Finally, tackling the paint problem

[Mickey]

Originally Posted by FriendSite.com

I just emailed Toyota about my problems:

My Email
--------------------------
Dear Toyota.

Thank you for your email, and I don't know why your feedback page did not
work.

A week or two ago I received a marketing phone call to find out how my
first Toyota purchase went. I reported that everything is great, EXCEPT
for, what I believe is, a serious problem model wide with the Toyota Tundra
paint.

My Tundra (a 5.7 Limited CrewMax) is black, and it appears as though there
has only been one coat of paint applied. No clear coat, no multiple layers
for protection, even with the Toyoguard paint protection option, I have
observed:

1. Within the first week and my first wash there were very fine scratch
marks in the paint. Having had several black vehicles before including BMW,
Audi and Nissan - non have scratched like that in the first 2-3 years,
despite being EXTREMELY careful washing (the usual rinse first and thorough
sudding).

2. In the first week, I also purchased a Toyota bedmat for the truck.
Having installed the mat, and then finding out that the shortbed version
didn't fit the crewmax, I pulled the bedmat out (its extremely heavy and
cannot just be lifted). There were several scratches down to the white
primer.

3. Having purchased a hard tonneau cover (a Lear 700) for the truck, I
locked it for the first time in the second week. My keys touched the
Tundras paint on the drop down door, and scratched it, again down to the
primer. There was no pressure put on the keys, simply them against the
paint as I turned the lock.

4. Simply climbing in and out of the truck in a tight spot, meant that my
sneaker chipped a piece of the paint off the edge of the door.

The problems I'm facing are not simply with me, they appear to be model
wide as I started a small petition to gauge whether it was me (and I've had
several cars and NON have had these problems). The petition shows (and it's
only on 2 toyota forums and been going for only a month), that there is a
clear problem in Canada and the US.

2007 & 2008 Toyota Tundra's Paint Quality Petition | FRIENDSITE - the FREE Social Networking Site for Friends!

It makes interesting reading...

Whilst everything else in the truck is fantastic. I
am severely disappointed in the quality of paint for what is supposed to be
a work truck, 2 other friends have now purchased other vehicles based upon
the quality of paint on the truck.

Please can you advise?

-------------------------

Their Response
-------------------------
Thank you for your recent correspondence.

Please be assured that we certainly do not like to see our customers experience the frustration and inconvenience that is associated with unexpected repairs. It is the desire of Toyota Canada Inc. to provide sound, durable and reliable vehicles which will require a minimum of service and not only meet, but exceed our customers' expectations. Unfortunately, there remain instances, such as you have encountered, where difficulties will arise.

Toyota Canada Inc. has a very comprehensive warranty that will cover the costs of repairing your vehicle when a difficulty arises as the result of a manufacturing defect experienced within the parameters of the warranty. Our commitment to you is to repair your vehicle according to the terms of the Toyota's new vehicle warranty.

We assure you that it is our goal to assist our customers whenever possible; however, as you can appreciate, we are unable to provide a diagnosis of your vehicle through this medium of correspondence. We rely on Toyota dealerships to diagnose and repair vehicles on our behalf. As such, we can only suggest that you discuss this directly with the Service Manager at your Toyota dealership. Should they require technical assistance, they have access to a special technical assistance service.

We thank you again for taking the time to contact us and for allowing us the opportunity to comment. A copy of your correspondence has been forwarded to the appropriate departments within Toyota Canada for their information.

Sounds like the same letter the arbitrator stated for my GM 06 Truck. This was for a headliner that fell 8x. Reading most of the posts on this thread makes me wonder if this is a first time truck owner. Now the paint issue that everyone on this thread has reported most are valid. Some are not. Paint issues been going since they got rid of lead paint. I can tell since 77 with a Buick which the paint faded to primer within 3 years, and again in 92 when I had a 92 GMC Sonoma with a rear bumper that was painted. I had more paint peels on that bumper than you can shake a stick at. The front bumper hardly had any paint chips. They claimed it was rock chips on the back bumper. I'm still baffled by that. The peels start about a third the way up the bumper. I knew the paint was peeling due to it didn't adhere to the bumper but that wasn't what caused it according to the dealer. Now for the beds of the truck on my F-150 my 98 and 06 Silverado's were all black and was easily scratched by putting a cardboard box in the back. They don't put much on the bed to cover it. Even the guy putting a bedliner and pulling it out got scratches wonders why. Let's be real on some of the things that cause the scratches. Just putting wood in my Tundra scratch my bed also. It's a truck. I did take time out and put herculiner in all trucks except the sonoma I used a bedliner and never again. If I knew about Line-x I would've tried it. Now most trucks don't have sealant put on theirs why? your guess is as mine. I have it through Southeast Toyota Group. I do have scratches on my tailgate caused by a runaway cart at Home Depot. My tailgate was down getting ready for wood to be placed in the back. I do have 2 rock chips on the hood above the bug shield. Those were rock hits because I heard them going down the interstate. I never use keys to open the door much less a gas door for that reason they touch the paint it scratches. That's all vehicles. Some of you that signed the petition are at least trying to be heard. Until you get more than 157 signatures you're still in a uphill battle. Filing a complaint with NHTSA is another great choice. To me filing with BBB you're waisting time. They rarely side with the consumer. When you do have them on your side it has no weight unless you get the state's DA involved. This is where you need to take your fight. File your lemon law and work your way to the state's DA to get results. Taxpayers dollars pay the DA. Not like the BBB. Like I mentioned before I don't have an issue with my paint. I use claybar every 6 months, I use Toyota's sealant wax cleaner every 3 months, and use Carnuba brazilian paste wax every month. I use 2 buffers. One to wax on and the other to wax off. For those who don't know the wax bleeds through onto the buffer when you wax on. If you use the same buffer to wax off it bleeds right back onto your paint through the terry cloth and you get a mix. To me I found it's better to have 2 buffers so I don't get the mix problem. I have 35,000 miles on it and it's just a year old. I believe in a product until it proves me personally wrong. Not to put anyone down or say I'm better but I'm sure putting my truck in the garage does help.

[zzrguy]

I'm in my truck looks like crap I get a custom paint job this year to cover the shitey paint my 02 Exploder{aka.The Bush Beast} look better when I traded it in then my year old tundra {never in the woods}

[phil2twenty]

Just signed, my 08 has swirl or surface scrathes after carefully being handwashed.

[Mystic_Synergy]

Well, my truck still looks like crap and Toyota is still of no help. Last night I was washing it and I bumped the hood with the hose(really, it was just a bump) and it scratched the paint all the way to the metal. Unfrickingbelievable! I went to another dealership today and asked them if they had any sugestions and they told me to file a complaint with this site.
IVOQ - File a Complaint I know someone else has posted this site here before, but as I was looking through the complaints that have been filed, only 2 other people have filed on this issue. Come on guys we need everyone to complain if we want to see something done.

[Mystic_Synergy]

oh yeah, I almost forgot. I went to get some touch-up paint at the Toyota dealership and they needed to look at the tag inside the drivers door to order me touch-up. This struck me as odd, so I asked why, and I was told that there are about 7 differant shades of black on the 08 Tundras. Is it just me or is this strange? I also don't see anything on that tag that states the vehicle color. I am wondering if they were just looking at where it was manufactured or something. Maybe only certain plants produced this horrible paint?

[Hill]

Originally Posted by Mystic_Synergy

Well, my truck still looks like crap and Toyota is still of no help. Last night I was washing it and I bumped the hood with the hose(really, it was just a bump) and it scratched the paint all the way to the metal. Unfrickingbelievable! I went to another dealership today and asked them if they had any sugestions and they told me to file a complaint with this site.
IVOQ - File a Complaint I know someone else has posted this site here before, but as I was looking through the complaints that have been filed, only 2 other people have filed on this issue. Come on guys we need everyone to complain if we want to see something done.

Done and done...I agree with the majority of what's been said about the paint.

[Mickey]

Mystic that site is ODI for NHTSA. I mention that earlier. Also Mystic they do take the code off the door along with the VIN. The VIN on my truck also is on every part. The truck was built at 2 plants. Look on your door would tell you what plant. Let us know what plant you had your's at. Mine was built in Indiana. I can't quite agree with you Hill. You have almost half of the complaints were self made scratches and for the other plus half are ligit complaints. There I will agree with you.

[FirstToy]

Mine was built in Texas, and I agree that we need more people involved that are having problems. Mick... I see a lot of what you are saying, but I have to disagree with you. If you were having the same issues as I am, you would be whisting the same tune. Not one car or truck that I have had (or still have) has had these types of problems with paint. None... zero...

[Mystic_Synergy]

Mine was built in Texas. I took the truck to a paint shop last night to get a quote on having the entire truck repainted. First off the dude said it will cost approx $5,000. YIKES! Anyway, this guy looked at the scratches and told me that they are normal for the new type of paint. Also, I forgot to mention that I took the truck off road this weekend to ride ATV's, and I had a fold up chair in the back of the bed, and apparenty it rubbed the wall of the truck, took all the paint off. This is my fault, as I know that things like that WILL scratch, but hell I have a 1996 Dodge 1500 and have been hauling the same crap for 12 years and do not have ANY spots that have no paint. Lots of scratches though. Anyway, this guy told me that that was normal also. (Gonna have to get a spray on liner) He also told me that if I choose to repaint the truck, that I would have the same problem.

[Hill]

Originally Posted by Mickey

Mystic that site is ODI for NHTSA. I mention that earlier. Also Mystic they do take the code off the door along with the VIN. The VIN on my truck also is on every part. The truck was built at 2 plants. Look on your door would tell you what plant. Let us know what plant you had your's at. Mine was built in Indiana. I can't quite agree with you Hill. You have almost half of the complaints were self made scratches and for the other plus half are ligit complaints. There I will agree with you.

Yeah I guess you're right, 50/50...overall, I would say I'm not too worried about the paint on my truck. Yes it does scratch easy, oh well...that's life I guess.

Mystic why don't you look into buying a vinyl vehicle covering, you can make it look however you want and the cost would probably be around $500-$900. I'm looking into the same thing, but I just want it to cover my chrome bumpers (not sure if I want to rhino line them or not).

[Mickey]

Originally Posted by Mystic_Synergy

Mine was built in Texas. I took the truck to a paint shop last night to get a quote on having the entire truck repainted. First off the dude said it will cost approx $5,000. YIKES! Anyway, this guy looked at the scratches and told me that they are normal for the new type of paint. Also, I forgot to mention that I took the truck off road this weekend to ride ATV's, and I had a fold up chair in the back of the bed, and apparenty it rubbed the wall of the truck, took all the paint off. This is my fault, as I know that things like that WILL scratch, but hell I have a 1996 Dodge 1500 and have been hauling the same crap for 12 years and do not have ANY spots that have no paint. Lots of scratches though. Anyway, this guy told me that that was normal also. (Gonna have to get a spray on liner) He also told me that if I choose to repaint the truck, that I would have the same problem.

I think we are showing a pattern as to why the guy looked at the door. We need to find out from the others if their truck was made in TEXAS. IF so they're you go. That would be heavy leverage against Toyota and they would know it also.

[Mickey]

Hot from Tundra HQ.com
Tundra Paint Quality PetitionPosted by admin (Jason) in July 25th, 2008 Posted in: Tundra Recalls

Rick, one of the admins of FriendSite.com (a pretty cool social network, btw) created a paint quality petition. Here’s what it says:

Many people on numerous Toyota Tundra discussion forums have complained about the 2007 and 2008 Toyota Tundra paint quality.

They put forward to Toyota that the failure to apply sufficient layers of paint, coupled with the lack of a clear protective coat on a truck does not provide the quality of product that Toyota usually provides, nor the quality of product we were expecting to purchase. We petition Toyota to look into the matter and to respond to each of the respondants in the petition with a resolution. Once this petition reaches a sufficient amount, I will present this to Toyota for their review and go from there!

Toyota has been known for top quality paint for decades, so Tundra paint problems are out of character for sure. Still, not a month goes by when a Tundra owner doesn’t tell us about a patch of orange peel or a paint irregularity - some sort of “paint problem.”

Now when we say “paint problem,” we’re not talking about paint that scratches “too easily” or paint that is “too thin.” Ask any professional detailer and they’ll tell you that Toyota’s paint is thicker and easier to buff scratches out of than any domestic truck. If you think your paint is scratching too easily or that it’s too thin, you’re doing something wrong. When properly taken care of even the cheapest paint job will look good for years. Just drive down the road and you can see that for yourself.

“Paint problems” are defined as bubbles, orange peel, contaminants in the paint, discolorations or poor color matches, and plastic painted parts not matching the rest of the vehicle.

Scratches are tough to characterize as a paint problem. First of all, most people don’t understand that touching a clean car with an oily finger can cause a scratch in any paint job. Human skin has a knack for picking up little bits of dust and dirt, and while it seems difficult to fathom, it can (and does) scratch paint. Automotive paint is usually just a few microns thick - any thicker and it would cost more, weigh more, and lack the reflective properties we’ve all come to appreciate.

Cotton towels (like the ones in your bathroom), automatic car washes with brushes, and even slightly dirty terry-cloth towels or chamois will all scratch your paint job. Same goes for the snow brushes and gloves you use in the winter time to clear off your vehicle.

In other words, just about anything can scratch your truck.

However, if you wax your paint job regularly, your chances of damaging your finish are dramatically reduced. One good solid coat of wax every 3-6 months (depending on how often you wash your truck) is good enough to prevent most incidental scratches. Anyways…

Unfortunately, we’ve never documented much in the way of paint problems. An occasional photo here, some complaints their. Paint, like a lot of aspects of building a new car, is complicated. A lot can go wrong. Out of 300k new trucks, it stands to reason that some percentage has had paint problems. There are certainly stories of paint with bubbles, paint peeling, etc., but never in any large enough volumes to warrant investigation.

Our friends at Toyota dealerships say the same - none of them have seen a Tundra with a paint problem (or even a complaint). Our sampling is not very scientific, but it’s been a good indicator in the past.

In other words, we’ve never seen anything to indicate the problem with Tundra paint is widespread. It’s more likely a handful of unlucky trucks. To those people who have been unlucky enough to buy one of those trucks, you have our sympathy.

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[Andres]

interesting article