CRACK HAD EXTENDED 3/4 OF THE WAY ACROSS MY ENTIRE WINDSHIELD AND COMPLETELY UP AND DOWN THE ENTIRE HEIGHT OF THE WINDSHIELD - JUST OUT OF THE BLUE, OVERNIGHT. IT'S NOW DIFFICULT TO PROPERLY SEE OUT OF THE WINDSHIELD AS ONE OF THE CRACKS RUNS RIGHT IN MY LINE OF VISION WITH THE ROAD. FOR SOMETHING SO MINOR TO CREATE SUCH A MAJOR EFFECT ON MY CAR THAT IS NOT QUITE 14 MONTHS OLD IS QUITE DISTURBING.

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). IN EARLY JUNE I WALKED OUT FROM A BOOKSTORE IN OCEANSIDE, CA TO FIND MY WINDSHIELD, ON MY PARKED/STATIONARY PRIUS, HAD ABOUT AN 8 TO 10 INCH CRACK ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. I FILED AN INSURANCE CLAIM WITH AAA AND FOUND THAT WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO USE TWO DIFFERENT VENDORS FOR REPAIR AS WELL AS THE CARLSBAD, CA DEALERSHIP, EACH ONE CONVEYED TO ME THAT THERE IS A NATIONAL SHORTAGE ON PRIUS WINDSHIELDS. THE CRACK HAS EXPANDED ON ITS OWN AT THIS TIME, MAKING THE CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE. IT IS ALMOST ACROSS THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD. I'M RENTING A CAR, BUT MY RENTAL WILL EXPIRE ON JULY 20TH. IF I RENEW THE RENTAL, IT WILL BE AT MY EXPENSE. ACCORDING TO THE CARLSBAD TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, THE REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELD WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 8TH WHICH IS NEARLY A MONTH AWAY FROM NOW. THE CLAIM WAS REPORTED IN EARLY JUNE. DUE TO THIS IMMENSE AMOUNT OF INCONVENIENCE CAUSED BY THIS NATIONAL SHORTAGE, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF TOYOTA CORPORATION WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND PAY FOR MY RENTAL CAR UNTIL THIS ISSUE IS RESOLVED--STARTING JULY 21ST. FINALLY, PERHAPS THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL. YOU CAN E-MAIL ME AT [XXX] AND/OR [XXX]. THANK YOU. *DL