A cautionary note …

Hello friends.

Shortly after I got my 4Runner I ordered the Carista dongle so that I could customize all those mysteriously “dealer only” settings I saw in the manual. There is one setting I regret having changed. It is possible with the Carista app to set all the windows and the sunroof to open with a long press of the unlock button on the key fob.

Well, it’s been raining here, and yesterday morning I came out to the car and found the windows and sunroof were open, and evidently had been for hours. Habitually I keep the fob in the watch pocket of my jeans. I guess the unlock button got pressed somehow and the windows were opened. I think there will be no long-lasting ill effects, and have put that setting back to its default. But I just thought I’d share.

“A smart man can learn from is own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”​

 

Thanks for the heads up. Sorry to hear about the water damage. I feel your pain,

 

Sorry to hear man. I’ve been known to unlock and set off the panic alarm with my keys so I opted not to add any extra keyless features which isn’t much with my 19 anyway.

 

I've accidentally left the back window cracked during a storm and was shocked at how much water made it in

 

Lord, reminds me of my 16 Tacoma. There was a bad gasket on the 3rd brake light and allowed water to seep in. At first I never noticed it until after a seemingly "monsoon" type storm in north MS happened in early summer 2019. Of course, I didn't think nothing about it, but a few days later, there was a sour smell coming from the cab. A little searching found a wet spot behind the passenger folding seat. Some research (and time on Tacomaworld later) and it turns out there was a whole host of 3rd gen Tacos with those bad gaskets. Enough complaints were filed, and Toyota FINALLY issued a recall on those early models. I think it even went into model year 17 and 18.

I used some clear caulk and sealed the damned thing myself. My factory warranty was out and local dealership wanted $120/hr just to "diagnose the issue." Which for 5 minutes, I could ran a water hose on that area and showed you it was leaking. And for free.

 

rough. hope there isn’t any damage.

 

Hopefully no damage. The thing to fear is a mildew smell that will never go away, but there’s no sign of that so far.

 

Rookie, I once left my hatch open overnight, and by once I mean twice.

Glad you caught it before any real damage occurred, and I wouldn't be too concerned with mildew. A spray of 70% isopropyl over the carpet and some hot dry air over it should take care of any spores. Vinegar works too, but then you smell like a Long John Silver's for a couple of weeks... which was an improvement in my case.

I'm wondering what others have done to mitigate mold odors though, because frankly my technique seems basic af and I'm sure there's someone out there with a much better product and strategy. Hopefully you won't need to do anything, though!

 

I left my sunroof cracked open on a blue sky afternoon when going to see a movie, only to come out to see there was a bride rainstorm. When I got home, my dad put a dehumidifier in side the car and let it run overnight. Amazing how it it actually pulled some water out of it. He then used some saved up silicon packets he had from buying stuff (he’s a bit of hoarder). This seem to work well, no mold smell ever and no issues with windshield fog (sometimes happens when the car sits with all windows closed and in the sun and moisture is trapped).

 

That sucks man. I had a Trans Am that had the wipers motor fail, drivers window regulator break, and the dreaded t top leak all at once. I feel your pain. Sorry.

 

You ever think about putting a dehumidifier in the back and letting it run for a bit? We had water damage to the house in 2021 and I ran to ACE and grabbed the biggest one I could find. No odor and everything was bone dry pretty quick.

 

Crap, just read your. Yeah those things work!!

 

Is the carpet pretty soaked?

As mentioned above, maybe try a dehumidifier. You could try putting some Damprid in there as well.

I managed to have this happen in a snow storm with my '03, but just the rear window. There weren't any permanent issues I was aware of.

 

This was a 25 years ago, when I wasn’t so “aware” or cautious. I was more pissed that my dad had a reason to call me an idiot and had to ask for his help, lol. Tell you one thing, never forgot it.

 

Maybe I’ll get 20 sacks of rice and dump them through the sunroof. Isn’t rice what you use for a wet cell phone?

Seriously, I hadn’t thought of a dehumidifier. Good idea.

Thanks everyone for your comiseration.

 

Good luck Cappy, keep us posted.

 

Maybe use something like this after the dehumidifier

$19 DampRid Hanging Bag, Moisture Absorber, 1 box of 3 bag (16 oz. each bag.), Blue

https://www.amazon.com/DampRid-Hang...locphy=9002555&hvtargid=pla-351207408623&th=1

 

glad im not the only one that has done this... I had a Nissan Murano that has this mystery feature (not documented anywhere for my year and options) and discovered this same way.. .walking back to my car in the Walmart parking lot and of course it was downpour.... thought i had a malfunction with my locking and windows.. but took to dealer and they explained it to me.... and of course they couldn't disable... few years later it came out as a side note in the manual...

 

Well I got my hands on an extractor which I think made the biggest difference. We had a few hours of sun yesterday and with the windows cracked to let the moisture out I think I’m out of the woods and the interior is officially dry. Fortunately there’s not an inch of felt under the carpet. I re-upped mt Carista subscription and have reset the fob preference so that the fob can’t open the windows.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and advice.

 

Pro tip! Take out all the mats, open all doors, buy two monster fans from Home Depot and blow it out. When its bone dry, keep doing it for another couple of days. Mold is not your friend and likes to pretend he is gone when really he is still hanging out.

 

When I first got my 4Runner it had a funky stink. I think the previous owner had kids that spilled milk and or vomited all over the thing. Who ever “detailed” it covered it up enough for about a week. I know yours doesn’t have an odor, but on the unfortunate chance it does, heres what I did.

I tried literally everything to remove smell. Carpet soaps, extractors, vinegar, anything google brought up. Ended up removing the carpet, spraying with heavy duty carpet cleaner, and pressure washing it. Then sprayed vinegar and water mix on it and let it dry. I then used some carpet powder, and shop vacuumed it until there was none left. I also scrubbed all the metal floor underneath with simple green, and soaked the carpet pads on the underside in nature’s miracle. It was a lengthy process, but my carpet no longer smells!

 

Me and the wife were wheeling the other day and she put her full coffee (with milk) on the dash (only god knows why) when we got out to let the dog run. Anyway, I went to move the truck and the cup flew back into the seat and leaked onto the carpet under. That was the moment my new 4Runner was no longer new.

 

Milk is a killer for sure. The last time we got a new car for the wife the kids were still young. We made a rule that no food would be allowed in the new car. That lasted about 5 minutes.

 

We tend to end up with coffee spilled in every vehicle, and I’m not a coffee drinker.

I’ve tried that rule, never works. Although I’m usually the first to break it.

 

That sucks.

 

It’s usually on the first road trip that the no-food rule goes out the window.

 

If you get any hint of a musty smell in the near future, get a dehumidifier in there. They really suck moisture out of small spades quickly.

 

I think the only other thing I could do is pull up the plastic door sills.

 

odo ban (get it at sams club or home depot) is great for getting rid of odors and also kills mold etc... really cheap too and doesn't stain etc... they also make a carpet cleaner specific version of it (only been able to find at home depot)...

 

In addition to Dehumidifiers you might want to look into a UVC sanitizing light. But be careful, UVC lights are dangerous if precautions aren't taken!