Bump...

 

Just thought I'd contribute...The day I got my Scion (2005 xA, Indigo Ink watever blue) I noticed grain like specs. They were rough and raised, white and gray, and if you tried to wipe them off, they took the paint with them. Also, my antenna had a HUGE bubble that tore off. This car has 6 miles on it and I am ____ed about this paint job. I'm taking it back to the dealer this friday. They said they'd repaint it under warrenty. Maybe they'll get it right the second time.

 

seems everything thats not normal for other cars is normal for the tc!

paint peeling NORMAL!
sunroof noise NORMAL!
many problems Normal!
tc owners denial Normal!
AC Sucks Normal!
Heat Sucks Normal!

 

Don't you *ever* have anything helpful to say?
Stop wasting our bandwidth with your immature comments.

 

I can completely understand that a rock will chip *any* paint.... however, I have a car w/ over 125,000 miles on it with better paint than my xA. It is frustrating... and i think the fact that we are all experiencing this seemingly abnormal chipping should tell toyota something: That they used crap for paint (granted, nicely colored crap). I hope we can do something about this... it seems to be plaguing many of us and something must be done.

Thanks for your efforts -- i'll post my pictures once i get back from vacation.
~jonathan

 

I just came across this thread today due to the fact i found about 500 or so mini scratches and a few big ones, along my hatch, fenders, rear quarter, hood, a pillars, just about everything, I am going first thing monday morning to scion because there is no way they can say this is my fault or just oridinary rock scratches. I will take pictures tonight or tomorrow to see how clear it comes out. Please let me know if there is anything being done for this matter.

 

I am interested to know how this turns out. I do agree that excessive rock chipping is a sign of improperly cured paint, or not enough rubberizer. Swirls are only caused by incorrectly handling the paint. Washing/waxing/drying/cleaning in circular motions are all bad. But again, if the paint isn't hardened fully for whatever reason, i suppose it could be *easier* to scratch.

Anyhow - you can't compare Jaguar or Mercedes/BMW paint to Scion paint. You didn't pay 50,000 dollars or more for your Scion. Isn't it "You get what you pay for" ?

I have to admit i'm a little dismayed at the sounds of all this as i am SUPER **** about my cars appearance... and plan to get an xB soon. :?

I wonder if you guys do 'win' this - it will change the process they use and impact the MSRPs.

Good luck! Keep us posted

 

and i know people are gonna reply and say $14,000...etc. but you would think at least the paint job would be a priority you know? My xB isnt as bad as other owners but i dont know much about waxing and all that because this is my first brand new ride that i actually wanna take care of. I have waxed my xB before and it seems once i get a any kind of towel terry or microfiber the swirls come right back. like i said in my last post i believe the clearcoat is what is causing most of the problems on the Scions, the paint may actually be good, just the clear coat really thin. I'm gonna talk to my dealer and have them look and see what they say about the paint. If i had the $ i would have it painted 2-3 times and then clear coated 2-3 times after.

 

I have a 2002 Toyota 4Runner that is the Thunder Cloud color. It is the same color and paint as the Scions. I have had no problems with it and have found it to be great paint (much better than the 99 Civic Si I had). So, my thoughts? This is the same type of paint used on Toyota's higher end cars. It is quality stuff. What we have on this forum is mostly people who probably pay more attention to their paint than most and likey will exaggerate (in their own minds) even the smallest flaw in the paint...

 

What?!

Did you read the other posts?

Many of us have already had NEW (or used) cars
with MUCH better paint jobs.

The fact of the matter is that Scion (Toyota)
did not cure the paint properly and / or
use enough clear coat. (I personally think the latter)

As many of us have already said before, it has NOTHING
to do with the fact that it's an "inexpensive car."

My Saturn SL1 only cost $10K and the paint still looked NEW
after 3 years when the lease was up.

The point is: We need to find a solution.

These cars were designed by Toyota in the hopes of
getting us hooked on the "Toyota brand" so we will come back for more.

If something as simple as a paint job can't hold up
what does that say about the quality of the rest of the car?
Did they cut corners anywhere else?
:?

 

Okay...I have a tons of chips...this is the least of my problems. I was a professional detailer for several years. Paint should not look like this!! My hood is starting to fade badly after wearing the toyota mask for 2 weeks while on vacation. I started a website to ____ off scion. It's not finished yet but here are some pics from it

http://scion.20megsfree.com/photo.html

I have posted on this subject before. I still have to take the car to the dealership, but these pictures are proof of a bad paint job(at least on myh car)

 

Didn't mean anything personal, but my statement stands. Please do not take offense.

 

If we were griping about our 4runners then you would have something to talk about. we are not, we are talking about our Scion's, It has nothing to do with any other Makes/Models. Alot of us feel that Toyota, in order to make a bit more profit off a new brand that they did not know was going to be profitable deciced to cut a corner or two, most in regards to the clearcoat on Scion models.

 

Someone mentioned above that there was a fading problem as well - Fading is caused by UV light . Is UV protectant normally put in the paint, or the clearcoat?? If it's in the paint, then this problem may extend BEYOND just a thin or crappy clearcloat...

 

I agree.

What can we do to alert Toyota to this problem?
Can we start a petition or something?
:?:

 

I posted this a while back about the paint peeling off the right side skirt on my xB:

Has anyone else had this happen? The paint had peeled off the right side skirt on my BSP xB. I was driving on the freeway one morning when I heard this faint slapping sound. When I got to my destination, I looked at the side of my car to find what looked like a long strip of tint stuck to the door and side skirt. I pulled on it to find that it was still semi-attahed to the skirt and that it was actually almost all of the paint that had peeled away from the skirt. I pulled more, and the paint strip ripped off of the car leaving only a small section still painted. Luckily, the gel coat on the skirt itself is black, so it just looked like a really dull or dirty part on my car.

I took it back the dealer, and explained what happened. The manager there thought that it was a poorly prepped part and that when it rained here recently, the paint had lost it's adhesion. Three trips back the dealer later (antother story all-together), I had a brand new side skirt installed at no cost. I wonder if this is happeneing to all Scions, just xB's, just the BSP's or is an isolated case? Chime in!

I never got much a response from this, but am glad to contribute if it will help.

 

Thank you for all your replies. I still have yet to receive paperwork from Scion for my arbitration case (was supposed to get it 7 business days from November 19th, lol- they're just making this harder for themselves, aren't they?). Anyway, bottom line, the more input and more importantly, PICTURES (aka proof!) the better. If I don't have anything to show them it'll be more difficult to prove it's a widespread problem as it appears to be. All your help and input is appreciated.

 

wowo , harsh werds!!!! i too have massive paint chipping on the front of my car, my infiniti, has 2 chips on it...we both drive the same exact way to wewrk everyday....i dunno, i think it may be a combination of both shoddy paint and random rocks..but i will support u smash in ur efforts for sure, esp if it gets me a bangin new paint job..hehe...i will email pics tonite , good luck with the arbitration..

 

First and foremost. . . .
Calm down.

With this sort of language, IF and WHEN the people at Scion look at these postings (and they do) this sort of display of emotion will do NOTHING to help you, and your problem(s). It only depicts a spoiled little girl that is not getting 'her way.'
They are also not going to be interested in your photos of yourself and your legs. I suggest that you remove these photos from the postings of the car.

Next. . . .
Knowing what the Capital Beltway is like, do you drive on that 'construction pit' very often?
IF so, you will probably will find that 'road hazards' are not covered under the manufacturer's warranty. (My guess is that the 'Arbitration Board' will rule on this VERY item.)
While I agree that Scion's paint is not the best in the world, the environment that the vehicle is subjected to will cause more damage than the lack of additional coats of 'Clearcoat'.

Next. . .
How do you wash/wax the car? Carwash? By hand?
Some carwash facilities are known to 'beat up' paint. With the brushes pounding the paint, tiny flaws develop in the paint that DO become chips.
(This comes from experience. Over a million [plus] miles of it.)
I, for one, don't EVER take any of my cars/trucks to a carwash.

Good luck in your arbitration.

 

Arbitration? How about a class action? Class action makes a better news worthy item than an arbitration.

Anyone ever contacted bB/ ist owners in Japan? They've had our cars longer than the US. I wonder what they would have to say about rock chips. Or maybe the roads in Japan is better than here. I dont think Toyota would cut short the painting process for the USDM xB while the JDM bB was given a superior painting process.