1999 Toyota Avalon

ON OR ABOUT THE DATE BELOW, I WAS TRAVELING ON THE I-405 N FREEWAY IN LOS ANGELES WHEN MY SUNROOF GLASS PANEL FLEW OFF OF MY CAR. THE SUNROOF WAS CLOSED AT THE TIME, BUT I HAD NOTICED INCREASING WIND NOISE OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS OR SO. AFTER CONDUCTING SOME ONLINE RESEARCH, IT APPEARS THAT OTHER SUNROOFS (E.G., THE WEBASTO MODELS 600/700 AND 900) THAT ALSO USED GLASS PANELS MANUFACTURED BY VERMEULEN HOLLANDIA ALSO EXPERIENCED THIS SAME PROBLEM. I PURCHASED MY 1999 TOYOTA AVALON USED IN 2004 WITH ABOUT 16K MILES ON IT. I AM UNSURE WHETHER WEBASTO IS THE MANUFACTURER, BUT AM LISTING THEM IN THE FOLLOWING PAGE SO THAT I AM ABLE TO FILL OUT ALL THE REQUIRED INFORMATION TO FILE THIS REPORT ELECTRONICALLY. THE GLASS PANEL INDICATES THAT VERMEULEN HOLLANDIA BV IS THE MANUFACTURER, AND THE SN IS 361607. *TR

MY NEIGHBOR AND I PURCHASED TOYOTA AVALON'S THREE WEEKS APART FROM SPARKS TOYOTA. HE IN DECEMBER '98, AND I IN JANUARY '99. AFTER TWO WEEKS OF OWNING MY CAR I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD A FOUL ODOR IN HIS CAR AS I DID, HE SAID, "YES." WE PURSUED THE CAUSE TOGETHER. CALLED TOYOTA IN TORRANCE, CA, AND A WOMEN ADMITTED THAT THE ODOR WAS COMING FROM THE A/C. SHE STATED IT COULD GO AWAY BY ITSELF OR TO MINIMIZE THE ODOR, RUN THE A/C ON OUTSIDE AIR. CALLED SPARKS TOYOTA SERVICE DEPARTMENT, THEY STATED IT COULD BE A CLOGGED OR RESTRICTED CONDENSATION LINE. WE BOTH HAD OUR CARS CHECKED OUT, NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND WITH THE DRAIN LINES. BOTH CARS WERE SPRAYED WITH A BACTERIAL DEODORANT. SERVICE MANAGER RECOMMENDED TO HAVE FACTORY REPRESENTATIVE TROY HEWEL LOOK AT ONE OF OUR CARS TO MAKE A DETERMINATION AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE ODOR. WE COMPLIED. HEWEL AT FIRST DID NOT KNOW OF ANY PROBLEM, BUT DURING OUR CONVERSATION HE PRODUCED MATERIAL FROM HONDA/ARTICLES FROM USA TODAY/AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKLEY WELLNESS LETTER ABOUT ISSUES WITH A/C EVAPORATORS. BOTH OF US AGREED TO HAVE OUR EVAPORATORS REPLACED, AS SUGGESTED BY THE HEWEL. TO THE BOTH OF US IT SEEMS TO BE AN INDUSTRY PROBLEM. WHY ISN'T THE BUYER INFORMED OF THE ODOR AT PURCHASE? WHY IN THIS CASE, DOES TOYOTA AT FIRST DENY THAT THERE IS AN A/C PROBLEM, BUT WHEN QUESTIONED FURTHER, ADMITS THERE IS? WHAT HEALTH RISKS ARE INVOLVED FOR DRIVER AND PASSENGERS? ISN'T THERE ALSO AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN, BY USING FRESH AIR (INSTEAD OF RECIRCULATION) TO COOL THE CAR, MORE FUEL HAS TO BE BURNT, RAISING THE POLLUTENT LEVELS ADMITTED TO THE ATMOSPHERE? WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM NHTSA ON THESE ISSUES, THANK YOU! *AK