Leaking 2017 Tacoma BAD MOLD need advice

No updates as of yet, spoke to serve pro and the guy literally said, “we couldn’t guarantee mold free or that it wouldn’t come back, and as a dad I wouldn’t put my kids back into it if it was my truck”

So still playing the waiting game...

 

I'd be on the phone with corporate and the gm of the dealer until they bought back my truck. Or it would be found in a corn field burnt to the ground. Toyota thinks they can wait you out and finally you'll just cave to what they tell ya.

 

Reminds me of an episode on forensic files. Family has a leak in their roof, insurance refuses to do anything. Father was pretty intelligent. He ends up with permanent brain damage, the son has health problems. They end up with something like a 34 million dollar settlement from the insurance company, and their million dollar house condemned. I would not want anything to do with your truck.

 

Exactly. The shitty part of this all.. Is 6 months down the road op is finally going to probably get a buy back from Toyota and you'll see this truck cleaned up and listed for 33k listed as super low mileage truck. Someone will buy it and there goes the snowball of health/breathing issues.

 

Hope you get a new truck. In the meantime look up vaporized hydrogen peroxide. Not sure if it’s used in cars but it is a common method to decontaminate labs.

 

If it were a house a mold remediation business with the right equipment would take 3 air samples outside. They would then take 3 air samples inside the home. The air samples from the outside would characterize the mold spores from the area where you live. They would compare those results to what they find from the inside samples. The difference between the two would define and quantify the problem. The process costs about $300 to $400. I'm not an expert but I've been told that for a house the resulting facts are indisputable. I would ask the experts if the same process can be applied to the interior of a truck.

It seems that all you did was drive a vehicle that appears to have been rendered unsafe because of a manufacturing defect. Take you and your kids to the doctors now and tell the medical professionals what you've each been exposed to. Do follow-up visits at least every 3 months. Keep records.

Respectfully tell the dealer GM and Toyota you need help. Do this quickly before the condition of the truck deteriorates so that a Toyota attorney can't say you ignored the problem or didn't maintain the truck in accordance with a recommended standard of care. Tell them this is important and you and your family and you are asking and need to see that the problem is being handled as such.

Don't say anything more to the dealer or Toyota. If they don't act and treat the problem like it is important, get an attorney.

I feel for you. I had an Uncle who had a mold problem in his home. He was retired and basically lived in the home 24/7. The health problems started as cough. I don't mean to be an alarmist but the facts are within 3 years of proving to him he had a problem in his home he was diagnosed with COPD with no underlying cause. We don't know how long he was exposed to mold spores before the problem was quantified but we know an otherwise healthy individual died within a year of the diagnosis.

 

I had them tow the truck to the dealer on the 23rd. But with the holiday I haven’t heard anything. Maybe this coming week. l’ve made it clear to the service manager that I will not accept this truck back. He told me there is a process they have to go thru and we’ll see what recommendations are made. But I essentially went in with the attitude that this truck can’t be made safe for my family and I won’t accept less than safe.. we will see what happens but I won’t go quietly. As soon as i noticed there might be a issue with the truck I went straight to the dealer.

 

Talk to an attorney (sharks) now. They wont charge you much, if anything, for a consultation. Besides, you are already into this affair for 30K+, another couple hundred $ will be worth it. The sharks will know the laws in your state and maybe some dirt on the dealership. Just being able to say the name of your attorney, as you speak to the dealership, will go a long way.

 

No offense but some folks just too trigger happy with lawyers. Give Toyota the chance to make it right. If not then seek professional assistance. We have people at work every day it seems trying to seek an attorney just because they say we asked them to work 5 days that week.

 

This is a health issue that affects his child, himself and any other person who's driven in the truck! It's not like he's pissed because the truck is leaking and wants to sue if it's not fixed. I would've been at the lawyer's office from the get go - mold is not a matter to fool around with and the leak is due to Toyota's negligence in the manufacturing of the vehicle.

 

Update:

The Toyota dealer called and said that one of their lead techs had taken a look at the truck confirmed that the leak was from a leaking third brake light and removed the rear seats, and Toyota’s recommendation was to clean and treat it remove carpets and such. Replace what was “needed”
I politely declined and informed him after all my research and speaking with mold removal specialist, that I would not be willing to take that truck back. His reply was “i do not blame you at all, if that was my truck I wouldn’t want it back either.” So now I’m waiting till after the weekend and will be getting a call from the service manager and see how we move forward. I’ll keep the thread updated as the saga continues.

The kiddos are still sick but that could also be a bug going around. I got a print out about mold exposure from their Dr. and have another appt for them next week.

 

Givem' hell.

 

hope you can set a precedent for all

 

I highly doubt the mold made them sick but it's a good angle to get a refund or trade in price. The truck will never be entirely clean since those spores can get into every nook and cranny.

 

I’d likely agree with that. It’s still just a unnerving thing for me. Kids health and stuff. And mold isn’t to be played with from what I’ve read.
I don’t wanna play any angles honestly, I’m not out to get toyota, I think they make a great product when it works lol. I have been a loyal customer for YEARS! I’m just hoping they do right by me this go around. As 34k for something I’ll never be sure of again is not cool.

 

You can always trade it in.

But, they really need to total the truck via insurance then have a bonfire.

 

Does something like this show up on CarFax ?

 

Sounds like the dealership is at least on your side somewhat. Hope this all works out for you

 

Yep. It shows up like “30,000 maintenance performed.”

 

I meant the leak and resulting mold.