Electrical issue due to water intrusion

I pulled into my driveway yesterday and my tundra would not shut off with the press of the start button. It shuttered and then the check engine light came on. Eventually the engine powered off on its own. I had just got the windshield tinted literally an hour prior to this. No idea if that was the culprit or not. Ended up driving it to the dealer and they said they found signs of water intrusion behind the left kick panel on the drivers side. Long story short, they're blaming it on the window tinting and currently they're wanting to charge me $14k for a complete harness replacement. They said there's corrosion at the Al1 connector with multiple pins corroded. There's no way I can pay that much so I'm looking for alternatives. They still have the truck and said they'll keep looking for other signs of water intrusion from other sources but I'm just preparing for the worst now. I've done a ton of marine wiring so I'm considering splicing that section of the harness myself or perhaps find someone locally that will do it. The story is developing so I apologize in advance for posting without the final information. I figured chatting with you guys might put my mind at ease a bit lol.
I did see somewhere on here that there's some wire schematics. I'm going to start studying a possible DIY repair soon.

Truck info:
2024 Tundra SR5
5600 miles
6 months old

thanks!

 

The window tint guys can get way too happy with water.
Sorry you’re in this mess.

 

Have you called your insurance company yet?
But good luck proving the tinting shop caused it.

Deoxit D5 works wonders for corrosion removal and eliminating water.
(I restore old Porsche 911 harnesses and connectors)

 

I can’t imagine the harness corroding in a few hours if it was the window tint people.

 

Wasn't sure if you did find the wiring diagrams..
Ultimate TUNDRA Wiring Diagrams Collection | Toyota Tundra Forum (tundras.com)

Good luck..

 

Gotta agree. Significant corrosion/oxidation within hours is hogwash.

 

I would want some photos or in person evidence that they were corroded. There is no way they would be corroded after a few hours. There would have to have been water the entire life of the truck I would think (6 months).

There were reports of windows not working well right after tinting, but I haven’t heard any since last year (on this forum).

Something smells fishy. I hope you get it resolved to your benefit.

 

I'm going to get my windows, windshield and rear window tinted on Monday. I'll have to make sure I let them know to place down something to absorb the water when they squeegee it out.

Where is the Al1 connector located?

 

Pull the terminals off the battery and let it dry out. No way there’s corrosion already.

 

Get your truck out of that dealership. I would get down there myself and start looking. Just disconnect battery before and remove some parts of the lower dash and kick panels it all just snaps and clips. Use compressed air to blow out connectors if u find water pooling.

 

5 posts pretty much says it all

 

What exactly does it say other then him asking for some help?

 

Did you read his introduction posts or 4 month update???
5 posts or 500, he came for help…

 

Toyotas long term problem with (various) corrosion issues pretty much says it all

 

What irks me is the technicians didn’t even mention trying to clean the terminals at all.
Plug and play seems to be all they can do these days.

 

Thanks everyone. I plan to get the truck either Friday or Saturday and look it over myself. I agree it’s hard to believe the tint caused it. From what they told me, the so called corrosion area is accessible at the kick panel.

 

Also, I haven’t called insurance yet. It’s an option once I inspect the issue myself and decide what to do next.

 

I’d like to see some photos if you see anything in there

 

I will definitely share what I find.

 

I believe these new vehicles require much less current to operate the systems. If that's the case any water containing any impurities could possibly electrically bridge the gap between the pins in the connectors.
I've had my best luck after disconnecting the battery, flush the connectors with lots of distilled water and blow out the remaining moisture. Not sure if ACF 50 is still available but I spray each dried connection with it to prevent corrosion. If you find corrosion chances are it started before the window tinting.

 

this guy has it.

 

My thoughts and experience, which may or may not apply to your situation (does your truck have a sunroof?)… Toyota designs a water intrusion drip path to run down the A pillar and fall directly onto the kick panel harness connections. This water intrusion usually comes from the sunroof, either clogged drains (too soon for your truck) or simply rain that is heavy enough to overwhelm the drain system. It’s a somewhat common problem in 200 Series Land Cruisers, and likely most other modern Toyota vehicles. This won’t be the last we hear about this.

I no longer buy vehicles that have a sunroof.

If your truck doesn’t have a roof, and the corrosion is bad enough, look for another entry point. Maybe it was designed in to hit the harness.

 

It for gosh darn sure is. Like Aero Kroil every top notch DIY'r should have it in their garage/shop.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/acf50.php

 

No sunroof.

Gonna get me some of that acf50! Thanks for the tips.

Anyone use corrosion-x? That stuff works great in my boat wiring which is used in saltwater. May use that since I already have a bunch.

 

Use what you have if it will clean the oxidized layer off and leave a protective film for the future.
Multiple products can do the same thing.

 

Spent most of my day at the dealership. Got the techs to clean and add dielectric grease. Something they should have done on day 1. Truck is running like it should and I got it home. Going to inspect the wiring when I get a chance. I’ll post some pictures when I open it up. They did show me some pictures but they were hard to see details. I could see a little discoloration. Highly doubt there’s much damage from corrosion at all. Thanks everyone!

 

Maybe a day after some heavy rains take another look to check for any signs of water.

 

For sure. Definitely not letting my guard down. Still not convinced it was the tint job.

 

It probably was. My battery light was flickering on the dash right after I had my windshield done. Came home and there was droplets behind the kick Janel. Dried it out and all was fine. Water inevitably gets behind the dash during the tint process. I wouldn’t over think it.

 

Pulled the kick plate off today and disconnected the Al1 connector. No sign of any dielectric grease or anything. I ended up using a small paint brush and dipped it in Corrosion-X and carefully added a little to both sides of the connector. It looks fine and should be good to go. Did the same to several other connectors in the vicinity. Sorry for the bad pic. Between sweat in my eyes and no-seem’s I couldn’t get a clear pic. I read another post on how to simply reinstall the kick plate. Very helpful!