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The same thing happened again on 1/8/09.the car wouldn't restart. I had it towed to a dealership and toyota's New York Headquarters told the dealership not to give me back the car until they sent their own field technician to check it out. The technician pulled apart the electrical system and found out that there were two alarm systems on the car. the second alarm was tied into the same circuit as the main fuse. I was totally astounded because when I bought the car, I was told by the finance director that there was no alarm system on the car and I agreed to purchase an off the market system from them for $575. The dealership agreed to remove and refund the $575 and reimburse me for towing fees. Well weeks went by and I was notified that if i wanted a refund, I would have to sign a release that absolves the dealership of any liability if there any long term damages. I didn't sign the release and I didn't get my refund.
In June, I had to take the car back to the dealership because there was a leak which was caused by a clog in the AC drain. The entire cabin floor was saturated. Toyota agreed to replace the carpet in the car( which had to be shipped into the country). I have asked Toyota to replace this car again being that there has been so many problems with it but they refused. They claimed that it isn't their policy to replace cars but they will repair defects under warranty. This has been a learning experience. Within a month, there was another leak, and the interior was soaked again. After 18 months of ownership, I had enough. I was disgusted by the way Toyota addressed my concerns. I traded in the car. I lost a few thousand dollars on the trade but it was worth it. Toyota wasn't concerned about my safety and the reliability of their vehicle. I will never recommend toyota nor will I ever own another Toyota.
I took it to Toyota and the manager basically said that this is the dirt getting into clear coat and making its way thru to the metal. He said something about acid/clay bath to get rid off the smaller ones. He said it is especially vsible on lighter colors cars ....which makes sense. If I had black, I would not be able to see it .
Anyway, my take on the whole thing is that the finish on my car is not adequate and some corners were cut. My 10 year Avalon which is subjected to the same conditions is yet to develop one of these spots. I am not clean fanatic and did not buy a car to wash it every other day.
Anyone else seeing problems in this area ?
What the dealer may be talking about is rail dust. During shipping contaminants, such as rail dust (yes bits of metal from cars being delivered by rail) embed themselves in the surface of the paint, and if left, will start to rust. How to get rid of them, is to use a clay bar, which is available from most auto shops, or online retailers. Section at a time, spray the paint surface with a special solution (I just use my auto soap diluted with water in a spray bottle), and, rub the clay and voila. I do this will all my vehicles, at least one per year. Paint is left as smooth as a baby's bottom. Also, every new vehicle, I tell the dealer NOT to prep the paint....ie. don't polish or wax or anything. First thing I do is take it home, wash, clay, wash, polish, wax.
So, if in fact this is a rail dust problem, the clay may be the solution for the pin size spots. You may also want to look closely at the rest of your vehicle. Often just running your fingers over the paint is a good test...if you feel even the slightest of bumps or roughness, you need to "clean" the paint. if it is perfectly smooth, then probably not an issue.
It seems to me you have a bigger problem with the dime sized one, unless the rust is simply a blemish on the paint surface and not actually rusted metal. If the former, clay may get rid of the source (presuming it hasn't penetrated through the paint to the metal), and perhaps the blemish, or polish will do the trick. If the latter, then sounds like you need some body work and paint, which on a 2 yr old vehicle, really sucks.
All this said, I have some doubts though, because rail dust and contaminents are most promient on the horizontal surfaces. I guess its possible to get them on the hatch, but I have never seen it on my vehicles.
Hope this helps.
I do not believe in rust-proofing etc. Since early 1990s cars I owned, none of them had rust problem early on. Later some may developed due to rock and other accidental damage which I can understand.
I think you are on to something with the dust theory. From what I am seeing, cars when shipped have the protective plastic screen "glued" to them on all the horizontal and major vertical surfaces. My bet is that they do not put anyting in the hatch area. I will look close next time I see semi with new cars driving buy.
I guess I know what I will be doing this weekend ...
I got the letter from Toyota about safety recall concerned of " 2008 Through Certain 2010 Model Year Highlander Hybrid Vehicles Potential Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal Safety Recall Campaign".
1) 3rd seat seat belts
2) Oil cooler line replaced
3) Brake pedal shortened due to floormat problem
4) Bolt replaced on chrome tailpipe extension
I had the same problem with my 2008 HL -- the alarm kept going off randomly while parked and turned off. (It was inevitably in the middle of my son's soccer games!) Toyota couldn't diagnose it. One day on a whim, I looked under the hood and noticed some small rubber plugs near the front frame (close to me), and two of them had come out of the frame and were laying loose near the holes where they belong. The plugs are supposed to dampen the contact between the hood and the frame. I reseated the two loose plugs, and closed the hood... and NEVER had the alarm go off again.
I think I got this notion from a post somewhere that said if the hood wasn't properly closed, the alarm could trigger... (??). It worked for me. I hope it helps you, or others.
This fell under the 5 yr 60,000 mile powertrain warranty. The dealership fixed for free. They said normally it would cost about 900 bucks!
I am wondering if anybody else has this problem. I am not quite sure where to look. I have another 1600 miles before my 70,000 mile-service. The filter was (as per the dealership) changed at 60,000 miles. I wonder if the filter is loose or inefficient. I don't do any work on my car, but have the dealership handle it. However, I am starting to think that perhaps they don't always do the work that they say they did.
I appreciate any feedback/info regarding this issue. Thank you.
Karolina :sick:
If you're sure its from the vents, you may wish to check your cabin filter which is located behind your glove box. I believe the instructions on how to get to it are in your manual....it is fairly easy...I replaced my filter this past August and it took 10 minutes. Something may have fallen into your vent from outside and is somehow making its way past the filter. You may be able to vacuum it out. If not, then I would have your dealer or a reputable mechanic check it out to ensure particles are not coming from something breaking down in the vehicles HVAC system.
I started to study the manual and it does not sound too bad. Of course, I am always worried about breaking a part.
"anti-microbial chemical" evaporator
Thanks!
I have understood that should the car roll (backwards, presumption) while in gear but no or light "holding" throttle, and no braking then hill start activates. Certainly seems to catch a lot of owners by surprise at "driveaway" time when pressure is applied to the gas pedal and the system disarms.
Historically almost nobody reads the owners manual, and now that it's 300-500 pages....
Plus you have to know a function even exists before expending the time discovering how it works. I'd bet most salespersons don't even know "hill-hold" is now a standard feature on other than "off-road" vehicles.
"..needs to be activated by the driver..."
But apparently can be activated unknowingly or unintentionally.
And who is to say that some modern day vehicles don't automatically activate hill-start when/if conditions warrant...? There are numerous areas around here wherein automatic hill-start activation would be a welcome function.
Fewer "smoked"/smelly clutch drive-aways even for stick shifts were they to somehow have this feature implemented.
Thanks
After much investigation I found it to be the rubber gasket on the lip of the hood directly above the grill.
The way the HL is designed, when you go to open the hood to release the secondary hood lock you naturally stick your left hand under the hood to lift it to release the secondary latch with your right hand. By doing this over time the rubber gasket in this area comes loose because there is a plastic clip in the underside of the hood that comes undone. I pushed it back in and the noise went away. The analogy here is like blowing air between a blade of grass in your fingers, The resonance point is between 40-45 MPH. To help ensure a good seal, I added a piece of foam weather stripping (black) 7/16" x 3/4" on the top of the grill between the grill and the gasket on the underside of the hood.This makes a better seal in this area. Nice and quiet (and now so is my wife!!!) :rofl2:
What can I do, to get Toyota revarnishing the hatch? In late September I will be in the CA, but without my car...
In my opinion this issue is based on a factory error.