Bubbles in Paint at Door Hinges

[Windshieldfarmer]

Well after more than a year of fighting with my dealership, my paint bubbles have been repaired. I had to open a case with Jeep customer service (which in itself took a bit to get to that point), but I gotta say that once my case manager was on it, things finally moved along. I appreciate what they did and there's no question in my mind that I wouldn't have gotten that far without them.

My local dealer, on the other hand, was absolutely awful to work with. They were deceptive, stalling, misleading, and non responsive. Even the case manager had trouble getting them to respond at certain points. I bought it new and this was a clear cut case of just needing to get the warranty service I was entitled to get, but it was REALLY difficult. And as an indication of how screwed up things are at that dealership, they went through four service managers in about six months. One lasted exactly one day and walked out, as I heard from a reliable source. I've owned a fair number of new cars in my lifetime across multiple brands, and I've never, ever had an experience as poor as this one. Not even close. You might wonder why I didn't go to a different dealer. I did. Most had long lists of these paint bubble repairs, some as long as a two year wait. A few I talked to wouldn't even accept my as a warranty case because I didn't buy it from them - they told me that outright, even though I thought you could bring your vehicle to any dealer for warranty work.

Once I got approval for the work, I took it to a reputable body shop and the cost to repair four doors, tailgate, and hood was $8,100. Yes, that's eight grand.

I got it back from the body shop a week and a half ago, and I'm trading it next week for a non Stellantis product, deal is already done. This is my third Wrangler. I owned one of the first JKUs for five years, then another JK for a seven years. Both were rock solid and reliable. My 2020 JLU that I'm trading will be my last Jeep product ever. There are other nit-picky quality control issues with this one beyond the paint - things breaking, rattles, etc. I typically keep my vehicles for a while but it feels like a bad idea to keep this one. Maybe it's just a bad example - it came off the line during the pandemic. Maybe that has something to do with it.

I really hope you guys have a better experience than I did.

Best of luck with your new ride. I certainly understand why you would make the change. This corrosion issue is widespread yet the response from Stellantis is inconsistent at best. There is also considerable depreciation risk in owning any vehicle that might have corrosion issues early in its lifecycle.

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[1Evil55]

A buddy I was with last weekend mentioned he was 392 shopping. Talked to him today and he said he bought a Bronco instead strictly because of this thread. He's in Florida BTW. I told him my horror story of bubbles which did get redone ultimately. It's just too bad that my doors are already back to bubbles and I have no warranty.

 

[COBill]

A buddy I was with last weekend mentioned he was 392 shopping. Talked to him today and he said he bought a Bronco instead strictly because of this thread. He's in Florida BTW. I told him my horror story of bubbles which did get redone ultimately. It's just too bad that my doors are already back to bubbles and I have no warranty.

Should have pointed him to the Bronco forums, he may not have made that purchase, either.

 

[cripton805]

I'm really hoping there is some kind of aftermarket solution. It would motivate me to keep the Jeep in the long run. I'd be willing to replace the doors and hood. If it starts rotting around the windshield and tailgate. I might call it and pull the plug on this one.

I saw a Jeep a few years ago that had about 4 inches of corrosion all around the hinges. It looked absolutely terrible. The bilstering gets a lot worse. It doesn't just spread, but it lifts the paint even further. I can't even explain how bad it looks.

 

[LCW]

Anyone think Jeep will truly fix this issue before the end of the JL platform or won’t bother until the JM/J70 platform?

I’m thinking the latter and that Jeep will just hope that the 5 yr warranties expire.

I hope I’m wrong as I’m looking at maybe getting back into a Jeep but not until they figure this out.

 

[jack bauer]

Anyone think Jeep will truly fix this issue before the end of the JL platform or won’t bother until the JM/J70 platform?

I’m thinking the latter and that Jeep will just hope that the 5 yr warranties expire.

I hope I’m wrong as I’m looking at maybe getting back into a Jeep but not until they figure this out.

Not digging the Bronco anymore?

 

[COBill]

They won't bother as they are like manufacturer rebates.

Manufacturers use rebates rather than lower prices because only a small number of customers actually send in for the rebate.

Same here - only a relatively small percentage of owners make claims and have their vehicles repainted.

 

[Little719]

Finally got an update on my hinges after a month of waiting, dealer received the new hinges, goes into the body shop Feb 8th, next available day they had a loaner ?. Praying for the best ??

 

[LLRubylady]

I’d like to get back into another Jeep but fear the bubbling.
when I sold mine the bubbling was just starting to show. I can only imagine what that looks like now a year later.
it wouldn’t be so bad if they repair it and it is fixed but they come back.

 

[rockadile]

When I looked into getting my corrosion assessed for repair about 3 weeks ago, I went through 3 different dealers before I could find one to attempt to take on the repair. I have corrosion on the hinges of all four doors, on 2 door edges, the front edge of my hood, and my tailgate. I was told there are backorders on the doors and if they don't come in before my warranty expires (February), it wouldn't be able to be repaired under warranty. I was always under the impression that if it was reported within the warranty period it would be covered...I guess that's not the case. It is a bit ridiculous that Jeep is causing the delay but I could potentially be the one on the hook because of it.

 

[LLRubylady]

When I looked into getting my corrosion assessed for repair about 3 weeks ago, I went through 3 different dealers before I could find one to attempt to take on the repair. I have corrosion on the hinges of all four doors, on 2 door edges, the front edge of my hood, and my tailgate. I was told there are backorders on the doors and if they don't come in before my warranty expires (February), it wouldn't be able to be repaired under warranty. I was always under the impression that if it was reported within the warranty period it would be covered...I guess that's not the case. It is a bit ridiculous that Jeep is causing the delay but I could potentially be the one on the hook because of it.

I had the same issue when I noticed it. Called a couple of dealers. One said wait time was a year. Another wouldn’t look at it because I didn’t buy there. I bought out of state.
so that combined with the clutch I said heck with it.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

When I looked into getting my corrosion assessed for repair about 3 weeks ago, I went through 3 different dealers before I could find one to attempt to take on the repair. I have corrosion on the hinges of all four doors, on 2 door edges, the front edge of my hood, and my tailgate. I was told there are backorders on the doors and if they don't come in before my warranty expires (February), it wouldn't be able to be repaired under warranty. I was always under the impression that if it was reported within the warranty period it would be covered...I guess that's not the case. It is a bit ridiculous that Jeep is causing the delay but I could potentially be the one on the hook because of it.

I call BS on the doors not being warranted if not received before warranty expiration. If diagnosed under warranty and you initiated a plan to fix them with the dealer, the fix will be covered. A call to Jeep Cares seems warranted.

 

[Jebiruph]

When I looked into getting my corrosion assessed for repair about 3 weeks ago, I went through 3 different dealers before I could find one to attempt to take on the repair. I have corrosion on the hinges of all four doors, on 2 door edges, the front edge of my hood, and my tailgate. I was told there are backorders on the doors and if they don't come in before my warranty expires (February), it wouldn't be able to be repaired under warranty. I was always under the impression that if it was reported within the warranty period it would be covered...I guess that's not the case. It is a bit ridiculous that Jeep is causing the delay but I could potentially be the one on the hook because of it.

Once the repair is approved, it stays approved regardless of when the parts arrive.

 

[rockadile]

I call BS on the doors not being warranted if not received before warranty expiration. If diagnosed under warranty and you initiated a plan to fix them with the dealer, the fix will be covered. A call to Jeep Cares seems warranted.

?‍ Didn't make much sense to me either but I've been told this by multiple dealerships. I did have a case opened by JeepCares and I stated my concerns to the rep on my case and he didn't state that the dealerships' statements were incorrect. He is trying to get the parts expedited and I am hopeful it'll all get wrapped up before the warranty expiration. If not, I won't simply open my wallet.

 

[JLfromCA]

I’d rather live with the bubbles or use some touch up paint After it flakes off. Dealers usually make things worse rather than better. Who is to say after the dealer fixes it might come back again anyway. it is what it is. Certainly wouldn’t trade for an IFS tie rod breaker ford Bronco.

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