I have a Venom Red Rogue that was purchased in October 2007. I understand that some chipping will occur from normal use, but the amount of chipping on my Rogue seems extreme. There are numerous little pits down to the medal on my front end and by the wheel wells that can be seen from several feet away. I have also noticed the paint just seems soft. For instance, an empty cardboard box brushed the front wheel well and left an ugly mark that I can't get out. I was just curious if anyone else was noticing this problem. I know Nissan has a reputation for poor paint, but in comparison to my husband's 06 Pathfinder, which does not have any paint chipping and over 40000 miles, it seems like there is more chipping that there should be.

Not sure if it's a Nissan thing or the new water borne paints being used nowadays. Color also has a tendency to show or hide paint flaws. Black and very dark paint colors are probably the worst. Silver seems to hide everything.

I have a small handful of paint chips on my Iridium Graphite Rogue. Most are in the front. The front bumper is the worst and quite honestly there is little you can do about it. The plastic is soft and flexible and stones not only chip the paint, they leave a 'divot'. I have applied clear paint protection film (3M an others make it) to the vulnerable areas on the hood and fenders. This helps, but it's not practical cover the entire car in the suff.

Just buy a paint pen from the dealer and paint the chips before they rust. BTW paint chips are not covered under warranty. This is the same for most mfgs.

I'm really happy with my Rogue, but one complaint I do have is the quality of the paint. Aside from the chipping, 1 week after owning it, chip on the rear door by the wheel well. That pen they sell SUCKS, wish they had the brush style. I have an iridium graphite on mine. Scratching, that's another issue, every time I turn around I see a new scratch somewhere on the vehicle. You can polish most of them out, but it seems like the clear coat is very soft on it because under certain light conditions you can see the scratches where the clear has been indented. I've got a blem in the paint on the roof, dealer said I could have it repainted if I wanted. Last thing I want is to have a new vehicle repainted. My dad's orange rogue has a paint flaw in the hood. Looks like dirt was on it when it was sprayed. Again, the dealer offered to repaint it. I am happy with my purchase, but the paint really disappoints me. Hate to say that I was happy to see other's with the same issue.

RustyJake wrote:That pen they sell SUCKS, wish they had the brush style.

Agreed. I buy the pen since it's color matched. I then pump the tip to get the paint flowing and use a good artists brush to actually apply it.

Maybe I'm not as particular as I used to be. My car sees plenty of abuse... work, play, etc. I gave up worrying about scratches and just live with it. I end up buying a new car every 5 years anyway due to mileage... I rack up about 30,000mi/yr!

^^^wow, 30,000 miles (about 50,000KM) per year! I am just about to hit 30,000KM on my truck and I have had her for two years this October.

I use my vehicle for work. My customers/jobsites are 30min to an +1 hour away. In the HVAC industry it's normal to do that kind of travel. Fortunately I get reimbursed mileage which really helps pay for the gas!

That's one good thing about the phantom white, it hides scraches pretty good. I only have 1 chip so far on the hood and that aint bad since I live down a gravel road and drive on texas highways where there are always trucks with gravel loads.

My poor black truck has all kinds of scratches, chips, knicks, pits, etc.

Hi! I bought my Indigo Blue Metallic Rogue in Oct.'07. Over about the last 4 months,I've noticed some fairly big chips on the hood & front wheel wells. I talked to the Mgr of my Nissan Deeler about it & he just said it was caused by rocks & nothing they could do & offered the touch-up paint. Was pissed so didn't buy any right away. Just very disappointing when you read in the Rogue brochure & they are boasting about how their "specialized paint" resists rock chips/scratches! Well,not this one!! Furthermore,it seems like I would have heard the rocks hitting if they caused a chip so severe that it is down to the metal!! Very disappointing for a car that I haven't even had a full year & keep in a garage every night! Maybe we can all hope for a recall if everybody complains enough.

Roguerunner wrote:Maybe we can all hope for a recall if everybody complains enough.

I hate to say, but a recall isn't going to happen. Stone chips and scratches are considered 'wear and tear' and are not considered a safety hazard. It's up to the mfg and thier 'good will' to issue a bulletin to fix a problem.

I feel for you as I have a few stone ships in mine as well and it's only 5 months old. Honestly, Nissan paint quality is about average for the cars I have driven. There are many that are far worse.

We as consumers are left stranded here. Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, just about every car maker won't cover paint chipping issues under warranty. Even then it may not be covered as evidenced by my mom's Honda Accord that started to bubble the paint from rust in one spot after the first year. Honda refused to deal with it until it perforated right through. By then the warranty was up. Go figure!

Yes, I've known people who've had paint bubble and flake off and the warranty wouldn't even cover that, so in comparison living with stone chips isn't so bad.

Suck it up and be happy that you don't have any paint and/or clear coat flaking off spontaneously. Vehicles operate in the real world and I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to guarantee my vehicle against stone chips. I've driven down quite a few gravel roads and gotten a few stone chips, which is annoying but I don't think it's anything that I would blame on the manufacturer, of course the paint could be better but it could be worse too - that's probably one of the compromises to keep costs reasonable.

If you are really worried about it, get the clear bra paint protection film installed on the front and even around the wheel wells, or every few years you can take it to a body shop and have all of the chips fixed at once for a few hundred bucks.

That clear film protection stuff is really neat. In the last year I've applied it to an '06 Azera, the Rogue and just recently to our new Scion tC. It's dirt cheap and easy to apply if you follow instructions. As a trade-in, I just got $1500 over book for the Azera because of its excellent condition.

I want to do everything cdmuile has done (inside joke)

More seriously, could you tell us more about this type of protection: Where did you buy it? How much is it?

A while ago, I found a website making clear film protection for the whole front of every car in catalog, and was wondering if it is the same kind of thing.

And, did you install it yourselves? If yes, was it easy to do?

Thanks

If you search the topic here under "paint chipping on lower door sills", we talked extensively about this stuff, as it was used by many of us to protect the door sills. The topic gives you really great web sites that give you an overview of the product and the applications. You can get it custom pre-cut for the various parts of your vehicle, such as the front grill, hood, fenders, side mirrors, etc. and you can get it in rolls too. Your local detail shop can give you info too. I would't recommend trying to do it yourself for an area such as the front grill because it takes quite a bit of practice and knowledge of the tools and techniques, but you could give it a try on an easier area first, or just pay someone to do it..........definately worth looking in to!

Just a note about the touch up...save your sanity and buy a can of matched spray paint in your color. Works much better. I've had to do many small touch ups on my 2002 WRX (and one already on my wife's Rogue at four weeks old!)...the spray is way more even than that stupid pen or brush. It takes a lot longer (I usually trace the scratch on white paper gently with a pencil, then cut it out with an X-acto knife. I then mask the scratch with the paper, lining it up, and then cover around it a good foot or two with newspaper, then fan the spray paint on, starting on the news print, quickly moving over the chip, and ending on the newsprint on the other side...never just hit it dead on. Two or three fans is all it takes. If you really want to go nuts you can hit it with a clear coat spray, but it's usually not necessary), but even I am hard pressed to see where the scratch/chip was (unlike the mini brush that builds up paint usually higher than the surrounding area making it look like, well, a touch-up!). I have never had a problem with paintworldinc.com, but there are other places as well (Paintworld has a nice easy matching system). No, I do not work for them. Just my two cents!

Pescakl1 wrote:More seriously, could you tell us more about this type of protection: Where did you buy it? How much is it?

Canadian Tire (Canada only, eh) sells a product made by Gila called 'Paint Protection Film'. A 4"x 6' roll for about $30 CDN and an 8"x6' roll for about $50 CDN. The 8" wide material is good for the hood. The 4" wide is better for smaller areas like rocker panels and the scratch prone door sill area.

http://www.gilafilms.com/Autom...s.htm

3M makes a very good product as well. You can buy complete pre-cut kits from online 3M dealers like http://www.invisiblemask.com.

All of these films take time and patience to apply. If you have never applied window tints or other films like this, be prepared for some frustration. I would start with small flat areas first. Areas with compound curves like the hood on the Rogue are the most difficult.

If this is above your head. Then goto a trained installer. Here is a link to 3M's installer list:

US Installers:http://solutions.3m.com/wps/po...ller/

Canadian Installers:Do a search for '3m paint protection film' or try the Yellow pages.

My wife and I bought a Silver Rogue about 3 months ago and absolutely love it. I have not noticed any "extreme" scratches or chipping although about 3 weeks after we got it a rock did hit the front,driver wheel well and left about a pin-head size chip. That is only to be expected because my wife drives about 90 miles a day on the interstate. About chipping though, I detail cars on the side and I'm doing one tomorrow 2008 Nissan Sentra with only 3000 miles and she is taking it back to the dealership because down by her front foglight a huge "chunk" of paint has pealed off. For as much as we pay for these Nissans they should NOT do that..! I just hope that they will fix it for her.