This is a good post, but the
This is a good post, but the problem isn't all that rare...at least in my experience. It's nearly universally the case that brand new vehicles (i.e. first-year models) have very long wait times for replacement parts.
Now I admit that parts availability shouldn't be an issue on vehicles 3 years old, and I agree that it's a bad situation, but again I'd argue it's not uncommon. When Tundra owners had problems with their air injection pump system (another FUBAR situation like this one), even owners of vehicles five years old had trouble getting parts. Wait times could stretch to weeks or even months.
These are just anecdotes, but ask someone at your friendly dealership about parts shortages. I'd guess they could rattle off a dozen stories just like this one.