Solar panel discoloration

Which brand car dealers do not give you a bunch of bs when you make a warranty claim?

 

The dealer is giving you a bunch a BS.. If protected from moisture, silicon cells don't "discolor" noticeably even after years of sun exposure.. I've got various panels that are as old as 20 years where yes, the glass cover and the frames are weathered, and the bed that the cells are mounted on inside have yellowed, but the cells themselves don't look much different than those in a brand-new panel.. If what you're seeing is the patchy greenish-gold discoloration that looks like a water stain that others here have posted about is that hat you're seeing is actually corrosion due to moisture that's getting in due to a bad seal somewhere.. The solar cell output would be degraded because of this, and eventually the circuit will open up in the corroded areas and then the panel will stop functioning..

 

FirstToyota thank you for your post, and bringing your issue up, so others can learn. I too am a first time Yota owner, and sounds like we have the same car. (Prius with opt. pack 3). My wife "Requires" a sun roof on her car, so we got it, along with the required solar panel extra. I was hesitant on the solar panel, as i wonder how long the car vent fan can hold up, being on near all summer long.

If you have found your dealer to be less than friendly, is there another dealer within a reasonable distance you could take your business to? I would approach the shop manager, and let him know your not too pleased, and that you are a fan of Yelp, and would like to be able to post positive reviews, and continue to do business with them, but are feeling less than stellar with things so far. DO give them the opportunity to make things right, but if they don't,, find another dealer, and write the negative review.

We bought our Prius due to having to Lemon Law our 2013 Dodge Dart. 14 repairs in 15 months of ownership, and it still was not fixed when I dropped it off. It only takes 3 visits, for the same problem, to lemon law a car in most states! (But they charge you a mileage pro rate, which is not cheap!) I too, had a very bad experience with the dealership I bought the car at, (San Luis Obispo Cole Dodge), I wrote a very positive 5 star review for the sales experience at Cole Dodge, and, a 1 star review for their service department. The service manager was like,, a Snob, who did not have the time of day for you, even after his shop, had overfilled my oil by 2 quarts past the full mark on its first oil change!!! (Discovered 255 miles later, at a gas station, when I calculated i was getting only 13 MPG!! Amazing it did not blow up!) I went to the next closest Dodge dealership, and they were totally FANTASTIC to deal with! Nothing but friendlessness, smiles, quality workmanship, and I stated so on Yelp for them, too! (5 star with written praises!) If you go to another dealership, let the service guy checking you in know exactly why you are there. My 2nd dealership was overjoyed to "steal away" yet another client, for more business, and I do believe they treated me even better as a result of it. I learned to try and be nice in all situations. Possibly the service guy / manager is having a bad day, but let them know kindly, your not one to be treated poorly!

I wonder if they could replace the solar panel with a body panel, if the solar becomes problematic? The solar vent is a nice feature, but maybe having one is a good reason to have the extended warranty.

 

Don't know if the search feature is working- but I remember a few threads about panel discoloration...
So this is not the first time it's happened, maybe for your dealer it is- but not the first time for Toyota.

 

Yes, there was a previous post about this very thing in which at least a couple ppl commented that this was happening to them and that Toyota was doing little to nothing about it because the entire panel assembly is made by a third party. I tried searching for it earlier and found nothing....odd.

I will be keeping a close eye on mine, though it seems so ineffective overall I'm not sure I'd notice if it stopped working. I really only wanted (and paid for) the sunroof, but I'd hate to take the hit in resale value if it's obviously discolored and not functioning.

 

FirstToyota I would not allow anyone tell me it is a "courtesy repair", or, one time fix on a car with a warranty. (Unless the warranty is about to expire). Being new to Toyota, i can only assume Toyota probably has a 800# to call to escalate a repair problem similar to Chrysler had. Maybe someone on this forum can chime in, with the number, but, i would call that number and let them know what this dealer is saying to you. I mean, if my solar roof discolors, has obviously had water intrusion, cell degradation, or becomes unsightly, it would for sure affect the resale value of the car, and need to be replaced or repaired before selling it. It would be a "manufacturing defect", and should be covered under the warranty as a defect in manufacturing. Just as if one of my solar panels on my homes roof had that happen, and began to put out less voltage due to cell degradation, the warranty would replace it - (for 25 years). I sure hope this is not the beginning of many having this happen. Keep us posted as to how it all goes. Hopefully, its just that dealership your dealing with, and very few panels!

Out of curiosity, could you ask them how much the repair would cost if you had to pay for it??? (I am debating the worth of my extended warranty, and if it would even cover that in the future).

Any chance of posting a photo of exactly what your panel looks like. It would be good documentation for others.

I wish we could see if the discoloration, caused a decrease in voltage output, it would certainly solidify the "defect" title for others. I could see Toyota saying as long as it runs the fan, it is doing what it was made to do, in hopes of the warranty running out before the panel died.

Anyone know how long theses solar panel roofs have been offered on the Prius?

 

Wow, that is weird! Look Ma, goes from BLACK, to BLUE! I wonder if the dealer would let you keep the defective panel? Or, hook up a volt ohm meter to it when it is out of the car. I would love to know if the discoloration is affecting the voltage output??? Does your fan still work? I just sent an email to a friend in the Solar industry, linking him to this thread. Hopefully he will get back to me on it if this is "normal" or a defect...

Thank you for posting the photo's, they are worth a 1000 words!

 

I've played around with cheap solar panels- when you break the weatherproof seal- they lighten up in color just like the areas in OP's photos.

 

This is for the 2010 -

 

I just bought a 2010 with the solar roof and I didn't even think to climb up there and look.

I am well outside the bumper to bumper with 4+ years on the clock and 57k miles.

I hope if this occurs Toyota will recognize that this was flawed from the date of manufacture. Solar panels should be sealed from day 1 and remain that way unless they are physically broken.