Yaris has cruddy paint?

[roccgirl]

OK. I love this car. Great gas mileage, and it is a company car, so I pay for nothing. It is a Barcelona Red 4-door S model. My ONLY complaint... CRAPPY PAINT! And I mean, really cheap thin easily scratched, etc.

My boss is always making comments about how my car is so scratched (I've only had it a year). I see the little scratches, but I treat this car no different than my personal vehicle, but the Yaris scratches if the wind blows. The worst part, the base under the red paint is WHITE! So every little scratch is SOOOOO obvious.

Anyone have this problem? I want to prove to my boss that it is NOT me. I guess crappy paint jobs is how they help to keep these cars cheap?!?

Any suggestions? Can't use the touch-up paint anymore because the paint has faded enough for it to be obvious when I use touch-up.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[eTiMaGo]

unfortunately this is one of the biggest complaints about the car :frown: Toyota must have saved quite a lot on the paint...

[roccgirl]

I am happy to know that I am not the only one complaining of cheap paint! I keep the interior of this car immaculate. I do not use silicone-based interior cleaners, and am always wiping down the door frames to keep everything looking new. It just kills me to see the scratches on the outside and know that I have been so careful, and it made no difference!

I even had a bit of paint peel off the front ground spoiler after I'd had the car only 2-3 months. I might try buffing out some of the scratches this weekend.

[Twistoffate0817]

The paint cant be that bad if i can wack into 4 trees and not have a single scratch or piece of paint missing.

[tuckevalastin]

We all have the same problem dont you worry

[hatchbackkid82]

Some cars deal with better than others, ine has held up pretty well

We all have the same problem dont you worry

[tuckevalastin]

I really wonder what the paint will be like on these cars in 8-10 years. So bad we can't get any resale vaue for them?

[41magmag41]

I'm not so sure the primer under the red paint is white, what it might be is that the clearcoat surface has been scratched and that appears white. A good wax filler will fill most of it in with a little elbow grease. I've found that Nanowax paste with carnauba by eagle one does an excellant job of filling in and polishing out the minor scratches in the clearcoat and paint. You don't get a 8000 dollar paint job on a 13000 dollar car unless you move up to audi, mercedes etc.

[SeaYa]

The clear coat on this car performs like a very early generation CC (wears fast and scratches easily) I notice all of my cinder chips go all the way to the metal, so they probably saved a lot of money on the primer as well. Best advice, spray or hand wash only, wax, repeat often/as needed.

[tetzyamis]

My car's paint chips so easily too.
So many chips already...
I have chips on the doors too.
I got no dent on the doors, but have chips on them... How did this happen???
Ya, if I were to complain anything about this car, then it's the paint.

[tomato]

Crappy paint is a common problem. Consumer Reports has documented that for the Yaris, so if your boss needs hard data, it's out there. How about red nailpolish on the most obvious little dings after the area has been washed?

[tomato]

I'm not so sure the primer under the red paint is white, what it might be is that the clearcoat surface has been scratched and that appears white. .


It's white. I have the absolutely red with a couple of little dents. You can clearly see it's white underneath. :iono:

[Lafiro]

I used a tool, and found that the paint is not evenly coated on the car, but somewhere around 4.19, don't think that was in mm, but I don't remember, I will try to find out next time I drive the 26miles to my friends shop.

[SeaYa]

I used a tool, and found that the paint is not evenly coated on the car, but somewhere around 4.19, don't think that was in mm, but I don't remember, I will try to find out next time I drive the 26miles to my friends shop.

That number sounds like mils (1/1000 in.). That would be all layers combined too: EC, Primer, BC, and CC. How variable was the film build? Normal OEM sprays usually have a 0.6-0.8 mil window around their target for BC, so if you got 4.0 and 4.5, that's normal.

Thickness will only tell you so much, each layer has it's own adhesion, etch (scratch) and crack resistance. Obvioulsy, the cheaper coatings give you less performance. With all of the complaints, sounds like Toyota got the on-sale economy version. It'd be neat to take a forum poll to collect color, model, and year info and see if it's one color line, or range of years that have the most problems.

[bkrownd]

Hmm, this is a major concern. Rust will determine the ultimate longevity of most cars.

[nemelek]

I try to take some defensive measures against chips and scratches. I don't tailgate, I got a clear bra, I park in the back of the lot at work and stores, wash and wax as needed. So far so good.

[Sodium Duck]

What do you people do to your cars?

I've had mine since September '08 all through this crappy New England winter. I don't have any chips, scratches, dings or anything. And that is still with me leaving it out in the snow to get covered, ice scraping, snow packed in the wheels, salt everywhere, driving on the highway, etc.

[andruboz]

the easy scratch paint on my car is behind the door handles. either that or the previous owner was Edward Scissorhands.

[IllusionX]

roccgirl: primer is usually in contrast with paint colour.
ie, dark colours use white primer and light colours use dark primer.

obviously does not apply to all car, but is usually true on japanese cars.

[Yawesh]

yup, i can wipe the paint off with my fingers

[YarisSedan]

My plan to deal with this is in about maybe 5 years or so after my car is payed off and the paint starts to look crappy is get a really good paint job that will last 10 years

[KRAZGRL]

Crappy paint is a common problem. Consumer Reports has documented that for the Yaris, so if your boss needs hard data, it's out there. How about red nailpolish on the most obvious little dings after the area has been washed?

You can go into any Toyota parts counter and buy a little bottle of touch-up paint (looks like a bottle of nail polish) but it matches perfectly. They usually are around 10 bucks.

[tomato]

You can go into any Toyota parts counter and buy a little bottle of touch-up paint (looks like a bottle of nail polish) but it matches perfectly. They usually are around 10 bucks.

Thanks for the tip, I will!:thumbsup:

[SilverBack]

the easy scratch paint on my car is behind the door handles. either that or the previous owner was Edward Scissorhands.

Yeah I have those too on the driver side only. They're very faint, so maybe they can be buffed out. Maybe there's a slight rub against the body while getting in and out?

[Phaeton]

I just stopped caring. My hood is covered with hundreds of tiny rock chips. The bumper somehow is not lol.

[roccgirl]

I bought a bottle of the touch-up paint about 2 months after I received the car. I bought it at the Toyota dealer; and it matched very well for the first couple of months. But, the last time I tried it, I realized the paint on the car has already faded enough that ANY touch-up is OBVIOUS :(

I talked to my boss late yesterday. He said he didn't really care, its my car. I just wanted to reassure him that I treat this car as if it were my own. And, I enjoy having a nice looking car. The Yaris is cute; and with the color (Barcelona red) and the 'S' package, the Yaris is picture-worthy. I am just disappointed when I see a new scratch. My personal truck is over 10 years old, and it doesn't look as bad as the 1 year old Yaris, and I drove the truck like a truck. So, I know it has to be something with the cheap paint on the Yaris...

[REM]

I just stopped caring. My hood is covered with hundreds of tiny rock chips. The bumper somehow is not lol.

That sounds a lot like my car. At first I thought that something white had sprayed onto my hood, but upon closer review I noticed that I have a crappy paint job. At least I don’t have to worry about rust caused by salt here in Rochester NY. :thumbdown:

[Woody_Woodchuck]

My Absolute Red, 2008 LB has white undercoat also. Brush up against it with anything and it scratches through the red paint. Not too many rock dings in the front, but what there are go right to the metal. I apply wax to the spots. Now I’m extra careful around it and have not gotten too many new scratches.

I had the clear coat chipping within a month of buying mine (there appeared to be 2 clear coats). Roof, hood, sides, doors… All surfaces that will bead water when wet were chipping. Dealer blamed it on acid rain in my area and said they had never seen it before. Not too many options without getting a lawyer involved and I can not afford that. The dealer did wet sand the clear coat and waxed it for me. Looks good and has not chipped since, but hot weather is not here yet. Until I can afford a new paint job, keeping a good coat of wax on it is my only solution. It might not need it for years but eventually, a new paint job will have to be done.

That’s my only complaint with my Yaris, the crap paint.

[kimona]

After 3 years and about 30K miles, I've only goit one pencil point chip on the hood and the paint looks just like the day I bought the car. I'm completely satisfied with the paint.

[Lafiro]

Yeah well try living in NYC, where you have a million trucks a day do on the LIE. With or without traffic these highways are filled with little rocks.

Then comes the fact that we have a ton of people that can't drive, and can't parallel park.

[tomato]

Then comes the fact that we have a ton of people that can't drive, and can't parallel park.


City parking , say no more! :thumbdown:
Poor Yaris :cry:

[tetzyamis]

My next Toyota will probably be white for this reason, lol.
Paint chips and it's still white :p

[Kal-El]

My '07 with 49,000 miles has no chips at all and amazingly, not a single dent/ding. There are only a few feather light scratches so far. No complaint from me.

For the record though, I've read about the same complaints from Fit owners saying their paint is cheap. Hey, expensive jobs are expensive (weird coincidence) and the Yaris is cheap. Toyota would have to cheapen something else (cheaper engineering :confused:) if you want thick paint. Or, price it at a less competitive rate.

[1stToyota]

Mine is smooth and hasn't faded, peeled or showed any signs of scratches. I did have 3m film installed at time of purchase, but no problems with other areas of the car though.

[mrbond]

Yeah, I've got a ton of little rock chips on my hood and front bumper. and scratches on the rear bumper from some little kid's jacket zipper, a scratch below my door handle from when my mom banged her keys on it.
i'm seriously considering getting my car repainted and putting on perhaps five coats of clearcoat when i put on my lip kit and new hood. because, as we all know, scratches make any car, even an aston martin, look crappy.

[Phaeton]

My commute is really to blame for the chips in the paint. I follow logging trucks around a lake everyday. Those guys throw gravel like crazy.
I'm not going to bother painting it, by the time I actually move to where I work I'll be selling the car anyway.

[IllusionX]

Yeah well try living in NYC, where you have a million trucks a day do on the LIE. With or without traffic these highways are filled with little rocks.

Then comes the fact that we have a ton of people that can't drive, and can't parallel park.



jesus christ, i went to NYC once by myself (last time i went to NYC with my parents, i was 2 years old lol) and not a single car i saw had nice bumpers. it's just unbelievable. :(

[bkrownd]

Ahhh, rock chips and scratches aren't a problem to me. I thought people meant the paint was just coming off on its own over time

[tomato]

Ahhh, rock chips and scratches aren't a problem to me. I thought people meant the paint was just coming off on its own over time

We don't know that yet :biggrin:

[intioumaximus]

I think environmental regulations have reduced the quality of paint on most cars. I have a subaru (thinking about buying a yaris) and the paint isn't the best. Of course subie and toyota are working together now, probably unrelated tho.

[TinyGiant]

i washed my car a week or so ago after a snow storm and I have a big scratch passenger side from the fender to the door .. about the length of a dollar bill.. so disappointing

also i bumped into the bottom of my bumper with the snow blower the other day.. didnt scrape much .. just the underside

[pandables]

my paint has held up decently well.. but man!! my car is magnetically attracted to shopping carts because almost every single time, no matter where i park, i come out and theres a cart slammed into my car. ive got 3 decent scratches from them and plenty of close encounters :frown:

[JBougie]

I am so, so, so glad that I'm not the only one with this complaint. lol

I have tonsss of little rock chips, and recently a HUGE dent on the passenger side courtesy of some idiot here at my apartment building (I am hoping the paintless dent removal people can get that out)

I take all the precautions, and make sure that my car is very well taken care of - the paint is just too damn thin :/ Hopefully in the next couple years I'll get it repainted the factory color and make sure they use more than 1 coat of clear lol

[fearturtle44]

Every car I have had (over 6), I have seen threads on "bad paint jobs". So I think it is safe to assume that NO car has a very good paint job. My Yaris, Flint Mica, so far has been very good but I am able to keep in garage over night.

[tomato]

My last car's paint (Honda) lasted 15+ years. The clear coat started to peel off after that, mostly on the roof. The car was exposed to the sun, not far from the ocean (salt in the air, too), pretty much all day long, and it lasted that long... I honestly think they manufactured longer lasting cars back then, paint included.

[crankyelbow]

the paint is less of a shell and more of a soft fur that sheds...

[Elroy]

mine has done pretty well over the last 2 years minus the scratches from hanging keys and the dent in the door (both from wife driving it).

[bkrownd]

My last car's paint (Honda) lasted 15+ years. The clear coat started to peel off after that, mostly on the roof.

I don't think my '87 corolla ever had anything like "clear coat" It just has matte black enamel-like paint that's scratched everywhere but nevertheless intact after all these years.

[Thirty-Nine]

Just an FYI: I created a post on my blog about thin paint. It seems like just about everyone with a newer car complains about it.

Feel free to chime in.

http://www.subcompactculture.com/2009/03/paint-complains-has-automotive-paint.html

[stripey]

Had mine nearly 9 years. Island Green. Chips quite easily but comes up nice and shiny after washing, still.

[jimhimbo]

haha that edward scissorhands remark was the funniest thing ever because i have the same exact problem with 50 million scratches behind the door handle and alot more showing up everywhere. a couple paint chips on the front and one paint chip that is completely rusted and less than a year old with mild greensburg pa winters. Next year i will be living in Erie pa and my car will probably be a pile of rust in 2 years...but i hope not cause i love it so much....did they use super duper extra rust prone metal for my car or what?

[supmet]

So I assume everyone in this thread has learned their lesson, and will buy a silver yaris next?

2.5 years, almost 70k miles. I have 2 little chips on the door from a shopping cart. Nothing else that can be seen from more than 5 feet away. I have microscopic scratches from keys/fingernails around the handles, and tiny rock chips on the hood and front bumper - all that will come out with a 4 dollar bottle of rubbing compound and a good wax.

Oh, I parked my car in a garage for the first time in its life this week.

[ChinoCharles]

I was about to say... my meteorite metallic looks great.

[auxmike]

I was about to say... my meteorite metallic looks great.


+1 to that!
I selected that color too since the paint looks more "expensive" than the other colors. The other colors were kinda more like what you would expect on an econobox....:redface:

[ChinoCharles]

Paint your b pillar to match and it makes the car look SO much nicer.

[devinlamothe]

My Bayou Blue is getting a bit rough .... lots of rock chips after this winter. Time to get out the paint pen!

[Former_Neon]

My Bayou Blue is getting a bit rough .... lots of rock chips after this winter. Time to get out the paint pen!

So is mine. I have little chips all over the hood and the plastic bit that runs along the front edge of the car, near the ground, is totally pitted and looks awful.

[Former_Neon]

You can go into any Toyota parts counter and buy a little bottle of touch-up paint (looks like a bottle of nail polish) but it matches perfectly. They usually are around 10 bucks.

Should I apply that directly over the rust that's formed in the chips?

[Black Yaris]

xb had crappy paint as well..... She just got a fresh coat last week

[M4One]

the easy scratch paint on my car is behind the door handles. either that or the previous owner was Edward Scissorhands.

I think a lot of cars have that problem. You should be able to get rid of it by buffing it out with some wax. That's what I did.

The paint on my blazing blue is fine; purchased in March 2006. The only chips came courtesy of two trucks hitting their mirrors together then having the glass fly into my hood. Bought some touch up paint and covered it up. Can't really see it unless you look really up close.

I should say though that when I got the car, I have applied some paint protection and reapplied the product ever so often. So, maybe that's actually the reason why my car has escaped from paint peeling off.

[Kal-El]

Today's paint issues aren't necessarily the fault of automakers. Although different classes of cars vary, of course, the main problem with painting cars today is ridiculous environmental regulations that renders what went into tough paints of yesteryear illegal. We're now left with "softer" paints that chips and scratches very easily.

The only way to fight this is to apply numerous color coats and clear coats which cost money. That of course makes it difficult to do on Yaris-class cars and maintain a reasonably price.

[RedRide]

I have an '02 Celica which also suffers from the same paint issues, chips, ets.

As both the Yaris and Celica were both made in Japan only, maby this has something to do with it?

Since most cars are painted via robots these days, Kal-EI is most likely correct. It is simply a cost saving measure.
As he also stated, things like lead in pant has been banned which result in softer paint.

One thing I have always done with my celica (which I still have) is to remove all spattered insects and bird droppings as soon as popssible as they will quickly effect the paint in that area.

Also, I learned not to follow trucks too closely which cuts down on the"'rock chips".

[Former_Neon]

The paint is just terrible on my Yaris. It seems like every time I turn around, I see yet another nick or light scratch on it. The hood is riddled with small chips and I'm really annoyed by it.
I don't drive down gravel roads or anything either. I owned a 1997 Dodge Neon prior to this and had maybe 3 small chips on the hood after having owned it for ten years. I've owned the Yaris nearly two years and it looks like shit.

[thebarber]

The paint is just terrible on my Yaris. It seems like every time I turn around, I see yet another nick or light scratch on it. The hood is riddled with small chips and I'm really annoyed by it.
I don't drive down gravel roads or anything either. I owned a 1997 Dodge Neon prior to this and had maybe 3 small chips on the hood after having owned it for ten years. I've owned the Yaris nearly two years and it looks like shit.

ya, toyota paint is junk from the factory.

i had a new bumper put on this summer due to an accident and the paint is holding up 100x better...

hope you have a colour that hides the chips

[wooverstone8]

I purchase my Yaris new nine months ago and has driven it (mostly highway)quite a bet. There's been three BB size rock chips and one chip about the size of dime. So far the paint has held up fair.

[ozmdd]

The paint is just terrible on my Yaris. It seems like every time I turn around, I see yet another nick or light scratch on it. The hood is riddled with small chips and I'm really annoyed by it.
I don't drive down gravel roads or anything either. I owned a 1997 Dodge Neon prior to this and had maybe 3 small chips on the hood after having owned it for ten years. I've owned the Yaris nearly two years and it looks like shit.

I think many car companies are now using extremely thin paint, both to save cost and because the new technology allows very thin coatings.
I talked to a buddy with a newer STI who noticed the same thing.
That being said:
The one think I do notice in-common among cars with lots of chips on the front: they have drivers who tend to get-up behind other vehicles closer than they might ought to (read: tailgate). As a guy who is always in a hurry, I realized that is where most of the front-end paint damage is originating. Of course, some damage is unavoidable, depending on the roads in your area, and the low, bull-nose front end of our car makes it more vulnerable than some others. also, I'm not trying to say that every rock chip is a result of tailgating, but I think there is something to think about there. A lot of the chips happen without a lot of noise or big flying objects, so you might not be very aware that its happening.

[Former_Neon]

I think many car companies are now using extremely thin paint, both to save cost and because the new technology allows very thin coatings.
I talked to a buddy with a newer STI who noticed the same thing.
That being said:
The one think I do notice in-common among cars with lots of chips on the front: they have drivers who tend to get-up behind other vehicles closer than they might ought to (read: tailgate). As a guy who is always in a hurry, I realized that is where most of the front-end paint damage is originating. Of course, some damage is unavoidable, depending on the roads in your area, and the low, bull-nose front end of our car makes it more vulnerable than some others. also, I'm not trying to say that every rock chip is a result of tailgating, but I think there is something to think about there. A lot of the chips happen without a lot of noise or big flying objects, so you might not be very aware that its happening.

That doesn't explain all the chips on mine then. I don't tailgate.

[Former_Neon]

I purchase my Yaris new nine months ago and has driven it (mostly highway)quite a bet. There's been three BB size rock chips and one chip about the size of dime. So far the paint has held up fair.

After only nine months you call that holding up fair?
My hood is littered with tiny, speck-like chips (as well as bigger ones). You'd think I was driving at warp speed through dust storms or something.

[thebarber]

toyota paint blows

/thread

[YarisSedan]

Just take precations. Dont drive behind large trucks or vehicles with trailers. The larger wheels pick up rocks and debri which will crack and chip your windshield as well as the paint on your hood and bumper.

Never use automatic car washes. Wash it yourself or if you are unable to, find a place that has a all hand car wash. If you do wash it yourself use a microfiber sponge and constantly hose it off when it starts to get dirty before starting on a new part of the car. Use only a waffle weave towel to dry the car. Never drag anything across the surface of the paint.

Lastely use a good wax to protect the suface to keep it lasting long.

[Former_Neon]

Just take precations. Dont drive behind large trucks or vehicles with trailers. The larger wheels pick up rocks and debri which will crack and chip your windshield as well as the paint on your hood and bumper.

Never use automatic car washes. Wash it yourself or if you are unable to, find a place that has a all hand car wash. If you do wash it yourself use a microfiber sponge and constantly hose it off when it starts to get dirty before starting on a new part of the car. Use only a waffle weave towel to dry the car. Never drag anything across the surface of the paint.

Lastely use a good wax to protect the suface to keep it lasting long.

I've been pretty gentle with the paint but it seems like it doesn't matter. I also wax it. If the wind blows against it at a right angle, the paint flies off! :wink:

[birdman]

Rub them out with some McGuires Scratch Remover paste using a clean micro fiber cloth. Rub gently. Chances are it will look good as new in less than a minute. Then wax over the spot. I use a product called "Ice" that can be used on the plastics too.

[ECHOKnight2000]

Toyota is skimping on quality like it has these past years. But hopefully with the new CEO realizing this things will change. They will focus on quality and not quantity. They pulled a GM and they got a head of themselves chasing sales numbers while leaving customers behind.

[supmet]

I'm gonna have to take pictures of my door and the pillar in my garage with 27,000 yaris door shaped dings in it from careless back passengers. After I got done scraping the paint(house paint, not yaris paint) and drywall off the door(with my fingernail), it still looked perfect.

Now the interior plastic paint that melted off from a stupid vent clip on air freshener that leaked on it is a whole different story...

[birdman]

Krylon makes some super durable flat spray paint from OD military green to a phantomy no sheen black. Perfect for trick or treating.