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Is anyone having issues with their paint bubbling and peeling on their 2013? I've taken great care of the car and am very disappointed with the paint. Lexus corporate won't do anything unless there is a recall or campaign.
I have the same car...but 2014 UL/ML/Loaded red/black. =) My previous car was a 2003 Acura TL Type-S (last of the great TLs, I might add). It started losing paint (actually, it is the clear coat) like your cell antenna on the trunk. Eventually I decided to have the car repainted since I was going to keep it a few more years. Anyway, I'm guessing this is due to too many automatic car washes beating on the paint--however, I have no proof of that. So I've done many fewer automatic car washes on my 2014 ES and apply paint protection often (https://manettsmegashine.com/collect...ts/showstopper).
No, I doubt Lexus will do anything. I see this on random cars on the road and just wonder if it is the luck of the draw that that batch of paint/clear coat just didn't stick as well...but I have no idea. I didn't like it on my Acura, either.
A crappy, fast paint job will cost $300. An "OK" paint job will cost $500. The cost is not the painting, per se, but the labor to buff/prepare the surface. The more time prepping (cost) the longer the new paint will last. One guy quoted me $5000 but he said he'd guarantee it for the life of the vehicle. I suspect he strips it completely down and repaints it. I was ALMOST tempted but realized (2010-ish) that I'd be getting a new car in a few years and couldn't justify that much. In 2009 I went with a $500 job and the paint started peeling off again by 2012 and I ended up giving the Acura to my [then] college son who needed a car (who still drives it and it runs great!) Darn...I needed to get a new [2014 Lexus ES] car at that point. =)
Looks like the clearcoat is peeling. Is the paint peeling anywhere else on the car? Was the hood refinished? Did you buy the car new? To my knowledge there have been no posts indicating this issue.
Are you the original owner of the car? Typically, that kind of paint deterioration might be the result of re-painting panels without properly/carefully preparing the surface for new paint.
It looks to me like someone used some harsh chemical when cleaning. Since you're just posting this now, did it just show up one day? That looks like something that would get progressively worse over time and not just all of a sudden.
Oh man I hate to see that. I have a 13 ES the same color as yours ( matador red ), and the paint still looks like it did the day I purchased it new. Has anyone other than you had the car cleaned, maybe used some kind of harsh cleaner. I hate that for you. Just wondering, is the car garaged every night or out in the weather. I'm sure sitting out in the weather 24 / 7 could cause some paint deterioration, but it certainly shouldn't be that bad.. As Mike 728 said, I've never personally seen anything like that on a Lexus factory paint job.
I had a red Toyota Xtracab pickup for a few years (many years?) ago and its paint went like that, although yours looks like the clearcoat. I read somewhere that the peeling was more common on red vehicles and that it was exacerbated by allowing it to dry in hot sun. Seems that the water droplets can act as miniature magnifying glasses that overheat the paint locally amd cause a breakdown of the paint or surface coat. Not sure why it would be worse on red colours though.
Sad to see this, and sorry for your issue. This is most likely due to either a bad repair from an accident or, most likely and unfortunately, improper cleaning and neglect for the paint.
Thank you for your replies. I took it to the Lexus collision center and they told me they've never seen anything like this on an 8 year old car and advised that I call corporate. They said I was looking at a minimum of $8,000. I'll look around for additional quotes as I'm sure the Lexus body shop is more expensive than most.
I am the original owner and it has always been washed at a hand wash place and I've been diligent about waxing. The plastics started fading about a year ago and the hood started about 5-6 months ago. There has never been a repair or paint done on the hood. So disappointing. My lock actuators have been replaced but other than that the car has been great. Seems that all is well mechanically. Wasn't planning on spending thousands on a paint job at this point. Ugh!
Thank you for your replies. I took it to the Lexus collision center and they told me they've never seen anything like this on an 8 year old car and advised that I call corporate. They said I was looking at a minimum of $8,000. I'll look around for additional quotes as I'm sure the Lexus body shop is more expensive than most.
I am the original owner and it has always been washed at a hand wash place and I've been diligent about waxing. The plastics started fading about a year ago and the hood started about 5-6 months ago. There has never been a repair or paint done on the hood. So disappointing. My lock actuators have been replaced but other than that the car has been great. Seems that all is well mechanically. Wasn't planning on spending thousands on a paint job at this point. Ugh!
If you know that there has not been paint work done on the car and if you have not used any harsh chemicals on the finish, the only other thing that I can think of is that the car must have been exposed to some sort of environmental contaminant. The paint deterioration seems to be on horizontal surfaces, and such horizontal surfaces would have greater exposure to many contaminants than would other surfaces on the car.
I'm sure that re-painting would be more expensive at a Lexus dealer, but a part of the reason why the repair costs would be high is that, with the Matador Red, it is likely that a considerable amount of blending of the new paint into adjacent panels would be required to get a satisfactory color match.
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I'm sure that re-painting would be more expensive at a Lexus dealer, but a part of the reason why the repair costs would be high is that, with the Matador Red, it is likely that a considerable amount of blending of the new paint into adjacent panels would be required to get a satisfactory color match.
I would think for $8k, there would be no need to color match, as it should be a total repaint. I would also not want anything less. It may just be a matter of time until it spreads to the rest of the vehicle.
I am the original owner and it has always been washed at a hand wash place and I've been diligent about waxing. The plastics started fading about a year ago and the hood started about 5-6 months ago.
Not all waxes are equal unfortunately. What kind were you using? I find that Carnuba based waxes do not last long in the heat, and wares off pretty quickly.
The antenna is showing sun fading damage, typical for painted plastic panels that have been UV exposed, and the hood definitely shows clearcoat peel. It is just due to UV and weather wearing down the surfaces
I currently like NuFinish liquid car polish, which I usually have to reapply every few months to maintain water beading on the surface, but I also live in the northeast, so it's not warm year round.. Definitely worth doing some research to find a good wax, but it is tough!
I just turned 100K on my red/black 2014 ES/UL. It sits in the Texas sun every day at work (6.5 years now) and I drive home to the garage. I use https://manettsmegashine.com/collect...ts/showstopper after each wash. All I can say is my clear coat is still in great condition.
On a side note, Toyota HQ is "just down the road" from me in Plano, TX. Man...they started the "corporate influx" a few years ago (helps to get a $20M tax city credit) and now that part of town has other HQs, tall buildings, big time shopping, apartments, etc. Called "Legacy West". See https://legacywest.com. Now there are a zillion cars at rush hour. Heh, I'm not kidding when I say the parking garage is 1/4 mile long (but I think that's for shopping and some living spaces). Glad I'm not on that side of town. Heh.
I think the cause of this catastrophe goes way beyond which wax was used and how often... I once bought a pickup truck and found out afterwards that the hood had been repainted when it was brand new and untitled. An overhead wire had fallen onto it and did damage. No one said a word and the repair was first class. When I discovered it the truck was over a year old.
I did not have any issues with the repaint and clearcoat. Point is that maybe somehow this happened here and no one was apprised of the repair and the car was sold as new... Seems like a very poor paint job was done on this hood. I would also comment that refinishing the hood should not cost $8k IMO. I wish you GOOD LUCK with whatever you decide to do.
01-13-21, 01:31 PM
Paint Bubbling/Peeling on 2013
with whatever you decide to do.