A popular Toyota paint color is allegedly peeling under sunlight, prompting a class action lawsuit
11 hours ago
- Toyota Corolla owners in Australia are suing over defective factory white paint issues.
- The affected paint, 040 white, is marketed under several similar-sounding color names.
- Some vehicles reportedly require full resprays due to peeling and sun exposure damage.
Owners of select Toyota Corolla models in Australia are suing the carmaker for what they claim is a serious defective paint that can degrade and start to peel when left exposed to the sun. The problem appears to be so bad that some vehicles require entire resprays due to the poor quality paint.
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The class action has been filed by the William Roberts law firm and involves Toyota Corolla models built between July 12, 2010, and September 30, 2014. These vehicles were finished in paint color code 040 white, which was sold under several names including Glacier Pure Super White, Glacier White, Super White, and Super White II.
Legal Grounds for the Claim
The lawsuit argues that the paint issue violates Australian Consumer Law by failing to meet the standard of acceptable quality. It also claims Toyota is responsible for compensating owners for financial loss and reduced resale value due to the defect. On top of that, the suit seeks damages for “reasonably foreseeable losses” and the emotional frustration caused by the problem.
Although the suit was only recently filed, the issue isn’t new. In 2022, Toyota Australia acknowledged that sunlight and UV exposure can degrade the bond between the paint primer and the base metal layer.
In mid-2022, the company issued a statement confirming that “sunlight/ultraviolet exposure over time degrades the adhesion between the factory-applied paint primer coat layer and the base metal electrodeposition layer, causing paint to peel from the metal body panel.”
Allegations of Withheld Information
In the lawsuit, William Roberts alleges that “throughout the periods during which the affected vehicles were manufactured, Toyota did not disclose to the public that affected vehicles contained the paint peeling defect or … had the propensity to experience the … defect.”
It’s unclear how many owners have joined this particular class action, but there’s a group on Facebook related to peeling paint across several Toyota models in Australia with over 7,000 members. Omni Bridgeway is funding this lawsuit on a “no win, no pay” basis and class members can join for free.
Toyota Australia has denied the claims made by the lawsuit and responded that it will “defend the claims vigorously.”
Source: Canberra Times
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