2023 Lunar Rock issues?

I bought a 2023 OR brand new in early June and since then have been having weird issues with the paint.

After owning it for about a month, I noticed a discoloration on the tailgate. (First 2 pics) - Kind of hard to see in photos. They are better seen under certain light.

Toyota paint warranty covered the tailgate after the dealer had a Toyota Rep come out and look at it to verify that it was some sort of defect.

No more issues with the tailgate after the repaint everything look good.

Unfortunately, a month after that I was walking back to my truck when the sun was going down and noticed the exact same thing on the hood of my truck (Last 2 pics) - Again sort of hard to see in photos... much worse in person.

Toyota Rep looked at it and said the same thing. Some sort of paint defect that the paint warranty will cover. They repainted the hood - I get home and notice that the side that had the marks now looks very milky/smokey/foggy in splotches. (last photo). Almost looks like finger prints scattered around.

What in the world is going on with this paint? I cannot seem to find any other issues with Lunar Rock and the Toyota Rep even said he's never seen any paint issues on Tacoma's, minus the white and dark blue.

Hopefully someone can determine why this keeps happening, especially after my hood looking worse after a repaint. Also, I get that for most people this wouldn't be a big deal, but being how much a OR Tacoma costs these days, I shouldn't be having this issue with a BRAND new one.

 

It’s random most times

I’ve seen a few withheld from sale because of this, but they were 2019.

it’s great the rep is addressing this. Unfortunate for you but it will be handled.

 

@Bishop84 Interesting... You would think this wouldn't still be an issue on the 23's.

I was understanding the first time, and even the second time with my hood. However, after noticing how bad the hood looks AFTER they repainted, I am starting to lose my patience and they know. I also noticed that since the hood repaint, that side is lower causing my windshield wiper fluid to hit the bottom of the hood and spray all over the place. Not sure if they took the hood off for the repaint and it just needs adjusted or what. Also the edge of the hood where the wiperfluid comes out is very jaggy, almost like the clear coat didn't settle correctly or maybe even where they taped it off, but it's not smooth and looks like crap.

 

I have see this problem on other makes, It's the water base paints they are using now. Had a few in shop with this. Mostly new with shipping wrap first removed. Water get trapped and soaks into clear coat. Heat gun, used carefully will resolve issue. Don't know if your having same issue, without seeing in person.

 

@na8rboy Thanks for the info!

 

Here's a pic of it on a Mercedes EQS580. Heat gun resolved issue.

 

@na8rboy The defects in the pictures you provided seem to be a lot worse than my issue. Mine is more of a faded look than anything.

 

if the dealer repaints something it WILL be worse .........just drive your truck and enjoy it

 

Oh - no... Paint issues are the worst... sorry it is causing you troubles!

try assuming it is moisture.

Are you in a cold and humid climate?

Do you park in the warm sun Now and then? - Id try this before a heat gun - worth a try...

 

I have 2 small blotches like that on my 2022 Lunar Rock on the bed. I noticed it after taking delivery and i tried buffing it out and made no difference.

I went to a detail shop and they looked closely and saw a tiny pin mark in the middle of each blotch and said it was probably from a port fix, but the paint itself was OEM.

They mentioned I should take it back to the dealer and they will repaint it, but nah, I rather have OEM paint and it's not really noticeable unless you really really look for it, and in direct sunlight.

 

The reason it looks worse in my pictures it on a black vehicle.

 

Really to me the marks look like someone tried to take out fish eyes in the paint before the final layer of paint was laid down. Like a light scuffing to remove the fish eye. Real painters will do this all the time, but they know how to cover it up.

Either live with it, and park in the shade.

Or have Toyota repaint the whole thing.

 

I noticed a small paint defect on the hood of my (Lunar Rock) truck the first time I really detailed it. It's there and you have to look at a certain angle to see it, but I decided to live with it. My wife couldn't even see it until I pointed it out.

 

It has nothing to do with waterborne paint. Every car on the road for the last 20+ years is waterborne. And clear coat isn’t waterborne. The problem is, like you said, water getting trapped under plastic wrap and getting hot. A heat gun does fix it though.

It happens in body shops too, when the cars get covered in the booth and aren’t completely dry. The bake cycle heats up the trapped water and then what you have pictured happens.

 

It might be moisture inside the clearcoat. I had two black VW GTIs that had similar marks from where the original body panel vinyl sheeting was on from transport. The fix for those marks, which look very very similar to the ones shown here, is a hair drier.

You don't want to use a heat gun and cook the paint off. You want to use a normal hair dryer on low or medium heat from maybe 6-12" away and just move in a circular motion around that area. For a spot the size of a silver dollar that I worked on in my garage at like 50F, it took like 15-20 min to fully fade clear.

Check out what mine looked like and the progress here:

https://imgur.com/a/rmgaZRl

 

Good thing I bought white! Oh wait…

 

@RIX TUX I appreciate the feedback, however I don't agree. The tailgate was repainted and looks no different than the OEM paint, other than the splotch is no longer there. So when you say if it's repainted it will look worse, I don't agree.

Also, this isn't something I can just ignore and "enjoy/drive the truck" as you mentioned. I'm not one to let things slide and if something needs to be addressed/fixed it should be. How else will they know if everyone lived by that motto? I get that things aren't perfect and things happen... however, Tacoma's are not cheap and should not be delivered for sale with paint defects like this.

If you are able to look pass issues like this, than good on you. But not me!

 

@OZ TRD I live in Pennsylvania, so super-hot summers and really cold winters. I don't think this was something from the climate where I live since I usually always park in shade (behind a building). If any direct sunlight hits it, it's not for long. Also, I noticed the first defect after only as month of owning it so maybe from the climate where it was assembled?

 

@stan23 Funny that you mention the tiny black pin mark. When I took it into the dealer and they had the paint guy look at it, he mentioned that the pin mark as well in the middle and said it was most likely a crappy paint repair while in transit from a scratch or something similar.

Also, I forgot to mention that when I was waiting for my Tacoma to be built, it was pulled for QC while in transit. I asked the dealer if that had anything to do with the paint defects, but he assured me that vehicles get pulled randomly all the time to get a double check. Idk, I feel like they would've seen this when they pulled mine!

The heat gun/hair dryer does sound like it might be a fix, but I'm not sure that will be a fix for me. As I mentioned above, I feel like it's similar the issue @stan23 had, with it most likely be a port fix while in transit that wasn't done well. I appreciate everyone's feedback though!

 

The dealer excuse sounds suspicious to me but I'm kinda skeptical. Why wouldn't toyota plan that into their delivery cycle instead of randomly pulling a truck out of the shipping phase and make a customer wait extra time for a QC check. Then to have defects that should have been caught at a "QC" inspection make it through. Doesn't pass the smell test.