Extreme mould.

[Piratelucy]

So I have a Toyota aygo, brought on finance back in 2013, my car turns 4years old on 16th April. My car is horrendously mouldy, my car is still under warranty but Motorline Toyota are refusing to fix the damp and mould under warranty. I'm a severe chronic asthmatic. I've called their head office, many of times and they're as helpful as a wet paper bag! I can't use this car due to my asthma and I can't sell this car due to the extreme mould damage! I've just wasted £10,500 on a car that I can't use due to health! All I can say is that this company is the worst company I've ever dealt with! Their customer service is extremely ****! So anyone looking to buy a Toyota, DONT! Even if it's under warranty, toyota do not give a flying ubik about you!

[mickburkesnr]

I had this in my 107, not to this extreme but definately had some mould there. It was caused by a small leak, and when I didn't use the car it would get very humid and in there - the perfect environment for mould to grow.

However, I handed the car to a valeter and he cleaned the car top to bottom and the leak was fixed. But mostly importantly I used the car. The air con was always on blowing air in to the cabin constantly, so there was an airflow going through it. This was 3 years ago, and since then the mould has never returned.

From reading what you've said, your issue is with Motorline. If they've been unhelpful then you really should speak to Toyota's head office about this issue to do with the mould. At the same time, lodge a complaint with Motorline's head office. But your mould is extreme, they'll want to know what you have been doing with the car for it to get this bad.

Cars are like anything else, they need to be used regularly and looked after. You shouldn't expect the car to sit on a driveway for 6 months and just be able to drive it and have it like it was before. I didn't use mine for over 12 months, and I got the mould problem. Also, I wouldn't consider the mould to have caused significant "damage". If a carpet is destroyed then yes it's damaged, but often the mould sits on top of it and once cleaned it won't return and you'd never know it was there in the first place.

Plus, a forum like this is for people to get help and advice, or partake in discussions regarding a specific thing etc. I know you're angry and upset about your car and your experience with the dealership, but because a dealership hasn't fixed the damp in your car doesn't mean that Toyota are at fault. I wouldn't go and say Guinness are awful because Tesco sold an out of date can of theirs to me and wouldn't refund me.

[Piratelucy]

I use my car on a daily basis, I'm a duty manager for British Patroleum and I work an hour away from home, so no I do not leave it there to get mouldy, I've had water damage in this car before it's 2year birthday and because I was still paying my finance they done everything under warranty but now I've paid off my finance and I still have one year of warranty left, they're not bothering! And sounds like you didn't read my post correctly as I've already made a case and many complaints to their head office and even asked to speak to their managing director! Yet they still never call back! How is this customer service? I'm a duty manager and the one thing about my job is to keep the customer happy, Toyota aren't keeping up their standards.

[mickburkesnr]

Motorline are a dealership, they're nothing to do with Toyota. From what you wrote you mention Motorline Toyota, and that you called their head office. So it read as if you were referring to Motorline, not Toyota.

Thing is, as I've often found out, those who shout loudest and longest get dealt with first. You are going to have to keep going at it to get a response from them.

But, like I mentioned previously, your mould is substantial and they'll want to know what you've done (either as a cause - which is a leak - and preventative measures) for that amount of mould to be there. Are you cleaning the mould at all? And are you using anything to kill the mould?

I also Googled the warranty (as I never had a Toyota under the 5 year warranty), and there's a post from this forum regarding a water ingress issue which can be found here. There's some talk about what the warranty covers. It maybe that this issue isn't covered by your warranty, but you can negotiate a good will gesture to resolve the issue.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Reading both of your posts, you haven't been clear in either post whose Head Office you've been dealing with - Motorline's or Toyota's. Given the fact you're a duty manager and deal with customer service, it would have been helpful to provide a clear description of who you have contacted, rather than criticize another member who has tried to provide some advice.

If you want to have a rant, you've done that. By the way, as per the declarations at the base of each page, Toyota Owners Club isn't associated with Toyota.

If you want advice, then members will help provided you give appropriate information.

Looking at the pictures, the mould is obviously a long standing issue, so how long has it been left in order to get into the state it is in now.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Post moved to the Aygo club.

[fordulike]

Just to show that I think the leak issue is covered under warranty. My Aygo is the same year as yours, and when I bought it used, it spent a day in the Toyota dealer workshop getting all the bulletin mods done. That was before they allowed me to drive it away.

Go to a different Toyota dealer, if the current one isn't helping.

[Cyker]

TBH I'd just get the car properly valeted to clean all the mould out, then either sell it on if you're sick of it, or get a trusted garage (Speak to colleagues to see who they use) to find the source of the leak. In my experience, Toyota garages are great for routine maintenance but I've found they're mostly crap for fault-finding unless it is a well known fault.

If the car is just prone to damp, do what I do and hide loads of silica gel packs and such around the car; I find they do wonders for lessening the effect of condensation and other damp.

You can also try the leave-a-bowl-of-rice/coffee-on-the-back-seat trick which some of my mates have done with varying success (Top tips: 1) Don't forget to remove it from the back seat before you drive off; 2) Use uncooked rice... yes it turns out one of my friends is actually that stupid...)

 

[Wiz201]

Wow in my years of driving I've never had a mouldy car. I have had a leather hat in the boot go mouldy which I threw away but having just cleared out my boot in order to swap my mk1 Aygo for a brand new mk 2 Aygo it was bone dry and I've never suffered a leak. I get condensation on the inside of the windscreen when its cold but I just deal with it and use the blowers. 

As others have said Motorline are a separate dealership and you could try taking the aygo to a proper toyota dealer.

[fordulike]

11 minutes ago, Wiz201 said:

Wow in my years of driving I've never had a mouldy car. I have had a leather hat in the boot go mouldy which I threw away but having just cleared out my boot in order to swap my mk1 Aygo for a brand new mk 2 Aygo it was bone dry and I've never suffered a leak. I get condensation on the inside of the windscreen when its cold but I just deal with it and use the blowers. 

As others have said Motorline are a separate dealership and you could try taking the aygo to a proper toyota dealer.

Totally agree, I think it's a luck of the draw thing with Aygos.

[Cyker]

May be a locational thing too; The Mk1 Yaris I sold to my brother never had any leaks or water in it while I owned it, but when he was cleaning it out a few weeks back he found the spare wheel well was full of water!

We're still not sure how all that water got in there, but it seems a drainage plug was blocked so it could have just been cartloads of condensation over many months... (I didn't think living 100 miles further north would make so much difference to condensation levels!)

 

[mickburkesnr]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

(I didn't think living 100 miles further north would make so much difference to condensation levels!)

If I travel to London, which is over a hundred miles south of Birmingham, I always start sweating. It might be more to do with the cost of everything there more than the weather though!

[Wiz201]

On 04/04/2017 at 6:57 PM, mickburkesnr said:

If I travel to London, which is over a hundred miles south of Birmingham, I always start sweating. It might be more to do with the cost of everything there more than the weather though!

Its the tube system I don't like but yeah the prices do make me gulp as well.