The paint started to peel off during a drive thru manual car wash. It has expanded now and looks terrible. Like someone else posted, at first I thought maybe the water pressure was too high. No, it hardly even cleaned the car. It’s a white Rav4. It’s obviously a botched paint job. And I suspect there will be a lot more unhappy customers. I am embarrassed to be seen picking my son up from school in this ugly vehicle. It is not just cosmetic—-it is starting to deflate me—and not just my resale value.

It’s always the moment you pay off a car loan or the warrant expire, something like this happens. Toyota, please recognize this common, prevalent “pearl white paint” issue in this make/model and do the honorable thing. Spare us some new paint and a little labor and just fix it please. My car is morphing into an Army green tanker.

2010 Toyota RAV4 with Pearl White paint. We are second owner. When we purchased the vehicle there were some large touch up spots on the roof just above the windshield. I assumed the previous owner damaged the paint and made a home repair. The rest of the paint was in excellent condition and the vehicle was garaged. About six months of ownership (approximately Feb. 2016) paint stated peeling and flaking off the roof. area. Then it did it on the hood and the A-pillars. We took car to dealership and they stated it was outside of warranty.

We paid to have the car repainted, but the painter stated the only way he can guarantee that the paint doesn't do it again is to strip down to bare metal as the failure was the primer and not the paint. $2100 and three and a half weeks without a car later we had a shiny new paint job. Later, Toyota mailed us a letter stating that there was a class-action suit involving our make, model, and color of RAV4. Because we didn't take pictures of the car before hand (even though we took it to the dealer as a complaint) Toyota denied compensation. I have seen MANY pearl white RAV4 paint peeling on the roads now.

Paint peeling off in "sheets"; afraid to wash it. When I contacted Toyota they informed me that it is no longer under warranty which is 3 years/36,000 miles. We own 2 Lexus vehicles and 2 Toyota vehicles, so very disappointing to hear this. We have always been very pleased with their products. Toyota stated an extended warranty has not been issued on this vehicle; apparently this only would be put into place if they have a considerable amount of complaints.

Have not yet received quotes for the vehicle, but understand it may be at least $400 per panel; we are looking at thousands of dollars for a vehicle that is nearly 8 years old. It is just a matter of time before the paint begins to peel off the rest of the vehicle and therefore, even more of an eyesore. One article I read online stated white Toyotas manufactured between 2009 and 2013 were not primed properly and that's why the paint was peeling.

VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTING Toyota is not standing behind their product.

Bought a white Toyota Rav4 new in 2010 at Fredericton NB. Had it rustproofed every year and even parked inside. Small paint chips were evident on the hood in the early years, now it is completely coming off in sheets. Absolutely no rust on vehicle. Faulty paint job (I would suggest no primer).

Took it to Fredericton Toyota and the service manager said there is nothing they would do because warranty had just expired. Contacted Toyota Canada and they gave me the same song and dance.

A quick Google search shows tons of people having the same problem. I should park by the Toyota sales lot and show all the prospective customers what a piece of crap the bodies are and let them know Toyota won't do a THING for them.

I got the RAV4 in 2010 brand new from dealer, after 3 years we got problem with the paint on the roof. I went to the dealer they told me is not their business. I call Toyota with no results, ending painting the roof & cost me $1000.00. Recently in May 2018 the car start pulling to front fenders, gas door & back fender. All the new paint job will cost me more then $2000.

THIS CAR HAS BIG PAINT PROBLEM & TOYOTA DON'T WANT TO DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.

I will sell the car and never buy a Toyota. This car is a junk!

My wife and I purchased a 2010 Toyota Rav4 Sport V6 from the dealer in Jacksonville, NC in September of 2010. My wife just noticed a large spot where the paint has peeled off of the car. The spot is located between the windshield and the sunroof. The car is white, which seems to be the most frequent color mentioned by most of the people writing in to this forum. I haven't contacted the dealership about the problem yet but from the looks of it, they may not be much help. We have purchased and driven new Toyota's for over 30 years and have never had a problem like this. It's disappointing that Toyota will not recognize he problem and step up to help their customers.

I've never had any problems with this Toyota and was planning on keeping it for at least 10 years since I am retired. The paint started peeling on the hood in 2017 and now it is all starting to peel off the roof. I started looking around and saw another 2010 RAV4 with the same color paint with it badly peeled off the front of the roof. I was thinking about getting it painted if it doesn't cost too much, but wondering why I should have to when other 2010 vehicles don't need to, even the red color same make and year don't peel as far as I can tell. I'm going to call our dealer to see if they will do anything about it. We also bought a Tundra from them and I know they want our repeat business.

This paint is peeling off at an alarming rate. It appears to be un-primed, on the body according to a paint shop. This is a financial impact to the value of my car.

#0492 Front Passenger

#0493 Front Driver

#0494 Back Driver

#0495 Section between Windshield and moonroof

#0496 Top of car

Update from May 15, 2018: TOYOTA REPLY:

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

We apologize for your continued frustration with the paint on your 2010 Toyota Rav4.

We have confirmed that your concerns were reviewed appropriately with a Toyota representative and you were provided with Toyota's position on 04/13/2018.

While we understand this is not the response you were hoping for, it does represent Toyota’s final position. Understanding your personal experiences with your 2010 Toyota Rav4 is important to Toyota, and your additional feedback has been documented at Toyota's National Headquarters under file #1804130284.

If you feel you need to discuss this matter further, please call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at (800) 331-4331 and reference your case number. Any representative will be able to assist you. Our hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time Monday through Friday and 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturdays.

We bought this car used at a Carmax dealership 4.5 years ago. Cars was in excellent condition when purchased. We noticed the bubbled paint and peeling about 2 - 2.5 years ago and immediately went to a local Toyota dealership. They said that is could have been caused from bird droppings or car washes! I called BS and they didn't like me from then on.

They had the audacity to tell us that had we purchased the car from them that they may have been able to assist us! Followed up with a larger, more prominent dealership and they also said that they could do nothing about it, but gave us the corporate Toyota Care phone number. We called them and they were quite courteous in telling us to go pound sand and that they had nothing on record of this problem with their White Pearl paint! I had previously noticed that all Toyotas that I would see with peeling paint had the exact same color paint job, so I recently started taking photos of the cars that I saw parked or could run down in traffic.

This is unbelievable that a large company like Toyota refuses to acknowledge that they have an issue with either a paint they applied or the process in which they applied it! Roof of car is already 1/3 peeled and I could probably finish the stripping process with a pressure washer. It started in front of the sunroof but the rear roof is now worse. Peeling/chipping is now also on front left fender and gas door.

Pricing for roof repair is currently $1,200. Whole car $6,000! Instead of fixing this I might invest in die cut decals for the windows to advertise what Toyota refuses to acknowledge! I might have to make weekend visits to the local dealerships to let prospective buyers see what they are getting into!

This is the first time I bought a Toyota. I even had my son buy one. It is also the first car that the paint just starting coming off. The paint on the hood of the car is coming off in spots. It will cost me at least $250.00 to have this fixed. It will also inconvenience me. I will need to leave the car at an auto body shop for 2 to 3 days. I need to have people pick me up for work and take me home.

I have never had this happen with my Ford cars or my Chevrolet cars.

I called Toyota in Hodgkins, IL and asked about the problem. They said the car is not under warranty and has no recalls regarding this problem. When you look on line, you see people making complaints about the Blizzard Pearl paint on the Toyota and how it all of a sudden just chips and disappears.

I do think this should be fixed and covered for free.

Thank you,

Laura Hosteny 708 448-5439

In 2010 i bought a RAV4. This car has been well taken care of. In April of this year i seen a blackdot on the top of my car by the wind-shield. I thought it was bird poop. Well it was not. The paint was bubbling up and coming off. This car has ben kept in a garge until this year. So its not from the sun. I call Toyota and they said NO issues from anyone else. I got on line and there was several issues with paint peelind and bubbling. I met a lady who has the same car and same color and is missing paint on the top of her car by the wind-shield. Our car are pearl white . I just want my car fix. So if anyone else has this issue please contact me at grayzippy@aol.com. We all can get our cars fix. We can talk the factory rep about this issue. Im really it fight . Toyota needs to fix it at NO cost to us. Mary

I was washing my car when this paint peeling incident happened.

I thought at first the hose was too strong and complained to the establishment I was at. After checking with two different Auto Body places I found that there were others with this same problem. They advised to repaint the roof because it still gonna peel if you touch it up. They also said it could be the color and process of the paint.

I noticed this in the end of May 2016, and decided to do research. One Toyota dealership said they never heard of it, another said put in a complaint. So here I am. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. I'm noticing even more paint has peeled off since May. Its on the roof area just above the windshield.

Paint began to peel in the area between the windshield and the sunroof on 2010 Toyota RAV4. I took the car to the local dealer and was referred to Toyota Customer Support. I called December 31, 2014 and received a case number and told it would be reviewed. Waited a year for a response and did not get any response from Toyota. Bubbling and peeling paint continued to get worse. I took the car to a body shop to have the affected areas painted. After careful examination, the body shop determined the original paint job is defective. The paint did not adhere to the metal. I have additional issues where the paint is bubbling on the rest of the car.

I called Toyota customer support again to see if there was any response to my original case. The customer support representative was very professional and apologetic, but no help with my problem. When problem originated, I was out of the warranty. It really concerns me when it is obviously a defect in the original paint and is a Toyota problem, and I am stuck.

When washing car noticed a spot on roof thought it was a leaf so tried to take it off no luck paint was off ,went in to dealers they took pictures four gentlemen took a look ,received a letter telling me I was covered for tar, bugs, sap, bubbled paint ,not peeling, brought it to body shop and was told faulty primer manufactures fault, went back, told my warranty was 60,000 km or 3 years so warranty was over only had 51,000 km but 3 years was up: ,too me this is bull, I bought this Toyota for my retirement thanks Toyota, if I get it fixed on my own I will sell it and purchase something else my husband has had excellent service with Ford and warranty has been fantastic, This should be a recall on pearl white Toyota rave 4 after hearing other customers , most of my family are driving Toyota's and said if they would have known the service was going to be like this second thoughts, I also had extended warranty on paint what a joke :I have brought it back even there body guy said faulty primer, let you know how I make out not to hopefull . but we will see I am a positive person and believe people do the right thing,

Update from Dec 5, 2015: paid $961.00 to get it fixed no choice could not leave it and dealer would not back it, body guys were fantastic :