Poor paint quality on '05 SE-R altima

[VQpwrdSE-R]

Ok so I've owned this car since march of 2009, I have been careful of my paint washing and waxing religiously. Upon the change of weather here in PA and the low 30's temperature a cancerous white haze has appeared all over my car( excluding plastic painted bumpers/sideskirts) The white haze is below the clearcoat. The red pigment is gone. I plan on calling nissan and voicing my frustaration in poor paint quality and to see if there is any kind of recal or if they will stand behind their product. The paint called "code red" was used on by my guess less than 3,000 SE-Rs. The paint code is j20. I have seen 350z 03-05 and sentra SE-Rs with the similar colors.
spot on the roof

drivers rear door

Bumper one of 4 spots

Trunk (largest area)


These are a few of the areas that I was able to photograph with minimal glare. In total there are at least 10 major areas underneath all side windows as well

Before calling I'd like to hear if anyone in NICO has had this problem, get some pointers in how to deal with nissan. I have a feeling I'm going to be told that It is a 6 year old car that has 90k and there's nothing they can do about it. I know of one other guy in my situation right now. He has just begun dealings with Nissan as the problem has just come up as with mine. Same year '05, code red SE-R.

[Dattebayo]

Should got the extra clear-coat option, perhaps...

[VQpwrdSE-R]

I'm the 2nd owner I bought it in 2009 with 37,000mi, I didnt have that option.

[krash]

Trunk (largest area)

That is HORRIBLE dude. I'd be pissed.

Just make it known to them that you're not some dummy customer that is wondering why the paint isn't pretty anymore. If you make yourself informed, calm, and assertive, I feel like you'll get farther. It sucks more because they're going to try to say its user error, but maybe get a couple of the other guys you know with code-red problems to collectively contact them so it doesn't look like user error.

I dunno man, I hope you get this worked out because that sucks, your car is clean as hell. My freaking 17 year old 240 doesn't even have that happening to the paint.

[VQpwrdSE-R]

That is HORRIBLE dude. I'd be pissed. make yourself informed, calm, and assertive, I feel like you'll get farther.

I am pissed the whole thing is embarassing and looks like sh*t. I will remain calm in dealings with them. The overal work that needs to be done is $3500 including stripping the paint down to the metal. That of which I will NOT pay. If I go through dealings with nissan and they refuse I may just go get a full body vinyl wrap from Phenom.

[Bubba1]

That does suck. I've always thought my 03 red 350Z's paint job (a car I bought new) was too thinly applied at the factory as it developed track rash on the nose faster than any other car I've used but. But My car sits under a cover in a closed garage when not in use so I have no other paint issues with it. I never complained to Nissan about it.

I suggest first to check if there were any recalls, or service advisories issued by Nissan regarding poor paint that resulted in the extension of the paint warranty on that model and year for 7 years. If there was an extension of warranty, you might have a shot. But if there was no extension in warranty, I don't see Nissan doing anything for you. From Nissan's perspective, it's almost 7 yrs old, with 90K miles, with an expired warranty, and you've owned it for less than 3 of those years. They could easily surmize that you do not know if the previous owner(s) either neglected to care for the paint, or had it resprayed poorly at some point which could impact the paint years later.

Good luck.

[300ZXttZMAN]

That does suck. I've always thought my 03 red 350Z's paint job (a car I bought new) was too thinly applied at the factory as it developed track rash on the nose faster than any other car I've used but. But My car sits under a cover in a closed garage when not in use so I have no other paint issues with it. I never complained to Nissan about it.

I suggest first to check if there were any recalls, or service advisories issued by Nissan regarding poor paint that resulted in the extension of the paint warranty on that model and year for 7 years. If there was an extension of warranty, you might have a shot. But if there was no extension in warranty, I don't see Nissan doing anything for you. From Nissan's perspective, it's almost 7 yrs old, with 90K miles, with an expired warranty, and you've owned it for less than 3 of those years. They could easily surmize that you do not know if the previous owner(s) either neglected to care for the paint, or had it resprayed poorly at some point which could impact the paint years later.

Good luck.

This is what i was thinking

[VQpwrdSE-R]

Everything you guys had stated and my worries about not being the original owner have left me nowhere. The service manager from one of the nissan dealerships offered to take my car you his detailer and let him "test" an area for free. I haven't done that cause the problem is clearly in the paint and beneath the clearcoat.

[Bubba1]

Everything you guys had stated and my worries about not being the original owner have left me nowhere. The service manager from one of the nissan dealerships offered to take my car you his detailer and let him "test" an area for free. I haven't done that cause the problem is clearly in the paint and beneath the clearcoat.

I think a good paint shop might be able to more accurately diagnose what happened to your paint than a dealer. Better to have a professional diagnose it before taking it to the dealer, whose expertise is not as good and has motivation to decline the claim).

My uneducated guess is the previous owner(s) neglected the paint entirely and had a bad respray done not long before selling it to you, with some sort of after market high gloss paint sealer applied. And that sealer lasted a longer time than normal because you kept it consistently protected. I'd be curious to hear what a professional thinks of it.

[IanS]

Everything you guys had stated and my worries about not being the original owner have left me nowhere. The service manager from one of the nissan dealerships offered to take my car you his detailer and let him "test" an area for free. I haven't done that cause the problem is clearly in the paint and beneath the clearcoat.

I think a good paint shop might be able to more accurately diagnose what happened to your paint than a dealer. Better to have a professional diagnose it before taking it to the dealer, whose expertise is not as good and has motivation to decline the claim).

My uneducated guess is the previous owner(s) neglected the paint entirely and had a bad respray done not long before selling it to you, with some sort of after market high gloss paint sealer applied. And that sealer lasted a longer time than normal because you kept it consistently protected. I'd be curious to hear what a professional thinks of it.

^^ This

I have never seen this kind of damage to factory Nissan paint. You aren't even in a high heat/high sun area. I might expect something like this in Texas, or Florida.

Check carefully for tape lines in the common places. Most paint shops wont respray jams if they are staying same color, and they often neglect the tape ridge if its in an are not normally noticed, like right near the door hinges. When you bought the car, did you get a carfax?

I know that there is some wording in the warranty booklet regarding finish/corrosion protection. IIRC the book in my 06 Maxima says it is warranted for 10 years, unlimited mileage. Im sure this only applies to original paint. Get that thing to a good body shop and have it inspected, and get a quote while you are there. Many places will quote for free.

Make sure when you do see the dealer, stay calm and cool. If they shut you down, then get Nissan corporate involved personally, dont rely on them to do it.

Sadly, I have been unimpressed with paint quality across the board these days. Nissan isn't as bad as many, but Im just not satisfied with the quality. I see Chryslers and Dodges roll through my shop every day, many with 10,000 miles or less. Its hard to inspect the paint without shaking my head. I have seen cheapo Maaco jobs turn out better. Brand new cars with terrible ripple under the clear coat, fish eyes, and even orange peal. Ford and GM are much better, but I am already seeing Fords with early rust issues that show that they just dont have the corrosion protection they should. Everyone is cutting costs, something has got to give.

[PoorManQ45]

All new cars have terrible paint jobs.

I can't stand the orange peel!

[Jesda]

The G35 suffered from awful orange peel. I think it got a little better with the G37.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

From what I'm told by some people in our paint department, most car companies actually TRY to get some form of orange peel in the paint now, as it helps to mask other small dings and defects in the body, allowing for fewer repairs at the end of the manufacturing process.

What you have there is a steamy pile of s*** though. I'd be pissed. You have THE flagship Altima. Everything should be impeccable.

[VQpwrdSE-R]

What you have there is a steamy pile of bullsh*t though. I'd be pissed. You have THE flagship Altima. Everything should be impeccable.

Right now I'm waiting to hear from a fellow code red owner that is currently dealing with nissan corporate. I don't hold out much hope but if he gets anywhere with them I will be calling. Just figured I would post up here to vent my frustration and see I anyone else is in my situation.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Someone at my plant has an SER in code red as well. I'll see if I can track the car down in the parkinglot and see if it suffers from chalky white rot as well.

[VQpwrdSE-R]

Thanks

[jaimeis28]

I have the same situation with my car. After talking to corporate customer service they told me to go see a local dealer. The service manager at the dealer was kind of a prick, saying that regardless of the defect--the car has 77k and way past warranty. He was also trying to tell me that there was evidence of respray which is complete B.S.(he explained that the car could have been rolled and fixed and not be put on insurance claim--really??) I am going to call back to corporate and try to see if I can get anywhere with them. But it seems that there are more people out there with this issue, which might push them to do something about it.

F-ing frustrating.

[VQpwrdSE-R]

I have the same situation with my car. After talking to corporate customer service they told me to go see a local dealer. The service manager at the dealer was kind of a prick, saying that regardless of the defect--the car has 77k and way past warranty. He was also trying to tell me that there was evidence of respray which is complete B.S.(he explained that the car could have been rolled and fixed and not be put on insurance claim--really??) I am going to call back to corporate and try to see if I can get anywhere with them. But it seems that there are more people out there with this issue, which might push them to do something about it.

F-ing frustrating.

Did your SE-R just get the white spots? I had one small circle last year but now its everywhere. I know of another gentleman so that makes 3 of us, if we could compile a group of people all with the same year and paint, give our VIN codes and pictures maybe we would have a case. Certainly they cannot claim all of our cars have been resprayed and realize that the paint is inferior.

This is the other guy I met on an SE-R FB group http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fb ... =1&theater
to NICO by the way!!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I have the same situation with my car. After talking to corporate customer service they told me to go see a local dealer. The service manager at the dealer was kind of a prick, saying that regardless of the defect--the car has 77k and way past warranty. He was also trying to tell me that there was evidence of respray which is complete B.S.(he explained that the car could have been rolled and fixed and not be put on insurance claim--really??) I am going to call back to corporate and try to see if I can get anywhere with them. But it seems that there are more people out there with this issue, which might push them to do something about it.

F-ing frustrating.

Thanks for sharing. I've had my fair share of frustration with dealerships

Guys I looked for the SER at work every day this week, but I never saw it. I even did a few laps around the parkinglot
Today was my last day at work for the year, so I'll check back again next year.

[Mister_Lizard]

Hello, sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead but i am unable to send private messages, i was wondering what you ended up doing? as i have a 2005 SER in code red and over the last month one of the doors has started to look just like yours and i am getting other small spots around the car also. if you could please just let me know what you ended up doing, did the dealership do anything? were you able to figure out any kid of fix?