2015 roof paint fading

I have a 2015 Toyota Tacoma TRD. My hood and roof paint is fading. I had the hood repainted. I have not had the roof and top of the doors repainted yet. I am really upset with Toyota. I called the company and filed a complaint. They had heard of the issue but are not going to do anything about it. I have seen other trucks like mine with the same issue. I have also seen on different forums with other people are having the same problem. What can we do as a consumer to make Toyota take responsibility? I have keep a good coat of wax on my truck since I bought it new. It's the only truck I have ever owned new. I take really good care of it. It was my dream truck. I have clay bar it, wax, polished it. I use duragloss products on my truck. It's a common issue with this year model.

 

Since you have a darker color I would have the roof wrapped in vinyl. Black would look good. It could be temporary if you decide to paint it

 

I checked on that and they said since the paint is not in good shape . It will cause issues with the wrap. The wrap has to hold onto the clear coat. The clear coat is what is coming off. Toyota even knew what was causing it.

 

My '14 super white truck with 37,000 paint looks like crap, I feel your pain! I just had it to the dealer yesterday. My paint is peeled off around the windows on both front doors, my roof feels like 320 grit sand paper, my A pillars are flat, my hood is flat, the tops of my fenders are flat, and if I don't fold in my mirrors, the reflection puts softball sized fade marks down the side of my truck. I also registered a complaint with Toyota today, we'll see if anything happens.

 

I have a theory that once clear coat chips through to the base coat and you continue waxing/polishing, the wax will work its way under the clear coat and eventually ruin the clear in bigger areas. I've never waxed any of my cars and haven't ever had issues with clear coat. Take it for what its worth!

 

Toyota told me that it's a defect in the clear coat. It stops bonding. I the waxing and polishing actually has slow the process down. I have seen it on tundras and of course Toyota tacoma trucks. It's always the roof and hood. It's seems to start at the edges first. Then you see other spots that are not connected. It almost looks like over spray in the beginning. Toyota knows about it and will not do anything about it.

 

That makes ZERO sense. For starters a carnuba wax will literally evaporate off the paint over time. My 2011 paint still looks new other than chips.

@Too Stroked thoughts on this?

 

First of all, wax will not creep under the clear coat and cause it to fail. Period, end of report.

As to the OP's issue, I feel your pain, but let me offer some perspective. I detail virtually all of the used vehicles for a medium sized Toyota dealership in upstate New York. In the last year, I've seen exactly zero Toyota vehicles (of any model) with clearcoat failure. Does this mean it doesn't / cannot happen? No. It does give you an idea how rare the issue is though. I know that this information probably won't make you feel any better.

I'd suggest you keep after Toyota corporate and hopefully they can do something to make the situation better. Trust me, my Toyotas have been far better than the Ford trucks I previously drove. My 2014 Tacoma was flat out the best truck I ever owned and the paint was flawless when I sold it this past spring with 115,000 miles on it.

 

Paint can be affected by so many things it's not even funny. Bird poo, tree sap, heat, UV light, and one of the biggest things, some types of pollution fallout depending on what type of chemical or industrial businesses are around and wind direction. Some of that stuff will literally eat the paint off horizontal surfaces like crazy but will leave the sides perfectly fine because it doesn't really land on it like it does on roofs and hoods. Add heat [darker paint-hotter surface] and it can make a mess of a vehicles paint in a few years. Leaving a vehicle in direct sunlight is going to make a difference versus garaging it or having it under shelter much of the time.

 

At the end of the day Toyota has had other trucks report the same issue. I feel as a major company that should at least do an investigation. I took it to Toyota body shop to get the hood repainted. They even said it was a defective paint job. They have seen other Toyota trucks with the same issue. It could be just a small amount from the same plant or same paint line.

 

I agree. However Toyota nor any manufacturer is going to be concerned about 6 year old paint. It sucks for those who are having the issue.

 

No pictures of the roof itself?

 

Not unusual to have the paint or clear coat fade and peel on the roof. My 2001 tundra did it after 15 years. Truck was kept outside 24/7. Had my 2020 tacoma professionally ceramic glass coated by simonize. Suppose to have a lifetime guarantee against this. Just curious if they mean mine, or theirs.

 

This ^^^. And I bet OPs version of I clay bar, wash and wax, polish is very different from mine. Yes there will always be those few that have an issue, but to say it’s a common issue with the 14’ is hogwash. Sorry op.

 

Was the truck parked outside 100% of the time?

 

Very good points about "post delivery" issues that can damage paint. Here's another that not too many people know about. You have no way of knowing if your paint was actually damaged by a dealership via a hack dealer detailer getting a bit too frisky with a buffer and a far too aggressive polish. I personally looked at a brand new 2021 Chevy Silverado a friend of a friend bought a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful candy apple red and he was very proud of it. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the whole passenger side was just covered with holograms caused by somebody going at it with a rotary for whatever reason. And one has no way of knowing (short of testing the paint thickness) if the clearcoat was thinned out to a dangerous level.

 

I admit I don't wash my truck more than once a month and its always outside in the Northern California sun, but I did not expect this kind of failure!!!!

 

Same problem on my 07 indigo blue. Don't have money to fix but thinking about plastic dip the roof and hood white to see if I like the 2 tone effect.

 

Here's my 2005 back in 2017 before I had it repainted. I've since sold it and have a 2014 that I haven't had any issues with yet.

 

The dealer will only cover it if you spend a lot of money there. Which I bet is not the case given people just do oil changes on these trucks.

Recalls are created only for NTHSB safety issues

campaigns are created with a lot of people with the same issue filing a class action lawsuit. Which is not the case here.

the truck is probably out of warranty. Warranty may not cover it to begin with.
And any other warranty extensions out there may not apply to the paint.


You should have someone paint it white. Cheaper. No worry about paint matching.
Better heat rejection off road and in the sun like the classic Toyota trucks designed for wheeling.
A white roof would show you’re a serious off roader

paint matching is another option

disappointing to see on that new of a model year given there are other brand sedans from 05 era with minimal or no clearcoat issues.

you can always do a polish/paint correction followed by ceramic, sealant, wax etc but it only helps so much

if you get a Sherpa roof rack that will help hide it
I’ve already seen such fade on a newer 4Runner.
You’d think this only happens in a hot sunny desert with sun beating down all day. Or a high desert area at altitude closer to the sun.
But nope, even see it in CA with 70 degrees