Wanted broken tC trunk Garnish

[ogerdgonz]

Scionpro is looking for a broken tC trunk garnish. We will be studying to figure out the best way to reinforce it to make sure our redesigned unit will last just like we did with the Gen 1 xB Hatch Garnish. The only difference is the tC unit will more than likely be a real carbon fiber finish part.

If you have a broken trunk garnish or even an extra trunk garnish laying around email steve@scionpro.com to let him know.

[ogerdgonz]

Steve still needs 2 or 3 more in order to make this part happen so email him.

[ogerdgonz]

Offer to tC owners: If you own a tC or know someone that does chances are the rear hatch handle just shattered into pieces on you...same as the xB 1. I am collecting broken tC hatch handles provided all pieces are included. I will exchange a D2BD tC stainless steel dead pedal for a broken factory tC handle. Contact me at steve@scionpro.com for details. I need about five units.

Direct from Steve this week......
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[navylife59]

Are you looking at making better replacements or trying to get Toyota to live up to their warranties?

[ogerdgonz]

Are you looking at making better replacements or trying to get Toyota to live up to their warranties?

We are going to do what we did to the gen 1 xB hatch garnish and improve the design.

Toyota considers these pieces to be for garnish purposes so they should not be used for anything other than looks. We all know that is not always the case.

[navylife59]

Ya, I am having difficulty getting it replaced under the extended warranty as well. Broken door handles are supposed to be covered by the factory warranty and the extended warranty. Just have to convince them to take care of this issue as it IS the handle to the hatch to open and lift.

Nice of you to take this on. The only thing that I know of on the market is a C-12 Carbon Fiber piece. I own one but they messed it up by only putting in two of the 4 attaching studs.

[ogerdgonz]

As I mentioned, the reason they will not cover it as a handle is the piece is called Back Door Garnish. It is for looks.

Toyota's design flaw is they appear to not have put any handle in place. On the gen 1 xB there is at least a cheap plastic handle in the door you can grab once the hatch struts pop it up enough. The tC appears to only allow you to grab the metal itself.

We will be doing all 4 because that is the only way you can call it an improved piece.

[navylife59]

Be that as it may, it may be called a trunk garnish but it is certainly not a trim piece. The electric release handle mounts to this piece. Without it, the release just hangs by it's harness. Further, there is nothing to pull up to lift the hatch, save for the license plate light lenses, w/o it. The manufacturer has to cover this under it's normal warranty. If you are out of that warranty, then only a recall will cover it. There is no recall at this moment. I have AMBI for extended coverage on one of my tC's. They said that they do not cover it as a trim piece but would if it was an electric or integral part of the door opening mechanism which it just so happens to be the later.

Time to call Toyota's Customer Experience number to have a case ticket opened.

[ogerdgonz]

I am not trying to start an argument but they knew what they were doing by calling it a trim piece. It may hold the release in place but it is purely for looks. Be that I do not own a tC I can not say for sure but I am guessing the engineers thought you would hit the button, the hatch struts would begin to lift the hatch and you would grab the metal of the hatch if assistance is needed. If they wanted you to pull up at that location they would have made it a handle like on the original gen 1 bB that does not have the license plate.

I wish you luck in your efforts to get this replaced under warranty and the only way they would place it under recall is if there was a class action lawsuit about it. They are still under the impression that they designed their garnish correctly.

I know it does not make it any easier and that is why we are trying to collect broken ones to reverse engineer it so I can reinforce it like our gen 1 xB garnish. We have not had a single complaint of one breaking under use. One broke when the xB was rear ended other than that I do not know of any that have broken.

[navylife59]

No argument to be had; just the facts. Quoting straight from the Scion tC Owner's Manual on page 21 is the Back Door information and operation thereof. The picture clearly shows a hand reaching under the trunk garnish to press the release switch. Notice the black arrow pointing upwards signifying a lifting movement with the hand in relation to opening the hatch. At no point does the manual state, warn, or give notice to not use the trunk release as a handle to lift up on nor does it state to do so gingerly. What happens to most is not the overall use of the release handle but perhaps their timing. All too many times do I think I have the hatch unlocked only to find, much to my chagrin, that it is still locked. That puts stress on the weak plastic tabs that hold the two center mounting bolts causing them to fail.

In the very last paragraph is the closing procedure. Notice too that it states to pull up on it to make sure it is securely latch. What is there to pull up on? Well, only the trunk garnish. Pretty much case closed but only if you are still in the regular warranty period. If you are out of the warranty period and do not have an extended warranty, it will fall on, as you say, to a class action resulting in a recall. Only documenting this problem through the Toyota Customer Care system will get this better known.

I do applaud your efforts to improve this item on the tC. A brushed aluminum, CNC milled piece would be sweet!

To open the back door, push the back door opener and raise the door. The back door can be opened when the vehicle is stopped.
The back door can be locked or unlocked in the following ways.

• Operate the power door lock switch. (See “Side doors” on page 15.)
• 
  Operate the wireless remote control. (See “Wireless remote control” on page 11.)
• 
  The side doors and back door are locked and unlocked simultaneously with the driver’s door. (See “Side doors” on page 15.)

When the side doors and back door are unlocked simultaneously with a key, the interior lights and ignition switch light will come on and remain on for about 15 seconds before fading out.
(For details, see “Interior lights” on page 94 and “Ignition switch light” on page 95.)
If the back door opener does not operate, see “If you cannot operate back door opener” on page 204. If the battery is disconnected or run down, the back door will be automatically
locked and the back door system may not work after you reconnect, replace or recharge the battery. In any of these cases, normalize the back door system by following procedure.
1. Unlock the back door with the remote control key or power door lock switch.
2. Close the back door completely by hand.

If the back door system does not operate properly after the above procedure, there may be a problem in the system. Contact your Scion dealer.

When closing the back door, the inside handle can be used to make the reach easier. To close the back door, lower it and press down on it. After closing the back door, try pulling it up to make sure it is securely closed.

[bszjkm]

i have one laying around in my closet somewhere that broke off a while back
i'll send him an email