Paint Problems

[alexd]

I have the exact same problem with my midnight blue 2018 Buick Regal Sportback. The rain gutters on the roof and along the front hood are all peeling. When I wash the car, the paint just peels off when I spray the hose there. My dealer said it is covered under warranty, but it is hard finding a dealership with a Buick-certified body shop. I also live in South Florida (Fort Lauderdale), so it may be a strange atmospheric issue. I bought the car at Ed Morse, but I had to take it to Sheehan in Pompano Beach for the bodywork.

 

[Largen]

i dont have this issue but i have noticed some bad paint failure on my rear bumper behind my passenger wheel. going to talk to the dealer about it and fully expect nothing to come of it. but my car only has 22,000km on it....

 

[G-42668]

I searched the forum and I could not find a dedicated topic for paint issues. I have paint peeling off the roof. Paint quality is a big problem for GM and it looks like Opel was also affected. My clearcoat is easy to scratch and easy to dent. I did talk to my local dealer today, service manager will get back to me tomorrow. They may not be able to do anything because my warranty expired. All of my previous cars had much better paint/clearcoat quality (they were all new Hondas and Toyotas). You can see rust-proof yellow coating inside. Did you guys run into similar problems?

This is happening to my 2018 Buick right now! My warranty just expired too!

 

[alexd]

I have not yet had my paint flaking issue fixed. My appointment is for May 11 at Sheehan in Pompano Beach, FL. More paint is flaking in my rain gutters though (and only in the gutters). I would like to know how many more people are having this issue with this model. I have owned Hondas, Toyotas, Volvos, and Volkswagens. I have never seen a problem like this on a relatively new car (my '18 was kept in the showroom for display for about a year before I bought it in '19). My other car is an '08 Volvo, and it has some oxidation this year only in an area that was repainted years ago (a thief broke a window and scratched the paint around that window, so that area was repainted). The rest of that car looks perfect. I am nervously awaiting the appointment fearing that the dealership will just paint the flawed areas and not get to the root of the problem, which may affect the whole car. I hope they will test the paint and check the whole car, since there may be issues I did not see.

 

[ready2fly]

I have not yet had my paint flaking issue fixed. My appointment is for May 11 at Sheehan in Pompano Beach, FL. More paint is flaking in my rain gutters though (and only in the gutters). I would like to know how many more people are having this issue with this model. I have owned Hondas, Toyotas, Volvos, and Volkswagens. I have never seen a problem like this on a relatively new car (my '18 was kept in the showroom for display for about a year before I bought it in '19). My other car is an '08 Volvo, and it has some oxidation this year only in an area that was repainted years ago (a thief broke a window and scratched the paint around that window, so that area was repainted). The rest of that car looks perfect. I am nervously awaiting the appointment fearing that the dealership will just paint the flawed areas and not get to the root of the problem, which may affect the whole car. I hope they will test the paint and check the whole car, since there may be issues I did not see.

I went to my local dealer here in Sarasota, FL and they refused to cover it since warranty had expired a long time ago. I have more and more paint peeling inside rain gutters, so I am using touchup paint to slow down the process. I noticed that touchup paint also washes off after a month, so I am only using clearcoat to cover the edges around peeled off area. I plan on repainting my entire roof in about a year.

 

[hknight]

I have a 2018 Buick Regal Sportback Preferred II that has paint literally bubbling and just flaking off the raincatches in the roof!!! I have spent so much money on this car - not only am I still paying off the loan, I have also had it tinted, paint sealed, and undercoated to prevent rust! It is only 4 years old and the paint is literally popping off! Every time it rains, more paint comes off. I don't even go through car washes because I am terrified of more paint coming off! My car has 52,000 miles on it and is 4 years old so they tell me it is outside of its warranty. I was told when I called the dealer that they couldn't do anything about it and it would cost me $5,700 to get the entire car (minus the hood and trunk) repainted! I called GM and they had to connect with the service department and the service manager told them it is peeling due to lack of care!! WHAT?!? I have taken incredible care of this car! If it were lack of care, then the rest of my car's paint would be peeling! This is only occurring in the raincatches so it had something to do with the paint not adhering properly in that location when the car was produced. I am beyond upset and appalled with this brand. They expect me to spend almost $6K to get my car repainted. My car is only 4 years old!!!! Pictures attached.

 

[FavaBean]

@hknight I don't disagree with you one bit about your paint job. I believe GM should fix it. The surface was not prepped properly and therefore the paint did not adhere. Fortunately, it appears to only have affected the gutters - as if someone missed wiping down (or treating) those areas when prepping.

BUT... If you are on your own, I wouldn't paint the whole car. I'd have those channels taped off, sanded, re-primed, and painted. They are sunken in so light will hit the surface on a different angle than the surrounding areas. If done well, you'll hardly notice.

Keep in mind that by simply painting over won't prevent it from happening again since adding to the top will not help the bottom paint layer grip the primer layer. Oh, and don't have it painted by the dealer unless you want to pay more.

Set the money saved away for when you purchase a different brand car.

 

[ready2fly]

I have a 2018 Buick Regal Sportback Preferred II that has paint literally bubbling and just flaking off the raincatches in the roof!!! I have spent so much money on this car - not only am I still paying off the loan, I have also had it tinted, paint sealed, and undercoated to prevent rust! It is only 4 years old and the paint is literally popping off! Every time it rains, more paint comes off. I don't even go through car washes because I am terrified of more paint coming off! My car has 52,000 miles on it and is 4 years old so they tell me it is outside of its warranty. I was told when I called the dealer that they couldn't do anything about it and it would cost me $5,700 to get the entire car (minus the hood and trunk) repainted! I called GM and they had to connect with the service department and the service manager told them it is peeling due to lack of care!! WHAT?!? I have taken incredible care of this car! If it were lack of care, then the rest of my car's paint would be peeling! This is only occurring in the raincatches so it had something to do with the paint not adhering properly in that location when the car was produced. I am beyond upset and appalled with this brand. They expect me to spend almost $6K to get my car repainted. My car is only 4 years old!!!! Pictures attached.

I have exactly the same issue in exactly the same spots. Are you in Florida? I take really good care of my car as well. I suggest that you get clearcoat to seal the edges, so your paint does not continue to chip off. I did it and it helped big time.
I will also call GM directly and ask them if anything can be done, since this is clearly a factory defect.
We can also get a group complaint started with GM? Is there such thing? I bet there are other Regal owners that have this exact issue.

 

[ready2fly]

@hknight I don't disagree with you one bit about your paint job. I believe GM should fix it. The surface was not prepped properly and therefore the paint did not adhere. Fortunately, it appears to only have affected the gutters - as if someone missed wiping down (or treating) those areas when prepping.

BUT... If you are on your own, I wouldn't paint the whole car. I'd have those channels taped off, sanded, re-primed, and painted. They are sunken in so light will hit the surface on a different angle than the surrounding areas. If done well, you'll hardly notice.

Keep in mind that by simply painting over won't prevent it from happening again since adding to the top will not help the bottom paint layer grip the primer layer. Oh, and don't have it painted by the dealer unless you want to pay more.

Set the money saved away for when you purchase a different brand car.

Actually excellent suggestion. Indeed paint shade isn't visible inside, so re-painting just that area will most likely resolve the issue. But I do want to ask GM if there is anything they can do.

 

[FavaBean]

@ready2fly and @hknight - Do your build dates match??

 

[RegalScott]

Yes I would deffinently get together and form one voice with the same issue. The proper term is "roof ditch" not gutter. Some vehicles use a roof ditch molding to cover up the tie in between the roof and inner/outer aperture.

 

[ready2fly]

@ready2fly and @hknight - Do your build dates match??

My build date is 11/17.

 

[Buschb]

I have the same issue on a 2018 above the windshield in 4 different spots. When washing the car the paint strips right off.

 

[EnvistaEnthusiast]

I haven't noticed this exact issue on our '18 midnight blue sportback, but I am definitely about to go make an inspection! We did get a ceramic coating on it when we bought it used late last year, and our detail guy mentioned that the paint is really messed up on several areas of the car. We thought it must have been repainted at some point and it just wasn't on the carfax, but now I'm wondering if they are factory defects.
If there is a way to join a group complaint, I'm in. I'll also take a look at the roof ditches and around the windshield to see if the paint is flaking.

 

[ready2fly]

I haven't noticed this exact issue on our '18 midnight blue sportback, but I am definitely about to go make an inspection! We did get a ceramic coating on it when we bought it used late last year, and our detail guy mentioned that the paint is really messed up on several areas of the car. We thought it must have been repainted at some point and it just wasn't on the carfax, but now I'm wondering if they are factory defects.
If there is a way to join a group complaint, I'm in. I'll also take a look at the roof ditches and around the windshield to see if the paint is flaking.

How do we start a group complaint with GM? I keep forgetting to call them.

 

[ulycyc]

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[ready2fly]

Called GM, they will be contacting my local dealer and most likely scheduling another inspection. I will post updates.

 

[Fikus]

I got the same problem. The paint on my dark blue metallic Regal Sportback is peelin on the roof drain line only. I think GM is using some type of glue/caulk in that thin area to fill the gap between the roof and side / pillar. The paint is stripping just on that area. Very bad. The car was purchased new on May 2019 and has ~53K miles. And consider out of warranty for the paint issue like this. It simply does not make sense. I am pretty upset customer.

 

[Fikus]

Called GM, they will be contacting my local dealer and most likely scheduling another inspection. I will post updates.

What number did you call? I have exact same issue on exact same color. Very dissapointed.

 

[danzig997]

The cause? Blame the greenies. Water-based primers that reacted with the UV rays to blister the paint. Don't blame GM either as all the manufacturers had this problem with cars built in US and Canada.

GM Hit With Class Action Lawsuit For Peeling Paint

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/03/gm-hit-with-class-action-lawsuit-for-peeling-paint-on-chevy-and-gmc-trucks/