Anyone Else's 3rd Gen Clear Coat Flaking Off?

I have 4,250 miles on my 2023 TRD Sport in which I purchased brand new. From the beginning I noticed that any little bug that hit the hood would chip it. Now the clear coat on the hood, between the back of the hood scoop and the windshield is flaking off!! The dealership is trying to say it is not a warranty issue because something must have hit it and damaged the paint, yet there are no scratches, no dents and it's behind the hood scoop, bugs and rocks couldn't even hit it there!!!

 

The truck is freshly washed and polished, no dust on it all of those little white looking marks are pits in the clearcoat

 

Not yet. The paint likes to rock-chip on mine, though.

 

Is it just the hood?

 

In a general sense, I offer you the follow advice:

"Life is not fair. And then you die."

- - - - - - -
Where do you live? Depending on the location, acid rain is a real thing. Tree sap and pollen - not correctly removed - is another thing.

Fireworks from the 4th of July? Your neighbors charcoal grill briquet ashes gone amok?

If you park outside 24/7, in a drier climate where the wind blows sand and dust around, that will definitely be a factor.

Aerodynamics are another factor and .... with the hood scoop ... there may be turbulent air flow impinging road grit on your hood.

How many crappy car washes have you been through?

There are so many possible explanations here it is almost impossible to describe them all.

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Quite frankly, if I was the Toyota dealer, I'd also tell you to go pound sand. That is barely cosmetic.

See also above

Life is not fair. And then you die.

 

I would try with corporate and see what you can pull off . Or if it’s something that is a thorn in your side and you know a good body shop , get the hood re painted on your own . Unfortunately lots of times if the dealer handles it , it will be a garbage job. You may be able to get Toyota to reimburse you for some of it . I know some people don’t agree but I feel like for the age of the truck this shouldn’t happen .

 

It's never been through a car wash. Harbour freight electric power washer, soap and buckets)
I don't let dirt or sap or anything build up on it, as soon as its there its cleaned off
I live in Louisiana, its hot and humid here

I drove my black 2nd gen through bushes on trails and never had the clear coat flake off like that!

I have noticed that all around the paint does chip much easier than the 2nd gen paint, but the hood is the only place where the clear coat is coming up. Like if you wanted to you could stick a finger nail under it and peel it off. Thats not normal or from a rock chip. A rock that would be big enough to make a chip that large would have left a scratch or a dent or something. There are also some other random spots on the hood where the clear coat has turned whitish like its probably about to do the same thing. On those spots if you run your finger over them they are still smooth as glass, no ding, no scratch, etc

 

I called Toyota and they said talk to the Dealership. I'm just going keep trying different dealerships. I don't think I have a paint thickness gauge anymore in my shop, I think I am going to stop by a body shop and see if they have a gauge and will give me a reading to see if in fact mine was painted to Toyota thickness specs.

 

I've been looking through the 3rd gen posts and looks like this is a common problem!

 

I just got mine back from the body shop, had to have the whole roof painted. Here are the before pics.

 

how many miles/years were on it when you noticed the paint failing?

 

It's a 2017 with 26k miles on it, always hand washed and waxed. Noticed it starting just in front of the sunroof about a year ago or less, but when it started, it took off and was worse by the day it seemed.

These trucks have terribly thin clear coats. I am just keeping my fingers crossed the hood stays unaffected.

 

if the dealer works on it, it will look worse.......watch it for 2 more years and take to dealer before warranty ends

 

I half thought about that too. But I hate to be driving a literally brand new truck and it start to look 10 years old But if they decide to have it fixed I'll insist that it be removed from the truck, sanded, stripped, reprimed and painted and clear coated. I don't think the dealership does in house body work so that is a plus I may be able to choose a shop.

 

I have a clear coat issue with my new 2023 Lunar Rock and I'm in the process of working through a warranty claim as we speak. The process to get this covered under warranty has not been straight-forward.

I was going to create a new thread about 2023 paint issues (specifically Lunar Rock), but have been waiting until the dust settles with the warranty claim process and actual repair.

After seeing this thread, I'll share what I know so far and the process I'm going through. Fair warning, it's a long-ish story...

1. While washing/detailing my new truck (3,700 miles on it), I noticed a small dark spot in the paint that grew larger the more I rubbed it.
2. I tried some consumer grade polish to see if it would come out, but to my surprise, the clear coat started to "rub off".
3. I took the truck to 3 different body shops to get some opinions. They all suggested the clear coat is too thin in that area and the panel needs to be repainted. All 3 body shops recommended I talk to Toyota before paying out of pocket.
4. So, I took my truck to the dealership. The service advisor agreed it looked like a clear coat issue, but there was no customer service campaign on any color besides white. The service department told me to call Toyota customer service and sent me home.
5. This is where it got a little ugly. I called Toyota customer service and the representative told me there was nothing they could do because the customer service campaigns only cover white trucks. The rep told me I could call the NHTSA and file a note/complaint, and maybe if enough owners complained, Toyota might do something about it in the future. I reminded the Toyota rep this is a brand new truck and I'm disappointed to have spent $46k only to find the clear coat peeling off within the first few thousand miles. The rep became argumentative and told me I could submit a request for a "buy-back" if it bothered me that much. I told her I'd rather work with Toyota to find a resolution than go through the buy-back process. She said something along the lines of, "Sorry, but there's no way to do that right now, so you need to pay for the repair out of pocket or submit a buy-back request". The rep abruptly ended the call after that.
6. Instead of calling the NHTSA, I called back Toyota customer service, hoping to speak with another Toyota rep. The second rep also confirmed there was no open service campaign but would speak with a supervisor to see what could be done. The supervisor instructed me to take the truck back to my local dealership and ask the service department to write up a repair order for a warranty claim/repair.
7. I took the truck back to the same dealership and they wrote up a repair order for a paint issue to be considered/covered as a warranty repair. They service advisor took pictures and sent them to their body shop to prepare an estimate.
8. A few days later, the service advisor called me back requesting that I be on standby to drop the truck off when a Toyota / warranty rep was in town.
9. When the Toyota rep arrived in town the following week, I dropped off the truck. Later that day, the service advisor informed me the Toyota rep agreed there is an issue with my paint/clear coat. The Toyota rep authorized a repair to be paid for by Toyota as long as the estimate was reasonable.
10. My service advisor is currently waiting for their in-house dealership warranty clerk to file the necessary paperwork with the estimate and the Toyota rep's approval.
11. The paint repair has been scheduled for next month (Sept.), so I'll follow up here in a few weeks to let you know the end result.

My advice:

• Call Toyota customer service and let them know you have a paint issue with your brand new truck. Request the case number for your reference.
• Take your truck to your local dealership and request the service advisor write up a repair order for warranty paint issue. Ask your service advisor to note the case number in the repair order.
• Hopefully your dealership will get a Toyota rep to come look at your truck in person and authorize a warranty repair.

 

That is not normal.

My 2016 has 81K miles on it. A third of that is off road.

I have not washed mine with a mit and soap or a brush of any kind. Just pressure wash it off and dry it after each off road trip.

i wax it twice per year. Nothng fancy, just cream waxes.

Winter is lots of salt and sand for 3 months. Rest of the year in the bush on a lot of bad washboard, pothole and ATV style trails.

Paint is still almost like new.

 

toyota has always had the worst paint of any vehicle imo. all 5 of my toyotas did. scratches so incredibly easy. this clear coat issue looks the same as on my corolla. regular driving basically sand blasted it all away

 

A lot of variable's involved that can lead to paint failure. Gtechniq CSL topped with Exo V5 is a fantastic professional ceramic combo. I use that combo and wash with koch chemie gsf (gental snow foam) and spray a coat of bead maker on top after.

I had that metallic black on my 2020 trd or 4runner. I always had issues with contamination bleeding through the clear and staining the paint. It was almost like the paint never cured properly from the factory. That and the paint was super soft.

 

None at all on my 2018 cement. No paint related complaints yet. Stock Headlights are already peeling and looking UV beat tho. 5-6 years is all you get outta those puppies, I guess.

 

very informative. do you have any pictures of what it looks like? i also have a 23' lunar rock and am curious so i can check