emblem plastic piece broken

[xlxhockeyxlx]

anyone have this problem, ive seen a few around now that i look, but the back scion emblem the plastic piece it is mounted to broke off my hatch door, i was wondering if anyone had a good fix for this or at least one that will keep it on, i went to toyota and they said its 150 cuz you have to buy the full assembly or something. Mine is currently being held on my duct tape

[navylife59]

What you are talking about is commonly referred to as the trunk garnish. The dealerships claim that it is not a handle but just a garnish. You are, they say, suppose to press the hatch button release then squeeze your fingers between the hatch and car body to lift open. That is complete BS as the Owner's Manual does not state that. Just a cop out on taking care of an obvious design oversight. You can remove the garnish piece, retrieve the broken thread posts behind them, and re-affix using a 2-part plastic epoxy. Make sure that it boldly states "Plastic" on the label and not plastic and a slew of other materials. There are 4 posts total.

[xlxhockeyxlx]

I tried like gorilla glue but it really didnt make a good contact and didn't stick very long, would i have better luck taking the plastic posts off of the screws then trying epoxy? I'm guessing i have to somehow be able to access the screws then too.

[navylife59]

Gorilla glue is crap. I have never been satisfied with any of their products. You need to use a 2-part epoxy made specifically for plastics. Some plastics, however, do not take to glue or epoxy resins very well. The only other option, save from buying a replacement would be a plastic welder.

[xlxhockeyxlx]

it was fun, used a 2 part epoxy and had to take off the inside back panel. Wasn't too bad but its kinda annoying how everything snaps into each other

[navylife59]

yep. That is why I have not installed my TBL kit on my other tC.

[xlxhockeyxlx]

whats a TBL kit?

[navylife59]

TBL - Third Brake Light
Referenced: http://www.club-tc.com/forums/tc-kno...s-library.html

Did not realize that it wasn't in the list. Now added.

Meng Motorsports - The Leader In Scion Performance Intake Exhaust Springs | Plug and Play HID Kits

[Guvnor]

How many other people have had this problem? My daughter's 2007 TC is now duct-taped on, then driving through my sub-division this morning I saw another TC with duct-tape on the back. Very disappointing in a Toyota product. I've thought of using epoxy - worth a try I suppose before paying $150 to Toyota. How do those clips come out? I've gotta remove the locating pieces to do the gluing. Alternatively, are there any 3rd party providers of this piece? Or, how about a class action lawsuit? Well, maybe a coordinated complaint campaign with publicity would make Toyota be a bit more amenable to a reasonably priced fix.

[navylife59]

Sorry about the spam. For some reason I don't see those postings in my list. I not sure what exploit they are using.

Yes it is sad that Toyo has made such a bogus claim (user error) to cover up an obvious design flaw. They expect you to only use that garnish to press the release button, wedged your fingers underneath the edge of the hatch, and use your other hand to lift open the hatch. Totally ludicrous. The Owner's Manual makes no such statement or directive to do so in such a manner. They put 2 handles on the interior panel to lower the tC but offered none to open. Come on.

So far, there is not a lawsuit that I know of but I do believe it is being looked at. Class Action lawsuits tend to serve only the interests of the lawyers and the initiating parties. I don't file claim in such suits because you tend to get next to nothing in recompense while the lawyers make out like kings. For me to subscribe to such a suit, I would have to be guarantied that my defect part would be replaced free of charge with a better design. I was forced to pay $150 to get a bracket for my TRD S/C that was Dealer installed to get the one year warranty. I am not sure when it broke but I made my claim after the warranty expired. Defect or not, I was screwed. That is where a class action lawsuit is supposed to be for. Unfortunately it is self-serving revenue for greedy lawyers. What would Honest Abe Lincoln have to say about that? He is the only lawyer I would ever trust.

OK, so how to fix your problem in the mean time. You do have many options on color and design for duct tape. You could "stick" with the Toyo preferred method, or you could use a two-part plastic epoxy to repair the broken studs. There are four studs that mount to plastic bosses on the backside of the garnish. These bosses where not designed to handle much stress and therefore a design flaw. Usually, the middle two will break without you knowing about it. This exerts 200% more stress upon the remaining outer bosses which soon follow in suit with the inner. To effect repair, you will need to remove the entire rear hatch interior panels; the main interior panel and 3 window trim pieces. Not too difficult to remove but a little daunting on the install with one set of hands so buy some beer, wine spritzers, or apple juice of choice for your cohort in repair. The threaded studs are metal and attach to the inner skin of the hatch with 4 nuts. The release switch is part of the garnish and considered a complete assembly (hence the cost) so do not try to remove it from the garnish. Just unplug it. Carefully remove and watch for any pieces to fall out. You will, hopefully, be re-attaching those. Note: Do not try to remove the studs from their plastic bosses. You will also need to figure out the placement and orientation of each piece prior to applying adhesive.

Mix your epoxy by the product directions and reattach your bosses. Having the studs still intact with the bosses helps with setup. Choose a 5-minute epoxy but just make sure it states that it is primarily for plastics. Make sure to set the bosses correctly or they may not line-up the garnish correctly. Once it is cured, re-install. You will need to add some thread-locker like the standard blue Loctite to the metal threads where the nut some in contact. Snug down the nuts but do not over tighten. Allow the part to achieve it's full cure, which is about 24-48 hours (depending on the product) before use. Give it a couple of test runs and if it inspects good, then re-install the interior panel pieces and call it a day.

As far as a 3rd party product to enhance or replace that part, there is none currently for the tC, save for, the duct tape. The Gen1 xB/bB does have an aftermarket replacement for their hatch garnishes and I think there may have been a suit. I will see if I can get some better instructions posted on this subject.

[Guvnor]

Thanks for the detailed reply - I'm only joking about a class action (sort of), but perhaps a few letters of complaint. It would be good to take a poll of who else has had this issue and if anyone has had any meaningful conversations with Scion/Toyo.