Paint Chips from dirty water puddles!!

[michaelRitz]

I have a 2005 Ram 3500 SRW Black Sport, I purchased in December. So far I have let it sit in the driveway most ugly days and drive my other vehicle back and forth to work, etc. My truck is always kept spotless for the most part. But today I took it out, nice evening you know, went back a buddies lane which is made of some small stones (like pebbles) no big deal you know, we drive under 10mph, 1/4mile long. There were a couple puddles from the rain yesterday no big deal it is a truck. Well I left and went to town Walmart, seen there was some muddy water streaks on the side of my truck so I stopped at the car wash and washed my truck. (not going back lane anymore tonight) Well I look closer after I was finished washing and on both sides of my truck there are 30, 40 some paint chips, from puddles, come on what for cheap paint are they using these days I didnt find any on the cab just the bed, it makes me sick especially on black. I will be calling the dealer tomorrow I didnt hear any stones hitting the truck while driving on the lane this is frustrating 2300 miles and I have a speckled truck, any suggestions!!

 

[War Nerve]

Don't stare too long at the truck or you will scratch it some more

 

[DougJones]

Same problem here. I got running boards and bed boards, plus mud flaps to help. The BFG's hold rocks, in my opinion. I'm picking up the rocks from my gravel driveway, then throwing them off when getting up to speed on the pavement.



Try that black wax stuff that Turtle Wax makes. It works ok.

 

[OLY-VU]

DC had to offer an extended Paint Warranty due to incompatible/contaminated primer from PPG Industries which "could" lead to inter-coat adhesion failure in 2003, friend received notice that if he has problems with paint peeling/chipping excessively that they would re-paint for 10 YRS. /100,000K, whichever came first, my paint seems to chip pretty easily, makes me wonder if not an issue with the '04, '04. 5, and '05... The dealer will give you touch-up paint and maybe some molded-guards to help you out, hard to say... I'm running the Michelin's on my rig, super soft tire, they do pick-up gravel on my driveway and spit 'em out once on the pavement after they warm-up... the molded guards help, but not a cure-all, I have a couple knicks on rear door and front-side of bed, not too bad though, I touch them up, wait a week, and smooth them out with a "light" rubbing compound... Good Luck!!

 

[DougJones]

I wasn't aware of the 03 problems with the paint. I bought mine used. I hope they still will cover it under warranty. I plan to search the TSB site to see if the notice is there.

 

[Ftuttle]

OLY-VU -



do you have any specific dates of build for the paint warranty? I have an '03, but have not received any notice for the paint (and I have noticed the same darn chipping on my bed).



thanks



-frank

 

[OLY-VU]

OLY-VU -



do you have any specific dates of build for the paint warranty? I have an '03, but have not received any notice for the paint (and I have noticed the same darn chipping on my bed).



thanks



-frank

No specific build dates Frank... letter stated the warranty was issued for all 2003 Dodge 2500/3500 models... if you'd like I can FAX/Mail you a copy of the letter from DC, let me know your FAX #/address... Chris

 

[DocDetonancour]

The one complaint I have is also the paint chips very easy. If I look at the rockers from the bottom, the paint is ruined and I never drive on gravel. If there is a warranty I would sure like to know. Doc

 

[rbattelle]

I also received the letter referred to above. It says, specifically:



"... some vehicles could have a contaminated primer that could lead to inter-coat adhesion failure of the exterior paint finish. If the paint on your Dodge Truck should experience an inter-coat adhesion failure within the 10 year/100,000 mile period, simply contact your dealer to have the paint finish repaired free of charge. "



I was under the impression this applied only to Patriot Blue trucks.



-Ryan

 

[OLY-VU]

I also received the letter referred to above. It says, specifically:



"... some vehicles could have a contaminated primer that could lead to inter-coat adhesion failure of the exterior paint finish. If the paint on your Dodge Truck should experience an inter-coat adhesion failure within the 10 year/100,000 mile period, simply contact your dealer to have the paint finish repaired free of charge. "



I was under the impression this applied only to Patriot Blue trucks.



-Ryan

Applies to all colors, no exclusions, the same primer is used with all colors and is manufactured by PPG... inter-coat adhesion cannot be repaired, the whole process needs to be RE-DONE in order to be done RIGHT... this includes prep, sanding, etc, etc... I'm assuming QC in Mexico could not determine what 2003's had problems, so DC assumes that SOME vehicles have the problem, it's a corporate world boys :-laf ...

 

[2Gen3Gen]

I bought the Mopar molded mud flaps. 7,000 miles and not a chip (knock on wood!)

 

[JThiessen]

If you do a search, there is a fairly extensive thread on this subject, both here and on the DTR.

I have the extended paint warranty, and I also went to the dealer with my concerns about it. I got the major brush off from them - they didnt even know anything about the original problem, or the warranty. He basically told me that unless the paint literally starts falling off the truck (ie. , 80's and 90's GM's), DC aint gonna do squat.

My gut feeling is that its going to be damn tough for us to get coverage out of DC for paint chips from rocks.

 

[OLY-VU]

If you do a search, there is a fairly extensive thread on this subject, both here and on the DTR.

I have the extended paint warranty, and I also went to the dealer with my concerns about it. I got the major brush off from them - they didnt even know anything about the original problem, or the warranty. He basically told me that unless the paint literally starts falling off the truck (ie. , 80's and 90's GM's), DC aint gonna do squat.

My gut feeling is that its going to be damn tough for us to get coverage out of DC for paint chips from rocks.

I definitely agree with the above... I did not mention this is a "LIMITED PAINT WARRANTY" from DC on the 2003's... meaning, well, they exclude whatever the hell they want to, including paint that chips from road debris... I know they had instances with paint literally peeling away from the primer, especially on some hood areas of trucks... Warranties are written by lawyers to protect their clients, not the consumer ...

 

[fbaurley]

Ill have to agree the patriot blue paint is bad. I beleive it is just a soft paint. At 3500 miles i put on flaps, and they really helped, but still get some paint chips. The wierd thing is i have a place on the tailgae that appears to be a chip, that was impossible to be thrown up from the wheels, and it was there before I had ever even put anything in the back of the truck, or washed it for the first time. Im am real leery that this paint will hold up. My truck is an 04 built in 0ctober of 03.

 

[agkrueger]

I had the same problem with my 2002. I went to a couple of reputable paint shops and asked them there opinion and if they would put it in writing, which they did. All stated defective paint adhesion. I then went to dealer and got the bid brush off also. I then told them "I expected you would say that" and proceeded to show them the papers I had which would soon be seen by a court and WOW they offered to repaint the entire lower 1/3 of the truck.

 

[HOBrian]

I also received the letter referred to above. It says, specifically:



"... some vehicles could have a contaminated primer that could lead to inter-coat adhesion failure of the exterior paint finish. If the paint on your Dodge Truck should experience an inter-coat adhesion failure within the 10 year/100,000 mile period, simply contact your dealer to have the paint finish repaired free of charge. "



I was under the impression this applied only to Patriot Blue trucks.



-Ryan

I have the same letter the rep told me the darker the color the worse the paint. He said the black was the worst paint then Pat blue, then atl blue and so on.

 

[RPosey]

When I bought my 03 I noticed several of new trucks sitting on the back of the lot. The dealer said they all had paint problems. They did a simple test by sticking a straight pin in the paint and then spraying that prick point with a pressure washer. If the clearcoat came off, the paint was assumed bad.

 

[OLY-VU]

I have the same letter the rep told me the darker the color the worse the paint. He said the black was the worst paint then Pat blue, then atl blue and so on.

This is also a good point... From what I've seen the primer from PPG is a light grey, so obviously when the darker colors start chipping it is like looking at night and day...

 

[JThiessen]

A paints adhesion properties have absolutley nothing to do with the paint color. DC's problem in 03 was, as stated before, with the primer - not the paint. Yes, the darker the color, the more noticable it is - at least until it starts to rust! The chipping issue is more likely due to a very thin coat of paint, with very little polymer added to it. All a result of cost cutting on the part of mfgrs. I have spoken with several people who own other brands and they are all in the same boat we are. Everyone is attempting to cut costs everywhere, and we are the ones left holding the bag of bolts... . I'm sure the argument could be made that if we were willing to pay more, we'd get a better product (but I dont necessarily buy into that).

 

[DocDetonancour]

Ill have to agree the patriot blue paint is bad. I beleive it is just a soft paint. At 3500 miles i put on flaps, and they really helped, but still get some paint chips. The wierd thing is i have a place on the tailgae that appears to be a chip, that was impossible to be thrown up from the wheels, and it was there before I had ever even put anything in the back of the truck, or washed it for the first time. Im am real leery that this paint will hold up. My truck is an 04 built in 0ctober of 03.

Mine is also an 04, built in September of 03. WTH is the deal with this paint? Doc