Windshield Seal question - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Chris311 · 10-28-2011, 08:43 PM

I had posted this on accident in a thread in the Tacoma section, so I am posting it again here. My car is a 2009 Camry SE V6.

Yesterday going home was very windy, with gust of winds up to 30mph. On the highway I started to hear a bashing metallic sound above the rear view mirror. A sound similar to a metal roofed shed in the wind, banging against the sides, or taking a large flat piece of aluminum and flapping it around. (Think thunder sound effects used in school plays) I couldn't find anything in the cabin that was making the noise. I was grabbing everything that I could that may have been loose, but the sound still continued. It only occurred when there was a strong gust of wind.

When I got home I inspected the outside of my car, above my rear view mirror and saw that the seal in that area of my windshield had cracked and caved it, producing a gap underneath the sheet metal of the roof. Could this be what was causing the noise I heard? Was air getting into that crack and flexing the shaking the sheet metal? The metal seems very stiff, so I am not sure if strong winds could even move it at all.

Also, for the past month or so whenever it rained my car would have a strong mildew smell inside of it. Could this be the cause of that as well?

One last question. I have the extended 75,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty and was wondering if repairing something like this would be covered?

If you have other suggestions of where I should look, please let me know. I can't think of anything on the car that would cause this sound.

Here is a picture I took. I adjusted the contrast to make the cracked seal more visible.

Thanks,
-Chris

Luna2 · 10-29-2011, 02:03 AM

It is possible after your accident, that that seal was damaged or the glass to body seal was compromised. But that seal shouldn't cause the noise you heard. IDK for sure...

I would also check for evidence of a stopped up drain hose from the AC, AND all four drains from your moon roof. (Wet carpet in the front and back/trunk area.) If one of the four hoses came loose in the headliner, it would be leaking and running down one of the pillars to the floor.

Chris311 · 10-29-2011, 02:12 PM

I wasn't in any accidents, you have me confused with someone else.

I will check the AC hose and check my trunk for water leakage. I will take it through a car wash and see if that produces the mold smell. (As you can tell in my picture, it has been a while since my car was washed, lol)

I plan on going to the dealership next week if I have some time.

Luna2 · 10-29-2011, 02:36 PM

I would dig through your paperwork to verify the covered items. The extended warranty's come in many different "flavors"...

***JohnGD*** · 10-29-2011, 06:27 PM

The actual seal for the windshield is under the black painted portion of the glass. It's a strong structural caulking and it doesn't like UV (that's why the black paint on the glass). The rubber seal is primarily for wind noise. See if the warranty covers something like that, or at least make sure they don't charge you $100 just to look.

You can also try taping that area temporarily with blue masking tape and see if the noise disappears. Just don't let the tape sit in the sun or the glue might stick to the paint.

As far as the mildew smell, make sure the evaporator drain hose is not blocked by spider web and debris. If leaves and debris got under the cowl cover they can rot there and give off a smell too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris311

Yesterday going home was very windy, with gust of winds up to 30mph. On the highway I started to hear a bashing metallic sound above the rear view mirror. A sound similar to a metal roofed shed in the wind, banging against the sides, or taking a large flat piece of aluminum and flapping it around. (Think thunder sound effects used in school plays) I couldn't find anything in the cabin that was making the noise. I was grabbing everything that I could that may have been loose, but the sound still continued. It only occurred when there was a strong gust of wind.

When I got home I inspected the outside of my car, above my rear view mirror and saw that the seal in that area of my windshield had cracked and caved it, producing a gap underneath the sheet metal of the roof. Could this be what was causing the noise I heard? Was air getting into that crack and flexing the shaking the sheet metal? The metal seems very stiff, so I am not sure if strong winds could even move it at all.

Also, for the past month or so whenever it rained my car would have a strong mildew smell inside of it. Could this be the cause of that as well?

Chris311 · 11-03-2011, 02:39 PM

Looking at it today I noticed that I could pull the seal up. Just wanted to share this picture. I couldn't really see down into the crack as I couldn't lean over that far with a light.

Also, the seal that runs along the length of each side of the roof is fading and turning white on the passenger side. Has anyone else seen this before?

Car was purchased February 2009 and I hope the dealership doesn't say it is normal wear and tear for both seals. My old F150 with 120K miles had seals that looked brand new when I traded it in for my RX8.

Chris311 · 11-04-2011, 08:24 PM

Took it to the dealership today and had them look at it. They want me to bring it back in on the 14th and keep it for a few days, maybe even up to a week. They want to take pictures, remove my windshield, and document the damage as they have never seen something like this before. They want to get a hold of Toyota HQ and let them know about this problem as well. They also said that it is covered under warranty and will give me a loaner car for free for as long as they want to keep my car.

The guy also said that they will check the car for any place that water might accumulate causing the mold smell, including the A/C drainage pipe. He said that it won't be any extra charge for them to clean that out as well. If they find water damage in a part of the car that they have to remove body panels to access, there might be a charge if the cause is not covered under my warranty. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

The only downside is that this dealership only has corollas and Priis as loaner cars and I told him that because of my bad hip I do not fit very well in a Corolla or Prius. (Grandparents have a Corolla and I have to put the seat all the way back, and lean it back to where I am looking out the back driver side window to be able to fit my legs in the footwell.) He said he may be able to get me a Tundra instead.

***JohnGD*** · 11-04-2011, 09:23 PM

that's what warranty is for. I'm glad the dealer is being responsible and not charge you "just to look".

Chris311 · 11-07-2011, 10:46 AM

Now my battery may be dieing. Going to take it to the dealership after classes today and have them test it. (If i make it)

Last night while at the gas station car wouldnt start. Opened hood and found lots of corrosion on the Positive terminal. Cleaned it off and called my mom to come jump start it. Took about 20 minutes for the battery to charge enough to be able to start it. Drove it home, which takes about 20 minutes which I thought would be long enough to fully charge the battery.

This morning I got up early to start it incase it wouldn't start and I would have to borrow a friend/family member's car, and she barely started. Cranked and sputtered for a few seconds and then finally started.

So now for the past hour I have let it idle in the driveway for an hour and am going to be leaving for classes soon. Hopefully when classes are over it will start so I can take it to the dealership.

Good news is that I called the dealership and they said the battery is still under warranty and there wont be a charge if it needs replacing.

My guess is that the corrosion on the positive terminal was not allowing the battery to charge. The hydrometer is showing a "green eye".

Also edited my second picture I posted of my seal, I thought I had it in my public drop box folder before. So you all should be able to see it now.

Chris311 · 11-15-2011, 01:22 AM

Got a new battery under warranty, that was handled really well.

I dropped the car off today and picked up the loaner car. A 2011 Sienna Le V6. Right off the line it is peppy, but once in second gear the Sienna really shows its weight. I guess I am just spoiled by how quick my Camry is. It has lots of gizmos I was playing with. It has a lot more electronic options than my Camry. I'm just glad it wasn't a Prius.

The dealership also said that they will run a water leak test (dont know what is involved) and check my A/C drain lines to figure out what is causing the mildew smell. I had a battery in my trunk inside of a cloth zipper bag that had its batteries completely rusted. Not sure if water got in it or if it was caused by high humidity. There was no other signs of water in or around the bag, or anywhere else in the trunk where the bag is store. (It's in a trunk holder attached to the ceiling of the trunk that came with the car. It also contains a first aid kit and tire air pump)

Chris311 · 11-16-2011, 01:56 PM

The dealership didnt fail me, but Toyota did.

The dealership called Toyota to confirm that the seal would be replaced under warranty, and Toyota said yes the seal would. However, Toyota also told the dealership that I would have to buy a whole new window assembly as they don't sell the seal separately.

So what the dealership did instead was buy an aftermarket seal and reinstalled the window with that. They aren't going to charge me for that.

However, the service guy working with me did try and get the money they lost back on the aftermarket seal. I had told him that I also wanted the interior of my car detailed as it was pretty nasty. The week before I had called them twice and spoke with two separate service managers on the price of just an interior detail. Both of them quoted me $99, however the manager working with me with the windshield said that it cost $149 for an interior detail. After telling him that two other managers gave quoted me $99, and even giving him the name of one of those managers he then decided to give me the price of $99.

I have a friend that works in their detailing/make-ready department that I will call and ask her what their prices are. (I tried calling now but she is on lunch break)

They also couldn't find any leaks and all of the drainage lines were really clean. They have no idea what could have caused the mildew smell. The service manager says that it may have been a fluke, but to bring it in again if the smell comes back.

Chris311 · 11-19-2011, 02:55 PM

I got the car back yesterday and they did a good job on the seal. The windshield is even and the seal is straight. Looks Just like the factory seal.

However, the detailing is not so good. I called them back and ended up doing a full $200 detail as there were a lot of tiny scratches on the outside that needed to be polished out.

When I picked up the car I pointed out a few interior spots where they missed. dirt on the steering wheel, dirt on the door grab handle, dirt on the headrests, dirt on the shifter. And I am not talking just a little, it was like as if they didn't even try to clean them. They took the car back and after just 5 minutes brought it back up the the front and all of the places I pointed out looked brand new. This shows that the first time around they were just lazy.

I checked the outside but there was an over cast and you couldnt really see that we'll, especially with my car being Mag Grey. So I paid and signed.

Today the sun is out and shining and I can see a lot more lazy mistakes. The wheels aren't clean. Some places on the wheel are even black, and you can see brush strokes where they just ran a wheel brush over it. The back window has over spray on it from the wax/polish. The side windows have a thick line of grime and dirt where it meats the seal. They probably didn't even roll down the windows.

On the interior I found more stains they missed onthe light gray plastic areas.

I tried calling them back, and left a message, but am now waiting for a reply.

Should I ask for a refund/partial refund, have them re-do the car, or make them pay to have it taken to another detail shop to get it done right?

Chris311 · 11-21-2011, 02:11 AM

They want me to bring it back on Friday and they will redo the detail over the weekend. If they can't do it right this time I think I am going to ask for a refund or ask for them to pay to have the car detailed somewhere else.

If they refuse, my credit card company has been really good in the past about getting money back from places that have ripped me off or did not provide a service they promised.

Chris311 · 11-21-2011, 03:48 PM

We got some rain today and when I got to the campus I noticed that after parking, the water was not beading up on my hood. I thought that was strange since my car was suppose to have just been waxed on Friday.

I had a piece of cloth in my car to wipe down the inside of my window when it starts to glare up that I think is 100% cotton, so I did the trick of pressing down and rotating it in a circle and it squeeked when I did this which is another sign of no wax.

I then did a third check. I have a few paint chips on my front bumper and I used my fingernail to scrape the metal and all there was, was metal. It was rough and dry, not like as if wax was applied.

So I called my service manager and asked him if I could take it to another shop and have them pay the bill instead of me bringing it back in again to see if they do it right the second time. I told him that I don't think my car was detailed at all, that they just did a normal wash and wipe down of the interior. He said that his manager will want to have them detail it again before they go that route. He said that he will also assign a publics relationship officer to my case that will be there when I drop my car off on Friday. Not sure what a PR Officer will be able to do.

eighty5iv · 11-22-2011, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris311

So I called my service manager and asked him if I could take it to another shop and have them pay the bill instead of me bringing it back in again to see if they do it right the second time. I told him that I don't think my car was detailed at all, that they just did a normal wash and wipe down of the interior. He said that his manager will want to have them detail it again before they go that route. He said that he will also assign a publics relationship officer to my case that will be there when I drop my car off on Friday. Not sure what a PR Officer will be able to do.

Maybe they want to use the PR Officer to sell you the idea that they are doing it right? lol. jk. Either way I hope you get the issue resolved. Seems like they are making a good effort to get it done right.