Fragile paint questions

I've posted in Warranty that I'm filing a complaint with SOA over the durability of the paint.

 

1. Anyone climed this hill yet?

 

2. Anyone had a dealer support them with this yet?

 

3. Can we start a petition to get SOA to resolve these issues?

 

 

I remeber back in 1990's Ford recalled the paint on vehicles over 4 yrs old for durability (it was literally coming off in sheets). The owners had to bring in their cars for 'testing', which included applying a duct tape X on the hood and letting it sit for x minutes. Then the tape was removed. If any paint came off with the tape, the whole vehicle was repainted.

 

Wish me luck!

well, unless your paint is peeling off in layers like it did with Ford, then you really won't have much luck dealing with Subaru. The paint is easy to scratch and it swirls fairly easy, but that just means more care has to be taken in caring for it. I was pretty unhappy with how soft the paint was when I got the car, but it polishes out easily enough that I don't really care anymore. It has some lovely swirls on it right now from the brutal winter, but that should all be taken care of next week. We'll see how well the paint bounces back this year.

 

What sort of durability problems are you noticing? Scratches and swirls are just considered normal wear and tear on a car, so unless you are seeing major problems then I think a complaint to SOA would get shot down.

Haha for the Subaru the test will be, throw a cotton ball at the hood, if it chips then you get a free paint job. I have never seen a hood get so many chips then my two Subaru's

hey start some online petition....we'll sign...no one likes paying 25K+ for a car with paint that comes off like the wrapper of a snickers bar after a fat lady gets hold of one LOL

I don't know when the VOC standards hit the paint industry, but all cars painted in the US over tha past 3 or 4 years have had paint issues just like the Legacy. This isn't a problem isolated to Subarus. Blame the EPA for our paint problems.

Well i just got hit with a paint issue. On the hood, left side halfway up there is a big chip (1/8th inch) from what it looks like something might have dropped (acorn maybe) and the paint chipped straight down to the metal. Now I can understand a rock chip or something and having the paint chip but still show primer, btu al the way to the metal?

 

I m not too worried about rust since it is an aluminum hood after all, but do you think if I bring it up with the dealership they wil llaugh at me, or actually do something?

 

Nothing has hit the hood in such a way to cause such a big chip while I have been driving it.

 

I may just take it up with them to see what they say.

 

Pics to follow soon.

 

X

I had a very similar problem very recently. Im not sure exactly when I got it, but possibly from a rock on a drive back down from the mountains?

 

Anyway, same thing, chip right down to the metal about half the size of a dime large. Looks like its time for some touch up paint! Sad to see your first new car ever get damaged.

Spec b 3 months old, chip 1/3 way up the hood, bare metal. My three year old Saab 9-5 aero, 50k same commute, no chips! You be the judge.

I have driven the same route to and from work for two years now. Last week I got run off the road into a curb. Is that the wheel's fault or just dumb luck? You can't base the paint quality on the fact that you got a rock chip. That kind of stuff happens no matter how old the car is. Someone could drive a brand new car off the lot and get t-boned by a semi truck. Is that the car's fault? A rock hit your paint and it chipped. It happens.

OC ... you can't talk reason to these people. it's not even worth trying.

 

Some of us get it, some just want to bitch and point fingers. You know where you reside, they think they know where they reside. No one ever believes that it was a rock kicked up on their hood because they were following too close. And hell, even with road construction, you don't have to be following close, sometimes it's cars coming from the other direction that kick stuff up. Get some touch up and a langka or wet sand ... this stuff can be fixed. But it's easier to bitch about it than to spend the time doing the relatively simple repair.

I am sorry that you feel the need to be opinionated and to be frank, a little nasty in your response. The wheel analogy does not apply to the paint problem. The paint is soft and very thinly applied. I would think that you would want Subaru to strive for excellence. The car has many good characteristics. Build quality is not one of them. I stand by my assessment of build quality.-average, not near luxury and not to a level to be expected for a $34,000 vehicle. Sorry for the lack of personal attack in my response.

I'm sorry that your skin appears to be as thin as your paint. If you are looking for offense when none is intended then there isn't anything I can do. Rock chips in paint are part of driving a car. Fix it and move on.

Lets take a step back and calm down. No need to get your feathers all ruffled up.

 

Who do you think makes the paint? Subaru? Heck.... Subaru doesn't even operate the paint lines in their plant....their supplier does.

I just had every leading edge of my car repainted due to the car being driven on a trailer cross country by a shipping company. The body shop estimated about 500 paint chips in the car, a large number of them through to the bare metal. It was so bad that my insurance company has started an investigation to determine the cause of the damage (not clear if it is the shipping company, "natural causes" ie. windstorm, or paint failure)

 

I can only speak in comparison, but I used to drive a 1996 Audi A4, and my car went through some truly horrible weather/dirt road driving, with 50+ days of skiing a year, and it had absolutely no chips comparable to those on the subie after two weeks on the back of a trailer. I can't say the two are entirely comparable, but I really know how awfully I abused the Audi.

 

Apples to apples, I'm pretty sure that the LGT paint is significantly less durable that that of other cars in its (relative) price class.

 

Of course we all expect paint chips in the car, but I have to say that my extreme damage definitely surprised me.

yea my cuz got his whole bumber re-painted from ford and that was in the 90s just started to peel off.