Leaky moonroof on '03 Sport

[fattire]

First time post. I woke up this morning to rain and wet seats on my '03. I drove straight to the dealership for them to take a look at it. The service rep called me later this morning with good news and bad news (of course).

The good news (if you want to call it that) was that they know exactly what the problem is. Apparently there is an issue with the rubber seal around the moonroof warping and allowing water in. She said they had seen about 50 of these and she had handled 17 personally.

Here's the bad news. Toyota knows about the problem but hasn't developed a fix for it yet. They also can't just replace the seal, they have to replace the entire moonroof. She didn't want to replace the roof and just have the problem again, so they called in a local auto-glass company. They're going to have a bead of sealant around the inside of the factory seal to keep it from leaking while we wait for Toyota to come up with a permanent fix.

I'm curious to see if anyone else has had this problem and what their dealerships did to resolve it. The is just the most recent issue in a long line of problems with this (my first) Toyota. Any info is appreciated!

 

[toybox]

I don't have a leaky sunroof but mine does rattle and I'm waiting for the dealer to get the parts to fix it. My question though is what is on the long list of problems on your first toy? Sorry to hear you have had a list of problems and I'm just curious as to what they are. Thanks.

 

[fattire]

The back seat rattles/clunks - fixed twice and has come back a third time
Noisy fan belt on cold starts - fixed once and has come back
Driver's seat rattles - not yet reported, but different issue from what I've seen on other threads
High-pitched whine from A/C and heater when fan speed is set to "Lo" - dealer couldn't duplicate but still there
Leaky moonroof - took it in once, dealer couldn't replicate w/ carwash, but here I am again
Several miscellaneous broken trim pieces - all fixed, but IMO shouldn't have broken in the first place

I can understand a first year car having some problems (lesson learned). However, I had a '94 GT Mustang (traded-in on my Yota) that was only in once for a factory problem (bad power window motor). '94 was the first year after a MAJOR redesign of that car as well. I'm not saying I like Ford better, but I expected a higher quality product from Toyota and am fairly frustrated.

 

[toybox]

Thanks for the reply.

Anyway speaking of redesigned Mustangs, have you seen the new one? I think it looks very cool!

 

[fattire]

INCREDIBLY SWEET! They did an excellent job of giving it the same lines as the late-60's and early-70's fastbacks. When you look at it from the front it just screams Shelby GT-350 =).

I haven't seen any "official" performance numbers on it, but I hope it's got more muscle than the new GTO. Ford lost a lot of people when the GT's started getting spanked by the Crap-eros and Fire-chickens. The '03 Cobra is a step in the right direction, but the GT needs to be stepped up too.

 

[toybox]

I read an article today that said the GT would have 300 ponies and they are going to try to get the Cobra to the level to compete with the M3's. Apparantly besides an engine boost for the Cobra they are also going to try to give it irs instead of the solid axle that will be in the Gt and the rest of the line.

And yes IMO it's the best looking stang since the late 60's.

 

[fattire]

I just found out that the GTO has 350 HP from the same 5.7L block as the 'Vette. Hopefully The GT will get a bump before production. Even with the GT at 300, the Cobra should be in 'Vette range and with IRS may come close to handling like one.

The IRS would be a great improvement in the Mustang line. I remember the a$$-end of mine would get awfully skittish going around bumpy corners.