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Spiderphins

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I saw a few older posts on this but I'm curious if more people have had instances of pieces of trim melting and if they were able to get the dealership to cover it under warranty.

I have a 2022 RAV4 Prime which I regularly park in my driveway and I have three pieces of trim that are melting. Toyota is saying windows reflect light and it's causing it to melt so it's not covered under warranty. I think that's a bunch of BS. I've never had a car that has had pieces melt before.

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#3 ·
This is happening to my vehicle as well. I purchased it brand new April 2022 and within 6 months several trim pieces are melted. I went to dealership as well and they said they wouldn’t fix it, but it absolutely is bs. There are several forums I’ve seen with people having the same issue so I am pursuing it further.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
florina.g said:
This is happening to my vehicle as well. I purchased it brand new April 2022 and within 6 months several trim pieces are melted. I went to dealership as well and they said they wouldn’t fix it, but it absolutely is bs. There are several forums I’ve seen with people having the same issue so I am pursuing it further.
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Call the Toyota Brand Center at 800-331-4331 and start a case. The more people that complain about this the more likely it is that they’ll eventually cover it under warranty.

I complained and they eventually gave me a $500 “loyalty credit” to use for service/parts/etc. It won’t cover everything (damage is $1000) .. and it won’t prevent it from happening again.. but at least it’s something.
 
#5 ·
Spiderphins said:
I saw a few older posts on this but I'm curious if more people have had instances of pieces of trim melting and if they were able to get the dealership to cover it under warranty.

I have a 2022 RAV4 Prime which I regularly park in my driveway and I have three pieces of trim that are melting. Toyota is saying windows reflect light and it's causing it to melt so it's not covered under warranty. I think that's a bunch of BS. I've never had a car that has had pieces melt before.

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Anything that looks like or acts like a mirror in the area? Something that would reflect and concentrate light?
 
#7 ·
22 years ago... pillars were metal, and plastic was thicker and tougher

nowadays ...plastic is used wherever they can get away with it for lightness and MPG ratings,
and it's thinner as well. solar convergence was always a thing...but now more parts and square inches
are susceptible to melt damage...for all manufacturers not just Toyota
 
#8 ·
Same thing happened to my RAV 4. Dealer wouldn't fix it under warranty and wanted $1600 for 3 pieces. I used their estimate with part numbers to order the parts and do it myself. Each applique is about $100. The one on the read spoiler is $300. It's simple to change yourself. It's held on with two clips and double sided tape.
 
#9 ·
It's a known issue on several Honda forums. We had it happen to our '07 Odyssey many years ago. We were at the Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha and parked beside a Suburban. I went out to the parking lot in the early afternoon to get something out of the van & noticed the plastic panel behind the front passenger window was very distorted. I made the mistake of touching it and my finger print was still in that panel when we gave the van to our daughter a few years later. The sun was deflecting heat from one of the suburban windows onto the side of our van. I recall reading several posts in the Odyssey forum after posting what had happened. There were actually a couple of cases that had warped side panels from the sun reflecting off building windows.
 
#10 ·
I am wondering if there is a window reflection from the sun that is occurring perhaps from your house or the neighbors. There are cases of vinyl siding melting because of a magnified light reflection of the sun from windows in many cases.
 
#11 ·
If I had more time, I would buy a cheapest part that is available, probably that piece in between the doors, and leave it out somewhere away from any window and in a spot where someone wouldn't find it and see if it melts. I would bet it would. I bet it melts simply because it is poorly manufactured. It would also confirm that solar convergence isn't the reason for the melting issue.

Archangelclk said:
I am wondering if there is a window reflection from the sun that is occurring perhaps from your house or the neighbors. There are cases of vinyl siding melting because of a magnified light reflection of the sun from windows in many cases.
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I saw some siding on a house that was absolutely fine for a long time. They painted it a dark color and it melted quickly.
 
#12 ·
I’ve had the exact same thing happen to my 202 RAV4 and the dealership said it wasn’t Toyota’s fault, therefore it’s not covered under warranty - it’s the fault of the new highly reflective glass that’s required in all new buildings. So they have basically built a car that cannot be driven or parked anywhere near buildings. Awesome. I decided to wait for a class action b/c I unfortunately don’t have time to initiate one. I will definitely file a formal complaint so it’s on record.
 
#13 ·
Spiderphins said:
I saw a few older posts on this but I'm curious if more people have had instances of pieces of trim melting and if they were able to get the dealership to cover it under warranty.

I have a 2022 RAV4 Prime which I regularly park in my driveway and I have three pieces of trim that are melting. Toyota is saying windows reflect light and it's causing it to melt so it's not covered under warranty. I think that's a bunch of BS. I've never had a car that has had pieces melt before.

View attachment 196671
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Same. Corolla. December. Not hot enough out to blame it on sun reflecting…
 
#14 · (Edited)
Bewer said:
Same. Corolla. December. Not hot enough out to blame it on sun reflecting…
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Solar convergence has nothing to do with the ambient temperature (and isn’t unique to toyota

here’s Hondas notice about the same thing: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10152752-9999.pdf

here’s a dodge https://www.reddit.com/r/Dodge/s/G2gTMoeMx5

Mazda https://www.reddit.com/r/CX5/s/7HrIjQu9X4

VW https://www.reddit.com/r/Volkswagen/s/MGclegmqZp

RAM https://www.reddit.com/r/ram_trucks/s/wDUWjhBy3T
 
#15 ·
Spiderphins said:
I saw a few older posts on this but I'm curious if more people have had instances of pieces of trim melting and if they were able to get the dealership to cover it under warranty.

I have a 2022 RAV4 Prime which I regularly park in my driveway and I have three pieces of trim that are melting. Toyota is saying windows reflect light and it's causing it to melt so it's not covered under warranty. I think that's a bunch of BS. I've never had a car that has had pieces melt before.

View attachment 196671
View attachment 196672
Click to expand...
I have the exact same thing!!!!!!!!! I have been told windows do this! Like really!!!!
 
#16 ·
Spiderphins said:
Call the Toyota Brand Center at 800-331-4331 and start a case. The more people that complain about this the more likely it is that they’ll eventually cover it under warranty.

I complained and they eventually gave me a $500 “loyalty credit” to use for service/parts/etc. It won’t cover everything (damage is $1000) .. and it won’t prevent it from happening again.. but at least it’s something.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
#18 ·
Shamman said:
I’ve had the exact same thing happen to my 2020 RAV4 and the dealership said it wasn’t Toyota’s fault, therefore it’s not covered under warranty - it’s the fault of the new highly reflective glass that’s required in all new buildings. So they have basically built a car that cannot be driven or parked anywhere near buildings. Awesome. I decided to wait for a class action b/c I unfortunately don’t have time to initiate one. I will definitely file a formal complaint so it’s on record.
Click to expand...
My home is 1940 and I 89 perc park in my garage! This is bs !!!!!!!! I am not happy at all
 
#19 ·
Juls1117 said:
I have the exact same thing!!!!!!!!! I have been told windows do this! Like really!!!!
Click to expand...
Yes, really. Honda even issued an official warning from the factory for the solar convergence problem that is affecting their plastics.
 
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