Roof Rack Leaking. Is dealer price worth it?

I got my roof rack installed at a Toyota Dealership in San Diego. I have since moved to Seattle and noticed the inside of my cabin was damp most mornings. I took it to the dealer in Seattle and informed them it was most likely the roof rack installed improperly. They said it would $350 to run a water leak diagnosis, even though I assumed it was the roof rack. Guess what? It was the roof rack! Now they have quoted me $445 to install the rack correctly and $1590 to remove the carpet and sound deadening material to dry them. This seems absolutely ridiculous... Is this at all worth it??

 

lol no way.... I won't put a factory roof rack on for this very reason... worried that once the channel seal is broken water will eventually find its way in. Honestly, I'd remove it, soak up any water that is surely in your channel, let it air dry a couple days maybe, seal up any mounting spots with some exterior silicone, and put your channels back in. Sell the factory rack and get something like an over the bed rack that you dont need to worry about leaking and is more capable anyways. Just my .02

 

I would do it yourself, with that crazy pricing.

 

if you don't want mold and anything its worth it. if you know how to do it yourself then save the money. should have a warranty through toyoya etc but idk

 

I got it installed at a Toyota Service Department at the dealership in San Diego, do you know how I would check if it is under warranty? Would the Seattle dealership be able to tell or would I need to contact the San Deigo dealership?

 

I would contact san diego directly and tell them its leaking and its from the rack. dealer installed options should be covered for at least a certain amount of time esp if it was done improperly leading to damage which it did.

 

was the rack installed in 2017? If so you are way out of any warranty.

But resealing is pretty easy to do, just watch a video of inhaling the rack and you will see.

As for the carpets. Remove for sill trim and prop up the carpet with something. Then blow air under with a fan.

 

check for mold first

 

The rack was installed in 2019 I believe. Even if the warranty is expired since the dealership installed it and the Seattle dealership in their diagnosis said "roof rack gaskets installed improperly and bolts all torqued incorrectly causing water leak on both sides." would that not be covered?

 

Went thru this with my FJ. Pull the bolts off that bolt to the roof itself and reinstall them with a blob of RTV or Right Stuff. They are leaking thru the bolt thread area or where the threads are pressed into the roof sheetmetal.

 

This sounds like it would be worth a phone call to Toyota Corporate. Let them hash it out between the dealers.

Did you get anything in writing from the Seattle dealer? Do you have the paperwork that shows the rack was installed by the SD dealer?

 

Just talked to the dealership some more. I guess the $445 is because they plan on replacing the whole roof rack because it was "broken during the improper install."

 

Yes, I have paperwork from both.

 

Even more so to call Corporate.

 

That should be all that you need and it is worth a shot in my opinion.

 

eh, its their word against the other dealers word here. You would have to get toyota involved to mediate between the 2 dealers. But, there is usually a 1 year 12k mile warranty on these things.