2003-2009 Toyota 4Runner Broken Rear Hatch Glass Warranty Extension ZG7

Lewis

Moderator
Staff member

Subject: Warranty Enhancement Program – ZG7
2003-2009 Model Year 4Runner Extension of Warranty Coverage for Broken Rear Hatch Glass

In our continuing efforts to ensure the best in customer satisfaction, Toyota is announcing a Warranty Enhancement Program to extend the warranty coverage for Broken Rear Hatch Glass on Certain 2003-2009 Model Year 4Runner Vehicles. Also see T-SB-0189-17

Background:
Toyota has received a number of reports where the vehicles rear hatch glass broke during defroster operation. Although the rear hatch glass is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first), we at Toyota care about the customer’s ownership experience. Toyota is now extending the warranty coverage for repairs related to Broken Rear Hatch Glass during defroster operation.


Warranty Enhancement Program Details
This Warranty Enhancement Program provides enhanced coverage to the vehicle’s “New Vehicle Limited Warranty” as it applies to the Rear Hatch Glass. The specific condition covered by this program is broken Rear Hatch Glass during defroster operation. If the condition is verified, the vehicle will be repaired with new Rear Hatch Glass at no charge under the terms of this Warranty Enhancement Program.

• The Primary Coverage offers warranty enhancement until April 30, 2018, regardless of mileage.
• After the Primary Coverage ends, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 9 years from the date of first
use with no mileage limitation.

Covered Vehicles:
There are approximately 602,700 certain 2003-2009 Model Year 4Runner vehicles covered by this Warranty Enhancement Program. There are approximately 6,000 Puerto Rico Vehicles involved in this Warranty Enhancement Program.

Owner Letter Mailing Date:
Toyota will begin to notify owners in early March, 2017 and will be mailed over several months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the condition?
Toyota has received a number of reports where the vehicle’s rear hatch glass broke during defroster
operation. Although the rear hatch glass is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years of 36,000 miles (whichever comes first), we at Toyota care about the customer’s ownership experience. Toyota is now extending the warranty coverage for repairs related to Broken Rear Hatch Glass during defroster operation.

What is Toyota going to do?
Toyota will send (in phases consistent with parts availability and repair capacity) starting in early March ,
2017, an owner notification by first class mail advising owners of this Warranty Enhancement Program.
If the owner experiences the condition described above, he/she should contact a local authorized Toyota
dealership for diagnosis. If the condition is verified, the dealer will replace the Rear Hatch Glass at NO
CHARGE
to the customer.

What are the details of this coverage?
This Warranty Enhancement Program provides enhanced coverage to the vehicle’s “New Vehicle Limited
Warranty” as it applies to the Rear Hatch Glass. The specific condition covered by this program is broken
Rear Hatch Glass during defroster operation. If the condition is verified, the vehicle will be repaired with new Rear Hatch Glass at no charge under the terms of this Warranty Enhancement Program.

• The Primary Coverage offers warranty enhancement until April 30, 2018, regardless of mileage.
• After the Primary Coverage ends, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 9 years from the date of first use with no mileage limitation.

What if an owner HAS NOT experienced this condition but would like to have the repair completed?
This Warranty Enhancement Program only applies to vehicles that have exhibited the condition described
above. If an owner has not experienced the condition, he/she is asked to apply the warranty enhancement
notification sticker to the Owners Warranty Information Booklet for future reference.

How will Toyota determine the cause of the broken rear hatch glass?
The dealership will follow an inspection that is outlined in a technical service bulletin that identifies how to determine if the rear hatch glass broke due to defroster operation. Rear hatch glass that is broken due to other factors such as rock chips or impact damage will not be covered by this Warranty Enhancement
Program.

The original Rear Hatch Glass that was in my vehicle which broke was tinted; will Toyota apply tint to the replacement Rear Hatch Glass?
If the Rear Hatch Glass was factory tinted from Toyota, it will be replaced with a factory tinted replacement.
If the vehicle had Rear Glass that was not factory tinted, the glass will be replaced with a non-tinted replacement. Re-tinting will not be covered by Toyota under this Warranty Enhancement Program.
 
A

Angela

Guest
I have all my documentation ready to send, but don't have the address with me where to send it to get reimbursed for Warranty Enhancement# ZG7. Can you give me that address please?
 
A

Angela

Guest
I found it!

Toyota Customer Experience Center - TSR
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
c/o Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
P O Box 259001 – SSC/CSP Reimbursements
Plano, Texas 75025-9001

:)
 
D

Doug

Guest
Good luck getting your money back if your rear hatch glass inexplicably broke in the past. Mine broke 4 years ago. I received the letter from Toyota and followed the directions to get the information to Toyota to file my claim. I followed the checklist of requested information exactly and received a letter stating they wanted not only information that was not on the initial checklist but information that was readily available in the paperwork I sent in. So I called customer service. The agent was very helpful and stated that the reimbursement department was hard to communicate with and that he suggested what information I should gather and send it directly to him. One of the things he suggested was a condition, cause and remedy statement by the auto body facility that replaced the window. Well it was 4 years ago and at the time there was no indication of what had happened to the window. There was no collision and no indication of the window being damaged in any way it simply broke. So that is what the facility wrote.

A short time after sending the information in I received notice that my claim was denied. The letter stated that my claim did not meet the criteria for reimbursement under the Customer Support Program CSP ZG7. The letter goes on to state that “Toyota values you as a customer…” Then if I have additional questions regarding our position call customer service. So I call customer service again. And again I talk to a very empathetic person who can only simply read to me that the condition, cause and remedy statement by my repair facility did not meet the criteria. What criteria? How am I or my repair facility supposed to say that the defroster was the cause of the breakage? It was 4 years ago and the TSB (T-SB-0189-17) was not even issued until this year. So why would the repair facility even look for the conditions listed in the TSB when the damage occurred 4 years ago? The warranty enhancement letter states “… we at Toyota care about the customer’s ownership experience.” Not buying it.

I have been told by customer service there is one more level of customer service folks that I can talk to in hopes of getting this resolved. I am not very hopeful that this supervisor can help. Especially since the reimbursement folks will not talk to me.
 

GravyDog

Moderator
Staff member
Good luck getting your money back if your rear hatch glass inexplicably broke in the past. Mine broke 4 years ago. I received the letter from Toyota and followed the directions to get the information to Toyota to file my claim. I followed the checklist of requested information exactly and received a letter stating they wanted not only information that was not on the initial checklist but information that was readily available in the paperwork I sent in. So I called customer service. The agent was very helpful and stated that the reimbursement department was hard to communicate with and that he suggested what information I should gather and send it directly to him. One of the things he suggested was a condition, cause and remedy statement by the auto body facility that replaced the window. Well it was 4 years ago and at the time there was no indication of what had happened to the window. There was no collision and no indication of the window being damaged in any way it simply broke. So that is what the facility wrote.

A short time after sending the information in I received notice that my claim was denied. The letter stated that my claim did not meet the criteria for reimbursement under the Customer Support Program CSP ZG7. The letter goes on to state that “Toyota values you as a customer…” Then if I have additional questions regarding our position call customer service. So I call customer service again. And again I talk to a very empathetic person who can only simply read to me that the condition, cause and remedy statement by my repair facility did not meet the criteria. What criteria? How am I or my repair facility supposed to say that the defroster was the cause of the breakage? It was 4 years ago and the TSB (T-SB-0189-17) was not even issued until this year. So why would the repair facility even look for the conditions listed in the TSB when the damage occurred 4 years ago? The warranty enhancement letter states “… we at Toyota care about the customer’s ownership experience.” Not buying it.

I have been told by customer service there is one more level of customer service folks that I can talk to in hopes of getting this resolved. I am not very hopeful that this supervisor can help. Especially since the reimbursement folks will not talk to me.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with other Toyota owners and I hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction. If you could, would you please post a copy of the letter the letter Toyota sent. Thanks
 
J

JIM ROBERTS

Guest
I purchased my 2005 4runner a month ago and the back glass spontaneously shattered. I was not aware of this condition and paid for the window to be replaced. Can someone please post a copy of the check list that needs to be sent in with the request for reimbursement. Thanks
 
B

Bobzachdog1

Guest
Just experienced my hatch window exploding this past week on 7-22-18. Spoke to Ralph Hayes Toyota in Anderson SC who said he would send a letter to see if this would be covered by Toyota. Got response stating that Toyota denied claim because it was only going to cover this issue through April of 2018. I am a couple months late so they said sorry. How does a company deny fixing a problem that they are aware of regardless of time. It is obvious that they used glass that was an inferior product otherwise they would not have replaced any glass. Spoke to national office today and got the same response with the added statement that they would not replace the glass 1 day later or 1 mile later than they had agreed to. I have 2 Toyota 4 runners currently but will not own another Toyota product. What a poor way to take care of your customer. I will try and let as many people as I can know about the poor service that I received. I will probably have 2 Toyota 4 runners for sale in the next couple of days.
 
B

brenwilly

Guest
Just experienced my hatch window exploding this past week on 7-22-18. Spoke to Ralph Hayes Toyota in Anderson SC who said he would send a letter to see if this would be covered by Toyota. Got response stating that Toyota denied claim because it was only going to cover this issue through April of 2018. I am a couple months late so they said sorry. How does a company deny fixing a problem that they are aware of regardless of time. It is obvious that they used glass that was an inferior product otherwise they would not have replaced any glass. Spoke to national office today and got the same response with the added statement that they would not replace the glass 1 day later or 1 mile later than they had agreed to. I have 2 Toyota 4 runners currently but will not own another Toyota product. What a poor way to take care of your customer. I will try and let as many people as I can know about the poor service that I received. I will probably have 2 Toyota 4 runners for sale in the next couple of days.

Same boat - my 2007 4Runnner's rear window exploded on 11/5/18 while driving on interstate on rainy/foggy day. Had the rear wiper and rear defrost on at the time. Called Toyota "customer experience" at Toyota HQ in Plano, TX and spoke with Corey, who referred me to Michael. Same runaround....."warranty extension expired 4/2018 so no program available to provide reimbursement". What's next? Has anyone pursued legal action? Seems a huge risk to not only those sitting in the rear seat of the vehicle to but others on the road.
 
A

AHarrelson - GA

Guest
My back glass exploded last night, defroster on but not wipers. So far this morning, two Toyota dealers have acted as if they have never heard of this issue when it’s obviously well documented on the World Wide Web.
 
D

Donna

Guest
This happened to my vehicle today, 11/27/18. I went out a few minutes early and started my car and turned on front and rear defrost. Ten minutes later I left for work. I got less than two miles down the road and rear window shattered and glass was everywhere inside my 4-Runner. Called coorporate and they said they won't do a thing because the warranty extension has run out. Sounds like this is a class action lawsuit in the making. They know something is wrong and refuse to fix it. Happy I didn't have a child in the back seat.
 
B

brenwilly

Guest
Same boat - my 2007 4Runnner's rear window exploded on 11/5/18 while driving on interstate on rainy/foggy day. Had the rear wiper and rear defrost on at the time. Called Toyota "customer experience" at Toyota HQ in Plano, TX and spoke with Corey, who referred me to Michael. Same runaround....."warranty extension expired 4/2018 so no program available to provide reimbursement". What's next? Has anyone pursued legal action? Seems a huge risk to not only those sitting in the rear seat of the vehicle to but others on the road.


update: I separately sent an email with this same complaint and received the following response.
"While we understand this is not the response you were hoping for, it does represent Toyota’s final position. Understanding your personal experiences with your 2007 4Runner is important to Toyota, and your additional feedback has been documented at Toyota's National Headquarters under file xxx...."
 
M

Mia

Guest
2005 4Runner back window exploded tonight while driving on the freeway. Back defeosfer was on. It was incredibly scary, I had my 3 year old and 8 month old in the car, luckily everyone was ok.
 
2

2005 Toyota

Guest
Just happened to our 2005 4 Runner. Taking it to dealer in the morning, very scary thought someone shot out the window while driving.
 
W

William Roper

Guest
Happen to us this morning. 2006 Sport. Sound like a bomb went off. Had defroster on. If Toyota won't fix the problem they need to insist that owners DO NOT use the defroster at all.
 
B

brenwilly

Guest
Happen to us this morning. 2006 Sport. Sound like a bomb went off. Had defroster on. If Toyota won't fix the problem they need to insist that owners DO NOT use the defroster at all.

In full agreement! I'm afraid the only way they'll issue another warranty extension is if people keep calling to report/complain the issue is still happening!
 
E

Eddie

Guest
This just happened to me. Dec. 24th, 2018. Was driving 30mph slightly chilly night, turned on the rear defroster and within 5 minutes, my rear window exploded. People in the back seat smelled a burning smell, and within seconds of that, it just exploded. Safelite replaced the window and saw that the defroster connectors had burned up! 400 dollars later I have a new rear window. Toyota says there is nothing on there end that they are not to blame. Hmmm...
 

MG

Moderator
This just happened to me. Dec. 24th, 2018. Was driving 30mph slightly chilly night, turned on the rear defroster and within 5 minutes, my rear window exploded. People in the back seat smelled a burning smell, and within seconds of that, it just exploded. Safelite replaced the window and saw that the defroster connectors had burned up! 400 dollars later I have a new rear window. Toyota says there is nothing on there end that they are not to blame. Hmmm...
Also, post this thread on Facebook, Tweet it out or whatever it takes to bring viability to this customer safety issue. Thanks!
 
J

JonnyEm

Guest
2005 Toyota 4Runner. Rear window exploded while I was sitting at a light yesterday morning. The Toyota dealership service manager in Kennesaw, GA told me he's never heard of it before and something must have hit it. Offered to replace it for only $1100.00. Safelight changed it for $250.00 and showed me where the defroster element in the window shorted at the connection. It was burnt and blackened. Lucky there was no fire.
 
T

Toyota Tech

Guest
There is a TSB on this along with the extended coverage. Your extended coverage may be expired by now, mine expired last year and unfortunately my shattered a week ago. This is not a common issue compared to other problems. Also i talked with a few people at my dealer about it and quite a few people never heard about it. the only people that did were with toyota for 10+ years. even then some of the older techs had never heard of it.

When i got the letter and saw that i was still covered, i left my defroster on for a few car rides but it never happened. I'm unsure of the exact circumstances to cause the glass to shatter. but mine did in 60F morning, and i accidentally pressed the defrost (never really use it) when i shut the pocket/door below the A/C controls. it only took 5min after that for it to shatter. but from looking at the TSB for a bit it looks like to gets hot around the defroster grid pins/connector. so i assume its a design flaw with the defroster grid and gets too hot too quick. similar to throwing hot water on a frozen windshield.
 
Top