Has anyone else who visits this forum had road debris damage to the ac condenser? I've visited other forums and found others who have had, what the dealerships are saying, to be small road debris such as a small pebble flying through the grille into the ac condenser and damaging it. I've recently experienced the same thing. I'm thinking that someone should look into having Scion initiate a recall or have a lawyer start a class action lawsuit. The front bumper and grille should be built to protect the parts behind it from damage, not allow debris to fly in and damage parts.

 

Thats something you just can't help. Air has to flow through there, so something will end up getting in there no matter what. Its just like getting a flat tire. Theres lots of cars with more exposed AC condensers than ours. I pretty sure toyota has put enough R&D into their cars to let them get built the way they are.

 

yea.. exactly what he said...
there's no recall or safety issue or anything of that sort...

all it is, is a really bad case of luck... that's all. sorry to hear though.

 

I've been looking online and found GrillCraft mesh grill inserts. They have much smaller openings than the standard mid and lower grill on the bumper, which, from the looks of it, would help prevent almost all road debris from flying in, while still allowing air flow. It looks to offer much better protection. What does anyone know about the GrillCraft inserts?

 

We could maybe just fit some window screen material behind the grill?

 

The OD grill stops all those pebbles from getting in. Mine proves it by all the pits on it............

 

But then again, there nothing behind that grill. In fact the OEM grill (One where the scion/bB logo) is sealed, no air flow becuase the radiator and a/c is at the bottom were the bumper is at.

 

toyota doesnt control what is on the ground or what can come off the ground and into the condensor, thats like a customer i have right now who was wanting toyota to pay for us to drain his tank because he put diesel into his tank toyota didnt pump his gas so why would they pay for your mishap

 

hmm.. multi-million dollar fighter jets have engines that can easily be damged from the smallest debris getting sucked in..

yet.. the intake is completely unprotected..

design flaw? hmm.. nope.

same concept... pretty much.. you're SOL.

 

Well, there is a big difference between a person putting diesel in their unleaded gas tank and debris flying through a wide open grill. I would tell the person who put the wrong gas in that it isn't covered too. Only a goofy person puts the wrong gas in their tank. But, the purpose of the bumper and grill is to protect the parts behind it while allowing air flow to the condenser. Obviously, the bumper grill only does half the job. Scion needs to build a grill with smaller openings that would still allow air flow but also protect from road debris. Also, a fighter jet is very different than a small vehicle on the road. I don't know the workings of a fighter jet, but I know that you don't need the wide openings on the bumper grill of a Scion. If you look at all these aftermarket grills for the Scion bumper, the openings are MUCH smaller. And then you have those hideous car bras that have a mesh netting not much different than patio screening in design and that still allows enough air flow. So, why does Scion manufacture a bumper grill with unnecessarily wide openings? They should realize the flaw and fix it...even if it doesn't cause potential physical harm to the occupant. After all, it DOES cause harm to that occupant's wallet! Then again, maybe that's Scion's goal? Drain more money from their customers?

 

then perhaps every single car maufacturer out there needs to redesign your so-called wide openings on all their vehicles.

and then maybe all tire manufacturers should look into producing the "tweel" for everyone too.. that way you won't ever get a flat tire.

what your asking is frankly unpractical and the fact remains is that their is no defined design flaw.

debris is debris and are debris to anything that can it can cause damage to.

your bad luck is only one out of the millions of cars that have been sold that have had no issues whatsoever.

 

I agree...it is not a design flaw. You simply had a rare incident, that is all. I know 25+ box owners and none have damaged AC due to road debris.

 

My main point is when it would be a simple and easy solution for car manufacturers to greatly reduce this problem, why wouldn't they? It's one thing with a tire...there is nothing you can put around a tire to protect it from road debris. But with bumper grills, it would be unbelievably easy for manufacturers to produce a grill with smaller openings or pre-install a mesh netting within the grill to protect vital parts behind it from damage. After all, an aftermarket bumper grill insert for a Scion xB is about $150. Can you imagine how cheap it would be for manufacturers to pre-install the same type of grill for so much less!?! Hell, it would probably only cost THEM a few dollars!! A few dollars to greatly reduce the chances of ____ing off your customer? Sounds like a good idea. Instead, they figure they'll let their customers figure out the hard way that their grill openings allow for debris to fly in and damage your condenser or they can make more money off their customer. Hell, at the very least, they can tell potential car buyers, "Look, the OEM bumper grill has wider openings than the norm...allowing for a greater possibility of debris to damage your condenser. You might want to consider an insert or car bra with mesh netting to protect it." I've looked around on the internet and found other reports of xB owners experiencing the same situation. Scion knows their bumper grill openings are too wide. Instead, they brush off every incident as a "freak incidental accident with road debris". Just another way for them to make money.

 

doesnt toyota do enought>? vast amounts of design and engineering in to rust prevention, sound dedening, emmision, fuel economy etc etc. and nw you want them to buy you an ac condenser because you hit a rock? I totalled my last tc because the car has tons of understeer at 77mph while cornering on backroads! they should buy me a new car!

 

It's bad luck, not bad engineering. I have a few rock chips outta my front bumper from rocks flying up, should that be covered...No. It really stinks that it happened, but its just bad luck. Sorry it happened to you.

 

Actually, look around. There are many cars on the road with the OEM grill whos openings are just as wide if not wider than the xB. Fords, Subarus and Nissan are just a few off the top of my head.

Remember, the xb is an ECONOMY car. Everything Toyota does to adds cost and pushes out of the economy range. Sure, a screen behind the grill costs pennies in materials, but the labor to install it is not pennies. I installed some black wire loom around the condenser lines almost the same day I got the xB. Not for protection mind you (although now that comes to mind), but purely aesthetic reasons. I know it doesn’t do you a lot of good now, but for $3.00 you can get some screen material and DIY.

Im not trying to give you a hard time, just trying to point out the reasoning behind an economy car.

 

Again, all the people I have met at meets, plus those I know as friends and NONE of them have lost a condenser due to a rock.

 

A few dollars may seem like nothing to you, but how many xBs have been sold in the US. Lets say 150,000 xbs sold X lets say $2 = $300,000. Thats how much they saved on a part that really isn't necessary.

If you think the xb has large openings in the grill. My 98 Ram's grill completely exposed the condenser coil. There were very large objects lodged in there. Never had a problem with any damage to the coil. Now having problems with the rest of the truck is a different story.

Sorry, its a freak incident. Just apart of owning a car. Stuff happens and it sucks when you can't fix it yourself and have to shell out a bunch of money to the dealer.

 

if they were to spend the money on smaller openings on the front grills then people might get ____ed off when that grill gets broken by other objects that are on the road and ^^ is right you would be amazed have some small things that dont seem like they cost alot add up quick. aslo thats one reason for insurance they will cover things like this, depending on your plan, i see these kinds of things on a daily bases soceity has gotten to the point where they want something for free

 

one more time




*edit*.. fixed it for you.. - Squall