Paint Falling Apart - Will I get Service from FORD?

After a year of my hood paint getting progressively worse, I took it into my local FORD dealer today for them to look at it.

I have a black 97 Explorer 2 door, out of the standard 3 year warranty. The base coat is getting progressively thinner, and now the paint on the hood seems to be "snowflaking" away from the metal. That's right, the paint seems to be stipped away from the metal, in very small snow flake patterns. all over the top of the car, but especially on the hood. If you look closely, white specs down to the metal can be seen all over the vehicle. It seems where the sun has been exposed directly to the paint, the problem is worse.

The service employee said it looks like "the paint has been over baked, and is defective." He suggested I take it to a auto body shop down ther road, since they do not have a body shop inhouse anymore. They now contract all of their Ford work out to this private firm.

The auto body owner looked at my car, and immediately stated he has seen this before. "The paint is defective" he said. He wrote up a quote, 16 hours body work to strip to the metal, prime, paint, clearcoat = $3,000! (hood, fenders, doors, and the top of the car to be done).

He took down my VIN and information, then faxed me the quote a few hours later. He also faxed the quote to the dealer, and told me I should take it up with them.

I have not heard from the dealer yet.

Anyone have this problem? Any chances in getting a full paint job 5 years after purchase? Any thoughts?

Thanks,

 

[kandtholman]

I might be wrong, but who knows? I know I have read in factory warranty manuals before that the paint and bumpers are usually protected for like 6 years against corrosion. If you have the original warranty info, or it might even be in the manual. I will check when I get home and reply on this if nobody else replies first.

 

[TarHeel085]

thats is something Ford should fix, cause if the paint is deffective then its there fault!

 

[Robert]

This is something Ford should make right judging from the way the corrected a paint problem on late '80s-early '90s Fords. Cars and trucks from that era that were painted gray, silver and blue had a problem that caused the paint to deteriorate much quicker than the rest of their colors. They repainted the affected areas at no charge way past the normal warranty period. Unfortunately if yours is an isolated incident don't expect Ford to correct it without a fight. I have seen black Explorers and even down here in Arizona I haven't seen any with the problems you mention. The standard paint warranty is only good for 12 months. Ford does have a much longer rust through warranty for 6 years but it doesn't apply until a hole has developed in the metal. Look in your warranty guide to be certain of what the Ford warranty covers. If it can be proven that the paint was defective, you would probably stand a reasonable chance if you had to take them to court over it. It would probably cost more than it's worth though to fight them.

 

[kardinal]

i have a green 97 as well and it is doing the same thing

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Check out this auction on Ebay. Does your paint like this??

Dead Link Removed

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

Well, I got Ford to repaint my hood and roof for clearcoat problems back in '96, out of warranty, on their nickel. I think it just depends on whatever service rep looks at your car. Give it a shot, it couldn't hurt.

Mike

 

[pmassche]

My problem looks exactly the same!

But as well, mine looks like snowflakes and speckles.

See my problem? You are not going to get a good price for your car looking like that! I want to sell it next year, and maybe by an Escape/Tribute XLT 4X4.

I will certainly not buy a FORD if they don't fix this problem for me.

But how can this person say the paint is "slightly defective", but then say there is "no paint failure". By looking at the picture, it looks defective and is therefore failing!

I will try and get my digital camera from work to take a picture of the hood.

Phil

 

[TwoToneX]

Originally posted by Robert
This is something Ford should make right judging from the way the corrected a paint problem on late '80s-early '90s Fords. Cars and trucks from that era that were painted gray, silver and blue had a problem that caused the paint to deteriorate much quicker than the rest of their colors. They repainted the affected areas at no charge way past the normal warranty period. Unfortunately if yours is an isolated incident don't expect Ford to correct it without a fight. I have seen black Explorers and even down here in Arizona I haven't seen any with the problems you mention. The standard paint warranty is only good for 12 months. Ford does have a much longer rust through warranty for 6 years but it doesn't apply until a hole has developed in the metal. Look in your warranty guide to be certain of what the Ford warranty covers. If it can be proven that the paint was defective, you would probably stand a reasonable chance if you had to take them to court over it. It would probably cost more than it's worth though to fight them.

Think 11 years is too long to try and take it in? Mine's terrible and it's the grey paint....

 

[Robert]

It might not be. I think the Ford problem years were from the mid '80s through '92. I vaguely remember my Wife's '93 Mercury Sable missing it by a year or so. I never bothered taking it in since it was limited to the hood and we aren't the original owner's.

Here is some interesting legal reading regarding the problem: http://www.peelingpaint.homestead.com/cause.html

Here is a bunch of information regarding the Ford paint problem: http://www.ihs2000.com/~peel/

 

[TwoToneX]

Wow, thanks Robert...

 

[pmassche]

Because I have not heard from the dealer, yesterday I e-malied my original post of FORD. This is the response I received this morning;


Dear Mr. Masschelein,

Thank you for your message of 06/5/02 regarding your 1997 Ford Explorer.
We appreciate the time you have taken to write us in regards to the
paint concern on your vehicle.

We apologise for any frustration you may have experienced as a result of
this situation.

In an effort to assist you, we have tried to contact you on 06/05/02, at
the telephone number you provided in your customer profile. We have,
however, been unsuccessful in trying to speak with you. Please provide
us with your day time contact numbers so that we can get in touch with
you.

You may also contact the Customer Relationship Centre directly, where
any representative would be glad to assist you. We can be contacted
toll free at 1-800-565-3673, Monday through Friday between the hours of
8AM and 8PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) and Saturdays between the hours
of 9AM and 6PM EST.

Hearing impaired callers with access to a TDD may reach us by calling
1-800-232-5952.

Mr. Masschelein, we regret that we have been unable to reach you to
discuss this issue further, but are confident that this matter can be
appropriately addressed.

We hope your ownership experience has not been tarnished by this
situation. Our goal is to strive to provide excellent customer service
to valued customers such as yourself.

Should you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact us again as we would be happy to assist you. At Ford of Canada,
we consider the satisfaction of our customers as one of our most
important objectives.

Thank you for contacting Ford of Canada.

Sincerely,
Kent
Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd.
Customer Relationship Centre

 

[pmassche]

I spoke with Ford today,
they stated "these is no assistance for me at this time",
meaning they are not going to do anything for me.

She said get the car painted at my expense, and keep the receipt. Maybe a recal will begin some time in the future if enough Ford owners complain about the problem.

I asked her to send their reponse to me in writing.

I will keep everyone updated.

 

[ExplorGM]

Same Problem

My hood on my 95 has exactly the same tiny cracks as in the picture! It was like this in 1997 only two years old.
The rest of the paint on the truck is great.
We can't be the only ones with this problem.

Rick

 

[pmassche]

Spoke to Ford again yesterday,

The woman I originally spoke to said that their was no problem "getting their position in writing".

She called me back yesterday, and stated Ford does not respond to any complaint or e-mail on paper, only verbally. A supervisor called me shortly after, and once again stated "there was no opportunity for Ford to respond to your complaint in writing". There were no recalls, or even technical service bulletins on this issue.

So after their dealer stated it was defective, their paint contractor stated it was defective, and Ford, after receiving a complaint in writing will not look at the problem, and will not repond to the situation in writing.

I will never buy a FORD vehicle again.

 

[TrippinSC]

i have the same problem...

the hood & some of the roof of my black '95 explorer sport has the same "snowflaking" look to it. it's been like this for about 4or5 years now. i'll most likely end up just getting the minor dents repaired & then just repaint the whole vehicle.

 

[98BlackXSport]

I just stumbled upon this thread and wanted to say that my paint is doing this too. Mostly the hood but also the fenders. I did take it to a dealer last summer. They called it "etching" caused by exposure to direct sunlight. They said if it was in warranty they would paint the entire vehicle for me for free. Of course it is out of warranty. I was just wondering if anyone has taken this any further and if not would people be interested in taking this further??? Thnx.

 

[pmassche]

I think I have done as much as I can in this situation.

Ford has my complaint in writing and verbally.
They will not respond to my complaint in writing, and will not do anything since it is not in warranty.

I do know that many other people have the same problem.

I did get a quote to repaint the car. About $1,500 for a good paint job.

I would be willing to do as much as possible to correct this situation.

What would you reccommend?

 

[98BlackXSport]

Maybe we can make a list of explorers with this problem and take it to Ford. It is worth a shot.

 

[unclemeat]

Ford has not known how to paint a vehicle for years now. My 91 X had paint problems while still under warrenty. The dealers responce was that I was not taking proper care of the vehicle's paint (total BS). Their paint process was defective. Ford should stop painting vehicles. They should sell them with only a primer coat. Then someone who will stand behind their work could paint them. And even some jack leg with a paint gun did a half ass job you would get the same product as from Ford.