MOLD on passanges floor. HELP!!

[MoldyHL2008]

I need some help folks!!! I am a desperate damsel in distress. I have moisture and mold on my passangers floor and the dealership is giving me the run around. I own a 2008 Highlander and purchased it almost one year ago. It is a preowned car and i bought it from the dealership. It has the preowned warranty and it was Toyota certified. It has around 60,000 miles.

I have taken it in twice to the dealership and so far this is what they told me about my problem:
- It is not an A/C issue
-It is not the plugs in the floor by the firewall
-"Apparently" there is water going down between my windshield and my hood.It then goes down on the side by the passengers door and down towards the floor of the car.

The dealership refuses to address my problem, and have advised me that this issue is not cover by the warranty. I told them this is not right, this car should have passed all their inspections, and there is a problem with how the winshield and caps were installed. They say that because the windshield is not a "Toyota" windshield and the car came with a non Toyota windshield they cannot cover it. I told them this is not fair, because who out there is checking every single piece in a Toyota that they buy to make sure that is all Toyota pieces.

Somebody please give their thoughts and recommendations. So far i am being told to replace completely the windshield and hope for the best!

P.S: the night that i bought it. I was going home and none of my lights,turning lights, and head lights would work. There was an issue with the fuses. Shouldn't this have been caught by their "Certification"????

[kkovak]

Although it sounds like your HL has more issues than just the water.

The water issue sounds like my Dodge Caravan. When rain runs down the windshield it enters in the "cowl" area that has two drains with short length hoses (1 on either side) that direct the water thru the engine compartment and away. These drains and hoses can get clogged from pieces of leaves, dirt, etc. When they get clogged the water will spill over into the passenger side floor. On they Caravan they are easy to clean and I do it on a regular basis. Perhaps the HL suffers from the same issue. As for the lights???

Ken

[JMSinMD]

Search for a recent post that was related to the A/C system. When I was a Toyota service advisor I also saw this happen with some cars and the moonroof drains getting clogged.

FYI, I used to work with the mechanic that would certify vehicles to be in the certified program. There were MULTIPLE vehicles that he would not pass due to sludge, major collision, etc. The sales department would forge his signature on the paperwork and sent it to Toyota Motor Sales as being a vehicle up to their certification standards. I saw vehicles with crushed roofs, etc being fixed and resold as certified.

Check the CarFax on the vehicle and/or take it to a body shop and ask them if they see any signs of previous major damage.

[naturoses]

Forging signature of certifying authorities

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by naturoses

Forging signature of certifying authorities

Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota.....ultimately they're all independently owned dealerships and I trust all of them as far as I can throw them. When you find a good one that's fairly honest, you've done well for yourself. IMO. Thank, God, for independent mechanics.

[naturoses]

Originally Posted by TrailDust

Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota.....ultimately they're all independently owned dealerships and I trust all of them as far as I can throw them. When you find a good one that's fairly honest, you've done well for yourself. IMO. Thank, God, for independent mechanics.

Do not you lose your warranty and stuff like that if you go outside Toyota dealership for oil changes, tire rotation etc., etc.,

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by naturoses

Do not you lose your warranty and stuff like that if you go outside Toyota dealership for oil changes, tire rotation etc., etc.,

Nope, as long as you have the documentation to prove your vehicle has been serviced at the appropriate service intervals, there's no warranty issue. Most independent mechanics will do it anyway, but you can always pull out your service manual chart that's included with your owners manual, etc., for your independent mechanic to sign. On top of that, you have your sales receipts as additional documentation.

[Thunderchief]

I think the best bet is finding the source first. Have someone go down on the floorboards and someone outside with a hose. See if your hunch is correct. Did you get a carfax? Make sure no flood history and stuff. If it is a windshield leak, it should be easy to fix but then you need to address the mold thing which is not fun. Step one find the source and stop the water.

[MoldyHL2008]

Thank you everybody for your quick response and recommendations. I would like to give you a quick update on my situation.

Today I took my HL to a windshield place to get it checked out. Since the dealership said the problem was the windshield I wanted a second opinion. The windshield company did a water test and determined that the windshield is not leaking. The leak is coming from "the connection between the right side fender and the inside of the car. Creating the drainage system to overflow and leak in to the floor."

I took it back to the dealership and showed them the paperwork i received from the windshield company. The dealership said that to prove that this is the problem we need to remove the fender and then determine what the problem is and repair it. This will cost me! $220 and then who knows what the repair would cost me. They refuse to pay for any of it. They say that this is not cover by the warranty even tough I have the Platinum Warranty.

So.... After talking to service manager, body shop manger and customer relations person, they cannot help me out. They have also told me that they still think is the windshield, but refuse to do a test, install a new windshield and warranty the work and/or look in to the fender issue.

Anybody has encounter a problem like this with their warranty and fenders/body? This car has never been in a wreck or flood.

Thank you all!

[ktmd]

1. Please post the name of the dealership and the service manager you have been dealing with as a public service. This way none of us will make the mistake of ever dealing with them.

2. Talk to Toyota Corporate about your issue - it can't hurt. You may want to mention that you see this as a serious safety issue. How can anybody be sure it is not if the problem has not yet been fully diagnosed? Is Toyota absolutely certain that the water ingress will not affect any of the critical electronic components behind the dash or in the engine compartment?