Maxmann

I'm washing my car, and decide to throw a coat of wax on the hood just because. But guess what I notice? Yeah, besides the obligatory new paint chips? Small circles of opaque, or translucent white on the finish of the paint. Wasn't wax, tried to was them out. This is under/part of the finish. And no, it is not where the hood cover rests. It's random over the hood. I didn't have the heart to look elsewhere.

What is going on with our paint? This is just really destroying my satisfaction with the car. I wash the car, I wax the car, it stays in my garage at home, and in the parking garage at work. It is hardly ever exposed. This is just more fuel on the flame regarding the lackluster quality of this paint job. At this rate, the car is going to look well beyond its years in just a few.

This is not something that is really easy to spot, but if you look, you might see some of it. I just can't believe it.

Anyone else observed this and have any thoughts?

srm

Maximam

I have the same problem with me car. The only part of the car that seems quality is the side that I had to have repainted from vandalism. I problably will end up repainting the whole car in a couple years with a better quality paint. The car has already had bodywork done so why not.

Mark

MaineI30

Damn I sure hope something gets done about this. I'm already planning to re-paint the hood on my car.

mdeal

iTrader: (2)

srmtn,

If it is really bothering you, I'll gladly swap that fine Merlot AE for mine.

TimW

iTrader: (6)

scratches under the clear. They tried to blame it on something else at first but they couldnt explain how I scratched the car UNDER the clear. Oh well.. I got a $400 credit for having the hood and fenders painted. Nothing like a repainted car to hold that resale! thanks Nissan. (I havent actually had it done yet for fear it will look worse.)

killrwheels

Acidic rain will leave small opaque rings that appear to be under clearcoat. Try wet sanding the area using alot of lubricant(SOAPY) and water with super fine sand paper. If will not come out it is truly in the base coat and needs to be refinished. Some professional auto detailers with do the entire car for 150.00 to 200.00 but it will look like glass. My Ram Air T/A (black) was done and I was repeatedly asked if I had car custom painted. Nissan's paint is definetly thinner and more apt to damage.

MaineI30

From Nissan NA? Or from the dealer?

punkdork

I just washed n waxed my car today... I don't even want to talk about the paint on my car...

PaulC

I've had my 2000 Maxima (GXE in SuperBlack) for 6 mths. I've only put 4,000 miles on it and there are numerous small chips on the hood, front, and rear bumpers, and on the sides of the car also. I do live in Montreal, where cars take a pounding in winter due to potholes and poorly maintained roads, but I don't believe my driving habits are particularly bad. The fact that the rear bumper has many chips (not nicks or scrapes from other bumpers) makes me think the paint on this car is simply coming off, as these couldn't possibly have been caused by stones!

On the subject of having the dealer/manufacturer pay for problems like this, I had that done for my red 1991 Prelude (I seem to have a knack for picking cars with paint problems). The car was 1-2 yrs old at the time. Although Honda Canada refused to acknowledge a problem existed, the dealer took pictures and had the car re-painted at no cost to me. The re-paint job was great. The catch was they would only do one or two body panels at a time in order 'not to draw attention', which was a big inconvenience.

The lesson from this, which probably applies to Nissan as well, is that when it comes to paint you are more likely to work something out with your dealer than to get the manufacturer to own up to a problem. That would amount to a recall, which is probably never done for paint problems as they don't affect safety and would be very costly to the manufacturer...

TimW

iTrader: (6)

Nissan has a process for this.. they have regional (subcontracted) inspectors. the dealer of your choice paints the car and you can ask for whatever you like, Nissan just pays for the amount that the Inspector finds.

Which brings me to another crappy thing. The inspector gave me $436 in credit for my hood and fenders. HOWEVER, when I got my anarchy sybmol scratched into the trunk by some punks, the same dealer charged me $530.. just for the trunk (and feathering it into the C-pillars and sides). I guess they dont pay the dealers well... so I was suspect as to the quality of paint job I would get.

Just so you know, the regional paint inspector is a VERY busy guy. It takes many weeks to get a appointment. When we got there, there we so many cars waiting that they started handing out loaner cars because it was going to be awhile. I saw some nasty super blacks there. One where purple spots appeared on the hood, deep in the paint. And a few large chips.

Btw, these scratches were done in between the paint and clear process, they are under the clear. My car was zero mile. and the clear was not fresh or mismatched, they guessed the robot did it *somehow*

Green 2kSE

I feel for you guys, but if the problem was from the factory, didn't you notice it when you first inspected the car, or did it appear gradually?

jnm2kse

My paint isnt too bad but it sure as heck is pretty thin...a few chips here and there but I'm sure there will be many more to come....what bothers me is the scratches I'm starting notice...I mean I have no idea wtf is causing them...not huge deep scatches but thin little ones....

I don't think its strictly Nissans who are having problems....people over on the Celica Boards are crabbing about the same issue..methinks its the Jap paint.....

TimW

iTrader: (6)

Never buy a maxima at dusk... I saw one of the marks and was assured it would be buffed out for me. then a week later, I saw the rest under sunlight and realized buffing wasnt the answer.

I didnt make a stink with the dealer (but did I with Nissan) because really you cannot see anything more than 3 ft away. sterling mist hides it all very well. it just hurts to get up close and wax it Honestly, its NOT THAT BAD... but certainly, they did a very half-assed job painting it.

GXEme

I too think that the Japanese seem to be puttig paint on very thin. My wife has a '00 Subaru and it is amazing how easy it is to scratch her car.

unrealii

iTrader: (8)

OH MAN, you hit it on the nail...I've also had the pleasure of taking home a maxima all scratched up. What was worse is that the fat b**** said when be brought it back the next day, "Sir, surely the car did not leave the dealer lot in that condition" If nissan ever comes up with a tsb, or recall on the paint, I'm going to go back to NISSAN OF HUNTINGTON BEACH, and possibly dance in front of the service manager and the sales manager with the recall/tsb pasted on my forehead...

Can someone take pics of the spots you are seeing. I don't think I have them, but pics would be nice for future reference.

BTW: There was a website that was dedicated to our paint jobs, if anyone finds it, it would be appreciated.

Versace

Whenever i remove all the dead bugs from the front of my car, there is a pit where the bug was. The front of it's starting to look like sandpaper. I'm ****ed.

walsh03

Hey all, So not only is my paint chipping all over the palce on my hood, but now I have noticed chips on my trunk around the edges. How the heck does paint chip around the edge of the trunk. What I think is that the Jap paint stinks and that it something in their process that is not working. Also I think that some of these chips on the back end have to be from bubbles in my paint that are now breaking open. I have already written one letter to Nissan, but I guess what we should do is to start writing one letter a week. And after they write back telling us they are not going to fix it, we write two letters a week. Just like in that movie Shawshank Redemption. I have already started writing my second letter on planetfeedback.com to Nissan. It's time to become a major pain the a$$ to Nissan.

Lumbee799

Why is the paint so thin? Easy, Nissan can save money by using less paint. Good thick paint on one car is equivalent to very thin paint on three cars.

It isn't even really paint; it is more like a thin cover so that when the vehicle is purchased it looks great. Of course 3 miles down the road you have 9 chips and 4 scratches.

The hood paint of my Dodge Dakota work truck is thick, thickness you can actually see. I have several paint chips on it (also 115,000 miles) and you can see that the paint on the front of the hood is almost a millimeter thick. When I wash it the paint looks as if it was brand new. Oh, this is all the original paint also.

MaineI30

SO wait a second! Nissan is repainting 5th gen cars? Or am I reading you wrong here? This is what we've been trying to do in the other thread on the Nissan 5th Gen Paint... doing Planet Feedback, etc. And you're telling us they have already agreed to repaint them?

This is good news.

max34

iTrader: (1)

I don't want "parts of my car painted.
I want an even paint job. There is nothing worse than seeing a car that has a door that is one shade darker than the rest of the car...I dont want to be that car.

killrwheels

Nissan is only repairing paint on a case by case basis. You must make a warranty claim and then meet with zone rep. When they approve repairs it is based on area damaged not entire finish. They believe a quality Nissan dealership will match the paint on car. I would suggest that everyone use planetfeedback and voice your opinion. It will allow Nissan the knowledge of damage and hopefully they will evaluate future paint processes. Maybe someone has the talent to copy all of our complaints and show multiple postings and complaints to Nissan. As for current owners, we simply must live with it or fight the system.

PaulC

TimW, thanks for the tip on the Nissan process - I am surprised but will look into it. Hopefully it applies in Canada, and hopefully they use better paint and do a better job than the original.

TimW

iTrader: (6)

every manufacturer has a process of doing warranty paint claims (I bet they even subcontract the same group in areas). killrwheels is right, they are NOT generous.. and they are very pushy about getting you to have the work done right away as if to try to make you change your mind and back out. Its bizzare.

The main difference is that last summer a guy at work got a <$20K Dakota Pickup and his paint started chipping at 18K. And get this... Dodge told him to go down and pick out a new truck! seriously!!

they asked him to pay for the mileage difference, and he just said "ummm, I dont want to do that" just like that, I heard him.. and they said, "well, we're not supposed to but ok let me call the dealer and arrange this" Also note, they called him about the paint recall, he hadnt a clue!

Two weeks later he had a brand new zero mile identical truck, all he was out was sales tax difference. Damn, thats amazing. I was shocked.

Y2K1MaximaDevil

Well, I've gone through two maxima's in less than a year. I had a 2K Satin Blue Max, and within 2 months, I noticed that the paint was chipping off of BOTH sides of the car! Then I crashed and burned that one. Now I've got a 2K1 sterling mist and have had it for only 2 months, and already, I'm seeing imperfections in the paint job! I live in the DC Metropolitan area, and there is a lot of road work being done in my area now-a-days, but still, give me a F***ing break! Although, this one is a sterling mist, and it does hide the imperfections better than the Stain Blue did.

Max 1109

Paint on the bottom edges of the door handles is falling off, as well as the first layer around some of the inside frame ledges (which can be seen when the doors are open). I wonder if I should complain based on this, or just sell the damn car this summer. It seems like every time I complain about another imperfect detail, another one just pops up a few days later.. if it's not the paint, it's the tranny, or maybe some of my interior fabric is coming loose, or maybe the rotors warped again, oh, and not to leave out, another annoying interior noise... what tomorrow? I'm not spending over $425 per month on a car payment for the next 4 years if my return includes this kind of consistent frustration. Nissan's theory: good engine + the appearance of quality = $sales$; Nissan had to know these problems would arise, they just did a cost/benefit analysis, and concluded that it would be more profitable to save money up front and respond, on their terms, to the minority of customers that actually complain about the sh!tty quality. I'm getting tired of playing the game. ok, I vented.

mike-777

Well, I had the same problems with hood chips right after I bought the car. Within 2 weeks I applied my teflon paint sealant (Diamond Brite). Now nearly one year later, I haven't had even one chip. Now I don't know if it is the paint sealant or what but I'm happier now than in that first 2 weeks. I almost felt the paint hadn't fully cured when I took delivery, but that seems strange.
DAnyone with a new car and wants the number (FOR DIAMOND BRITE)it is 1-800-334-8388 and costs about $20 for 16 oz. enough to do 4-5 cars. I only apply it once a year and that's it. No waxing needed and the paint stays like new.
No I don't sell the stuff, just believe in it. Recently sold
an 89 SE, silver and the car looked 3 years old. Got $6,500 for it also, so paint matters.

MaineI30

Please call me before you do this. I need to get on a plane.

Paul6speed

I washed and waxed my car today to prepare for the NJ/NY meet. I couldn't believe the amount of chips and dimples on my lower front fascia. My wife's '96 Taurus with 82,000 miles has none. I see more complaints on paint on Japanese cars. What are they doing differently?

Maximam

Yep, I had a 1998 Dodge Dakota and the paint was very thick and quality. That trucks paint looked better after truck loads full of sh*t and 125,000 miles than my Nissan after two f*ckin days in the garage.

Mark

maximaman69

I just used Zypro (Nissan recommended). It's a paint sealant/protector/restorer that will help avoid stuck bugs, tar, etc on your paint. UV7000, which is awesome. Looks great and the whole feel of the car is different. I did half the car and ran my hands across the done side then the not done side and it was a HUGE difference. The done side felt smooth as silk and the other side was rough and somewhat course. Major difference and I'm glad I did it. No wax or silicones in it and clearcoat safe. Easy to use (it was the first time I have ever put anything on my cars and I didn't screw it up so it had to be easy, hehe).

radpp16

The more and more i read them, and the more i think about my car the more and more i want anti-depressant drugs.
Roger