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Paint Rock Chip Damage is Extreme

45K views 137 replies 53 participants last post by  Briant73 
#1 ·
I've got a 2011 Black Berry Pearl Overland GC and my paint has been severely damaged by rock chips. There isn’t a mark on the front of the vehicle but the sides are trashed. I have running boards and mud flaps front and back and only have 10K on the vehicle. It’s only been on a gravel road for around 20 miles and has been polished with high end wax. I’ve never in all my years of owning a vehicle (35) have ever seen anything like this. I’m taking it to the dealership this week to see what they will do. As far as I’m concerned they can give me my money back. This is obviously a design flaw or real crappy paint. Not impressed at all with this and I’ve babied the vehicle since new.

The rules say that I can't post attachments so I'll explain where the damage is. It's along the entire bottom of the vehicle between the wheel wells and the entire front of the rear wheel. It looks like I drove through white paint which I originally though happened. I cannot figure out how the rocks have actually managed to even come in contact with the paint with all the protection I put on the vehicle.

Can anybody help and have they experienced the same problem and what did Jeep do. As far as I know, when painting damage to a vehicle with metal fleck they have to paint the entire side of the vehicle because they can’t ensure an exact colour match.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I can send pictures to show how bad it is.
 
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#5 ·
I've been given authority to upload my pictures so here they are.
The only thing that I can figure out that caused the damage was from winter driving for 3 months without the mud flaps and running boards. That’s still no reason to see this type of damage. I don’t drive on gravel roads, it’s always on pavement. Of all the brand new vehicles that I've owned this is a first. I've always expected a few chips but as you can see this is over a thousand and the same damage is on both sides. And if you're wondering, none of that is dirt, they're actual chips. One picture shows the leading edge of the rear door and how the paint is worn completely off. I saw another black GC drive by yesterday with the same damage in the locations that I show in the pictures.

Since I’m fairly analytical I looked at what the path of stones/rocks or anything that comes off of the front tires without mud flaps and running boards. The entire bottom painted section under the doors is in the direct path of anything coming off the front tires, it sticks out farther then the plastic section underneath it. Also the front of the rear wheel is a target. I would assume that they knew that since they put a small piece of film there. It is fairly obvious that this is a design flaw and that mud flaps at the very least should be standard equipment on this vehicle. Anyone that is going to drive these GC's in the winter where roads are sanded needs to add this equipment to the vehicle.

Although I love the looks of the vehicle I can't recommend anyone buying this unless they live in place like Arizona where they don't have a Canadian winter to deal with. I'm extremely disappointed in this product and have always babied it and polished it from new. There isn't a mark anywhere on the vehicle except for the sandblasted sides.

This type of normal driving damage is completely unacceptable.

I’m taking it in to the dealership in 2 days to see what they will do.
 

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#19 · (Edited)
I've been given authority to upload my pictures so here they are.
The only thing that I can figure out that caused the damage was from winter driving for 3 months without the mud flaps and running boards. That’s still no reason to see this type of damage. I don’t drive on gravel roads, it’s always on pavement. Of all the brand new vehicles that I've owned this is a first. I've always expected a few chips but as you can see this is over a thousand and the same damage is on both sides. And if you're wondering, none of that is dirt, they're actual chips. One picture shows the leading edge of the rear door and how the paint is worn completely off. I saw another black GC drive by yesterday with the same damage in the locations that I show in the pictures.

Since I’m fairly analytical I looked at what the path of stones/rocks or anything that comes off of the front tires without mud flaps and running boards. The entire bottom painted section under the doors is in the direct path of anything coming off the front tires, it sticks out farther then the plastic section underneath it. Also the front of the rear wheel is a target. I would assume that they knew that since they put a small piece of film there. It is fairly obvious that this is a design flaw and that mud flaps at the very least should be standard equipment on this vehicle. Anyone that is going to drive these GC's in the winter where roads are sanded needs to add this equipment to the vehicle.

Although I love the looks of the vehicle I can't recommend anyone buying this unless they live in place like Arizona where they don't have a Canadian winter to deal with. I'm extremely disappointed in this product and have always babied it and polished it from new. There isn't a mark anywhere on the vehicle except for the sandblasted sides.

This type of normal driving damage is completely unacceptable.

I’m taking it in to the dealership in 2 days to see what they will do.
That is definitely not rock chips. There are white splotches over the clear vinyl that perfectly match the paint so there is no way those are rock chips. You did run through white paint or concrete or something.
 
#6 ·
mines the same 15,000Km and it looks like its 6 years old. I have put on mud flaps to see if it slows down the wear but it sound like your is the same with flaps since new. Mines Black and really stands out my nabour laughs at it as he drives away in his $ 19,000.00 KIA 2 years old not a mark on it.
 
#7 ·
That's nasty. How many miles ago did you install the mudflats? I was planning on doing without on mine because im not crazy about the looks of them, but they look better than chipped up doors.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Regarding Hemihogs question:

I probably only had 3000 Kms which works out to ~1900 miles before putting on the mudflaps. The pictures that I have posted show the vehicle with 10,000 kms (6200 miles). Since it was bought in the winter months I never noticed the damage because of the snow and dirt on the vehicle.
When I washed it I would drive it home and just thought the spots were from the road dirt from the trip home.
You always expect a few rock chips but nothing like this. As I mentioned before I saw a black GC drive by with the same damage so obviously an issue.
I can only imagine what the damage would be if you drove on gravel roads. You might want to buy a white GC because that's what the primer colour is!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Yeah what I can't figure out is why the plastic chip protector is damaged in the same way as the paint...that there leads me to believe that you somehow came into something thats really unusual. You should see that road rash on the panel but then not on the plastic protected part. The fact that little peice is damaged the same way IMHO proves that whatever damaged the paint there was severe enough no paint would stand up to it. You can also see the plastic cladding has the same damage.

Unfortunately thats kind of a side effect of these new water based paints, they are REALLY prone to chipping and rash like that, its a problem across all brands. I can point you to tons of posts complaining about the same thing on the Lexus forum I frequent. Jeep's not likely to do anything for you, but if you do have them repainted I would have the whole lower sections of the doors protected with a clearbra type material.
 
#17 ·
I'll reply to everyone's responses here so that I can address everyone’s questions and comments.

Regarding the “scratches” that Jeepster23 mentioned about 10" up. That's actually wax that I had applied and missed when wiping the vehicle down. There isn't a mark anywhere else on the vehicle.

Regarding SW03ES comment about the plastic being damaged the same way as the paint. Yep that is true. That’s what I can’t figure out. It’s only been on gravel once and I had the mud flaps and running boards installed when that happened. All my other driving has been on paved roads. The damage would have occurred during the winter months when I didn’t have the flaps and boards on. And that would have been only ~ 3 months. So unless they’re spreading some new form of gravel up here I can’t understand why it’s so bad. Morty, rOtor and Vikingdave all have the same issue.

Regarding sined240 comment about it being paint splatters. I wish it was! Dropped it off at the dealership today and those are all chips.

Regarding Fireon door latch comment. Yep the passenger’s side door does stick out just a little.
 
#20 ·
I don't know whay I have to continue to back up this damage but I'll do it again. THOSE ARE ROCK CHIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The clear vinyl is damaged not covered in paint.
The dealership used a buffing compound and couldn't do anything with it.
If you can stick your finger nail into a hole would that not be a chip?
Rock chips are holes or chips.
Paint or concrete would stay flush or create bumps.

Since I've been to the dealership and they acknowledge that it's rock damage from 3 months of winter driving then that's what it is!

Obviously Jeep didn't think that Mud Flaps should be standard equipment....they missed the boat on that one and I have a warranty claim in.

If 3 other members are expressing that they have the same problem wouldn't that point to these GC's having an issue?
 
#21 ·
That just doesn't make any sense that the clear film would be damaged in exactly the same way as the paint. I have seen lots of vehicles with these films, including my own vehicles, and it just doesn't make sense that the EXACT same damage would present the EXACT same way on the paint, 3M film, and on the plastic cladding.

Anyways, if anything the fact that the 3M film and the plastic cladding are just as damaged as the paint would prove its not an issue with the paint, and more that somewhere you came into contact with something unusual and incredibly destructive.
 
#22 · (Edited)
That just doesn't make any sense that the clear film would be damaged in exactly the same way as the paint. I have seen lots of vehicles with these films, including my own vehicles, and it just doesn't make sense that the EXACT same damage would present the EXACT same way on the paint, 3M film, and on the plastic cladding.

Anyways, if anything the fact that the 3M film and the plastic cladding are just as damaged as the paint would prove its not an issue with the paint, and more that somewhere you came into contact with something unusual and incredibly destructive.
This right here. They maybe holes not raised but that tells me he ran over acetone or some other caustic chemical that would do damage to both the film and the paint in the vinyl. I will never believe that rock chips will damage the black plastic and vinyl in the exact same way as paint. That is just not possible. Those marks also have a classic splatter appearance they are not just randon chips they have a very clear splatter pattern. Maybe the calcium chloride they put down in winter to help melt the snow?
 
#23 ·
You guys are talking a lot of sense it is also weird that only 3 or 4 members from North America present the same problem but I guess it is hard to know for sure from a few photos. If you guy are right It's scary that something that destructive is lying around on the road to create this damage. I wonder how the Harley riding population would handle the same road conditions?
 
#24 ·
Well i can tell you my RX8 went throught the same road conditions all winter, it has the same protective film, and it is undamaged after 7 winters. I can also say its physically the clearcoat that is chipped and not just some spray and dirt on top of the paint. Something is clearly wrong.
 
#25 · (Edited)
After looking that that door edge photo zoomed in it does look like all the paint is gone there but I still believe rocks are not the reason for the issue he has. I would say he ran over some caustic chemical. It takes a real nasty impact to go through not only the protective film and clear coat but to go through the basecoat so you can now see the primer and to me small rocks or gravel should not be able to cause this damage that quickly and easily. Mine has no chips at all on it and my tires stick way out now and still no issues with chips. Also, the stock wheels and tires are set in to the wheel wells so far that rocks flinging out of the tread down the sides of the vehicle should be a non issue for the most part.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Calcium chloride is often used as well because it is better at melting snow and ice and it is even more damaging then magnesium chloride. Calcium chloride is extremely hygroscopic (spontaneously absorbs water) and said hygroscopic reaction is also highly exothermic (releases tons of heat). In layman's terms if it contacts water based paints it sucks all the moisture right out of them and then burns them until they peel off. Temps seen when dissolving calcium chloride in water can exceed 200*F such that the water nearly boils.
 
#35 ·
Same goes for if they are gravel chips. If the sides are that bad the front bumper would be 10 times as bad for 2 reasons. Number one the paint they use to paint the plastic is of different softer composition vs the paint they use on metal body parts so it should chip easier and number 2 unless he never follows behind anyone else the other cars would be flinging gravel right at his front bumper. The whole thing is really weird and if it was flinging that much gravel up the sides to do that kind of damage the driver would be well aware of it happening. He says he hardly ever drives down gravel roads so unless DOT is putting something down on the paved roads something does not add up here. Either way I see such damage to not only the paint but to the textured black plastic which looks melted or sand blasted in pics as road hazard damage not a manufacturer defect of any kind.
 
#33 ·
But the same thing is true if it were some flaw in the vehicle's paint...
 
#36 ·
It's the way the fenders are shaped. It leads to a whole lot of Crap getting kicked up and hitting that one spot. During our snow storm this weekend I noticed how much of the wet sticky snow was clinging there.

I also doubt the plastic protector is actually 3M...
 
#38 ·
I also doubt the plastic protector is actually 3M...
I forgot to address this.

3M is by far the largest supplier of this material in its raw form. They sell a LOT of raw products to manufacturers of basically everything...I would be shocked if it wasn't manufactured by 3M.

Almost all of the paint protection films you can buy, the raw material is from 3M...whatever brand they are marketed as.

Anyways...it doesn't matter. The point is the paint, cladding, and the plastic material are all different materials and would not be damaged by simple stone impacts in the same manner.
 
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