Hey chevy - my paint/clear coat has failed!

[Papasonic]

I can see valid arguments for the manufacturer and the owner/consumer. I guess they do have a specific limited warranty that addresses the limits of liability. I have a Silverado with polished clear coated wheels that developed clear coat issues shortly after the 3/36. I had no relief from GM on this one either. Frustrating when a substantial investment is made, you attempt to take care of the vehicle, and have persisting, unresolved, expensive to repair ongoing problems.

 

[Italianjoe1]

I get that this is an economy car, but the base of the issue here is just not enough/low quality paint on the car.

I got a call from the bodyshop saying that as they tried to sand down the roof to get to smooth paint during prep, they can't, and will need to take it down to bare metal to get a decent surface to put fresh paint on. This car just doesn't have enough paint on it from new.

I'm really hoping I don't get a car back that's 3 shades of orange...

 

[suitcasejefferson]

Do you leave the car sitting outside? I live in Phoenix, AZ, and most 5 year old cars around here that sit out in the sun have fairly serious clearcoat damage, including expensive cars like Mercedes and BMWs. Clearcoat is a bad thing. It is extremely fragile. I bought my 2013 red Sonic used about 6 months ago in Portland OR, where it is cloudy most of the time, and the paint still looked decent. Now that it is in Phoenix, and parked in my driveway, the clearcoat will not last long. If you repaint your Sonic, DO NOT get it clearcoated. My 1993 Chevy pickup is a tan color, non metallic, with no clearcoat. It faded badly out in the sun, but I was able to polish it back to near new condition. Paint was a LOT better back then than it is now. Dark colors tend to fail first, also metallic colors. Also, the EPA is largely to blame for the poor quality of paint these days.

I also have a white 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis that the paint is literally peeling off of, down to the primer. There is no way to repaint this car without stripping it down to bare metal, and it isn't worth it. It's mostly on the roof, hood, and trunk. I have considered a vinyl wrap job in solid white. This problem is a known factory defect. It also affected a lot of Crown Vic police cars. Ford won't stand behind their products either.

 

[TURBOBX]

Where do you live TURBOBX? Do you always park outside or in the sun? I always wanted a red car but would be scared of fading if I couldn't always park in a garage or out of direct sunlight. But I agree with Italianjoe1, the sun is brutal.

I live in coastal NC, and yes, the car is normally parked outside. However, there are plenty of older Chevy and frankly, other manufacturers whose cars are here and are 10+ years old with no paint failures like this.

Chevy is going to have a ****storm on their hands in the next year with all these Sonics with paint crapping out.

It would be a shame if there were rust through holes on my hood, roof, and trunk lid soon.................................. and that 10yr warranty.

 

[TURBOBX]

IMHO, this car isn't worth repainting. My dang CEL has been on for the majority of the past two years, with a emissions code (p0420) that Chevy can't wrap their head around. One dealer wants $700 out of my pocket for exhaust work, and the next just put a new cat in it, still has the light on. The freaking water pump thermostat lines just crapped out the last week and this thing is nothing but $500-$700 in repairs every year for me. Not worth it on a turd that has a horrible resale value... Think of all the other ridiculous and annoying problems this car has. How about those scratches where your trunk lid smashes your rear bumper? Or the built in "blind spot" bubble mirrors that will land you right into the truck driving beside you? Anyone else have an eternally rough/random idle at stop? Has your cruise control speed adjust button popped out of the steering wheel? Has anyone else replaced their radio? What about the rear windshield shattering to bits because of faulty heater wiring? Yeah, I think I've had enough of this heap.

If you put some tireshine/grease on the clearcoat failures it should hide it long enough to sell your car over a weekend. That will be my course of action if GM doesn't step up.

 

[Palmaris]

Hey, it happens. They may never admit it but it's some sort of paint defect that happened when they painted that batch of cars.

You will see a whole bunch of 2007-2008 vintage Honda Civics that also all have paint defects showing up everywhere. Others seem fine so it was a short period problem for them. I still don't think people think Honda is a huge source of paint defects and the reputation is ruined. Yes, I think GM should fix it and hopefully your car is still protected enough it doesn't rust and cause other issues.

 

[Italianjoe1]

Hey, it happens. They may never admit it but it's some sort of paint defect that happened when they painted that batch of cars.

You will see a whole bunch of 2007-2008 vintage Honda Civics that also all have paint defects showing up everywhere. Others seem fine so it was a short period problem for them. I still don't think people think Honda is a huge source of paint defects and the reputation is ruined. Yes, I think GM should fix it and hopefully your car is still protected enough it doesn't rust and cause other issues.

Happens to all of them here in south FL in the heat/sun. Starts on the black and dark blue ones first, but the roof, rails, top of the fenders and trunk all start clear coat peeling within a couple years, I was at honda back in 2009-10, and they were already coming in with paint failures, we were fixing them still under warranty at the time.

 

[TURBOBX]

Yay! The sunny weather is finally back.

Chevy... wth.

 

[Italianjoe1]

Had mine painted, looks really good considering it's Orange. I couldn't tell if I didn't know it was repainted.

 

[SoCalRs]

victory red and the agony of defeat

I don't know if they use cheaper paint on cheaper cars I have a 13 RS I do park it outside wash it regularly used the spray on spray off wax often did not go crazy on the detail maybe had it detailed once a year then I noticed my roof was all scratched up looking ? It didn't shine anymore . I have a roof rack and under the bars it still shines parts of the hood as well getting dull all the parts were sun shines straight down are faded , 5 years old ??? 24,000 miles only ??? The guy at detail shop said you need to repaint it the paints no good here and there , I had a car took it to Earl shibe 1200 bucks for there best paint job left it outside 3/4 years still shined it Earl shined . There warranty sucks some have 10 year 100k Chevy is 3/5 years 80 k or something I'm outside warranty with 24k miles .

 

[SoCalRs]

warranty

I just looked it up to see in October 2018 it will be five years I only have 24, k miles
There warranty is 3years 36 k. For rust through it's 50 k miles or 6 years I heard alot of stories read alot here and there about these cars some bit the biggie some didn't has anyone gone 300k and still going strong like another auto maker or will we a sell.off due to too many issues or see Sonic's in the bone yard due to all.the issues ????

 

[TURBOBX]

Heard back from my dealer. They will paint my car!!!!

For $1,500.

F&CK you, Chevy. F^ck you! I'll be on a tirade for the next few years dismantling your reputation everywhere I can online. Your cost to fix this problem is far cheaper than the toll I will take.

 

[SATXSonic]

I have a 2013 LTZ sedan in Topaz Blue Metallic. I've always liked the color but the paint quality is really lousy on these cars. It gets chipped so easily by rocks and I'm experiencing the same problem with haze/micro-scratches on the hood and roof, as well. My car has always been garage kept since new and is parked in the shade or a parking garage whenever possible during the day so sun exposure has been limited. The scratches and haze started appearing about a year ago and has gotten progressively worse over the past few months.

I recently ordered a product called Lukat Fix-It that I saw on YouTube. It's a paint cleaner and it worked wonders on my roof! It was covered with white micro-scratches and the Lukat product made a huge difference. The scratches did not completely disappear but it significantly reduced the appearance to the point that you really have to be looking for it. The paint gloss is restored and I'm happy with the results. I've attached before and after photos.

I hope this helps! I have absolutely no ties to Lukat but I just wanted to share my experience in hopes that it will help other folks having the same paint issues. If you do order this product, you'll want to follow it with a polish and wax to remove any haze from the cleaner. Again, it's probably not going to completely address the scratched look but it made one heck of a difference on my car. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Tormach]

Ya, my paint was perfect at the beginning of the year but by mid summer the hood and roof where fading and now it almost looks like a matt finish.

Plan to fix it next summer or get one of those carbon fiber hoods by MPH and clean and wrap the roof and trunk lid to match.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[cburn711]

Beyond angry.

My 2013 sonic in black is experiencing a clear coat failure... I wash the car about twice a month, wax twice a year, and spray wax, etc. more frequently in the summer.

I'm still making payments on this turd and the dang paint looks like the photo attached.

About $90 in so far trying different compounds by Meguiars, Turtle Wax, you name it.... nothing seems to be giving me an inch of help. Neither has Chevy's online support or my dealer.

Any advice? I'm beyond words... it's on the hood, roof, and trunk lid.

It becomes more embarrassing to drive every day and literally just started showing over the past two months.



If my pics don't load...https://ibb.co/mbdq27 https://ibb.co/mtrhFS

I've been told by several people that those scratchy lines are micro abrasions in the clear coat that are showing because it is failing. My car is normally SPOTLESS and glossy. Only use microfiber towels, etc.

My chevy sonic has the same clear coat failure on hood and roof and now paint is peeling from top of driver's door exterior.

 

[cburn711]

There’s no way it’s from neglect. As I mentioned before, I hard wax it 2x a year with my other vehicles, wash regularly, even pay for the ****ty upharge spray wax at the car wash, and then spray wax after washes.

I called dealer to see if they had a paint recall and was told no.

 

[Z71]

I have owned quite a few cars and trucks in my life. I bought my 2013 Sonic new and it has always been parked outside. I live in Florida where the weather is hot and summer temperatures are brutal. I chose a while car because in my experience light colors, especially white, stay far cooler in hot sun as they tend to reflect heat. Dark colors, especially black, are the worst as they tend to absorb heat. My brother owns a 2013 Inifiniti G37 sedan and it is black. When I park my Sonic and his car side by side in the sun , the paint on his car is almost too hot to touch whereas mine stays only slightly warm after several hours in the sun.

I try to park my Sonic in the shade wherever possible, but that is not always the case, especially when parking at work.

To this date I have not had any clearcoat peeling on my Sonic. I add Zip car wash into a bucket of water every time I wash my car (about once a week) and Zip car wash contains liquid wax which helps preserve the paint and there is no need for frequent waxing of the car. However, the paint on the Sonic appears to be rather soft compared to paints on older cars I had.

I have used Zip car wash for years on all kinds of cars and trucks with excellent results. If you wash your car about once a week and add Zip car wash, you will protect your paint for years. I have nothing to do with the Zip Car wash manufacturer and I am not trying to endorse their product, but it has definitely worked for me. But you have to reapply it often. Because it contains liquid car wax without any abrasive additives, it does not remove any of the clearcoat which paste wax may do if you rub it in hard. Yes, paste wax contains mild abrasive and if you wax your car excessively you may actually do damage to your clearcoat finish.

I also noticed that when some people start having clearcoat issues on their vehicles, they tend to use paste wax and even polishing compound to try to fix the problem. Of course, applying an abrasive compound only makes the problem worse as even more of the clearcoat is removed. The only remedy for peeling cleacoat is to take it into a paint shop to be re-clear coated as soon as possible. If you wait too long and underlying color paint is damaged, the car will have to repainted with the base coat and clearcoat which is always more expensive.

 

[Z71]

An update on my Sonic:

I noticed recently that clearcoat on the roof of my 2013 Sonic is cracking. Because the car is white, it is not that visible unless you look closely, but damage is evident. Curiously, the roof is the only area on the car where this is happening. I must agree that the paint on this car is of substandard quality. I also own a 2003 Chevy Blazer which was a government car in Miami since new and always sat in the sun for years until I bought it in 2016. The original white paint on that vehicle is still in very good shape and shiny.