2017 Toyota Prius

WHILE DRIVING ON I-75 THERE SEEMS TO BE A SPARK CAUSED FUEL TO LEAK AND BURN BACK TIRE AND THE TIRE ROLLED OFF THE FREEWAY PUTTING ALL THE FIVE PASSENGERS INTO A HAZARDOUS SITUATION ON THE I-75 FREEWAY. WE SMELLED SMELL OF TIRE AND GAS LEAK. FORTUNATELY, WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OFF THE FREEWAY. IT WAS REPORTED TO TOYOTA AND THEIR DEALERS MULTIPLE TIMES. NO ONE EVEN BOTHERED OR CONCERNED ABOUT THE ISSUE OR SAFETY OF PASSENGERS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE REAR WHEELS SEIZED. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO A DITCH. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP AND THE BODY DAMAGES WERE REPAIRED SO THAT THE VEHICLE COULD BE DRIVEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO KALISPELL TOYOTA (2845 U.S. 93 S, KALISPELL, MT 59901) FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000.

ON I-75 @70 MILES/HR, WITH AROUND 800 MILEAGE NEW PRIUS, TOYO TIRE OF THE REAR TIRE POPPED OUT AND ROLLED ON THE I-75 WITHOUT ANY WARNING LIGHTS BUT WITH SOME GAS SMELL, PUTTING ALL THE OCCUPANTS TO HIGH RISK OF CRASH ON THE BUSIEST FREEWAY, AND THE AGONY OF THE INCIDENT. I TOWED MY PRIUS TO VALDOSTA TOYOTA, EVEN THOUGH TOYOTA CARE SHOULD COVER ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, THEY CHARGED ME FOR TOWING AND PUTTING NEW TIRE. THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE PRIUS GAS SYSTEM OR TOYO TIRE OF PRIUS. AFTER AROUND 100 MILES I TRIED TO PUT IN GAS, PRIUS TANK DIDN'T TAKE GAS, WENT TO CLEAR WATER TOYOTA AND GOT IT REPAIRED, DESPITE EXPLAINING TOYOTA CARE AND LESS THAN 1K MILEAGE, THEY CHARGED ME FOR REPAIR. CONTACTED TOYOTA CARE AND MY LOCAL DEALER, THEY SAID VALDOSTA AND CLEAR WATER TOYOTA SHOULD NOT HAVE CHARGED. THE DEALERS SAY TOYOTA CARE NEED TO REIMBURSE THE REPAIRS AT LEAST, AS THEY CAN'T COMPENSATE THE AGONY OF LOSING A TIRE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY. TOYOTA CARE DOESN'T EVEN BOTHER TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT AND INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE AND DETERMINE PRIUS GAS SYSTEM OR TOYO TIRE IS UNDER FAULT. EVEN AFTER GOING THROUGH 3 TOYOTA DEALERS AND CONTACTING TOYOTA MANY TIMES, THERE IS NO SOLUTION, SO A) WHO INVESTIGATES THE ISSUE? B) HOW TO ENSURE TOYOTACARE FOLLOWS THEIR PLAN? C) HOW TO BRING RESPONSIBILITY TO TOYOTA OR TOYO, THEIR SUPPLIER, SHOULD BE UNDER WARRANTY AS PART OF THE CAR WARRANTY? D) HOW TO ENSURE THE KINDS OF HORRIFYING INCIDENTS DO NOT HAPPEN TO ANY OTHER FAMILY IN FUTURE?

MY COMPLAINT HAS TO DO WITH A DESIGN "FEATURE" OF MY NEW VEHICLE. HAVING OWNED IT LESS THAN A WEEK, NO RELATED INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED. HOWEVER, I SEE AN UNNECESSARY RISK DUE TO THIS DESIGN. MY NEW CAR, A 2017 PRIUS 4 TOURING, COMES WITH NO SPARE TIRE. THERE ARE THREE PRIUS MODELS LIKE THAT, EVEN FOR THE 2018 MODEL YEAR. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE RELATED SAFETY ASPECTS OF THAT TOYOTA DECISION? IN THE WESTERN US, ESPECIALLY, THERE ARE MANY PAVED ROADS WITH LITTLE OR NO TRAFFIC AND SPOTTY, IF ANY, CELL PHONE SERVICE. TYPICALLY, THEY ARE IN DESERT AREAS, SCORCHING IN THE SUMMER, FRIGID IN WINTER, WITH TOWNS FAR APART. IF A DRIVER OF A CAR LIKE MINE HAS A TIRE BLOWOUT IN SUCH A REMOTE AREA, HE/SHE IS LITERALLY STRANDED. THE SUPPLIED TIRE REPAIR KIT WILL NOT HELP IN CASE OF A BLOWOUT. AVERAGE OWNERS WILL NOT EVEN KNOW THEY ARE WITHOUT A SPARE TIRE UNTIL THEY NEED ONE. MORE THAN AN INCONVENIENCE, THIS COULD BE FATAL TO THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS IN EXTREME HEAT OR COLD. THE DRIVER'S ONLY HOPE IS THAT ANOTHER VEHICLE WILL HAPPEN ALONG TO HELP. A RISK LIKE THAT DOES NOT JUSTIFY A MANUFACTURER'S CUTTING COSTS TO BOOST PROFITS. IMHO, THE NHTSA SHOULD TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS: 1 - ANY CAR SOLD NEW WITHOUT A USABLE SPARE SHOULD BE RECALLED AND RETROFITTED. 2 - MANUFACTURERS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO SELL CARS IN THE USA WITHOUT A USABLE SPARE. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO VOICE MY OPINION. I HOPE YOU WILL AGREE THAT ABSENCE OF A SPARE TIRE IS AN UNNECESSARY RISK.