Prius defect shows contempt for customers

No wonder Toyota's little Glitch-mobile has been unseated by Honda's Fit for the top spot in Japan.  Part of the recent parade of Prius defects includes a troublesome tendency for the headlights to malfunction.  Just imagine.  There you are, goin' down the road at night when the thing suddenly accelerates, brakes fail, and the headlights go off.  Okay.  All three at the same time might be unlikely.  Point is, Toyota's glitches seem to be catchin' up with the Recall King's sales, even on home turf.

But the finer point goes beyond lousy products.  Toyota refuses to get it right when it comes to customer relations.  Bad headlights - obviously bad based on the number of complaints to NHTSA - become the subject of a class action lawsuit instead of a good faith effort on the part of Toyota to correct the problem.  Based on my experience with the Recall King, I wasn't surprised that customers were hassled at dealerships.  Oh what a feeling...

Ah, the Toyota Way.  Force folks to sue, then work out a settlement whereby Toyota avoids admitting that there was a defect.  A jury never rules on the issue, and Toyota avoids a recall.  Slick stuff.  "Number One for a Reason" indeed.
http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20110121/BUSINESS02/101200355/-1/RSS04