[hooolala]

i just got to car for about 14 days, and after driving about 1400 miles i found out that the paint on the front bumper and hood is already chipping off... i normally drives about 70 to 80mph most of the time.. which is very normal around here.. so do you guys think this is normal? or if is the paint that Toyota used suck?

i really feel that my $30k RAV4 has the same paint job that my $17K Corolla has..

 

[Derek]

This same problem exists with the newer Tacomas. The Tacoma forums that I frequent has many members complaining about the same front paint chipping that you describe. So your problem may not be an isolated one. I wonder what Toyota has to say about this. :roll:

 

[flyingn]

Take it back to the dealer. Thats a warranty issue for sure. Its a shame tho... First time I have heard of this..

 

[hooolala]

Take it back to the dealer. Thats a warranty issue for sure. Its a shame tho... First time I have heard of this..

warranty covers paints? i didn't know that...

but i bet the dealer is going to say "you drove too fast, so no warrently"..

 

[flyingn]

bumper to bumper for 3 /36k everything is covered..

 

[syadasti]

or if is the paint that Toyota used suck?

i really feel that my $30k RAV4 has the same paint job that my $17K Corolla has..

Toyota switched to environmentally friendly water-based paint process recently.

American automakers did the same a while and had similiar issues with paint quality. Guess it will take Toyota a while to get the paint process bugs out...

Toyota completes water-based car paint rollout

 

[syadasti]

bumper to bumper for 3 /36k everything is covered..

They usually don't cover consumables/wear and tear type items unless they are found to be defective.

 

[ravnlunatic]

If the paint was peeling off, it would be covered under the 3 yr warranty . But I doubt Toyota will do anything about the paint chipping off.

 

[inlets]

That would be my guess too. If it chipped, flaked, peeled or faded but an obvious stone/road debris chip. I dunno about that. Wouldn't hurt to try. If you been a good customer in the past they might take care of you this time. Sort of a good will repair. :roll:

 

[flyingn]

2 weeks old?? I guarantee they will do something about it..

 

[AlexNJ]

(...) the paint on the front bumper and hood is already chipping off... i normally drives about 70 to 80mph most of the time (...)

After about a month of driving I noticed a couple of chips on the front bumper, which I attributed to all the pebbles getting kicked up by the trucks ahead of me on the highway. But more recently, I've noticed two chips on the very front edge of the hood and a couple of more chips on the bumper. So I feel your pain and am waiting for my dealership to have touch-up paint (silver metallic) in stock so I can touch up the chips.

 

[bmorton]

This is pretty much a universal issue with any new vehicle, since water-borne paints are more easily damaged by regular road debris. VW, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, etc. forums also have complaints about the "cheap" paint on the car. It's not a bug or a defect, just a result of the type of paint process being used.

It's getting to the point where the clear paint protection film by 3M or Avery is a must for anyone wanting to avoid the chipped, sandblasted look.

 

[karrock]

You think Toyota has quality issues? Sorry to take this off-topic, but just be glad you didn't buy a GM... If they can't get things right with building a $45k-$70k+ Corvette, I wouldn't trust them with anything.


Autoblog: Chevrolet Corvette P-Funk Edition rankles owners

Jalopnik: Corvette Owner Gets Free Sunroof

 

[616269799]

Clear Bra

1st post. I got my Savannah Metallic Base 4cyl. a week and half ago. Knowing that Toyota has a history of chipping paint, I took it and had a full clear bra installed on the front bumper, fenders, hood, leading edge of the roof and the top of the spare tire cover.

Professionally installed it was expensive but has a lifetime warranty against peeling, fading, or damaging the paint. I can't stand rick chips, so it was the way to go for me. We've had one on my wife's Camry for almost a year and the bra and the front of the car still look brand new.

Glad to have found a Rav forum and looking forward to getting some great info in the future.

 

[kevvan]

Re: Clear Bra

Can you expand a bit on what you had done? Is it one of the clear films you're talking about? Most 'bras' that I've seen are black cloth not clear. Also, if possible, can you post a picture?

Thanks and welcome...

 

[616269799]

Re: Clear Bra

Yes, it is one of the clear films that I had installed. I had them cover the entire front fascia, bumper, 18" up the hood, the front fenders, 12" of the leading edge of the roof, and about the top 30% of the spare tire cover. It took the guy about 5 hours to install all of it. Looking at the Rav from the front or the back you can't tell that there is anything there. From the sides, you can see the line where the "bra" stops but is not noticeable unless you are within just a few feet of it. The film is exceptionally clear and you can tell no difference in the shine between the film covered areas and the uncovered areas.

The guy that installed it on the Rav cut to fit each piece of the film to fit the body panels and wrapped all of the body panel edges, so that there is almost no unprotected areas on the front of the Rav. The only areas that are unprotected are "holes", such as where the fog lamps are. He wrapped the product as far back as possible into the "holes" but couldn't quite cover all the way to the fog lights themselves, but this is not noticeable unless you get down and look for it. Since the product is flat, there is no way to wrap deep areas completely without using more than one piece which would be much more noticeable. There are no visible gaps on any panel as each panel was done with one solid piece of film.

On my wife's Camry we bought a pre-cut kit. There is about 1/8" gaps at the edge of each body panel where the "bra" doesn't quite reach the edge. This leaves small but very vulnerable areas unprotected.

I don't currently have any pics, but should be able to get some in the next few days and get them posted.

Hope this helps and please feel free to ask anything further.

James

 

[TomT]

http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp

How much did you pay for your clear bra?
Has anyone out there installed one themselves?
I found several places to order one off the internet. Info here:

http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp

 

[616269799]

Re: http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp

How much did you pay for your clear bra?
Has anyone out there installed one themselves?
I found several places to order one off the internet. Info here:

http://www.xpel.com/products/paint.asp

$700 installed with lifetime warranty.

The website that you mention is where I ordered the kit for my wife's Camry. My suggestion is do not order the pre-cut kits, though, as they are cut slightly small and do not quite reach the edges of the body panels. There is a bout 1/8" between the end of the bra and the edge of each panel.

On the Rav, they used rolls of the film and cut the pieces a little big so that they would wrap around the edges of each panel.

People that I know have installed these themselves have had mixed results. My biggest concern is that it's an awfully expensive product to take a chance on messing it up. The material itself is going to run you a minimum of $300 - $400 to get coverage for the bumpers, fenders, and hood. Imagine messing it up and have to buy it all again. At least if it's installed by someone else, should they mess it up, it's on them to replace what they messed up.

Having seen both the pre-cut kits and the rolls, I think that pretty much anyone can do the install on relatively flat, straight areas like the hood. It's areas like the bumper and grill areas that will create the most problems, especially for someone who hasn't done it before. They used a 30" wide roll to do the grill and bumper area on the Rav and it's all one piece, so you're talking a piece of film that was probably 6 to 8 feet long and 30 inches wide that you have to not only get is nice and tight, but you have to make sure that it is properly aligned with the body panels you are working on.

My searches on the Internet showed that there were no local installers (Tulsa, OK) of the product that were licensed by the manufacturers. So, I called my Toyota dealership who advised me to call a local tint shop, who advised me to call the local Lexus dealership as this product ia available from the factory on Lexus vehicles (I didn't know that). When I talked to the Lexus dealer, they outsourced their installs to local auto specialty shop because the guy had been installing the same brand of product for 13 years and was a licensed installer which gives a lifetime warranty on the product only if installed by a licensed installer. So, call your local Lexus dealership and find out who they use.

James

 

[TomT]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to check around. Don't think I want to attempt installing myself. I still remember the disastrous results when I tried my own window tinting years ago.

 

[hooolala]

616269799:
do you have any pictures to show us how it looks like on your car? thanx