The Tale of the Leaky Corolla

Helen and I bought a car in April. We bought a brand new, 2009 Toyota Corolla. We talked to several people who owned Toyotas, and they gave great reviews. "I've never had any problems!" "It will last you twice as long as a Ford or Chevy!" So we bought it. We got a good deal (Thanks, Sean Sivils!) and we were extremely happy. 

One day, Helen was driving home from work, and as she rounded a corner near Buda Elementary, some kids from the after school program launched rocks from the playground at our car. Yes, it broke the windshield. Two weeks after we bought our first car, the windshield was broken. I'm just glad Helen was driving and not me, otherwise I'd probably be in jail right now. Anywho, the after school program agreed to pay for our windshield replacement.

Being very busy, we decided we would call a glass company to come and replace the windshield (Mistake #1). They came and replaced the glass with no problems, so we thought. It cost almost double to replace this windshield because the car was so new that they had to order the glass from Japan (at least that's what they told me).

A few weeks later, it began to rain. In Central Texas, we've been in a perpetual drought for the last several months. It is so bad that when Hurricane Ike came through, we didn't get a single drop of rain.  But it rained for a week. And our car began to leak from underneath the dashboard on both the driver side and passenger side. Our floorboards were soaked (and still are).

We took it to the dealership in San Marcos, where we bought it. I was told "Toyotas don't leak." Uhhh, this one does. Anyway, he told me that if they looked at it and it was the glass, they would charge me. He suggested that I talk to the glass company first. 

So I called the glass company. They sent out a technician who squirted water from a bottle to "prove" water wasn't coming through the seal. First of all, a little mist in Texas evaporates before it has the chance to leak. I needed a hose on it. But nonetheless, he was confident it wasn't the glass. He left. Thirty minutes later, after he had left, the water he sprayed had leaked onto the floor. I decided to call Toyota anyway (Mistake #2).

I did some digging and friend has family that works at the dealership in Round Rock. So I take the Leaky Toyota to Round Rock, only to be told the seal is definitely leaking. I was told they could see where the water was coming from and the glass company needed to fix it.

I left the Toyota dealership with all kinds of paperwork explaining what the problem was. I made an appointment with the glass company and showed up ready to have my glass fixed. The technician at the glass company must have been having a bad day, because he was a real jerk. Sean was with me, and the tech guy asked if we wanted to wait. The conversation went something like this:

Sean: "How long will it be before you can tell us something?" 

Techy: "I don't know."

Sean: "Well, can you give us an estimate?"

Techy: "I don't know, sir."

Sean: "Is it going to be like an hour, or five days, or five years? I'm just asking if there are any cars in front of us."

Techy: "I just told you sir, I'm not sure how long."

Sheeesh. Anyway, the techy was gone for awhile and came back quite certain the glass wasn't leaking. We got the manager involved, who was also quite sure that the glass wasn't leaking. Luckily, the manager was more of a people person than the techy. Mr. Manager sent me to another Toyota Dealership in Austin (where I'm sitting now). If this dealership finds that it's the glass, Mr. Manager is going to come see for himself. If it's found that the glass is leaking, the glass company is going to take care of all my costs, including Toyotas fee to look at it. (They should also pay to replace my wet carpets, and my ruined owners manual.) But if it's Toyota's fault, then they'll handle it all because we're under warranty.

That brings us to today. It is now 12:30PM. I've been sitting here since 9:30 AM. I was just informed that they are going to have pull the dash off to figure this out. It probably won't be until tomorrow that there is a verdict. 

Stay tuned to see who the culprit is: Is it Toyota? Or is it the glass company? Hopefully, this will be solved soon.

PS To top it all off, the truck broke down on Monday and had to go to the shop. It is still there. Helen and I would be car-less, except for the generosity of my parents who are letting us borrow their 2009 Corolla that doesn't leak. 

Remember, Toyotas don't leak, except for mine.