Bubbles in Paint at Door Hinges

[Teleman]

I'm STILL waiting to get mine fixed. Coming up on 10 months. I gave up on the crappy local dealer I was trying to work with because they kept moving me down their "list", I think in favor of repainting their own inventory that came in on trade. I was Mr. Nice Guy with them and showed a lot of patience but only up to a certain point when it was clear that they were jerking me around. So a few weeks ago I went back to the dealer where I bought my JL, which is a pretty good drive from here, and now I'm on their list which I was told was 2-3 months deep. That will bring me up to one year of fighting to get this fixed. What a load of garbage (@JeepCares, feel free to pass this up the chain).

I'm telling everyone I know to buy a Wrangler with their eyes open. 202 pages of a paint bubbling thread on this forum alone, to say nothing of other forums, reddit, etc.

My biggest concern is that our Jeeps will decrease in value after the repair. I hope it is done right and done well. If not, we all lose, and it's entirely due to Jeep's poor quality control - and we pay the price for it. Jeep really needs to step up, and I think corporate is trying to sweep it under the rug and let the dealers deal with it - and some of the dealers are providing really poor customer service for it. Jeep is probably hoping to reduce their costs for making this right, and it has to be a huge amount of money judging from the number of reports I've seen for this problem.

I wonder how that class action lawsuit is proceeding?

I guess I felt compelled to come back here and provide an update. I've thrown some shade at Jeep and Jeep's customer service for not stepping up to help me with some pretty poor treatment from my local dealer and my inability to even get an appointment to have my paint bubbles addressed, despite trying for almost a year (it's a long story, won't bore you all with details).

Jeep's customer support finally heard my dilemma and they've opened a case. As we speak I have a case manager intervening on my behalf, and so far it looks like good progress is being made.

Fair's fair and although I've had some pretty bad experiences to date with Jeep, I felt the need to update my post to mention that Jeep seems to be trying to make things right, and I appreciate it.

Hoping things go smoothly from here on in and I can finally get this addressed.

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[J. Creeper]

Washed the jeep over the weekend and noticed small bubbles in the paint at one of the rear door hinges. I am over a year and have roughly 27k miles.They are hard underneath and the paint is not loose and pretty sure they were not there last time i washed the vehicle. It cant be rust under the paint since the doors are aluminum. All other hinges are fine. Has anyone seen this issue?

My 2020 Rubicon in Granite Crystal Metallic has the same issue. Mine is also on the underside edge of the hood, outer edge of the hood, both front doors and on the bottom edge and passenger side bottom door hinge. I’ve called three dealerships in North Georgia about the “TSA Corrosion Warranty” that’s been out since Feb 15 and none of them are even willing to take pictures and submit them to FCA to get the ball rolling. One service member I spoke to told me “the warranty only covers metal corrosion in the frame of the vehicle”. I’m not so sure if all dealerships are completely on board as to how serious this paint corrosion issue is. I’m running out of time and my Jeep’s body is rusting under the paint.

 

[linuxos77]

My 2020 Rubicon in Granite Crystal Metallic has the same issue. Mine is also on the underside edge of the hood, outer edge of the hood, both front doors and on the bottom edge and passenger side bottom door hinge. I’ve called three dealerships in North Georgia about the “TSA Corrosion Warranty” that’s been out since Feb 15 and none of them are even willing to take pictures and submit them to FCA to get the ball rolling. One service member I spoke to told me “the warranty only covers metal corrosion in the frame of the vehicle”. I’m not so sure if all dealerships are completely on board as to how serious this paint corrosion issue is. I’m running out of time and my Jeep’s body is rusting under the paint.

I'm sure this won't make the problem any less frustrating (mine's been in twice for this), but if there's any saving grace. is that the doors, hood, and tailgate are aluminum (the reason why the paint is failing). Aluminum doesn't corrode and literally fall apart like steel does, it "heals" on the surface making a chalky coating, which causes the paint to fail and blister. So good news, there's won't be perforation and loss of integrity, but bad news is your Jeep looks like a much older vehicle from the rust belt.

 

[J. Creeper]

I'm sure this won't make the problem any less frustrating (mine's been in twice for this), but if there's any saving grace. is that the doors, hood, and tailgate are aluminum (the reason why the paint is failing). Aluminum doesn't corrode and literally fall apart like steel does, it "heals" on the surface making a chalky coating, which causes the paint to fail and blister. So good news, there's won't be perforation and loss of integrity, but bad news is your Jeep looks like a much older vehicle from the rust belt.

Thank you for this information. A see a nice PPF in my future.

 

[swampflyer]

Update on my hood corrosion repair. New hood came in yesterday. Pretty fast shipping to the body shop. Two days. Anyway. Painting and assembly shooting for Tuesday next week for completion. First time the body shop did a great job repairing but didn’t last. This time Chrysler approved a new hood because it was Determined by Fotos and testing to be corrosion.
I must say the dealer has been exemplary in all this and the service supervisor also. It pays to get to know your dealer and service supervisor. This is why I have purchased 3 Rubicons from this dealer and if I decide to purchase another, it will be from this dealer.

The problem is prep work at factory. Unless steps are not taken at the factory to correct this, it will continue to be a problem. The only other way is replace panels etc. unfortunately when you need your jeep replaced because the corrosion is everywhere what’s a person to do? Maybe we will see an answer in the future maybe not.

 

[cripton805]

I'm pretty sure I've commented here before.

I've had friends that work in the industry. One of my friends is a certified technician for many manufacturers and has had a few hundred thousand dollars worth of training.

The issue is also the repair shops and technician. Most dealerships would use the most affordable shop. They would have to work fast and be extremely careful with cross contamination. Some high end techs go as far as using completely different tools for steel panels vs. aluminum panels. Completely different area to work on aluminum. If the tech in the bay next to you is using a grinder on steel while you're sanding and prepping an aluminum panel. Steel flakes can get trapped under the paint and corrode the aluminum in a couple years. It just depends how careful they are and maybe the replacement panels come contaminated from the factory too. ?

It doesn't seem like Jeep gives a damn about corrosion at this point. They just hope you don't make a fuss until you're out of warranty or drag their feet to fix your car.

 

[AnonCanadian]

So our Wrangler went for the hinge corrosion repair in August.

They repainted all hinges (hood, doors, tailgate).

But for some reason they didn't paint the inner hinges with paint, just primer so they were grey.

In September, they took it back and painted the hinges on the doors. Paint match and colour turned out perfect but now there's 1-2 dozen paint defects; dirt in the paint on all panels and the odd fish eye or solvent pop.

And last but not least... this grey line on the door edge they painted is either burn through from polishing before delivery OR its missing paint.

Body shop is 4 hours away, it'll go back late Oct or early December (have a trip in November).

Anyone else have similar issues trying to get these fixed?

 

[Cat Ebeling]

My 2020 Rubicon in Granite Crystal Metallic has the same issue. Mine is also on the underside edge of the hood, outer edge of the hood, both front doors and on the bottom edge and passenger side bottom door hinge. I’ve called three dealerships in North Georgia about the “TSA Corrosion Warranty” that’s been out since Feb 15 and none of them are even willing to take pictures and submit them to FCA to get the ball rolling. One service member I spoke to told me “the warranty only covers metal corrosion in the frame of the vehicle”. I’m not so sure if all dealerships are completely on board as to how serious this paint corrosion issue is. I’m running out of time and my Jeep’s body is rusting under the paint.

I have an '18 JL Mojito.(bought it with 10k miles on it from dealership) I noticed some bumpy areas where the door hinge attaches on the outside, and just assumed it's sloppy welding. Just recently noticed that the bumpy area is now cracking on some of the hinges. My car's body is otherwise in perfect shape, no scratches or dings, etc. I HAVE to get this fixed or it's going to rust! Is this covered under a warranty?

 

[J. Creeper]

I have an '18 JL Mojito.(bought it with 10k miles on it from dealership) I noticed some bumpy areas where the door hinge attaches on the outside, and just assumed it's sloppy welding. Just recently noticed that the bumpy area is now cracking on some of the hinges. My car's body is otherwise in perfect shape, no scratches or dings, etc. I HAVE to get this fixed or it's going to rust! Is this covered under a warranty?

What you’ve described is the infamous Paint Corrosion issue that many Wrangler and Gladiator owners are facing. It is covered under a 5 year warranty but not all dealerships are honoring it and willing to take the pictures and submit a claim to FCA. I’m still trying to find a participating dealer ship.

 

[Cat Ebeling]

What you’ve described is the infamous Paint Corrosion issue that many Wrangler and Gladiator owners are facing. It is covered under a 5 year warranty but not all dealerships are honoring it and willing to take the pictures and submit a claim to FCA. I’m still trying to find a participating dealer ship.

I am seeing that. My dealership in Boulder is sending me to a third party approved body shop. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. How are you going about finding a participating dealer?

 

[J. Creeper]

I am seeing that. My dealership in Boulder is sending me to a third party approved body shop. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. How are you going about finding a participating dealer?

I’ve exhausted most of my resources. I’ve called dealerships in a 50 mile radius and they either don’t have a paint shop, never heard of the warranty, or they say the warranty doesn’t cover paint corrosion on the body of the Jeep. I first contacted the Jeep Dealership I purchased my Wrangler from and they act like they don’t have a clue and want me to pay for them to fix it.

 

[NeilP]

I am seeing that. My dealership in Boulder is sending me to a third party approved body shop. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. How are you going about finding a participating dealer?

Some dealers are not very customer friendly and prefer to ignore their obligation to honor warranty issues. Others will bend over backwards to help you out. All you can do is check with your local dealers and see which ones will help you out. If they won't move on the next one down the road.

 

[Cat Ebeling]

I’ve exhausted most of my resources. I’ve called dealerships in a 50 mile radius and they either don’t have a paint shop, never heard of the warranty, or they say the warranty doesn’t cover paint corrosion on the body of the Jeep. I first contacted the Jeep Dealership I purchased my Wrangler from and they act like they don’t have a clue and want me to pay for them to fix it.

Hmm...I called my Boulder dealership and asked them. While they do not have their own bodyshop, they did suggest the issue was covered by the corrosion warranty, however I have to go to a third party dealership.

 

[NeilP]

I’ve exhausted most of my resources. I’ve called dealerships in a 50 mile radius and they either don’t have a paint shop, never heard of the warranty, or they say the warranty doesn’t cover paint corrosion on the body of the Jeep. I first contacted the Jeep Dealership I purchased my Wrangler from and they act like they don’t have a clue and want me to pay for them to fix it.

Take a copy of the TSB in when you go to the dealers. Sometimes you have to educate them.

 

[NeilP]

Hmm...I called my Boulder dealership and asked them. While they do not have their own bodyshop, they did suggest the issue was covered by the corrosion warranty, however I have to go to a third party dealership.

I had to go to an independent body shop too. They did a great job and took care of everything with the dealer.

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