Rock Chips on Rear Liftgate

[telvarin]

Has anyone heard of this? I noticed a couple of chips on the rear liftgate. When I spoke with the local dealer, they put me on to their body shop. I talked with the body shop manager he indicated that due to the design changes on the rear quarters behind the wheels, rocks get thrown up at high speed and then the vaccuum from the truck's movement sucks the rocks into the rear liftgate. It would seem to me that the vaccuum would have to have significant help from a very strong tailwind.

The Toyota body shop manager's suggested solution was to have 3m clear film put on the rear liftgate (at my expense). I currently have clear film on the hood and mirrors.

I also noticed a rock chip on the driver's side pillar behind the rear door. That little edge that sticks out and catches bugs...and rocks.

I don't travel on a lot of gravel roads, I would estimate less than 10%, but there tends to be a lot of road sanding here in the winter.

 

[BenSD]

I don't know if the vacuum effect will be enough to launch a rock into the back of the truck with enough force to put a rock chip on it. Maybe there is an simple explanation such as the lift gate being opened onto something (garage door), or someone knocking into it with a something in a parking lot.

 

[telvarin]

I know about the garage door, I keep a sponge in the garage to prevent it from scratching. The rock chip on the rear liftgate is actually on the passenger side, about 3/4 of the way between the bottom of the liftgate and the back window and about 4 inches in from the side. There are other parts of the liftgate that stick out more.

When I first noticed the "rock chip" it almost looked like it was coming out from under the paint. There seemed to be a slight swelling similar to a more traditional rust bubble. Since then, the top of the bubble has come off to reveal the metal. I have used the touch-up paint and clear coat, but there is still a significant hole in the paint.

Could be a shopping cart ram, but I think the bumper would have caught it.

 

[Northof49]

Another way to get chips on the rear is sometimes they ship them facing backwards on a car carrier....

If you've had that 05 since new tho, I would assume you noticed earlier. Just an idea.