Cracked/Leaking Heater Core

Just thought I'd share in case anyone else has the same thing happen and comes online searching for answers like I did.

2/26 i was driving and noticed the smell of coolant, didn't think anything of it too much and drove like normal.

2/27 i smelled coolant again, thought i may have coolant leaking so i popped hood and checked underneath for leaks or drips, any sign of coolant dripping onto other things and i didn't see anything. Parked truck and checked the next morning to see if there was any puddle or stains on concrete and nothing.

2/28 I drove to work in the morning and used my defrost, my whole passenger side of the windshield was fogged up bad. I smelled coolant very strongly and decided to do some testing to see what was causing it. Only when my heat was on was when I smelt the coolant. decided to smell the vents one by one and only my right hand side vents smelled of coolant. Started looking at my carpets around the firewall and there was nothing wet but nonetheless the coolant smell was stronger than ever. I figured since it was only during when the heat was on it had to be a cracked/leaking heater core. I called my dealer and he said to bring it in Monday. I parked the truck all weekend and didn't drive it until Monday morning.

3/3 as im driving to the dealer i had to use defrost again so i turned the heat on about half way, smoke started coming from all passenger vents (floor, front, and defrost) i immediately turned the heat to low and turned off all air. drove to dealer and about an hour after they pulled it in they said heater core was the problem and needs replaced. Part is backordered with no eta, they put me in a 2024 4runner and now my truck will have to sit.

I came online looking for anyone with a similar experience and didn't find one thing. I may have just been one unlucky person who got a bad heater core. I'm not mad, things happen. I am sad though because my brand new truck with 7,000 miles will have to have the whole dash taken out to replace the heater core. Thank god for warranty!

 

Don't think i have seen on either. Sucks, but it was bound to happen to someone at some point. Terrible that you won this lottery.

 

Its unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do about it. Toyota is taking care of me it seems

 

Good attitude! Also buy a real lotto ticket and see if the winning streak continues!

 

That sucks, but at least it happened while the truck was under warranty. Dash out jobs can get expensive.

 

update for anyone whos looking. I took truck in 3/3 and they told me heater core was backordered. Then about a week later I was told 4/2 is when the part would arrive. Checked today and the date moved to 4/14. There is a heater core box assembly available but part costs about 1k more. Trying to get that approved so I dont have to wait until probably around may to get the truck back.

 

Might want to look into your state’s lemon law. Might get Toyota to rethink not spending the extra to get the part your truck needs if it comes to that.

I know here in FL after 15 days in the shop you can send written notification to Toyota to fix it or you will exercise your lemon law rights. Then if they don’t fix it after a total of 30 days, it’s classified as a lemon. I know people who have done this, especially with Kias and Hyundai, the manufacturer just repurchased the vehicle to avoid paying lawyers or dealing with arbitration.

 

Sorry to hear this happened to you---- just wanted to mention that several of the earlier production '24s had a problem with A/C unit being cracked causing a leak under the dash and the fix for that also required the dash being pulled out, so hopefully the techs already have some experience doing that which should at least help a little. But yeah, w/ new truck that sucks that it happened at all. Good luck getting it back in good shape sooner than later.

 

UPDATE: PART CAME IN! I was last told that the eta was 4/28. Part showed up thursday 4/17 and I picked my truck up 4/21. Truck seems fine but there was a few things that the dealership is addressing. My passenger seat had stains all over from the techs dirty hands, trim piece under the radio screen was scuffed, speedometer screen plastic is scuffed (i tried so hard to keep it unscratched), small scuffs on the interior plastic. But truck seems to be driving like normal. Heat is blowing, no coolant smell. So hopefully we are good but time will tell

 

Glad to read this!

 

Off topic here but how does your silver paint look any streaks on the hood? If your truck was built at the Baja plant look it over real good.

 

paint seems fine on mine. ive been keeping up with paint issues people are having and have looked mine over recently

 

Geez, what an ordeal! Glad you got your truck back…

 

Sloppy tech…couldn’t even clean his grease stains off a brand new trucks seats.

 

they told me the stains were from coolant misting from my vents!!! im like ok then why is it only one part of my seat and not the full seat

 

How does everything else look?

 

Rack some free miles on the 4runner, enjoy....
Could be 6 months before you see your truck again.
My understanding, toyota is dealing with huge delays getting parts to dealers, supply chain issues....
New model doesnt help the scenario...

 

Wow

 

Do you know if theyre going to replace your scuffed instrument cluster lense that was scuffed?
Theres no polishing that out...

The only reason I ask, once they do, its well worth the $60'ish for protective film from screen pro tech...
I think overtime even if careful you will eventually get micro scratches & this protects / eliminates that..
Im not affiliated in any way, I just think its a great addition to keep our trucks nice.

 

theres some small scuffs on the steering column cover, some small scuffs on the dash here and there (im not too worried about them). truck seems normal. I did notice a rattle coming from the jbl on the center of the dash and when i removed it the rattle went away so trying to figure out what i can do there