Water in my 2012 Highlander - dealership telling me I have mold and mildew ...

[mrbigstuff]

Yeah auto detailer - that has a good shop!

Only sunroof and windshield can let in that amount of water. You'd notice if it were the door seals for instance.

Find the cause, fix that and move to the next phase.

[Fritz]

as I remember you're in joisey.
perhaps check out the dealer repair shops here.
https://www.dealerrater.com/

But I'd prolly look for a local mech or detailer as said, myself.

I had this issue with my '18 S90, but it was a lease.
So the dealer had to deal. It was definitely the sunroof drains and they (frighteningly honest) told me the drain was installed in gina with a twist in the left drain.

Most dealers are good for one thing and one thing only. Nothing.

[macphanatic]

If the problem is solved, you can want a detailer. They have tricks and equipment to do this right and it should cost a lot less. They may use an ozone generator as part of the process.

[gadje]

So how do you plan to fix the hole?

[JoeM]

mrbigstuff wrote:
Yeah auto detailer - that has a good shop!

Only sunroof and windshield can let in that amount of water. You'd notice if it were the door seals for instance.

Find the cause, fix that and move to the next phase.

Apparently water drain issues are common in Toyota Highlanders. The drain tube runs down behind the driver side window pillar and drains near the inner corner of the driver door. Loads of YouTube videos with people having issues.

[Fritz]

common in almost any auto with a sunroof.
crud clog, or freeze defrost in winter. the drain hoses aren't very big in diameter.

[Spiff]

We had this problem with our 2013 highlander hybrid. You have to specifically state “blow out of sunroof drains” for them to actually do it. Not Standard operating procedure. 6300 is a little high. We got charged roughly 2200 for ripping out our carpet and sound dampening material, cleaning the carpet and putting it back all together.

[Racer X]

mrbigstuff wrote:
Yeah auto detailer - that has a good shop!

Only sunroof and windshield can let in that amount of water. You'd notice if it were the door seals for instance.

Find the cause, fix that and move to the next phase.

if the welds and/or seal at the base of your windshield have failed, you can gets lots of water on the floor. i've seen it myself.

[JoeM]

Fritz wrote:
as I remember you're in joisey.
perhaps check out the dealer repair shops here.
https://www.dealerrater.com/

But I'd prolly look for a local mech or detailer as said, myself.

I had this issue with my '18 S90, but it was a lease.
So the dealer had to deal. It was definitely the sunroof drains and they (frighteningly honest) told me the drain was installed in gina with a twist in the left drain.

Most dealers are good for one thing and one thing only. Nothing.

Thanks for the link. Definitely helpful!

[JoeM]

macphanatic wrote:
If the problem is solved, you can want a detailer. They have tricks and equipment to do this right and it should cost a lot less. They may use an ozone generator as part of the process.

Great idea, thanks! I'm thinking nothing has been done but when I pickup the car tomorrow I'll find out for sure.