2021 Toyota Sienna Sunroof Leak - How Toyota Lost this Fan Girl
2021 Toyota Sienna Sunroof Leak
How Toyota Lost this Fan Girl Over $2500
Recently I purchased the new 2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid. I had been waiting for this new redesign for a couple of years. We currently have a Toyota Prius as the commuter car, and we also had a Toyota Rav4 that was the family car for skiing and camping. I had wanted a minivan to replace my Rav4, but the old Toyota minivan just did not stand up to the other minivans on the market.
When the announcement about the redesign came out, and it was a Hybrid, I was so excited. I had been saving my pennies for this vehicle. Not even the delays of its release due to COVID could extinguish my excitement. In February of this year, I worked with the local dealer, did my test drive, had a tow hitch add, and proudly drove my vehicle home with my excited children and husband.
Before I go into the rest of this story, I feel like I need to pause to tell you where the love of this Fan Girl began.
In the late 1990s and early 2000, when I was a starry-eyed human factor engineering student, Toyota caught my attention when they led the engineering world in “Lean Process,” revolutionizing manufacturing. Lean Process eliminating wasteful practices and improved efficiency. In the engineering world, this concept took on a life of its own, helping organizations stop hiding behind arduous processes. Professors, engineering leaders, and authors used this concept to change manufacturing and apply the principles to industries such as distribution, construction, maintenance, retail, and even engineering of large government systems. You have to understand for engineering students, Toyota stood not only for efficiency but ergonomics and customer focus. They had me at “just in time” engineering practices.
Additionally, this minivan had an emotional connection for me as well. I know it is cheesy, but I did not grow up with a lot of money, and my mom often worked two jobs just to keep us in a decent neighborhood. I always looked at those suburban kids and thought someday I would have a white picket fence life. I believe in a lot of ways; this minivan represented that life to me.
Ok, back to the present.
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I was living the suburban soccer mom’s dream. THEN IT RAINED ON MY PARADE. Well, it did not rain; it snowed first. But I am getting ahead of myself. In March of 2021, we proudly took our new hybrid mini fan up skiing on a beautiful Colorado spring ski trip. I sat back satisfied with my new roof rack holding ski, extended legroom for my children, and great gas mileage. I was content and happy with my purchase. While skiing, a decent amount of snow got on the top of my car. We noticed moisture build-up inside of the front window after our car was sitting outside during a snowstorm. We had to use a credit card to scrape ice off the inside of the front window, and I had to use a towel to wipe down the inside of the front dashboard. I thought that is weird. I had not thought to check our sunroof at this point. It was not till we got home and went through the car wash that I noticed the leaking coming from the sunroof. I then saw water on the cloth of the sunshade as well. Oh no, my perfect new car already had a defect.
“Well, it is a new model year, and they are working out the bug,” I thought. I brought the car to the dealer, who verified the sunroof was leaking. During this time, I also found a thread of others who had run into this problem with the new 2021 Sienna. Others who had this issue had had the sunroof replaced, and it fixed the problem. The dealer I purchased the vehicle from twice confirmed the leak (video). Great, I thought, let’s get this sunroof replaced, and I can move on with the enjoyment of my new car. But things went downhill from here.
The dealer and corporate told me that the car was working as designed. "Sunroof leak Verified Concern. Concluded Normal amount of water dripping. Sunroof track is designed to catch water, then channel water into drain tubes. Sunroof seal is in the correct position.” ( AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe). WAIT! WHAT! I made it clear that I had had water come into the car (not just the gutter tray) and dripping. The water has dripped into the inside of the sunroof shade in the cabin, not just the gutter. I requested to have this resolved before it gets bad enough that other items get wet. I wanted them to be proactive, not waiting till I have severe water damage on the inside. I think we can all agree that water is a powerful force that can cause so many destructive issues, including (not limited to)
Mold issues inside the car
Freezing in this gap where it is leaking (especially in CO) and causing cracks and gaps in the car.
Moisture build-up inside. Again, We had an issue already where we had a build-up of moisture on the inside windows after our car in a snowstorm. We had to scrape ice off the window. I had to use a towel to wipe down the dash and window.
At this point, the dealer told me I had to take this up with Toyota proper because, without their approval, they would not fix it. The short story is that after contacting Toyota via their website and talking to more than five customer service people over several weeks, Toyota’s official answer is that it is not a defect and working as designed. I was told that since the dealer could only confirm the leak into the drip pan and could not recreate leaking onto the materials or recreate the ice or water condensation inside, they would not fix it. I told them, of course they could not recreate that because they were just running it through a car wash for a minute, but I was told repeatedly that the car was working as designed. I asked them to provide in writing that they would not fix this and that the car was designed to allow leaking into the vehicle. I was told no, I could only have a case number and the documentation from the dealer, not from the corporate Toyota case.
I pleaded with them that in a world where it is easy to hide behind process and just say no that instead, they should do the right thing and just fix this. They responded that I should go read the handbook on what was covered under warranty.
I asked them to put themselves in my shoes as a loyal Toyota customer who just spent a lot of money and just wants a car to work properly. According to statista.com, Toyota spent an average of $1.5 Billion on advertising in 2019; this ~$2500 fix would be a drop in the bucket for them. I pleaded with them that in a world where it is easy to hide behind process and just say no that instead, they should do the right thing and just fix this. They responded that I should go read the handbook on what was covered under warranty.
Toyota spent an average of $1.5 Billion on advertising in 2019; this ~$2500 fix would be a drop in the bucket for them.
The thing is, if this had been a TV or refrigerator, I would just return it at this point. But for cars, we as consumers have little power once we drive a car off a lot. Returning a vehicle is not an option; we rely on the maker to do that right thing. So what to do now. Well, at this point, I guess I will have to take the minivan out of the garage when it is raining and try to capture it leaking on video. Toyota has ruined my experience, and I am plagued with buyer remorse and resentment when driving my new car. The only power I have now is writing this and making a different choice of makers for my next car purchase.
Does your state have a vehicle 'Lemon Law'? I used one years ago with new Oldsmobile station wagon (bad transmission design) and they actually had to buy the car back. My son recently used one for a Genesis(sic) (continuous time in for repairs) and they also bought the car back. Check see if law exists and if so, how to apply. In meantime, keep track of EVERY interaction including time spent and especially time car was not available for use. The state here assigned an 'arbitrator' in both instances. Consumer does have to pay for arbitration. Good luck!
ReplyDeletesorry...consumer DOES NOT pay for this!!
DeleteFrom what I was told lemon law only works if they try and fix and issue several times. If they say there is no issue I am not sure what to do.
Delete