Toyota Tacoma 2016 Body Seam Leak

I have owned my Tacoma for about a year now and since the start of the rainy season here in Washington I have experienced an unfortunate downfall to the new design, hopefully its a one time flaw that doesn't become a recall. I have seen a significant amount of water in my cab below the front driver side floor mat. I thought it was initially runoff from my boots due to rain but it still persisted after a few dry days. I didn't know the source of the water and started to notice a fowl/dank smell that a new truck shouldn't have. I even started to see white mold build up around the door molding. After a couple weeks I scheduled an appointment with Toyota to gain their perspective and diagnosis. After a few hours, I was in a rent a car and the nightmare began. A technician ripped apart my interior-upholstery, seats, interior molding, truck bed, Leer canopy. My truck looked like it just came off the beginning stages of the assembly line. Just to clear a couple of things up, before Toyota found the problem they wanted to blame the water damage on the owner(me) saying I left the windows down or the newly installed rain guards caused the water to enter the cab. I was told to be prepared to pay the bill if the problem was determined to be the fault of the owner. After a few days it was determined the water in the cab was due to faulty epoxy about a foot below the back window, basically water was flowing off the roof down the window and entering the cab between the bed and the truck body. I have so far been very patient with Toyota, trusting their name and reputation, but my patience is wearing thin. I have not been contacted by Toyota corporation or even offered compensation such as an extended warranties, vouchers, or making my ridiculous monthly truck payment. In summary I just want all to be aware of the potential problem with the new generation truck design, do your research and wait a bit with this new model or at least until the kinks are worked out.

 

They are taking steps to fix the issue and have provided a rental car while your truck is being repaired. What more would you like them to do?

 

If this problem happened on a new truck what to say something else was overlooked when putting the truck together. I agree they have taken the appropriate steps but I would be more comfortable to be fully protected outside the 2yr/25k warranty...don't you agree

 

Ruh roh

 

If this is your first problem on a truck owned a year then no I don't agree, they're doing you right by fixing it and providing you a rental in the process. If you've had multiple problems traced back to the factory with numerous trips to the dealership then yes I would agree.

 

The damage caused by a year of rot and mold caused by water intrusion will be more significant then you likely realize. It may also cause damage to things not designed to be exposed to actual water. There is a reason that even lightly flooded vehicles with minimal water intrusion into the interior are shunned by anyone with half a brain.

I've seen a couple other posts with complaints about water intrusion in the Gen 3's, not a bad thing to let people know of the issue.

Now, if Toyota replaces the rot and mold infested soft bits, I'd be impressed as none of that stuff is cheap, I'd also like to see if there is any rust that has formed under all that molding and carpet from being wet all the time and if it'll be treated instead of Toyota just tossing the bits back in so it can't be seen.

Personally, I'd be a bit miffed if my new 35K ride looked and smelled like a louisiana swamp inside because the automaker can't even figure out a way to keep water out, something pretty much everyone else figured out how to do 75 years ago.

If the OP had posed it was a Chevy Colorado having this issue, and not a Taco people would be deriding them for being junk...........

It will all come down to just how well both Toyota and the dealer [sorry, one part of Toyota I think ranks below even Fiat] both treat the customer and compensate him for the loss of a vehicle he is paying for and fix the problem and anything that was damaged by water, rot or mold.

 

OP didn't indicate any pushback since the cause was found so why assume dealership / Toyota won't replace everything damaged. I would have the same opinion regardless of manufacturer.

 

I truly hope so myself, if the dealer was a bit snarky about the water damage and trying to pin it on the owner though and telling him he would be liable for the bill, well, it that would have been me, I wouldn't have likely been as nice.

If the owner had flooded it somehow, it would have been an easy ''call the insurance company get repaired,'' in fact much easier then dealing with it under warranty.

 

warranty is 3/36

 

From what the OP said they informed him that if no cause for the leak was found he would be liable for the work to disassemble / reassemble which seems reasonable. Since it was found they are correcting.

Remember this scenerio is not finished, if they DO install a whole new interior plus additional rust protection and it takes multiple weeks to correct, Toyota may then offer additional compensation. I just don't think the OP should be pushing for more until the repairs are finally determined and what resolution is hammered out.

 

I don't disagree with you, how you tell a customer something though is 99% of it and service writers often fail in that area. If it ain't profit, you are just a nuisance to many. I think most people HATE to take a vehicle in for warranty work, it's a PITA to do, causes issues for the owner, dealers and manufacturers look to weasel out of it from the point of the customer that spent 1/2 of wages on it. That is something dealers and manufacturers never look at from my standpoint.

[nothing like getting a list of $2K worth of shit to do to your ride in for recall work that you just did over winter but was noted by them that it all need ''immediate action] [Z turbo, not Yota BTW.]

 

There is no body seam in the rear of the cab one foot below the rear window. Without seeing the torn-down truck I can't say for sure that it is the cab vent that is leaking. But...it's the cab vent. Still shouldn't be leaking and needs to be addressed, but insinuating there is a systemic failure in the way the body sections are joined is inflammatory and unfounded.

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

The following 2016 leak thread appears to be unresolved:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/serious-leak-and-water-damage.456156

 

2/25 is Toyota care free service. Warranty is 3/36. All the work is documented so if anything in the future related to this issue should arrise, you will have a good chance of being covered just off of goodwill.

 

I don't think this is a design flaw as I haven't experienced any leaks inside my cab yet, and believe you me, I've been in some torrential down pours since I
I've had mine 9 months now.
But it could be an assembly line or sealant issue. Either way, it appears to be isolated incidents and I hope it all works out for you to your satisfaction and you can enjoy this really great truck for what it is and what it costs.

Cheers!

 

The air pressure vents went from the cab corners to the cab back panel on the 3rd gen.
One of the only changes to the cab besides the addition of the advanced HSS.
If there is an issue related to that, it should probably be isolated to 2016, as there are different part numbers for 16 vs 17.

 

Radio antenna or third tail light leaking? I'd be pissed at that mess.

 

I had a leak in a previous tacoma I owned. It took 5 trips to the dealership before it finally got fixed. They replaced all water damaged areas.

 

Thank you to all for your opinions, so far Toyota has agreed to replace the interior upholstery and all affected paneling. The service representative stated when all work is complete they intent to bring in a independent agency to test mold. On another note this past Tuesday a Toyota engineer was coincidentally at the dealership and assessed my truck and its damage. As I transferred all my possessions from their storage scion I noticed the engineer was observing my reaction to the situation. I noticed instantly he was uncomfortable not saying more than a few words to me, it felt almost like he was embarrassed. I was in my military uniform and he knew how much financial damage this could potentially cause this dealership given it close proximity to over 10k sailors who love buying new cars/trucks. I would never intentionally spread a bad reputation but if this happens to turn ugly it could affect profits.