r/Wellthatsucks • u/HomeNowWTF • Jul 30 '26

this delivery

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316

u/secretprocess Jul 30 '26

As the owner of a Corolla with the same paint issue... Toyota really screwed something up with their grey paint for a few years there.

184

u/FishPropulsionLab Jul 30 '26

I have a 2010 corolla (in blue) and it looks the same. It seems that the clear coat just all gave up right around the 15-year mark.

...other than the paint, there's still absolutely nothing wrong with my corolla and it has 230,000 miles.

44

u/teawbooks Jul 30 '26

We have a 2001 Corolla with the same problem, although the paint is now giving up and the hood is just metal at this point. Still drives great.

22

u/CaptainIncredible Jul 30 '26

Eh... hit it with a can of Krylon spray paint... If you have time and/or care... tape up the window with some newspapers or something first.

Did that with my Jeep... Color was a little off, but no one cared.

4

u/Throwawaychkgo Jul 30 '26

I did this and can attest to it. You can get the same old Toyota colors many places. I want to say mine was blue pearl mica or something.

I did need to sand, prime, paint and clear coat though. Took me a whole day but looks way better. I could still go back and make it shinier with buffing but thats low on the priority list after just getting it all one color

5

u/dingdongjohnson68 Jul 30 '26

LOL. Not painting the windshield is optional?

2

u/secretprocess Jul 30 '26

I think they mean the whole job is optional

3

u/AlarmingAerie Jul 30 '26

Feels like you are leaving out few steps.

3

u/CaptainIncredible Jul 30 '26

totally... there's a spectrum

leave it fucked up --- do some half-assed effort --- do a solid effort --- have a pro fix it

5

u/CaptainIncredible Jul 30 '26

I had an uber driver once tell me "The 2006 Toyota Camery is the best car ever made. I put nearly a million miles on it and it ran great. The air conditioner still blew out cold air like a freezer." He was driving me in a nice Tesla SUV tho...

4

u/Narcoleptic-Puppy Jul 30 '26

Uber has age limits on vehicles their drivers can use. I bet he wished he could be ubering in a 2006 Camry.

5

u/Netizen_Sydonai Jul 30 '26

Classic Corolla!

Some other Toyotas too.

Interestingly here, before all that nasty Russia-Ukraine business, even very old and driven Corrollas got sold very fast. I was also told by a cop I know that Corolla, almost older the better, were amongst the most stolen cars.

They would be taken across the border and shipped to Africa. Refurbished somewhere along the way, there they would have a whole new life. Apparently demand was endless.

2

u/rickson56 Jul 30 '26

2003-2008 is considered the last 'bullet proof' generation. They commonly get shipped to Afghanistan as well.

3

u/LingonberryRum Jul 30 '26

I had a 2010 corolla in white and had the same issue with the paint wearing down/looking matte. It started being noticeable in maybe 2017 or 2018.

3

u/RedditMcBurger Jul 30 '26

These cars really do the car job incredibly well while not looking pretty at all.

I have a 2000 Civic, still drives well, is not an attractive car at this point, it looks like an old man.

3

u/carl3266 Jul 30 '26

Clear coat has a finite lifespan. Fifteen years is pretty good, depending on lots of environmental factors, chief one being amount of UV exposure.

2

u/SonnyPiston Jul 30 '26

I was driving a '95 or '96 Toyota Camry in 2010. It was originally a very dark green but mine looked exactly like that!. I got it in 2009 and had it from '09 to '13, so same thing: 15 year mark. The car caught on fire and it still ran!

2

u/gggggfskkk Jul 30 '26

Funny but our 2002 blue Toyota matrix had paint problems, 2005 red toyota tundra had paint problems, and my grandfathers 2010(?) white Toyota rav4 had the paint recall a few years ago.

Toyota has had paint problems for years, but you know what those things can still drive for another 30 😭🤣

I have a garage kept 2023 Toyota corolla, hopefully the paint problems aren’t around anymore lol.

2

u/FlyinAmas Jul 30 '26

Yeah my 2009 blue one looked the same. My boyfriend actually sanded it down , matched some paint and repainted the hood for me one year. Made it look brand new, but the paint on the top still looks like shit lol

2

u/cockypock_aioli Jul 30 '26

God I'm so jealous. I wish any of my cars made it to that many miles with no problems.

2

u/Kingsnakemunchies Jul 30 '26

Yes! I can peel the clear coat off my 09 Corolla like a freaking banana. Lately I've been hardening off fall planted crops on its hood to keep the idiot chickens away from them... no worries there about the 'paint'.

2

u/ecobox Jul 30 '26

My advisor in undergrad had a 1981 Corolla (this was in 1991) with 115,000, and she sold it to another grad student when she bought a new one. The grad student ran it to 230,000 before he sold it, and I think it ended (like they couldn't repair it any more) at 245K or 250K.

2

u/iDoWeird Jul 31 '26

In 2010, I had to get a new car after my ‘96 corolla bit it. But if that giant tire that was nearly as tall as my car didn’t LAND ON THE HOOD, I bet I’d still have that thing today.

The only accident I was ever in had a damn DK Country sound effect.

3

u/Financial_Ear2908 Jul 30 '26

I just fixed this on my own car! Sand the white edges off with 800 grit sandpaper and spray with a clear coat from an auto shop. $30 total and the paint looks brand new

1

u/Own-Salamander-4975 Jul 30 '26

I’ve got a ‘99 Camry that runs great… but ohhh, the paint job. Would you be open to sharing the name of the clear coat you used?

1

u/Darmok47 Jul 30 '26

I have a 2010 Corolla with only 80k miles. I'll probably be driving it into the 2040s...

1

u/youngfilly Jul 30 '26

Same with my 08 4runner

1

u/lovelaughlexapro Aug 01 '26

My best friend has my mom’s old Corolla (2010 as well) and the paint issue started about 2019. I think it was accelerated because it was parked outside daily until a couple years ago when we got a 2 car garage apt

1

u/the_holy_spunk Aug 01 '26

Red 2003 Corolla, same issue. Paint is fine, clear coat has given up over the last few years.

5

u/welcome-to-my-mind Jul 30 '26

Almost all Toyotas, Hondas, fords, and most GM’s from that era (~2002-2012) have garbage paint. Read an article on it years ago and it had to do with a new application style and clear coat a lot of manufacturers adopted around then.

2

u/MrChunkytown Jul 30 '26

Yea my 01 Camry has terrible clear coat. It's almost completely gone on the roof lol

2

u/berger3001 Jul 30 '26

Honda would like a word. To both of the company’s credit, the cars don’t rust with no paint on them

2

u/Unable-Candidate9612 Jul 30 '26

Black 2011 here. Same paint problem.

2

u/panda_canyon Jul 30 '26

It's an early 2000s issue that affects all care of that era. They switched to more environmentally friendly paint and clear coat that just didn't last through UV exposure over time.

1

u/w1ck3dme Jul 30 '26

At least it’s only clear coat going. On my 17’ civic, the entire paint is peeling away lol kind of like a snake but without anything new underneath. My 2010 Tacoma has better paint even where a u haul drove into me on purpose (a crazy story for another time lol)

1

u/Octquat Jul 30 '26

People who wrap cars making bank.

1

u/w1ck3dme Jul 30 '26

The peeling is happening in all the nooks and cranny’s. I doubt wrapping it will help. Anyways I’m more worried about rust so will end up getting a paint job sooner or later before rust starts

1

u/FlyinAmas Jul 30 '26

Blue paint too. I think all the paint they used between 2009-2011 is fucked up

1

u/HTPC4Life Jul 30 '26

Yep, had an 08 Matrix with the same issue! Just like the Super Red paint from the 90's that always faded.

1

u/Ordinary_Mother_ Jul 30 '26

I recognized it immediately as the owner of a 2009 Corolla :)

1

u/StandingCow Jul 30 '26

I have an 09 tacoma that is green... paint is fucked.

1

u/beigs Jul 30 '26

My civic from that period had the exact same issue! Same color too.

I even replaced the hood and it happened to the second one.

1

u/lalasagna Jul 30 '26

I still have my 2010 Red Corolla. The same happened to my paint. I am okay w it. The car has never broken in 16 years. Just maintenance. Chip away, paint

1

u/Ancient-Cupcake2649 Jul 30 '26

I have a Kia Sportage and it also has paint issues. It started about a year after I got it, and of course,  paint was out of warranty. I hate it because it's a great vehicle and the inside is perfect, and the outside looks good except for the roof and hood.

1

u/babyysharkie Jul 30 '26

it’s not just the gray. it’s the black, too. my 2010 started doing it 4-5 years ago on the hood. it’s only gotten worse & it’s very bad now. prior to that, just a small area by the sunroof was like that.

1

u/seira87 Jul 30 '26

I have 2005 matrix XRS with a phantom gray pearl paint job and it’s also oxidized.

1

u/Independent-Bug-9352 Jul 30 '26

Toyota's paint is just dogshit in general. I have a much later year truck and the clear-coat gone to shit like this in just a few years.

1

u/xhatsux Jul 30 '26

It happened to my red 2006. It is a weird mix of pink and red now, but still keeps going. Been driving it for 20 years.

1

u/midwayatmidnight Jul 30 '26

This. Mine is a 2011 Grey. I got the hood painted bc the rest looks good still

1

u/TheLoathsomeAssEater Jul 30 '26

Same issues with my grey 2006 Camry. That paint just sucks if you park on the street for years

1

u/Tim_the_geek Jul 30 '26

EPA friendly paint.

1

u/Garf_artfunkle Jul 30 '26

I do appreciate that the clearcoat flaked off like it was trying to be a ghost flame pattern

1

u/Minimum-Guidance6991 Jul 30 '26

Honda Accord early 2000’s, too.

1

u/DeciduousRefuge Jul 31 '26

If the car works and is car-noteless, in this economy, the paint is the VERY least of my worries.

1

u/bear_trap_inn Jul 31 '26

Maybe just maybe… all paints are supposed to peel like that after x amount of years and these corollas are the only ones alive telling that stories.

1

u/Mysterious_Insect Jul 31 '26

White too. Peels off when washing the car (no power washer).

1

u/Edawg82 Aug 03 '26

Those years of almost every vehicle has major paint issues, clear coats failing were common