Discussion of Stinger paint quality (Was - Paint Chip Issue)

[eljay]

You know those rectangular, body color plastic strips on the roof? They're already beginning to fade. It's like they forgot to apply clear coat to them and the UV exposure has weathered them or something. They're noticeably duller, and they have a different texture than the metal roof panel. It's very strange.

The roof ditch moldings? I had damage to one early on, a paint chip about the size of a pinhead, which was all the way down to the black rubber or plastic. Long story, but Kia ended up paying to replace the molding at their expense. No fading or color change on the original strip, or on the new one installed last November, but I garage my car overnight and frequently during the day, also. The part ships unpainted, but once painted, it was reportedly quick and easy to pop out the old molding and pop in the new.

 

[Black Magix]

Welp, I went outside today to discover that my front bumper is now polka dot!

Already called the dealer, appointmenet is 1 PM on thursday. Photos below but it's clearly a clear coat issue. All of the spots photographed (save the lower spoiler) are completely smooth and not chipped. Looks like air trapped under the clear coat. What's more is it's getting worse as the day goes on.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Welp, I went outside today to discover that my front bumper is now polka dot!

Already called the dealer, appointmenet is 1 PM on thursday. Photos below but it's clearly a clear coat issue. All of the spots photographed (save the lower spoiler) are completely smooth and not chipped. Looks like air trapped under the clear coat. What's more is it's getting worse as the day goes on.

This just started up? Weeks into ownership, I take it. I'd be suspecting that something landed on your clearcoat rather than a manufacturing flaw.

 

[Black Magix]

This just started up? Weeks into ownership, I take it. I'd be suspecting that something landed on your clearcoat rather than a manufacturing flaw.

I've owned the car now since May of 2018. But yes, this just started up. I hand washed the car the Friday before last and didn't notice anything so in 10 days, this has flared up.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've owned the car now since May of 2018. But yes, this just started up. I hand washed the car the Friday before last and didn't notice anything so in 10 days, this has flared up.

It has to be something impacting the clearcoat. And now I suspect a chemical reaction possibly because of something you combined. But why just the front bumper?

 

[Black Magix]

your guess is as good as mine, I don't use chemicals on my car that aren't meant for it. Soap, wax, water and polish are about the only thing I put on it. I'm open to suggestions on what could cause paint to bubble (not dissolve) like that though. The clear coat is literally pulling away from the paint. There's nothing I use on the front bumper that I don't put on the rest of the car so I doubt this is something I did based on the fact taht it's happening only on the front bumper. Likewise it's NOT happening on the rear bumper.

 

[MerlintheMad]

your guess is as good as mine, I don't use chemicals on my car that aren't meant for it. Soap, wax, water and polish are about the only thing I put on it. I'm open to suggestions on what could cause paint to bubble (not dissolve) like that though. The clear coat is literally pulling away from the paint. There's nothing I use on the front bumper that I don't put on the rest of the car so I doubt this is something I did based on the fact taht it's happening only on the front bumper. Likewise it's NOT happening on the rear bumper.

Good that it's not something that you have to change in your cleaning MO.

Possibly you got too close to a vehicle that was spewing, just for a couple of seconds, just long enough to adhere to the clearcoat in spots, down low enough to not get on the hood, etc. What we don't know is more scary, and I'm scaring myself now!

I just hate stuff like this. I'm quite confident it isn't Kia's fault, but that's small comfort.

 

[Black Magix]

I believe Kia should still cover it though, by no fault of mine and by no discernerable method, my paint is failing and the car is still very much under warranty.

 

[TwiceStung]

I believe Kia should still cover it though, by no fault of mine and by no discernerable method, my paint is failing and the car is still very much under warranty.

Totally agree. Peeling clear coat is covered under your paint warranty. Period. As to the cause? Who knows. I have a 16 yo truck that often decides to peel clear coat at random as well. That’s why I wrapped it. Lol.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I believe Kia should still cover it though, by no fault of mine and by no discernerable method, my paint is failing and the car is still very much under warranty.

Are you going to PPF after this is resolved?

 

[OriginalRobby]

My guess is something hit you hard in those spots - no idea what though, could be anything - do you recall following closely, parking somewhere where there was construction? It can be anything - the clear coat on these cars is fairly hard - I can tell you from when I worked with my hood deflector and it took a beating.

 

[Deez6utz]

I've had paint problems that I inquired about during my first service. It was laughed off as paint chips from road hazards, then more and more appeared. The door wells started to expose primer as well as the rear hatch along the roofline; I suspect that was caused by the friction of air running across the roof and hitting the top lip on the rear hatch. I've had a few other issues too with the leather seats failing, air bubbles in the door seals, and brake problems. After taking the car in for x number of times on July 10th, I finally got my car back on September 11th. They've had the car for 62 days to fix various paint issues, and they still have not completed the work and want me to take the vehicle back for further repairs. At this point, I've had enough and invoked the GA lemon law for the car being out of service for more than 30 days for not conformity. I submitted my notice a few days ago, and they already rejected it so now I'm lawyered up. The car falls within the lemon law specifications so why they want to add another 15k to the cost is anyone's guess.

 

[jondyer]

Good luck - Kia NA has not figured that bit out yet. And they wonder why the Stinger is not selling like it should be. Perhaps the horror stories of people being treated like crap by Kia NA have gotten out there.

I stand by my statements before - the biggest hurdle to the Stinger is Kia.

 

[MerlintheMad]

… I'm lawyered up.

You have passed over the "Rubicon" now. I am sorry none of this worked out. So, good luck with the legal pressure to obtain redress.

 

[Black Magix]

So I had my appontment with Kia today to look at the paint, they took photos and said they'd be back in touch within a few days after they submitted it to KIA for warranty. While driving home the service manager called me and let me know the authorization came through. He also let me know that he's never seen an authorization come through so quickly so this must be an issue.

 

[Kato_the_kia_stinger]

So I had my appontment with Kia today to look at the paint, they took photos and said they'd be back in touch within a few days after they submitted it to KIA for warranty. While driving home the service manager called me and let me know the authorization came through. He also let me know that he's never seen an authorization come through so quickly so this must be an issue.

Yeah. That decision was a no-brained. Glad it’s going well and going quickly.

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

So I had bought a used blue 2018 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD a little over a month ago. I 'm not sure if the previous owner had garaged the car but I have noticed certain areas starting to be affected by some paint issues. I was getting in my car today and I noticed horrible cracking and fading of the molding's on the roof behind the sunroof. I think my car does have some PPF, I haven't really looked closely(Any easy way to tell?). Here are a couple pictures of what I see. You can feel the cracks when you run your fingers over so i'm not sure if the clear coat was missed on both of these moldings? I take care of the car and I have washed it weekly by hand. I was actually going to get it wrapped in a few months after I have had it for a while but i'm not sure how the wrap will be affected if the paint underneath is in bad shape.

 

[MerlintheMad]

So I had bought a used blue 2018 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD a little over a month ago. I 'm not sure if the previous owner had garaged the car but I haven't noticed certain areas starting to be affected by some paint issues. I was getting in my car today and I noticed horrible cracking and fading of the molding's on the roof behind the sunroof. I think my car does have some PPF, I haven't really looked closely(Any easy way to tell?). Here are a couple pictures of what I see. You can feel the cracks when you run your fingers over so i'm not sure if the clear coat was missed on both of these moldings? I take care of the car and I have washed it weekly by hand. I was actually going to get it wrapped in a few months after I have had it for a while but i'm not sure how the wrap will be affected if the paint underneath is in bad shape. View attachment 31347 View attachment 31348

PPF is easy to see up close. There is an edge to it. Doubt that these would have PPF unless the entire car was covered in it.

How many miles? Paint is warrantied out to 36K miles. If you're still within, then contact Kia and send these pics. Sometimes they fix things even outside of the warranty as "goodwill gesture".

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

It's only at around 9800 miles. It's really sad seeing all these paint problems with the car. I'll try to take it into the dealer soon to see if they can address this.

 

[eljay]

So I had bought a used blue 2018 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD a little over a month ago. I 'm not sure if the previous owner had garaged the car but I haven't noticed certain areas starting to be affected by some paint issues. I was getting in my car today and I noticed horrible cracking and fading of the molding's on the roof behind the sunroof. . . .

It seems to me that any auto paint should hold up to weather and normal washing for two years better than that, whether garaged or not. The good news is, it's an easy fix, as the strips pop out and a new one can be painted and popped in. [When my dealer painted my existing damaged molding, they did a lousy, gloppy job, so I had bad experience with repainting, but success with replacement. And yes, as Merlin suggests, I was told that the abortive repaint was a "good will gesture." The replacement was my service rep's "OMG-I-can't-allow-work-like-that-to-leave-our-shop" gesture.] The bad news is that it might take a while, depending on your dealership and your district rep, to get this done on Kia's dime. Good luck! [My experience is somewhere on this thread, but I can't find it just now. I'll edit in a reference later if I have time to find it.]