Paint Fault 09 IQ-- Please help!

[JIQ]

So I purchased the vehicle in 2019, and only noticed the fault in 2020/21 when paint started peeling off my bonnet. I've since paid to have that repaired and it wasn't until other parts of my car started flaking that I started to research in to it and discovered that it's a known issue with my model with the same colour paint. People on Reddit have mentioned that over in America, this fault is rectified by Toyota without any cost to the owner, however, as far as I can tell Toyota UK will not rectify the issue as they only had a cover period of 10 years). 

I've enquired with Toyota and this is the response I received (see attached). 

I'm not sure what to do as I can't afford to keep having my car repainted (and why should I? ). Is there anyway I can prevent this current 'paint peel' situation from getting any worse? 

It looks awful 😞

[Pete.Z]

Wrap it?

[Dutchrav]

No, not much you can do to prevent it. A wrap can be a cheaper solution but all needs to be sanded flat before a wrap can be sticked to the car.

[flash22]

It's a well known issue, Toyota's gesture of good will ended a long time ago, the only problem found is Adhesion between layers

constant repainting ?? Fix it once, job done

wrap is not that cheap and will not fix the underlying issue, in this case it will require more prep increasing the cost, wrap lasts 3-5-7 years, insurance may be a factor too

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

43 minutes ago, JIQ said:

People on Reddit have mentioned that over in America, this fault is rectified by Toyota without any cost to the owner, however, as far as I can tell Toyota UK will not rectify the issue as they only had a cover period of 10 years). 

It is down to the specific importer. Toyota US offered cover on some, but not all, vehicles affected by this issue, and that has only been in the past couple of years.

The goodwill offer, rather than warranty or recall, by Toyota GB was if the car was under 10 years of age, and had a Toyota service history. Recalls in the UK are for safety related issues, and this issue isn't safety related.

[Barkley]

I can truly sympathise, and before I bought mine a few months ago (a 2009 model) I paid particular attention to the paintwork and was unimpressed with the finish as it was starting to fleck - it was the red version and the dealer was ready to knock £50 off so I could get it ‘sorted’.  I declined.

I then came across a 2013 model in Pearl White, like yours, and although it was a bit more expensive the paint was unblemished.  I’m surprised you think Toyotas paint should last a lifetime but a third-party re spray won’t.  If done properly it’ll never need redoing, and these mobile paint repair firms can do a fantastic job and colour-match to the surround with no need to spray a complete panel.

[glimp]

The only thing I can offer is sympathy and my opinion that this is an example of appalling customer service. The paint job is clearly faulty - you don't see loads of 15-year old cars driving around with paint dropping off, only white Toyotas. ...and they're not an uncommon sight.

Why this arbitrary 10-year cut-off for putting it right? Toyota sold a faulty product (paint should not fall off a car) and they should d@mn well put it right, instead of making the poor customer suffer.

If I were a lawyer, I'd take them to court. But then if I were a lawyer, I'd probably be driving a Porsche whose paint was not falling off.

Toyota would get a much better rep if it just fixed the fault. It's already owned up to its responsibility/liability with this expired 'goodwill gesture', hasn't it?

[FROSTYBALLS]

At the end of the day, this is a 14 year old car, and no manufacturer will be interested in providing any form of warranty or goodwil to repair paintwork of this age. Just a fact of life. Realistically Toyota have already gone above and beyond and offered repairs on cars of up to 10 years of age.

[glimp]

5 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

At the end of the day, this is a 14 year old car, and no manufacturer will be interested in providing any form of warranty or goodwil to repair paintwork of this age. Just a fact of life. Realistically Toyota have already gone above and beyond and offered repairs on cars of up to 10 years of age.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that! I wouldn't be surprised if this discussion's been done to death elsewhere on these forums, before my recent arrival, so I'm out.

[FROSTYBALLS]

22 minutes ago, glimp said:

I wouldn't be surprised if this discussion's been done to death elsewhere on these forums

It has. 

[Dutchrav]

Strange is that some have this peeling all over, some only on bonnet, some only on roof or side. Some others never had a problem. Also 2013 models can have paint peeling issues. Some got a full respray and others just a painted bonnet or roof.

 

[Cyker]

Yeah, we never got a specific reason, but it only seemed to affect their white cars, with the pearlescent white being the worst affected.

I'd not recommend wrapping unless you check with your insurer first - A lot of insurers charge a steep premium for wraps as it counts as a modification... I was thinking of getting the front of mine PPF'd before I discovered how much extra my then-insurer wanted for it! (And also how much these companies wanted to stick some sticky-back plastic to the front of the car!  )

[Barkley]

I would suppose it depends on who was paying for the repair.  Any court action could be expensive, as it could be deemed they offered a ‘reasonable’ rectification.  I have expensive items of kit that ‘expire’ within 10 years (usually blown capacitors) but that’ll be mine to fix as after 8 years from warranty expiry the manufacturer won’t be liable.   I spent many years in Spain and discovered Ford cars usually had bare metal bonnets/boots with the paint burning off in the direct sun.  Strangely, the white Toyota’s were usually all fine, but with no inherent manufacturing fault admitted, nothing will change.

[Rhymes with Paris]

32 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah, we never got a specific reason, but it only seemed to affect their white cars, with the pearlescent white being the worst affected.

I'd not recommend wrapping unless you check with your insurer first - A lot of insurers charge a steep premium for wraps as it counts as a modification... I was thinking of getting the front of mine PPF'd before I discovered how much extra my then-insurer wanted for it! (And also how much these companies wanted to stick some sticky-back plastic to the front of the car!  )

It might not be to everyone's taste, but I think my urban camo wrap on my Yaris looks awesome, especially down at the local Sunday night car meet, where it is much admired.

Well the young max power types stare at it with dropped jaws,so I assume that this is an awestruck reaction.

Easy with the insurance, I just don't tell 'em.

Cheap too, the wrap was only £450 all in,ok a few (lot) of creases and ripples, and it doesn't cover the panel and door edges, and is pulling off on the cills.

The chap who did it has gone out of business now, and left town with no forwarding address, maybe he was getting overwhelmed with requests to carry out similar work once mine was seen about town.

 

[Bernard Foy]

30 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

It might not be to everyone's taste, but I think my urban camo wrap on my Yaris looks awesome, especially down at the local Sunday night car meet, where it is much admired.

Well the young max power types stare at it with dropped jaws,so I assume that this is an awestruck reaction.

Easy with the insurance, I just don't tell 'em.

Cheap too, the wrap was only £450 all in,ok a few (lot) of creases and ripples, and it doesn't cover the panel and door edges, and is pulling off on the cills.

The chap who did it has gone out of business now, and left town with no forwarding address, maybe he was getting overwhelmed with requests to carry out similar work once mine was seen about town.

 

More likely staying out of reach of disatisfied customers 😂

[Rhymes with Paris]

Aye Bernard, it's a good thing though, it gets customers used to the abysmal service and poor value at all ends of the spectrum.

But to balance this view, a fast fit tyre and exhaust outfit did check my nearside front tyre pressure today,free of charge ,it has a slow leak, porous 20 year old alloy wheel maybe.

And the accessory shop attached sells fluffy dice for hanging off the rear view mirror,so for that alone, I can forgive anything.

 

[flash22]

All affected cars are built in Japan it's some sort of adhesion issue between layers or may even be the anti corrosion coating late 2000's is the early days of water based paints (VOC regulations)

 

Paint defects are only covered for the first 3 years from new the fact Toyota extended this to 10 years for cars under their care was goodwill, we are not in the US of Hay, we are not a litigious society, it's a used vehicle, no one is liable apart from its owner

 

yes there is many a thread on the subject, and it just ends up going in circles

[glimp]

6 hours ago, flash22 said:

All affected cars are built in Japan it's some sort of adhesion issue between layers or may even be the anti corrosion coating late 2000's is the early days of water based paints (VOC regulations)

 

Paint defects are only covered for the first 3 years from new the fact Toyota extended this to 10 years for cars under their care was goodwill, we are not in the US of Hay, we are not a litigious society, it's a used vehicle, no one is liable apart from its owner

 

yes there is many a thread on the subject, and it just ends up going in circles

I bet if a group/class action lawsuit was taken in the UK, Toyota would be found liable. It's about time British customers stopped allowing massive corporations to get away with this sort of shoddiness. Class action lawsuits are one of the only good things about America!

[Barkley]

24 minutes ago, glimp said:

bet if a group/class action lawsuit was taken in the UK, Toyota would be found liable.

But would you fund it?  On the basis that the loser pays the costs, parties to such action would take 100% of the risk unless a no-win-no-fee insurer comes in to support it (and cream off the benefits).  Morally, I agree buyers should be looked after - but this is a business who demonstrated ‘reasonable’ variance at the time, but I doubt any court would believe they should be on the hook in perpetuity (and the statute of limitations has already expired).  If the difference is being financially ruined or living to fight a different battle another day with better odds, I’d choose the latter!

[glimp]

10 minutes ago, Barkley said:

But would you fund it? 

Nope. Certainly not - my car's purple - no problemos ici Signor 😄

[Bernard Foy]

Not sure if class litigation is applicable in the UK??

[Derek.w]

On 11/29/2023 at 4:40 PM, JIQ said:

So I purchased the vehicle in 2019, and only noticed the fault in 2020/21 when paint started peeling off my bonnet. I've since paid to have that repaired and it wasn't until other parts of my car started flaking that I started to research in to it and discovered that it's a known issue with my model with the same colour paint. People on Reddit have mentioned that over in America, this fault is rectified by Toyota without any cost to the owner, however, as far as I can tell Toyota UK will not rectify the issue as they only had a cover period of 10 years). 

I've enquired with Toyota and this is the response I received (see attached). 

I'm not sure what to do as I can't afford to keep having my car repainted (and why should I? ). Is there anyway I can prevent this current 'paint peel' situation from getting any worse? 

It looks awful 😞

Even just applying paint with a brush will improve its looks at minimum cost.

[Big_D]

Or the good old rattle can. Might be a better option than a paintbrush??

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, glimp said:

I bet if a group/class action lawsuit was taken in the UK

Since 2015 these have been allowed in the UK.

However, as there are only around 17,000 IQs still registered for use on the road, with a smaller proportion of these in white, and an even smaller proportion of white ones still affected by the paint issue, there is almost certainly insufficient numbers of owners left with the problem to generate sufficient interest and income for the legal fraternity to consider this type of action.

Aside from that, the steps Toyota GB has already taken (it would be the importer not the manufacturer targeted by the action), would be considered to have been sufficient in discharging their responsibilities.

[davidif]

1 hour ago, Bernard Foy said:

Not sure if class litigation is applicable in the UK??

As a lawyer I can confirm that they are.