NHTSA Complaint #11624570 — 2023 TOYOTA BZ4X

I am writing to register our complaint and urgently request your support in resolving a serious health issue related to what we believe is a factory defect with the Toyota BZ4. Timeline of events: In April 2023, I purchased a brand new BZ4 from the Downtown Oakland Toyota dealership. In July 2024, I noticed a foul smell in the car coming from the air conditioning vents. The car was difficult to drive in due to the severity of the smell. On September 11, 2024, we took the BZ4 to the dealer for maintenance and asked for them to look into the foul smell. The dealer reported they were unable to find the cause of the odor. They offered us a car fragrance. The odor continued to be overwhelming in nature. On [XXX] we inspected the car and removed the floor mats. We discovered the undersides of both left and right front floor mats were covered in mold. The floor carpets were soaking wet with water. Both the mats and carpets smelled very badly. On October 31, 2024, we filed a customer service complaint with Toyota. On November 1, 2024, Daniel at Downtown Oakland Toyota responded that the dealer had found a spider web which had blocked the tube, causing the air conditioning system to be blocked. This caused the blocking of the HVAC tube and the water to pool and mold. I am concerned for several reasons: Toyota sold me a car which, according to them, can have one of its major operating systems (HVAC) taken down by a mere spider web. This is irresponsible and negligent design and the company should be liable for the defect in manufacturing. The car is less than two years old, was purchased new and has been driven for just 11,000 miles and is well within the warranty period. It’s shocking to us that Toyota has refused to repair this defect which we believe to be their responsibility as it falls under a design flaw. A safely designed HVAC system should be able to resist the presence of a tiny spider. The Toyota service staff should be made aware of this defect INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI