10.0

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
25,500 miles
Total Complaints:
1 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. not sure (1 reports)
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problem #1

Dec 172007

Corolla SE 1.8L V4

  • Manual transmission
  • 25,476 miles

My rear defrost stopped working before Christmas. I'm having to use a towel & scraper to keep the inside of the glass clear. I brought it to the dealer last week for the first time, they tested it and told me it was working and that the window was too dirty -even though I had been wiping it almost daily! I gave them the benefit of the doubt and picked up the car - It was above freezing and the car was all fogged up inside. My husband and I sat in the car for 15 minutes - not one single bar on the rear defrost came on. it was past closing time and all the staff at the dealer were gone. I called the next morning and made an appointment to bring the car back on Thursday Jan.10th(yesterday). Got there - they refused to even look at the car. The service manager came out, said they had already inspected it and it worked properly. He said I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE IT!!!!! I told him I have had this car for almost 2 years (Bought brand new at his dealership) and I've used the defrost many times and it worked perfectly until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped working overnight - not one single bar is functioning. My husband pointed out to him 2 small star shaped dime sized "pop" marks in the black trim on the edge of the glass and asked him - couldn't this be where the wires shorted out? We checked all the other Corollas on the dealerships lot - not one had these marks. They look almost like bullet holes, but inside the glass. The Service manager then said that it was not the original window and accused us of changing the window privately!!!!!!! The car has never been in an accident and never been to any other garage except his dealership. My husband told him this and asked him to check if the window was changed during delivery & transportation - maybe it was broken before the car was delivered to us (brand new). We don't know where the car came from -- we had to wait 3 weeks for delivery so maybe it was transferred from another dealer? He had no answer to this. He kept saying that the connections were tested and they were working so the defrost must be working. My husband knows it's not working (he is an amateur mechanic himself) because he had to switch cars with me on the very cold days when we could not clear the window well enough to have good visibility. He has driven trucks professionally for many years and is used to driving without rear view mirrors. My husband told the manager & technician that we are 100% positive it is not working - therefore if the connections are good, something is wrong inside the window - Maybe it is defective. The manager & the technician said this is impossible.

I was waiting outside most of the time because I was so angry and disgusted with the staff there.We argued with the manager for over an hour before leaving in disgust.

Today it was a nice humid day - snowing and freezing rain. So the windows were fogged up. I drove to the dealership but all the bosses were "unavailable". I got a service agent to come outside with the car running and verify that the rear defrost was not working, although the light comes on when the button is pushed. The best he would do is mark down in my file that it "appears to not be defogging a lightly fogged window after 5 minutes of trying". I asked him to order a new window as all the connections had already been tested and verified. He refused to order a window saying they had to inspect the system and rule out other problems.Then he would not give me an appointment for several days. I told him that I routinely drive my small children and this is not safe - he laughed. Then I told him that I was really angry that I had to come 3 times to the dealership to argue and try to get this problem acknowledged - and that the least he could do would be to give me an appointment on Monday - again he refused. So now I have to wait another week to have this argument all over again! I am sure I will bring the car in to be inspected again and they will tell me again that because the connection up to the window is working that there is nothing wrong.

Why is this happening? how much does it cost to replace a rear window in this car? I am sure it must be $1000 - $2000 and because they have to do it under warranty (for free) they think they can bully me and make me go away. If this happens I shall march myself over to the sales office and complain to the general manager of the deaalership. I paid $22,000- for this brand new special edition car and its only 21 months old!!! I thought buying a Toyota meant I wouldnt have these problems!!!! I AM DISGUSTED WITH TOYOTA!!!!

- Katie L., Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada