I notice on my 03, I have scratches and makers galore.
1)Most noticeable ones are where your hands go into the car door handle. I am a guy and don't have long nail and I never stick my keys into that area. Does anyone else have this problem? what was your fix? I wish they made a matching color film coat to protect the paint.

2) The back glass has scratches all over the place. I use a window squeegee (from the gas station) on ALL my glass of both my present vehicles and all my previous vehicles. I have never seen scratches on any glass except the rear glass. Do others have the same problem? ... Plus, do others notice all the pits in the front glass when the sun shines just right?

3) the seat belt metal piece is putting scratches/ nicks into the plastic at both where it retracts and the center arm rest.. near where the buckle goes in.
Arg.. am I being harsh on the thing or is everyone else having this too?

4) I have the cladding, the plastic is so soft, I can mark it with my finger nail. so you can imagine how many scratches and marks it has. Does anyone know how to protect it better?

1. You can try and remove some of the scratches with a product like Meguiar's Scratch-X. I've tried it on my other car and it works very well, while the scratches are not complete gone/invisible, but they're very faint now. I don't have the problem with the 4Runner or at least haven't noticed it. You can probably get a clear film for the handle area from installers that do clear bra films.

2. No scratches on the rear glass other than the one that was there at delivery which I didn't notice. The windshield is infamous for being weaker than other makes. I do have some pits in mine from going to the sierras. Being lazy and washing the windows with a soft bristle brush, I have put a scratch on my other car's windshield which is very noticeable when light strikes it perfectly. Oh wells, not washing the 4Runner glass with anything else other than a wash mitt.

3. No problems with the seat belts on the side panels or at the center console.

4. Cannot answer, but in terms of protecting the plastic quite a few '03 owners are using 303 Aerospace protectant on it.

My black '03 has scratches in recesses behind door handles. I bought the chrome door handle covers thinking they might include a chrome recess cover (like the picture in the ad showed) --- but did not include them. To me the paint does appear to be soft - even after 4 years. I did put a hood bug/stone deflector for this reason. No probs with glass scratches - have replaced windshield do to undetected stone hit just below wiper blades which caused crack for 12 inches or so during the summer heat.

Both Eastwood and JC Whitney have glass scratch removal kits ($30) that you use with a drill motor.

A good swirl remover or light rubbing compound like Scratch-X would get the marks out behind your handles. That area is prone to scratches because it's harder to get behind when doing everyday cleaning. You could even try wax and see if that cleans it up. You always want to start with the least abrasive method and work up.

Glass scratches are a pain. If your nail catches in them your pretty much SOL. Glass scratches are like paint scratches. Once they get a certain depth all you can do is reduce the appearance but you won't be able to get them out without a major miracle. Image distortion and even making the scratches worse is usually the case. You can try a glass replacement company but most would rather replace then repair. I've tried several products on my older cars but no matter how hard I tried the deeper ones were left there. I had some serious ones from bird poop that had sand and seeds in it. When I wiped it off I didn't realize I was grinding the sand in to the window. Long story short I had swirl marks all in that area. Now I hose off bird poop before even touching the spots.

Scratches in the interior will always be an issue. I think the plastics on the older Toyota's held up much better then todays. Both my 06 Tacoma and 07 4 Runners interior is more prone to scratches. You can try using your nail or plastic putty knife and smooth out the scratches. A blow dryer or heat gun if done correctly can greatly reduce the appearance as well. The lighter trick has been used but I don't recommend it, especially in tight places. But on door panels and glove boxes it makes 90% of the mark disappear. We used to do that on car radio installs if we scuffed something. Heat the plastic to just about melting point and the white part of the scratch will darken and "blend" with the rest. DO THIS WITH EXTREME CAUTION AND I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU MESS IT UP!

Hope this helped. Oh you can also try a good detail shop. Many have tricks to lesson the appearance of scratches both outside and inside your car.

rob... melting the plastic sounds pretty extreme, but a nice glossy spray may hide the scratches better.

Uneek... I might try that 303 stuff (never heard of it before)
thanks all

You're not melting the plastic just getting it soft enough to smooth out the scratch and usually the whitish inside part of the scratch will darken back to match again. This is why I STRESSED it should only be attempted with EXTREME CAUTION. I've done it plenty of times and I would say I can get a deep scratch to about 90% gone.

Anyhow, good luck.

I have the same problem. The scratches on the door handle, must be from the wifes nails, center console, rear cargo area and I have even scratched the inside of the windshield with my watch when I was wiping down the dash. That really made me angry, it was only a few months old. I don't really notice it now but every now and then the sun brings it out to anger me again.

My Tacoma was worse. The door panels in that were very soft. If you pressed on them with your finger nail you would leave a mark. I think the plastics are better on the 4 Runners but certainly softer then the Gen3 I used to own.

Oh well it's a car and sh*ts going to happen!