Terrible Paint Fading

[BARNEYHYPHEN]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

[jrwright]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

Nope, quite the opposite. My '98 LX and '99 Land Cruiser's paint still looks new. Maybe if it's under a cover a lot, you've got some oxidation? Find a good detailer and see if they can buff it out.

[BARNEYHYPHEN]

Thanks for the input. When I say it's under cover, I mean it's parked in a carport when it's not being driven. Not it's under A cover. Sorry for the confusion. It doesn't look like oxidization, it looks very much like paint thinning. it looks like the top layers of clear/pain have liturally worn away. No, I don't ever touch it with a buffer, I mearly wash it regularly with a good quality car wash liquid mixed in warm water.

[CJAsis]

Thanks for the input. When I say it's under cover, I mean it's parked in a carport when it's not being driven. Not it's under A cover. Sorry for the confusion. It doesn't look like oxidization, it looks very much like paint thinning. it looks like the top layers of clear/pain have liturally worn away. No, I don't ever touch it with a buffer, I mearly wash it regularly with a good quality car wash liquid mixed in warm water.

If you've owned the car that long and haven't been keeping a good amount of wax on the paint, then I'm not surprised it's fading.

Lexus uses very good paint on their high end models but UV rays are a !Removed! and with all the crap in our atmposhpere these days... I'm surprised you didn't have paint fade before now.

[Jim_Chow]

What color is it? Colors closer to red (longer wavelength) fade faster than those near blue (shorter wavelength). Remember, the "color" you see is the wavelength(s) reflected towards your eye. Others are absorbed by the paint. So white is the best in the sense that it reflects more visible light plus some invisible wavelengths like some IR [heat] and some UV. Toyota paints are usually very good quality. I have a white '86 toyota (garaged for all but 4 yrs) that's still in good condition. Nissans are terrible.

[tomLX470]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

My LX has 58k miles and experiencing similar paint fading on the upper rear tailgate. Except when parked at the office mine is kept in garage or under car port as well. I don't think this is normal for a car this young. I have an 1984 Mercedes Benz 300TD station wagon and the original paint looks better than the shade of the Lexus' tailgate. I'm not sure if the dealer can do anything about it.

[BARNEYHYPHEN]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

My LX has 58k miles and experiencing similar paint fading on the upper rear tailgate. Except when parked at the office mine is kept in garage or under car port as well. I don't think this is normal for a car this young. I have an 1984 Mercedes Benz 300TD station wagon and the original paint looks better than the shade of the Lexus' tailgate. I'm not sure if the dealer can do anything about it.

TOMLX470, WE HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM, Check your HOOD. I can't believe we're the only two out there.

[CJAsis]

you guys still haven't answered how often you wax the vehicles. unwaxed paint on any vehicle will fade. like Jim said... red will go faster than other colors but paint, like leather, needs to be cared for.

[jrwright]

you guys still haven't answered how often you wax the vehicles. unwaxed paint on any vehicle will fade. like Jim said... red will go faster than other colors but paint, like leather, needs to be cared for.

Mine get waxed about every 6 to 8 months and the paint looks great.

[BARNEYHYPHEN]

you guys still haven't answered how often you wax the vehicles. unwaxed paint on any vehicle will fade. like Jim said... red will go faster than other colors but paint, like leather, needs to be cared for.

The car is a champagne colour. Never waxed a car in 31 years of driving. Never had a car paint fade. Currently have 1976 KZ900, 1990 Isuzu Trooper, 2000 Ford Explorer and 2004 M3. NONE of these has ever been waxed. The only car I own that has faded paint is my 2000 LX470?

Is non-waxing the problem or could it be....let's see BAD PAINT? I'll bet a dime to a $ there's a problem with the paint. Wadya thank? Let's Discuss.

[SW03ES]

Paint needs to be waxed to be protected. At least twice a year. Now, most people don't wax their cars but they do need to be waxed if you want them to stay in like new condition over the years.

Have you taken the car to a professional detailer and gotten their opinion on it? Or a bodyshop? If its just oxidation it can be polished and sealed and it'll look better. I have heard some complaints about this with this color LX, but nobody who has complained has ever maintained their paint or tried to have it professionally polished to rectify the problem. Most just whine.

[CJAsis]

you guys still haven't answered how often you wax the vehicles. unwaxed paint on any vehicle will fade. like Jim said... red will go faster than other colors but paint, like leather, needs to be cared for.

The car is a champagne colour. Never waxed a car in 31 years of driving. Never had a car paint fade. Currently have 1976 KZ900, 1990 Isuzu Trooper, 2000 Ford Explorer and 2004 M3. NONE of these has ever been waxed. The only car I own that has faded paint is my 2000 LX470?

Is non-waxing the problem or could it be....let's see BAD PAINT? I'll bet a dime to a $ there's a problem with the paint. Wadya thank? Let's Discuss.

I'm absolutely shocked that you've never waxed any of your other cars and you don't have paint fade. That has to be just short of a miracle because Ford and Isuzu use horrible paint.

Lexus uses good paint and while I'm not trying to cause a flame war, I find it a bit odd that anyone would not follow common sense (and I'm willing to be the maintenance guide information in your owners manual) and then they feel that they have a crappy product because it does exactly what it's expected to do.

[lx470]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

But not the roof?

Guess you are using something within arms reach on the body that is causing the problem, hence the roof is not affected.

[tomLX470]

you guys still haven't answered how often you wax the vehicles. unwaxed paint on any vehicle will fade. like Jim said... red will go faster than other colors but paint, like leather, needs to be cared for.

I've only had the truck for several months and have given it a wax job myself - I plan to take it to a professional detailer for consultation. I don't think it's bad paint. But the previous owner swore she's never noticed the fade in the upper tailgate area (but then again - I doubt if she washed it herself).

Thanks again!!

[PitbullLX964]

Ive got a 2000 LX470 in smokey topaz. My hood and roof both faded out really weird and got all messed up.

I had a bodyshop repaint my hood last month and he mentioned something that both the primer and clear coat were defective and caused the paint to get blotchy.

[BARNEYHYPHEN]

Ive got a 2000 LX470 in smokey topaz. My hood and roof both faded out really weird and got all messed up.

I had a bodyshop repaint my hood last month and he mentioned something that both the primer and clear coat were defective and caused the paint to get blotchy.

The Clot Thickens,

TomLX, Pitbull & Barneyhyphen, That makes 3 already, and we haven't even really started looking yet! Starting to smell like a Class Action Lawsuit? Just kidding, I just want my faded panels resprayed.

Funny enough, my roof has NOT faded (YET). Hood & upper tailgate only at this time. Time to talk to a paint professional me thinks?

[BARNEYHYPHEN]

Ive got a 2000 LX470 in smokey topaz. My hood and roof both faded out really weird and got all messed up.

I had a bodyshop repaint my hood last month and he mentioned something that both the primer and clear coat were defective and caused the paint to get blotchy.

The Clot Thickens,

TomLX, Pitbull & Barneyhyphen, That makes 3 already, and we haven't even really started looking yet! Starting to smell like a Class Action Lawsuit? Just kidding, I just want my faded panels resprayed.

Funny enough, my roof has NOT faded (YET). Hood & upper tailgate only at this time. Time to talk to a paint professional me thinks?

Hey TomlX & Pitbull, Did a little more digging over the last 5 minutes and have discovered "Mike" & "fDavid100". Guess what.... they've got the SAME problem. Well Well! Looks like we've got five now. Agree 50% is something but also agree, not the right offer.

Hopefully, when lexus repaint MY panels, they'll use some of that terrible old Ford or Isuzu paint.

[SW03ES]

Its worth caling 1-800-25-LEXUS and seeing what they will do, especially if you're still under warranty. Seeing that 5 of you have the issue and you all have the same color, thats probably not a coincidence. I've never heard of this on any other Lexus model or color, so maybe its something with a batch of that color.

As far as Ford using horrible paint (no experience with Isuzu) thats not been my experience. My parents have owned Fords continuously since 1978 (they've owned other cars too, but always at least one Ford) longer than I've been alive, and I've owned one that I gave to them when I bought my Lexus, and they've never had any issues with the paint on a Ford (nor any other car for that matter). Although my father always maintains his cars paint, my mother does not and she's driven the Fords mainly. Automotive paint is pretty durable. They've had a 1978 Ford LTD II, a 1987 Ford Aerostar, a 1990 Lincoln Continental, a 1993 Lincoln Continental, a 1994 Ford Explorer, a 1995 Ford Explorer, and I had a 1997 Ford Explorer I gave to them. The 1987 Aerostar they had the longest I guess (besides the 97 Explorer, but the paint was maintained by me) and no paint fade or oxidation and it never saw wax.

Now, on newer models Ford is using some really ugly paint that lacks any kind of shine at all, but thats a different story.

[98es]

Not to get totally off topic here but has anyone ever seen Nissan's red??? Every now and then I'll see a red maxima and they are all the most awful dull, ugly looking cars because of nissans crappy paint. I'm on car #5 and can say that the lexus has the best pain job out of all of them. Maybe it's the 3 stage paint for the pearl, but even the paint on my 02 camry isn't that great. I went out of town for the day last weekend and some bird decided to drop a load down the side of my camry. Washed it off as soon as I saw it, but still have a permanent doodoo-print. Close inspection shows that the paint has a bunch of little cracks where the !Removed! was...

[JimB]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

I had a 2000, smokey topaz that had the same issue. Lexus offered to paint it under CPO. iIthink that color has some issues.

[PitbullLX964]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

I had a 2000, smokey topaz that had the same issue. Lexus offered to paint it under CPO. iIthink that color has some issues.

I WAS RIGHT! damn lexus dealership back during the orginal warranty didnt want to do crap to help me. ARGH i knew the paint was bad on this truck. i took one of my emblems off the otehr week, the lexus one on the tailgate. lol underneath the emblem was pure smokey topaz perfect paint and the rest of the truck was faded...looked like ghost emblems or something. check it out

[SW03ES]

Have you tried hitting that spot with something that cleans out oxidation?

[Randerso]

I have a 95 dark green Land Cruiser in Florida. It has been garaged most of the time, but has still spent plenty of time in hot sun. I have never waxed it, but I do occationally use a polymer finish called Dry Wash on it. It looks like new - including the roof. I don't even wash the roof regularly, let alone climb up there with the polymer towel.

It is my understanding that clear coat finishes don't oxidize like older paints did, hence the practice of polishing off the surface oxidation and sealing it with wax to delay repeat oxidation is not applicable.

I may be wrong on this, but it is my understanding that most paint problems on newer cars is due to acids, etc. that fall on them from the surroundings or from errors in manufacturing.

I agree that Lexus uses great paint (the finish on my 94 SC400 is also perfect), but in all manufacturing malfunctions in equipment and quality problems with materials occationally occur. I'm betting on a manufacturing defect on this one.

[mburnickas]

Have you tried hitting that spot with something that cleans out oxidation?

Just going to say that. Maybe Poorboys SSR 2.5, 2.0? Or maybe SW#9 (Meguiar’s #9)

[2klx470]

2000 LX470 116,500 miles, kept under cover. I have terrible paint fade on both the hood and the upper rear tailgate. Has/does anyone else had/have this problem? Thanks.

-I called Lexus Customer Service regarding the paint fading and they advised me to take the vehicle to the delaership for inspection.

-Before I took the car to the dealership, I took it to 2 auto body shop and 1 car detailer. They all said the same thing, the paint is defective. The clear coat is nice and glossy all over the car, but the base coat is losing color from the top of the four doors, back end of the hood, tail gate, and back of roof. The detailer tried to buff and polish but to no avail.

-The Lexus service manager took pictures and documented the fading. He verbally told me that the paint is defective, but the warranty is out. The car is a 2000 lx470 with 68K miles.

-The service mgr sent it to the regional director and they reviewed the inspection docs. They advised Lexus is not covering any or part of the cost to repair the paint defect.

-I can see their point being the warranty is out. But this is a Lexus, they need to protect their reputation by correcting any defect on their vehicles, or people will start to doubt their commitment to excellence.