Toyota paint = GARBAGE

I've complained about this in the past but now I'm fed up. It's been deteriorating for years and Toyota has refused to own up to it so now I'm at this point:


As you can see, the clear coat is peeling and pitted. The bumper is also completed faded it looks orange. You can go ahead and assume right now that I take very good care of this vehicle because I always have and the only solution has always been to repaint it, according to 2 different body shops I trust. I seriously feel like driving it into a bridge abutment. I have owned MANY vehicles, some quite a bit older than this, and NEVER have I seen anything like this. Hell, a buddy has a 1992 Lincoln Continental parked right next to my Tacoma that looks perfect compared to this. I have a 2014.5 Camry I'm ready to go trade in because I'm worried about this occurring.

So, it is what it is. I'm making one more attempt at the dealer and another attempt with Toyota corporate and then I'm giving up. Paint will have to wait until after my chemo treatments are done but I will eventually get it painted.

 

Sorry to hear of the chemo. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

 

Bummer Eric!Good luck!I forget what the factory warranty is on the paint.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure. I will say that I fully acknowledge that I let it go too long and should've made MUCH more noise before now but oh well. I'll put it this way: My grandfather had a 1996 Ford Contour he bought new that he washed probably every couple months and, per him, never waxed and was always stored outdoors in NJ. About 4 years ago, I brought my PC buffer with me on a trip to NJ and washed and waxed the car. It came out darn near perfect.

Now, with the Camry, I've been meticulous. I wash it EVERY weekend, put Griot's sealant on it a month after I brought it home and then again a few months back, and I wax it about every 3 months. However, I did almost the same thing with the truck so, yeah, it worries me.

In the grand scheme of things, this is a minor issue and I've always wanted a flat black truck so it looks like I'm going to get one, LOL

 

May I ask what color it was? Not all paints have clear coat to fail. Typically it's on pearls, metallic, etc, but not on solid colors like red, white and some others.

It's one reason I was insistent on white when looking for the Tacoma, as I plan to keep it a long time, and working with the actual paint pigment is often easier to correct and protect than working with clear.

My '04 Highlander has been in Fl sun all it's life, and unfortunately underloved after the first two years of life, and the flat surfaces, mirrors and front bumper are toasty.

So it does seem a bit early for an '07.

Best wishes on the chemo!

 

I have a couple questions and please know that even if your answer was no to each of them I don't think clearcoat should peel like that after 7 years.

When you say you take good care of it:
How often did you wax the truck?

Did it live outside or in a garage?

Did you use a polisher or detail by hand?

Did you touch up chips as they happened?

Just asking these questions out of curiosity more than anything but that really sucks man. I hope they take care of it for you. Good luck with the chemo and the truck!

 

Tell them you want to buy a new truck and you have a perfect trade. It has beautiful factory Toyota paint that is fully covered by their awesome warranty and you expect full nada trade in. Then show them your truck and explain why they need to make it right!

 

I am sorry brother. I have same year, same paint. My truck is garage kept and I clay, polish, wax, seal every 6 months and people think it is a new truck when they see it. My own opinion, it is a bad paint job. Toyota needs to acknowledge it but they won't. They don't know where you been and what you've done to it. It sucks.............I am sorry

 

Let me guess, not a garaged truck? Exposure to harsh sunlight for many years is hard on paint and for some reason red with clear coat seems to be prone to problems. I had a red '97 Dodge Dakota that had the same problem.

 

Which is the reason your truck looks new. No wax required, other than 'luster' and easier to occasionally wash.

Nothing wrong with that, it's just not everyone is so fortunate.

 

not to mention the fact that he lives by the ocean doesnt help things.

 

This^^^

I live on the coast. Salt air destroys EVERYTHING.
Including concrete. Steel. And paint finish on trucks.

 

I live 75' from the Pacific ocean and my paint doesn't look like that

 

Yea, but yer in The Great White North. The sun is far less intense than where OP lives.

 

Sorry you're having problems. Have you owned the truck since it was new? That's the only way you can know for sure that it's the original factory paint and there wasn't a repaint in the past. And best wishes on your upcoming chemo. Our prayers are with you.

 

17 year old Red 4runner, clearcoat is way worse than that.

that actually looks like you got hit by some caustic mung at some point on
the highway, or near a factory or something, and it burned in...and then paint
got weak over the years

 

first, good luck with the chemo, we're pulling for you. health above all.

to me looks like some swirl marks/small scratches in the paint? And almost like the spots are where moisture sat and harmed the clear.

You can "over-do" washing/waxing/protecting to the point of defeating the clear-coat protection.

 

Its not bad paint job..
Its cheap a.... paint job.

Also to avoid above problems its best not to wash your truck especially not to polish.
Top coat is so thin that polishing simply removes it.

 

Two things I noticed.

1. There are clearly deep scratches along the areas where the paint is flaking up.
2. In the third picture you can see a horrible orange peel in the reflections. That is not a factory finish.

 

I was commenting on the salt air discussion