Who Has The Worst Paint, Toyota ?

Peeling paint has plagued some Toyota owners, and now the automaker says information technology will do something about information technology.

Merely but what it will practice is not yet articulate.

Toyota Canada told CBC News this week information technology plans to follow the lead of Toyota United states, which is offering a "voluntary customer support program" for owners of affected vehicles.

"We volition be launching a similar support programme for impacted customers in Canada," Toyota Canada spokesperson David Shum said in an email.

Shum provided no other details, only said that once the programme is gear up, owners of all afflicted vehicles volition be notified by mail service.

The Toyota USA notification went out recently to afflicted owners in that country.

Vehicles with white paint affected

The company acted in response to reports of peeling paint on certain vehicles with the original factory-applied "blizzard pearl" or "super white" pigment colours.

"These reports indicate that vehicles with these specific pigment colours, applied during the vehicle manufacturing process, may feel pigment peeling on exterior metal torso parts," the notice said.

It said the problem may occur "when sunlight over time degrades the adhesion betwixt the manufacturing plant-applied paint primer coat layer and the base of operations metal electrodeposition layer causing the paint to peel from the metal body console."

Owners anxious for details

Rachel Mosley, who lives in Prospect, Northward.Southward., was the first to bring the story to CBC's attention. Her 2011 RAV4 had modest pigment peeling spots that connected to grow.

"I'm not able to wash the vehicle because equally before long as I wash it then the paint comes off," she said in September 2018.

She complained to Toyota, but like others, was told the warranty on her vehicle had expired.

Rachel Mosley's 2011 RAV4 has peeling paint on a front side panel and on the gas cap. (Robert Guertin/CBC)

Mosley is pleased Toyota is finally taking responsibleness and said she'south looking frontwards to the details of the program.

Aisha Alam'south half-dozen-year-old son was the first to notice the paint peeling on her 2013 RAV4 with white "blizzard pearl" paint in June.

"He said 'Mom, your car is broken,'" said Alam, who lives in Kitchener, Ont.

It was then she noticed that the pigment had come up off on the commuter'southward side of the vehicle.

"It's a lot worse now," she said. "There's a huge chunk of paint now missing on the sunroof and at that place'due south random places all over where it'due south only starting to fleck."

'Repaint information technology properly'

Alam said she spoke with several Toyota representatives and dealerships, and was told by a representative earlier this week that she could "possibly" get 50 per cent of the price of repairing her vehicle.

But she said that was not adequate.

She's relieved to hear that Toyota volition be doing something, and made a proffer as to what that should be.

"Toyota should take the whole machine and repaint it properly," she said, noting the problem is non caused by owners and the peeling isn't isolated to just 1 expanse.

Neither Toyota Canada nor Toyota USA has released details of the plan.

The mailout to affected customers doesn't say whether vehicles will be completely repainted, whether Toyota will pay the entire pecker, or exactly what years and models with the specified white paint will be covered.

This alphabetic character was sent to American Toyota owners past the company. (Submitted)

It does reference those who previously paid for their own repairs and outlines a process for those customers to be reimbursed, only it doesn't say whether they will get all of their money back or simply some of information technology.

George Iny, director of the Car Protection Association ⁠— a consumer advancement group ⁠— said he is pleased and surprised to hear Toyota Canada plans to repair the vehicles.

"What we would like to see is lifetime coverage but a one-fourth dimension repair," he said. "Yous come in, we look at your vehicle no matter how old it is and we fix it in those areas that one time."

He said he expects Toyota to pay 100 per cent of the cost to repair damaged areas.

Iny said that because many of the affected vehicles are older, it's of import for owners to update their contact information by either going into a dealership or calling Toyota Canada.