FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q: How much did it cost you to win your case?
A: It cost me absolutely nothing
besides a little time on my part. Toyota/Scion paid my attorney's fees
and since this issue didn't make it to court I didn't have to pay any
court costs. They were also trying to make me pay $.22/mile that was on
the vehicle, which would have made me owe them about $1,200.00, but my
attorney negotiated around it so I ended up not having to pay anything.
Q: What information did you provide your lawyer?
A: I created an entire portfolio of information that was organized in a binder and separated by tabs to my lawyer. The information in this packet included:
• Scan of Driver's License
• Scan of Insurance Card
• Scan of Vehicle Registration
• Scan of Temporary registration when I purchased the car
• Scan of Sales Sticker
• Scan of Financial Documents dealing with the car
• Scan of GAP insurance I purchased with the car
• Scan of Accessories Sheet I had installed on the car
• Scan of all the Safelite Auto Glass invoices for having my windshield
replaced
• Print of the registered letter I sent to Toyota/Scion starting
the lemon law process
• Prints of all the documentation I found on the internet about
xB windshield stress cracks
• Photographs of my windshield and the various cracks with the ruler
for documentation
• CD of all of the audio I recorded about my in phone conversations/dealership
visits
• Print of an audio log giving the synopsis of each call
Q: How long did it take from start to finish getting everything taken car of?
A: It took me about 3 months to get everything finished. The first month was spent playing cat-and-mouse with Toyota/Scion and the dealership. After I had enough of that I contacted my lawyer and really got the ball rolling. It took about one month before I signed my contract with the lawyer and he had all of the documentation on had about my case, sent the letter, and received an offer to repurchase the car. It took about 20 days for Toyota/Scion to get their paperwork finalized on their end before the car was repurchased.
Q: Was the process difficult?
A: No, the process itself was not difficult, but being patient and collecting evidence was. You really want to watch your temper when recording the conversations, because if they play them in court it could look like you are a maniac if you go ballistic on the phone or in person. Each time my windshield cracked it would immediately set me off, because I was tired of dealing with it, but after awhile you just sort of laugh when it happens and document all of the evidence on hand. Once I handed my case off to the lawyer I basically sat back to watch the fun.
Q: Why didn't you use the arbitration service provided by Toyota like it say you HAVE to do in their warranty/lemon law booklet?
A: That arbitration service is a complete joke and you are under NO obligation to use it. Sure, it sounds like Toyota/Scion is really willing to help you out with this free third-party arbitration firm, but stop and think for a minute. Does this arbitration firm work for free? Well, since you are not paying them for the service who is? I have done some research about the arbitration service they provide and found that in 90% of the cases the arbitration service handled Toyota/Scion won. The arbitration service makes what qualifies as a defect very hard to attain since they are looking out for their paycheck from Toyota. If you also choose to use the arbitration service and you lose Toyota/Scion can have the results of that arbitration brought up in court during your lemon law case as evidence on their behalf. Just Say NO to the Arbitration Service!
Q: Were your windshield cracks really caused by impacts?
A: No, they were not. Sure, I had
TONS of impacts that caused chips, pits, stars, and cracks, but the initial
crack was always caused by NOTHING. It was explained to me that when the
Scion xB sits in the sun the frame flexes under the heat. This slight
flexing causes an already overloaded windshield to crack since the stress
isn't evenly divided. That is why you can not be driving your car, or
driven it since the windshield was replaced, and have it crack again for
no real noticeable reason.
Q: Are you allowed to speak about your case in public?
A: Yes. Toyota/Scion never issued a GAG order or non-disclosure clause to my final agreement. After speaking with my attorney I was assured I could openly speak about my case in public.
Q: Why won't Toyota/Scion just admit there is an issue with the windshields on the xB's?
A: Money. It all boils down to cold
hard cash. What is less costly for them to do? Admit there is a defect
in the car and have a class action lawsuit brought against them, or to
deny there is any issue and repurchase vehicle owner's they see are serious
enough about the problem to hire an attorney to take them to court? Until
these individual lemon law cases exceed the amount of the class action
lawsuit they will continue to deny responsibility and pay lemon law cases
under the table without allowing them to go to court.
Q: Did you purchase another car after you got rid of your Scion xB?
A: Yes, I purchased a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse and vowed never again to purchase either a Toyota or a Scion. It was just too much of a headache and I never want to deal with that company again.
Q: Was the Scion Customer Experience helpful?
A: No, the Scion Customer Experience is a complete joke. All they are put in place to do is to stall you from taking your case to court. It was all games from the first day I called, but I knew it would be. By calling them they have a document when I first officially complained to them about the issue, but other than that the service they provide is laughable. Their main goal is to stall you long enough where you run out of time to invoke the lemon law in your state.
Q: What is your favorite cartoon?
A: I really like the original Voltron: Defender of the Universe with the castle of lions. I thought the space ship Voltron series was pretty weak and uneventful.
Q: What sort of legal advice would you offer me?
A: I wouldn't offer you any legal
advice since I am not a lawyer. I can offer you my opinion and what I
did in my case, but if you want solid legal advice you need to contact
a professional in your area or contact my attorney
to put you in touch with someone he knows and trusts in your state.
Q: Were you happy with the outcome of your case?
A: Yes. Even though I did not receive any money back I got out of my contract without having to pay anything more than a defective car. In the end I paid around $2,000 to rent the car for about seven months. I also was offered 3 free oil changes, so I had no money invested in maintenance.
Q: How did you take photos of your windshield? Mine aren't turning out too well.
A: I had the same trouble with mine when I first started, but I found a simple fix. Go to Michael's, any arts and crafts store, or any art supply store and purchase some matte medium grey paper. Take this paper into your car and tape it behind the crack on the inside. Simply shoot photos with the flash both on and off to get that more defined crack you are looking for. Here is a sample of how mine turned out:
I also used Abobe Photoshop to adjust
the contrast and levels so I could really pull the crack detail forward
in the photographs.
Q: How much did you pay for windshields?
A: I didn't pay anything because my insurance had full glass coverage with no deductible. What I was concerned about were my rates either going up or my insurance canceling me because of the excessive windshield replacements. In all, depending on whether I got OEM Glass or Third-party glass, it was around $5,000 in new windshields on my car in 6 months.
Q: Sooooooooooo why hasn't MY windshield cracked yet? Temperature changes cause frame stress and windshield breaks, eh? Mine is driveway-kept, and has sat out in the sun, the snow, freezing rain, and every temperature from -25 to 108 degrees (and this is Chicago, so we're talking 3 months there, tops). sum1 expln plz??
A: I am not saying every Scion xB has this issue. What I am saying is that I had this issue and others are having this issue as well. I have read a few messages boards where people are theorizing that it is only with the 2006 model xB. If you search on the NHTSA website for the Windshield: Visibility complaint on the 2006 Scion xB you will see 14+ complaints about the windshield cracking. The other model years do not have any complaints as far as I remember when doing my research.
Q: Have you had a lot of people contact you with stress cracks?
A: Yes. Since opening the site I have received almost 2-3 emails per day from people with similiar stress crack issues. I read every piece of mail I receive and will send a response when I have a chance. My attorney also contacts me to update me on how many people have contacted him as well. So far he has been fielding questions about the stress crack problem and has been assiting people as much as possible, even referring them to an attorney in their state who practices in the lemon law.
Q: Does it appear that the sunroof is the culprit?
A: No, that has not been proven. After speaking with many people who are also having a similar stress crack windshield issue most of them DO NOT have a sun roof. The technicians at Superstition Springs Toyota questioned if the sun roof might be the issue, but they never gave a definitive answer and wouldn't comment on it too much when I pressed them for information.
Q: Was your sun roof factory installed?
A: Yes, my dealership installed the sun roof, or had it outsourced, but it was done by them. I usually don't like to take a sawzall to any piece of merchandise I paid more than $100 for...I could lose a finger or possibly an eye. Looking like a pirate would be cool though.
Q: It appears that you like to complain , and try and milk someone for all they've got. but hey. I get angry as well. I just don't use my apparent money to pay for a lawyer and go that route.
A: I usually don't get any "hate mail" but the above statement was taken from an exchange with someone upset that I have a site dedicated to the windshield crack issue. The comment above is his final email to me telling me what he thought about the whole issue and me personally. There are a few things I would like to clear up:
1. I do not like to complain. Though I may be pessimistic I tend not to harp on things unless something provokes me to do so. Once you stir the proverbial hornet's nest you get what you asked for. If Toyota or the dealership would have been straight forward with me and not have played games you wouldn't see the site you are reading today. Instead they decided to jack around and piss me off. I am not going to miss work and spend all of my time researching the issue and collecting evidence not to allow others to use it to their advantage. |
| 2. It was also stated that I like to "milk someone for all they've got". How exactly am I still milking Toyota's teat on this issue? If I were milking someone I would be getting something in return right? I mean if I am "milking" that means I am getting "milk", yet the 2 month old carton of skim milk in my refrigerator begs to differ. I am not receiving anything for creating this site or hosting it. I spent my own money and time to do this. If anything maybe you, the visitors, are milking me. Be careful though, my milk is sour. |
| 3. They also assume that because I hired an attorney I obviously have money to throw around. They are quite right. I am technically more financially sound than Bill Gates. That is why I purchased a Scion xB...I wanted to show off my vast wealth with one of the cheapest cars on the market. I am a middle class citizen and live paycheck-to-paycheck like everyone else. Does this site look expensive like I have outsourced to get it done? If so that is also mistaken. I am a designer by profession, so the site you see was completely created by me. There was no outside help, period. I pay for the domain name and hosting out of my pocket and let me tell you those pockets aren't deep. |
4. The person who wrote me and was upset, which is the only letter of that kind I have received, and didn't even read through the site before they attacked me. Seriously. They jumped right on me from the start and attacked me because they said I was lying about the entire incident. They were also asking questions which I explained in detail on the site. They were so lazy they didn't even read the FAQ like you are doing now. Not only that, but they also had no idea how the English language actually functioned, so trying to read their emails was much like trying to crack the friggin DaVinci Code. If you are going to write me and complain about the statements I have made that is fine, but please read the site first to learn the full story and aquire the information you seek before just attacking me after reading the name of the site. Also, I beg, have the decency to at least attempt to write in complete sentences with proper spelling and punctuation. While I love to read all the emails I get, even hate mail, please don't make it sound like the Incredible Hulk is writing me while drunk and hopped up on crytal meth. |
Q: Can I use your site as evidence in my case to Toyota/Scion or my dealership?
A:Sure, feel free to use it all you want. I do want to give you a little advice though. If you really want to start a lemon law case or just want to feel out how your dealership will react to the problem you are having you may not want to include my site in your documentation. Why? Well, my site takes you step-by-step on how to fight Toyota/Scion and win using evidence you collect in conversations and correspondence. If you include my site in the bundle of papers you give them they will know you have read the site and may be following the suggested route of recording all of your conversations. If that is the case then they may be less willing to speak with you about the problem, which would hurt your case. I have provided links to the sites I used as documentation here, but it is your call whether you would like to include my site in your documentation.
Q: I sold/traded in my car; can I still pursue a lemon law case?
A: Well, you may be able to, but I am not an attorney so I suggest you contact one to find out for sure. I know that in my case if I sold/traded-in the xB I would have automatically lost. Originally I actually tried to trade my Scion xB in for a Chevy HHR and I was resigned to take a $6,000 loss on the car to do this, but the Chevrolet dealership was wanting me to take an $11,000 loss on the xB and I just couldn't do it. After my 8th windshield broke that is when I started looking into the lemon law.
Q: My Scion xB was in an accident; can I still pursue a lemon law case?
A: Again, you will need to contact an attorney to see what he/she says. I know one of the questions Toyota asked me when they were repurchasing my xB was whether the car had been in an accident or not. My car was never in an accident, so it wasn't an issue, but I would think if you had a Scion xB that was in an accident you may have problems getting Toyota to repurchase that car. They will more than likely blame the windshield issue as a result of the accident and will try to get out of compensating you.
Q: Isn't it illegal to record telephone conversations?
A: No, but the law varies depending on which state you live in. I have a brief write-up on this in the process section. You will want to contact an attorney to find out exactly what the law is in your state.
Q: What is amusing is how you state you will never purchase a Toyota or Scion again after you explain it all boils down to money. Does it all boil down to money and why won't you purchase another Toyota/Scion?
A: This thing wasn't about money at all, since I wasn't paying anything to have the windshields replaced. It was about an obvious defect in the car that Toyota was unwilling to acknowledge and address until I decided to get an attorney. They know about the issue, they are just keeping quiet about it and paying-off the people who get serious and hire an attorney. What caused me to do this was the amount of stress that was placed on me unfairly. I never asked for a dime from them, only that they take back the lemon of a car and release me from my contract.
Why will I never purchase a Toyota/Scion again? It was some shady business I went through and it was Toyota’s fault it was so shady. If they would have confessed to begin with I would have happily moved over to a tC, but they wanted to jack around with me by playing game and acting like they didn’t know what was going on. They are to blame. They admitted they were to blame when they repurchased the car. They are the ones I blame and rightly so. You can’t argue with them, even they agree with me.
Q: Mitsubishi is going to do the same thing with you if you were to have this issue. EVERY manufacturer will do that and will continue to do that. Maybe it's the bad taste left in you mouth I don't know, but if you're going to get upset with one corporation over this get upset with them all. Why don't you think your Mitsubishi is going to have this problem?
A: Why would I get upset with Mitsubishi over my Scion xB having stress cracks? That doesn't even make sense. Mitsubishi didn’t design the xB or have anything to do with Toyota/Scion. That would be like me being mad at Burger King because the mayonnaise at McDonald’s was bad and gave me ecoli. I don’t expect my Mitsubishi to have this problem. Why? It is NOT a Scion xB. Saying that if I hate one car manufacturer I should hate them all is just insane. Was it Ford’s fault my xB was flawed? Was it Nissan’s fault my xB was flawed? Was it BMW’s fault my xB was flawed? No, it is none of their fault and only Toyota’s.
Q: Do you get any "hate mail"?
A: I have gotten a few posts on the internet where people want to attack me, but seriously I don't actually get that much hate mail. The funny thing is I am not attacking other people's Scion xB's, I am just stating the facts that happened in my particular case. I guess some people don't want to hear it because they think Scion is the next coming of their glorious messiah or something. Actually, when I step back and look at the people who get upset they actually remind me a lot of Apple computer fanatics, who are really really scary.
If people don't want to agree with me or think I am making up my story then that is their right. If they want to attack me and make accusations about my case then that is another thing entirely. You can lash out at me all you want, but it won't shut down this site or even change the outcome of my case. I will register on any message boards where people are saying bizarre things and coming to their own conclusions to set them straight, but most of the time it is wasted effort. I do that so other internet viewers of that site get the other side of the argument instead of walking away with only one.
Most of the time the posts get locked because people won't stop their relentless pursuit to call me out on things that are ridiculous or make wild statements about what my motive was in the case. My motive if pretty straight forward, to get out of my contract, to stop paying money for a defective car, and to quit making my insurance company pay thousands of dollars on windshields they shouldn't have been paying for.
I encourage anyone who would like to send me hate mail to do so. I really do laugh about some of the responses I get and how completely insane they are or how they try to rationalize that by aligning the moon, Venus, and the polar magnetic north that a quark filled with dark matter is hurled through a space-time continuum to implode its negative ions toward my windshield causing a buckling of antimatter to create a feedback-loop which the harmonics of cause the windshield to crack. Yep, that makes sense to me and must have been what was cracking my windshield all along. Thanks Stephen Hawking!
Q: How do people find your site?
A: Usually people find me through search engines after they have a windshield crack and start trying to do some research on it. Here are the top 30 common searches that end up coming to my site:
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Q: What is your favorite food?
A: I rather enjoy a nice slice of pizza, but I wouldn't kick you in the throat if you offered me some mexican food either.
Q: Can I put a link from my site to yours?
A: Sure, I can use all the exposure I can get. Feel free to link me whenever you like.
Q: Will you put a link from your site to mine?
A: Well, if your site deals with the Scion xB windshield cracking issue I have no problem, but if it is just some random site I won't link you. I want this site to be a resource for people fighting Toyota/Scion over the windshield stress crack issue on their Scion xB, not just some random site that also has a little bit of information on the windshield problem.
