WHat cars does this effect?? Like VIN #s. That's all I wanna know.

 

WHY doesn't someone with a tC CALL the Scion folks and ASK what VIN range this affects - if they say "What's yours" tell them you don't have it handy, and ask if you could just have the range so you can check it at lunch.

Is that too hard?

If someone gets the VIN info, post it here.

 

I'd say that more than likely the laminate would be on the underside of the deflector as not to deviate from the top looking like glass... Anyone else think so?

 

I wonder if the laminate is like the stuff I bought from RockBlocker

 

I am guessing that since the NHTSA appears to still be investigating the design, they are adding something like the rockblocker product. If the NHTSA finds a design flaw, they will be forced to replace them, if not they will settle with just the laminate.

But hey, if I were a company like Rockblocker I think I would be all over Toyota to buy my product for this... hint hint I know they are on here occassionally, if so I would go for it guys :D If this is something that Toyota does not produce often, they would probably jump at the chance to buy it already produced at a decent price. Just a thought!

 

actually, you don't even need documented cases to constitute a "design flaw". a design flaw may be anything on the car that hasn't affected anyone at all.

theoretical case #1) before the tc was sold to the public, i already had a hunch that the glass deflector might be a little problmatic- that constitutes a design flaw.

theoretical case #2) a designer for the tc might be looking over at some specifications and would later realize that the tolerances for the insulation of the rear hatch was off by .5 millimeters. this would ultimately result in a recall for certain components of the rear hatch and would fix a potential annoying rattle in the hatch area. (oops. too late for that designer now isn't it? )

theoretical case #3) certain components in the engine might lead to pre-mature breakdown/leaks/explosion... designer catches this in the same fashion as case #2 and calls for a major recall. fortunately, this has not affected anyone (no "documented cases"), and therefore, saves a bunch of butts in the future.

 

It would be absolutely pointless to put laminate on the underside of the glass. The problem is that an object strikes the glass forming surface stress fractures that very quickly into a much larger crack and then...psshhhhh...the glass shatters. If the laminate were on the bottom side it would have no effect on the initial surface fracture that caused the piece to shatter. By placing the laminate over the glass, the glass now has some protection and the strength of the glass is now reinforced.

I do agree that it would look a whole lot better on the bottom side of the glass but all it would do would be prevent the little pieces of glass from falling into the passenger compartment. It would still shatter, but would shatter like a windshield does in that all the glass is still intact.

 

I believe that is the point to prevent the little pieces of glass from falling into the passenger compartment. Like you said it would shatter but like the windshield. Thats all. Its glass. If you want you could put rock blocker on the front of the thing and also put some rockblocker on the front windshield to protect it. Same thing, its considered wear and tear.

 

the laminate that they are describing is a basic clear impact resitant "tape" that keeps the glass connected instead of letting the shards fall onto passengers etc...it is already installed on your windshield, and you don't even know about it. When installed properly, hopefully your local repair representatives are capable, you won't even know its there.

if scion/toyota is forced to replace the glass, they will probably just replace the section of glass with a tinted plexiglass, or possibly a black piece of ABS plastic. that would be the cheapest route for the fix.

 

Just limo tint your roof and you'll be fine

 

Unfortunately you are a bit off...... Windshields are made with two pieces of glass with the impact tape in between them that is why when you're in an accident/wreck, it just shatters without the "flying debris" unlike the side windows which is one piece. BACK TO MY POINT..... if they were to put the "impact resistant" tape on the underside of the wind deflector... it would be just the same as tinting the window.... a tinted window does not shatter... it is held together by the tint for the most part... as would the case be with the "tape", it would hold the glass together with minimal "flying debris". Which would you rather have..... a face & lapful of broken glass... or maybe just a couple pieces. It's a quick easy fix for them to do.

 

I just picked my car up yesterday from the dealer becuase I took it in because the sunroof sounded like it was going to fall out, well they told me that they could not find anything wrong with it and to bring it back if anything else happens. I am so mad right now.

 

This isn't for the sunroof... it's for the deflector that pops up in front of the sunroof.

And if they said to bring it back... take it back. Keep taking it back until they find something or get someone else to look at it.

 

So how do I know if my tC is recalled?

 

I just got off the phone with Scion at this moment there are no VINs listed so i cant give you a range. There realy isnt even an effective date it continues to sate late october. Im trying to see if they get my VIN they just sent me to Customer Care instead of the Scion Experience and maybe i can get a range from them... ill keep you guys updated though.

EDIT: Okay just finished my conversation with Customer Experience. It turns out that there is no effective date as of now, when ever you recieve the letter you recieve it. The installation of this laminate is totally free to you and the dealership will install for you as any recalls are usually done. Now the Laminate on your car you do not see, it doesnt change the way you are looking at the car, you cant notice that its even there. No outlines, no scrunching no nothing. With that the cars that are being recalled are ones bought between March 04 - July 05... which means any 06 model vehicle purchased after july already has this laminate on the car and you cant even see it. Now i purchased mine in August and never noticed anything so there is nothing to it. Hopefully this helps all of you... If you call up, there is no range of VINs they can just look up your VIN and let you know if you are affected by this Service Campaign.

 

And so, exactly what reckless owner mod would cause the deflector glass to shatter onto the driver and passengers? Toyota was stupid to use tempered glass on _any_ forward-facing glass surface that is likely to catch a thrown rock. It's not even a good idea to use tempered glass on fixed sunroofs. There's a very good reason why windshields have to be laminated, not tempered!

Also, the number of complaints is well more than 3. It might have been 3 months ago, but then again they could say that the number was zero using the same logic.

The real reason behind Toyota's action was simply to avoid an involuntary recall, which is definitely a black mark.

 

Where did I say that an owner mod caused the sunroof issue????????? Nowhere. I used the example of people blaming thier own negligence and mods on toyota, which is one reason the companies are so skeptical about any warranty report.

Second, I was the one who brought up there being more than 3 complaints to start with, but when the original issue hit NHTSA there were 3 complaints, and were for a good part of the investigation. I have followed the doco trail on the NHTSA investigation since about 2 weeks after it opened, so I know the numbers involved. So the point I made was that during the first stages, there were three complaints, and the company most likely wanted to make sure that they were legit. Or at least that probably contributed to the long delay.

Did I EVER say toyota could not have responded better? Did I EVER say that using tempered glass was a good idea? No to both of the above, so I am confused as to what in my post you are arguing with. I simply stated that the large number of FRAUD complaints and whiney kids reporting thier own abuse as warranty issues has helped to cause the manufacturers to disbelieve everything that comes in the door.

 

hey jen.. find another dealer.. some dealers do nothing but make excuses..

 

Very cool.. thanks for calling and doing some digging to find out who's affected.. can you take a close look at your wind deflector and see if there is anything there? pics would be good, but hey don't want to be greedy.. lol so what's the VIN# of yours (last 6 digits)? that way if you do have it, we can at least have an idea..

 

You know, this still does nothing to make me feel better, considering it was my REAR glass panel that shattered.

*sigh*