Anyone out there having issues with their new 2025 Tacoma Paint?

I have a white 24 I am missing a small portion of paint under the rear tail lights but overall is pretty good

 

Update today. Went out to truck today and area around one of the chips is yellowing. Looked online and said it could have been caused to a lack of clear coat in that area or thin clear coat. Could explain why paint is chipping. No clear coat on the paint or lack of it to protect the paint. Still working with dealer to get the paint fixed. Was suppose to get a call back from warranty manager but never heard back from him.

 

White [040 paint code] didn't used to be clear coated, has that changed? I was under the impression it hadn't.

That is contamination on the prepped surface and improper spraying. If it's doing it that quickly I'd dump it as soon as I could because even if toyota fixes the spots you see now, it'll happen in other places later on long before good paint will age out.

FWIW, I'd NEVER buy a white [040] toyota, their pearl and ''higher end'' whites are clear coated.

 

I just bought the truck maybe three months ago. I would hate to just dump it would lose money I am sure in negative equity. Plus I have upgraded parts on the truck and the speakers and would hate to have to take it all out again. Someone had said earlier that the new paint is now a two step instead of single like it used to be. Not sure on the extent of that though.

 

Yes, 4th generation Tacomas have a clear coat, but it is often reported as being very thin or even non-existent in some areas, leading to issues with durability, soft paint that scratches easily, and staining. Some owners have reported their paint coming off when polished or showing yellow streaks.

Here is what I found on the internet about clear coat on 4th Gen Tacoma.

 

A couple of members were able to get Toyota to do a buyback.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-before-you-buy….832299/page-14#post-30303672

 

I would have to report a lemon law and according to my state Texas lemon law, I have to give them four attempts to fix the same issue before I can do anything. This one will be the first and hoping I do not have more on the back end to.follow.

 

I had the same issue with my 2014 Blue Ribbon Metallic Tacoma, paint chipping on the inside of the passenger door so it's not always just white paint vehicles with this issue. Mine happened about 4 years in of ownership and Toyota wouldn't fix it, they only sent a note into Corporate about it. Get it taken care of while it is still under warranty. I currently own a 2022 White SR5 for the past 3 1/2 years so I'm curious as to how it's going to hold up, so far so good.

 

Are all paint color affected or just white? My bronze oxide is solid.

 

Was able to get a hold of the warranty manager, I guess that is his title. I talked with him, and he kept bringing up that the truck was not covered under recall. I let him know the recall that he was referring to be the 23TE08 Tacoma paint recall and applies to 2016-2022 Tacoma's for faulty paint. I have a hunch that they are going to have to extend it to the new Tacoma's as well. I let him know that my truck was a 2025 and was still under 3-year 36k warranty. I also let him know I was told to call Corporate by his service associate, and they said for me to bring it to them and Toyota will access the damages through pictures the dealer sends them and make a discission. I have an appointment on Wednesday September 17, 2025, and will keep everyone posted on what dealer says and what Toyota outcome is. Also, I went ahead and ordered a paint thickness gauge from Amazon, which was pretty inexpensive, maybe 15 dollars. I plan on going around my truck to gauge what the paint and clear coat thicknesses are and maybe report them back to Toyota in case they have a bigger problem on their hand with quality control. This could be a bigger issue for Toyota from what I have been reading on the forums with many complaining about it. I am praying this is only a singular event with the ownership of my Tacoma. I love the truck and just wish issues like this would be resolved, since this seems like this has been a problem for a long time. Toyota has always been known for their quality and longevity, but it seems like that has gone to the wayside. I am not sure if Toyota moving the production of Tacoma's from San Antonio to Mexico was a money saving scheme? But it cost us more in Taxes for the vehicle then prior gens, due to importation laws or what is known as the chicken tax. But I can say it seems as they do not have things together in their production factory's involving paint. My wife has a Lexus, which is produced in Japan and the paint has been flawless for 5 years. They are doing something right and need to move their techniques to other productions facilities to maintain their image and followers to purchase their product. Toyota has always been linked to quality but lately that vision has lost sight.

 

Contestant:
"Alex, I'll take "First World Car Care Problems" for $2000, please.
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Alex
"This two word phrase describes a meaningless imperfection that does not affect an item's value, functionality, safety, or structural integrity OR alternatively a makeup problem."

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Contestants:
[dumb founded in awkward & sheepish silence]
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Alex:
"What is a Cosmetic Defect?" Cosmetic Defect."
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I just received news from my dealership's Service Manager today. His team captured photos of small chips in the paint on my truck on both sides of the front of the bed months ago (truck had 5k miles on it) and filed a report with Toyota on it. I was told today that Toyota Engineering acknowledged that this issue was not due to any known normal driving conditions and it is definitely caused by a problem with paint/application. They are working on a solution and said many, many owners have reported this issue to their respective dealerships. Next step is to wait for Toyota Engineering to come up with a permanent solution which addresses the issue long term. This could take months to determine, however, in the end they plan to make it right with owners. I was also told, this may not be addressed as a recall but rather with those who have registered a complaint with their dealers so their trucks are on file as problematic. My truck now has 13k miles and the problem continues to worsen...winter will not help it any in my region (SW Ohio). Glad they finally acknowledged the issue and their intent to address it in the near future.

 

My dealership Service team tried using their "professional" paint thickness measurement device and found it would not work on the bed due to the bed being constructed of non-ferrous materials. Apparently their gage worked on some sort of magnetic field?

 

Old school/cheaper paint gauges are just magnets so yeah lol not gonna work on bed, hood or tailgate which is all aluminum.

 

My 2024 is holding on to the paint but windshield is cracking for no reason. Dealer do not have in stock and back ordered.

 

Okay, so no white and no silver when I go hunting for my 4th Gen... I like that mud bath and the bronze oxide at least.

 

Consumer Reports might run a special issue with this paint problem.

I like the Super Sonic Red for an Xtra cab and the red paint might be a little more robust either way you pay more for red. Silver would be my 2nd choice because it's lighter than Underground which I don't love, dark grays aren't my favorite and it heats up about the same as black in the sun. If I ever get a 4G SR it will probably be gray.

 

Update for today. Went to dealer to show my service advisor the extent of paint issues I was having so he could see them with his own eyes. We both looked over the vehicle and found multiple places on the paint where it looked like material was stuck to the paint and we noticed that they had painted over spots that had debris from prep. We also looked in all four door jams of the vehicle and notices many of the inside jams paint were showing a slight yellowing but not as bad as the spots on the passenger side. The big kicker is my service advisor noticed that the paint code on the vin is 040. I would hate to think Toyota is still using the same paint they had issues with years prior on new gen Tacoma's. So, it is confirmed Toyota still is using the 040-paint code on new 2025 4th Gen. We also noticed a few spots on the right rear quarter panel and just before the rear wheel well rock chips are hitting straight to the primer. It seems as though the paint is too soft. I notified Toyota Corporate of our findings for my case number and will just have to wait for next Wednesday for the technician to look it over and report his findings to Toyota.

 

Zero issues here Guanajuato plant Underground truck. Seems to be holding up well minus the rear fenders being peppered by rock chips

 

As mentioned previously it is not the same paint ,the code is the same but the 24 and up is a two stage paint. The white on the 23 and lower years are a single stage paint.