Front Fender warping from inside due to heat damage.

Sure, that's what everyone that exposes their car to a heat source says!

Have they given you some idea what heat source they THINK might have caused this? They are obviously not going to roll over so you might as well start calling Toyota Customer satisfaction. Just be calm but persistent. Tell them as many times as you can that you have never exposed the car to any heat source and maybe you could see if an expert mechanic could give you some idea what could have caused this. Obviously you have to find someone who is very well qualified. I found a great independent mechanic by looking at the Click and Clack website (the guys on National Public Radio) and the guy has been wonderful for many years. If you already know one, great, but you have to appeal this stupid response. It would be much better if you had some idea what could have caused this damage.

On the other hand, how much $$$ are we talking about? It is important to pick your battles intelligently. This might cost more to prove than is at issue. I don't mean don't argue with them, just don't spend a lot trying to prove something that might not be that expensive.

 

If it's something in the engine compartment getting hot enough to damage the fender, I would imagine there would be significant damage there as well! Does everything look alright in there, no melted plastic for example?

 

The fenders are plastic, and if the fender was fine when you took delivery, it would be extremely rare that the plastic would suddenly deform/bubble or crack without some form of catalyst (heat) to cause the changes in the plastic.

If not from the engine comparment, and not caused by someone (say, a mechanic who changed your tires and used a heat gun to loosen a bolt or something), then the only other source I can think of is possibly coming from a recently paved asphalt...did you drive over a strecth of road that had been recently paved, and therefore, the surface of the road was still very hot?

 

If this is only happening in one location, and on your fender, no less, they it would seem that something external (as in from in front on your vehicle) could have caused this.

Could you please post a photo so that we have some clue of your damage? Could it be that a SUV, in parking lot, possibly parked very close to you, and their exhaust was within inches of you fender, while they idled their car for a while?

As another posted indicated, if it were internal, there would be substantially more damage on the underside (towards the engine compartment) that would be causing the heat damage. If this was an external source, it's likely that Toyota has nothing to do with this. From the sound of the damage that you describe, it seems as though this may be your issue. Please let us know.

 

How about a picture?

Could it be something other than heat? I have no idea of what, other than the previously well-documented tire flatulence phenomenon.

 

The plastic siding on my house has a warped area where the previous owner had pushed the Weber grill before it cooled.

You been tailgating before football games?

 

Take picture, upload to photobucket, post it here.

 

There is a very,very slim chance that what you see is a botched repair
on damage incurred during transportation. These are troubling words:
"It felt like the fender was cracked underneath it."

We may have to clarify terms here. Technically, the "fender" is the
metal body panel above the wheel well. The bodywork in front of the
wheel well is the plastic bumper cover. Which was it?

I'm presuming that you mean the bumper cover.

Is there any clearly noticeable difference in the appearance of the paint
on the bumper cover and the nearby panels?

Was there a crack or not?

Had the paint "bubbled up," of were there waves in the plastic cover?

Did you have the damage inspected at the same dealership where you
purchased it?

Yes, I am speaking of a remotely possible cover-up.

And I hope that this is not the case.

 

Regarding the coverup, there was a poster who found out after he took delivery that a panel was damaged during transportation and repainted over and the way he found out was from logging onto the MyToyota owner's site and looking under Service Records. Check that and see if that's the case. There's nothing preventing a dealer from repairing any damage before selling a new car, but there should at least be an official record of it.

If it's not a coverup or something from within the engine compartment, I don't see how the dealer can be held liable if it came from an outside heat source, in which case you have no choice but to treat it like a comprehensive insurance claim.

 

Sounds kind of like a defect to me and I hope they cover the repair for you. I don't think you should have to.