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Toyota Highlander Structure Body Safety Report | July 05, 2013
Reported on July 05, 2013
| OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW WEEKS WE NOTICED A SIGNIFICANT SMELL IN OUR CAR. WE HAVE RUBBER FLOORMATS, SO DID NOT NOTICE THAT THERE WAS A DRAINAGE PROBLEM IN OUR A/C CONDENSER. THE BLOCKAGE CAUSED DRAINAGE TO BACK UP INTO THE BODY OF OUR VEHICLE AND MOLD STARTED TO GROW ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE ON THE CARPET UNDERNEATH THE RUBBER FLOORMATS. WE LATER LEARNED THAT THE BLOCKAGE WAS CAUSED BY A SPIDER WEB IN THE A/C CONDENSER DRAINAGE TUBE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY CALLED TOYOTA AND LEARNED IT WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER MY EXTENDED TOYOTA CARE WARRANTY AND ANY COSTS WOULD HAVE TO BE PAID OUT OF POCKET. I JUST LEARNED THAT SIMILAR MODEL YEAR TOYOTA VEHICLES, INCLUDING THE AVALON AND CAMRY, ARE UNDER RECALL DUE TO PROBLEMS THAT RESULT FROM SPIDER WEBS BLOCKING THE A/C CONDENSER DRAINAGE TUBE. THIS IS CLEARLY A DESIGN DEFECT THAT COVERS MORE THAN JUST THE AVALON AND CAMRY MODELS, BUT THE RECALL DID NOT COVER MY HIGHLANDER. WE HAVE AN INFANT SON AND THE GROWTH OF MOLD COULD HAVE SEVERELY IMPACTED HIS HEALTH AND BREATHING. *TR | |
| Make: | Toyota |
| Model: | Highlander |
| Manufactured by: | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | 0 person(s) were injured. |
| Was a death reported? | 0 person(s) died. |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | ROCHESTER NY |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | 5TDBK3EH4CS |
| Mileage: | 14000 miles. |
| Speed: | 0 MPH |
| Number of cylinders: | 6 |
| Vehicle type: | |
| Vehicle fuel: | GAS |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | |
| Previous Report:Structure Body | Next Report:Service Brakes |