For Toyota, a ‘green’ lemon

TUCSON — A local woman is invoking Arizona’s “lemon law” for a refund on her 2008 Toyota Prius, alleging the vehicle conked out on her after just 60 days on the road.

The hybrid vehicle is one of the most talked-about models from Toyota. Its fuel efficiency has driven American competitors to follow up with their own versions, even as their companies head toward financial ruin. Some say the Prius’ example could bail them out.

Julie Chambers, however, disagrees. In her three-page lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court, she says the vehicle was inoperable for so long that the case falls under the Arizona Motor Vehicles Act, widely known as the Lemon Law.

The suit names Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. as the defendant. It claims that on March 12, Chambers bought a new Prius from Allstate Vehicles in Tucson. She received a bumper-to-bumper, three-year or 36,000-mile warranty with the purchase.

On May 12, “several of the Prius’ warning lights were activated shortly after [Chambers] started the vehicle,” the complaint states. “She drove about one half-mile and the vehicle subsequently ceased to operate. Specifically, the vehicle would start but not move forward.”

Chambers had the vehicle towed to Desert Toyota in Tucson on the same day. She claims the dealer was required to honor the warranty but did not do so.

The Prius was inoperable for 112 days, she claims. This far exceeds the minimum 30 days for which the dealership has to cure the vehicle under the state’s Lemon Law.

Chambers is asking a judge to intervene. She is represented by Scottsdale lawyers Luis F. Ramirez and Shalev Amar.