Rust on rear hatch - warranty?

Discovered the below on my 2022 ORP with less than 13K kms. Suffice it to say I am pissed. I have seen images of other 5th gens will this issue and have come across mixed experiences and accounts as far as how Toyota handles under warranty.

Will definitely be taking this in to the dealer and expect it to be sorted out. Especially considering i was planning on trading it in for a 4th gen Tacoma this year and I don't want to hear anything from them on diminished trade value given it's still under the factory warranty and they are ones who sold me the truck.

Any experiences recently with this and warranty claims? Frankly this is ridiculous for any manufacturer, much less Toyota.

 

I hope they take care of it, it’s just sad to see.

 

Wow that really sucks. Is that silver or white? You’re profile thing says silver and maybe I’m color blind with pics but that almost looks like white paint.

Is that rust in the corner of the 4Runner badge I assume? I think someone else on here also had a similar issue. How do the rectify this after fixing to prevent it from occurring again?

Please keep us posted on your progress. Wow that is unconscionable really.

 

It's silver and yet it's coming from the corners of the 4Runner badge/hatch handle as well as a spec to the left of it as well.

It's hard to tell day to day, I only say it as it was the first time I was loading the truck in daylight on a clear day in awhile and yeah... not a great surprise.

 

My 2010 has paint that is bubbling there. It's a design flaw that Toyota never fixed - the plastic bezel rubs against the paint. Dealer should be able to repair it under warranty - they'll unbolt the plastic bezel from the inside and respray the hatch.

DIY preventative solution would be to unbolt the bezel and put some PPF down on the paint as a rubstrip around the perimeter of the bezel's footprint.

 

Hatch as in handle area or the whole door? It seems like there is corrosion under the plastic piece. I haven't tried Iron X or anything but I assume that would just get rid of the rust streaks and not the actual spot where the paint is flaking.

Honestly I am not keeping the truck long term so as far as it happening again I won't be the owner but want it fixed before trading it in.

 

I’ll take a look at mine and keep an eye on it. I have a 21 Silver ORP. But mine only has 1.000 miles and never sees salt or rain really. It’s been gently used. But 13kms is nothing. Wow.

I’d ask if gets a lifetime warranty on that area. How the heck do you stop that from occurring

 

They'll probably respray the handle area and feather/blend the paint. It'll be at the individual paint shop's judgment and age of vehicle (with regards to paint fading and matching).

 

I see... if I was keeping the vehicle long term I would be super upset with this outcome under warranty. I have a good relationship with the sales team so I might be able to leverage that but honestly this doesn't feel right, even a year out of warranty on such an expensive vehicle, expected more out of the Tahara factory.

 

I get that for sure. Honestly I did also and was bummed a week later after delivery looking at rust on welds on the frame. I thought what the hell is this. I never even drove it in rain.

While my Ford mechanically sucked the fit, finish, and paint job were much better. I had higher hopes for the Japanese built vehicle but sadly let down. It was a poor assumption on my part.

 

Is there any gap between the plastic trim and body?

 

If you kept the 4R long-term, other areas of the hatch would've rusted out anyway. The roll-down window being a controlled leak path means water collects inside and doesn't always drain properly. I can hear rust flakes rattling in my hatch when I open and close it.

 

wow, what a nightmare. I figured I'd have to worry about rust when the vehicle was 20 years old like the rusty 3rd gens 4Rs I see here in Canada, so under 2 years from delivery is a major wake up call to me now.

My previous 3rd gen Tacoma was clunkier and the finish was cheaper but I don't remember it having a factory flaw this bad.

 

I am thinking of looking at the Honda Ridgeline. There is no frame to worry about rusting, and it appears so far anyway no issues with paint ther I’ve found. Luckily so far my other Hondas have had zero issues over 15 plus years with regard to rust

I had thought of getting another for the engine for everyday use before 5th Gen is gone but gosh not after these types of issues

 

Known issue, dealer repaired mine under warranty. I also mentioned in another thread about this issue, check your hood scoop if you have one. On mine the paint was rubbing off where there plastic scoop meats the metal hood.

 

Good to hear. What did the repair comprised of? Full respray of the door?

 

Repair of the area and then a spray and blend. They also fixed it so the handle sits a little proud of the surface and there is zero chance of it rubbing again.

 

Okay, well it seems like there is precedent for Toyota Canada on the warranty side. You're giving me some confidence going into the service appointment.

 

WOW, I've seen it under the black trim footprint, but never seen a rust spot out of footprint.

 

Take it to the dealer and have it rectified.
Going forward, if you want the 4runner to last, take some proactive steps.
Fluid film the frame inside out and the undercarriage.
Front lower cross member below the radiator
Intermediate steering shaft joint
Neutral safety switch
Spare wheel mechanism and rear bumper
Numberplate screws
Add clear bra below plastic panels on door sills.
Fluid film hood latch and rear hatch latch .
Do these periodically and your 4runner will last.
Rust is 4runners Achilles heel.

 

Check out it’s water leak issue… a rear cab seam lets water in.. still happening

 

I was at my detail place this morning ironically that installs Xpel and did so on my front end. I was telling him about your hatch issue and the rubbing/scraping/rusting and he told me he has seen that on a few 4Runners that come in to be detailed . He said one good customer similarly had the respray of the hatch and a new emblem installed and they installed a bit of "cushion" behind the emblem to prevent this.

My shop then suggested putting a few thin pieces of Xpel film just under that area that are not noticeable in the event that there is some slipping it rubs against the film as opposed to the paint. I just thought I would pass this info along in the event anyone wants to consider doing something similar.

I am going to take mine up to him when the salty weather clears and see it is an option to do on mind to prevent any damage. I am not sure if they can do it to mine since it still factory but they are going to take a look.

 

Thanks for the insights! I still can't believe, no matter how tight the piece, what kind of friction is being induced. Maybe when the hatch is slammed shut? It's a fairly heavy lift gate.

I'm taking it in this evening to talk to the service manager, will report back in.

 

The garnish on the hatch is constantly being buffeted. Look how the snow collected on mine this winter.

 

OP how much separation between the trim and the body surface? No separation? Meaning you can’t insert a sheet of paper?

 

This is how to prevent this if you're able to remove the interior hatch panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2gdF21VIWg

 

have tried but it is very tight/snug.

 

Anyone in the south have this issue? I had 160K miles on a 2012, and 60K on a 2020 and never seen rust. Could the flaw require a bit of road salt to cause this? Heck, even my frame still looks brand new.

 

Alright gents, just got back from the dealer. The service manager came right out and assessed himself - at first he was saying something about just some rusty screws on the inside but I showed him how it was bubbled and the separate rusted chip to the side and he started taking pictures. He suggested trying Iron X and these kinds of things first but I said I want it to look as bad as it really is as far as getting approval for work under warranty, he seemed to get that.

He said he will need to send it to their bodyshop which handles these kinds of claims and that they can assess to see if this is likely to be under warranty or not. He said he was fairly confident that it would be covered but overall wasn't giving me as much confidence as I would like.

Anyway he said they will assess and contact Toyota and go from there.

Honestly I was hoping for something more like "Oh yeah, we see this all the time, this is definitely warrantied." but maybe this guy is the assistant manager and didn't want to be super confident and get it wrong. Either way Toyota will hear from me if they try to cheap out.

Will update as I have more to share.

 

My dealer had me go to their recommended bodyshop who took pictures (and also said they've seen the issue and fixed it before) and sent those to the dealer who then sent them on to Toyota. I was honestly surprised how smoothly it went. Hopefully your dealer doesn't jerk you around.