Paint Flaking Off - NX 300h 5 Years old

[Saaj]

Hi

Anyone experienced top layer of pain flaking off on an NX 300h? I have attached a picture 

I appear to have a fault with the paintwork on my Lexus NX 300h bonnet. The top layer or coating on a small area on the bonnet has peeled off. I am aware paint work is warranted for 3 years for perforations and rust but this is neither and I do not expect to see this happen to a car that’s 5 years old. I have owned cars much older then this and have never come across this issues on them so I can only assume this is a manufacturing defect.

 

I have had it serviced last year and as recently as few weeks ago by Lexus Woodford and it is under Lexus Relax 12 months warranty. 
 

I have emailed local dealerships but they reckon it’s not under warranty.

 

Any thoughts on what caused it and whether this is a manufacturer issue or not?

Thanks

[Spacewagon52]

3 minutes ago, Saaj said:

Hi

Anyone experienced top layer of pain flaking off on an NX 300h? I have attached a picture 

I appear to have a fault with the paintwork on my Lexus NX 300h bonnet. The top layer or coating on a small area on the bonnet has peeled off. I am aware paint work is warranted for 3 years for perforations and rust but this is neither and I do not expect to see this happen to a car that’s 5 years old. I have owned cars much older then this and have never come across this issues on them so I can only assume this is a manufacturing defect.

 

I have had it serviced last year and as recently as few weeks ago by Lexus Woodford and it is under Lexus Relax 12 months warranty. 
 

I have emailed local dealerships but they reckon it’s not under warranty.

 

Any thoughts on what caused it and whether this is a manufacturer issue or not?

Thanks

Difficult to tell but I had something very similar on a car many years ago. It was bird muck that had eaten away at the top coat of paint.

Do you park under a tree or have noticed lots of bird droppings on your car?

Other forms of pollution may also be responsible.

[Saaj]

I do have a tree outside my house and some occasional bird dropping that I generally clean it straight away. I wouldn’t say it’s lots of it. It’s a street parking so not always parked under a tree and previously have had a Volvo, Audi, Toyota that were far older then the Lexus and with similar parking patterns but never had issues with any of them.

[AJ500]

Did you buy the car from new.If not,it may have had the bonnet resprayed and the paint is now failing.

[Saaj]

It was two years old when I bought it and I bought it from a dealer. It has one previous owner who had returned the car after the end of its lease. Just to be clear it’s appears to be a coating on the top of the paint that’s come off. The actual paint underneath seems fine.

[Spacewagon52]

7 minutes ago, Saaj said:

It was two years old when I bought it and I bought it from a dealer. It has one previous owner who had returned the car after the end of its lease. Just to be clear it’s appears to be a coating on the top of the paint that’s come off. The actual paint underneath seems fine.

Worth going to a paint place and getting their opinion. I wondered if your paint was red but it appears blue.

[AJ500]

It is the clear coat lacquer that has failed then,albeit only in a small area.Possibly bird dropping or something similarly acidic but may be the bonnet was repainted before you got it and not baked sufficiently. Either way,a good bodyshop can probably re lacquer without needing to repaint the whole bonnet if the colour paint is undamaged. If its very small you may prefer to leave it but usually,once the lacquer starts to lift it just gets worse as water gets under it.

[Spacewagon52]

1 minute ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Worth going to a paint place and getting their opinion. I wondered if your paint was red but it appears blue.

Paint place! I meant Body Shop! Word finding gets difficult as you get older!

[Brian R]

Does sound as if it could have had some paint work prior to your ownership and probably was just good enough to keep the lease company happy. If the base colour coat is sound then chances are it can be re-lacquered but be prepared for some teeth sucking from the would be painters. 

[steve2006]

Also consider that modern paints tend to be water based which may not be as resilient as the generations of solvent based paints such as cellulose. Some of the bird droppings around here would probably clean rust off, tree sap can also react with coatings.

[Saaj]

Thanks - Sounds like it would be wise to get the small patch re lacquered before it gets worse and cost getting bigger

[Spacewagon52]

Sajid, please let us know how you get on.

[Saaj]

20 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Sajid, please let us know how you get on.

I will do…

[Malc]

well, I think it's appalling that the lacquer has started to peel at such a young age .......  maybe if it's a poor repair prior then that's understandable ( just ) BUT if it's never been repaired then the quality of the factory finish was dreadful ...  not sure how you'll ever find that out sadly ..  and I would be banging on someone's door at Lexus to get restitution somehow

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the tops of my nearside doors have just started to lacquer peel BUT that's at 26 years young though ,,  and just about acceptable but not happy about it tbh 

Malc

[NemesisUK]

Checking the bonnet with a paint thickness gauge would show if it's been repaired.

I think the fact that this is just one instance would negate poor factory finishing?

[Saaj]

2 hours ago, Malc said:

well, I think it's appalling that the lacquer has started to peel at such a young age .......  maybe if it's a poor repair prior then that's understandable ( just ) BUT if it's never been repaired then the quality of the factory finish was dreadful ...  not sure how you'll ever find that out sadly ..  and I would be banging on someone's door at Lexus to get restitution somehow

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the tops of my nearside doors have just started to lacquer peel BUT that's at 26 years young though ,,  and just about acceptable but not happy about it tbh 

Malc

I have emailed the dealership locally to me and to those I bought the car from for their comments. There is nothing to suggest that there’s been any kind of repair/repaint. In fact I have noticed tiny specs of yellowish debris indented into the pair work suggesting whatever it is has gone through the lacquer.

In couple of places there are very tiny areas where can bare metal. 

[paulrnx]

Stone chip damage to the lacquer coat could also cause this over time

[LenT]

10 hours ago, Saaj said:

I have emailed the dealership locally to me and to those I bought the car from for their comments. There is nothing to suggest that there’s been any kind of repair/repaint. In fact I have noticed tiny specs of yellowish debris indented into the pair work suggesting whatever it is has gone through the lacquer.

In couple of places there are very tiny areas where can bare metal. 

It is possible - and I would put it no stronger than that - that there’s more than one cause operating here.  The presence of yellow debris may not be related to tiny areas of bare metal.  Possible causes could include airborne pollution (we had a local deposit of Sahara sand recently!); and mechanical damage by such as a car wash.

Either way, I think you’re better going to a paint shop than a dealer, as has already been suggested.  Dealers invariably  go to such specialist services themselves, rather than doing it in-house.

Another option might be to get the opinion of a good Detailer if you have one nearby.  After all, rectifying paint damage is something of an obsession to them!

[Bounce75]

On 9/3/2021 at 10:37 AM, Saaj said:

Hi

Anyone experienced top layer of pain flaking off on an NX 300h? I have attached a picture 

I appear to have a fault with the paintwork on my Lexus NX 300h bonnet. The top layer or coating on a small area on the bonnet has peeled off. I am aware paint work is warranted for 3 years for perforations and rust but this is neither and I do not expect to see this happen to a car that’s 5 years old. I have owned cars much older then this and have never come across this issues on them so I can only assume this is a manufacturing defect.

 

I have had it serviced last year and as recently as few weeks ago by Lexus Woodford and it is under Lexus Relax 12 months warranty. 
 

I have emailed local dealerships but they reckon it’s not under warranty.

 

Any thoughts on what caused it and whether this is a manufacturer issue or not?

Thanks

I have a small blemish on my roof that has got worse over the summer.

It was there when I bought the car, but as I could only just see it under my garage lights I didn't report it to dealership (bought as pre-reg with 6 miles on the clock), but over the summer it has got worse & I can see it in the daylight now.

I took it to my local dealership & they are saying it is not covered under the warranty as it looks like bird lime stain.

My concern now is that it will flake like yours has?

What do I do now that they are saying it's not covered?

[Malc]

if they won't be sensible and engage with you then I would see a solicitor and take out a claim against Lexus and the Dealership for full reimbursement of your purchase price of the car ....  and tell them you are doing so before you do it ! ..  and the resultant publicity too, especially on this Forum and elsewhere

If they don't offer you some sensible comfort after you have advised them of this proposed course of action then see that solicitor for professional advice to move it forward

Just my two penn'th 

Malc

[LenT]

10 minutes ago, Bounce75 said:

I have a small blemish on my roof that has got worse over the summer.

It was there when I bought the car, but as I could only just see it under my garage lights I didn't report it to dealership (bought as pre-reg with 6 miles on the clock), but over the summer it has got worse & I can see it in the daylight now.

I took it to my local dealership & they are saying it is not covered under the warranty as it looks like bird lime stain.

My concern now is that it will flake like yours has?

What do I do now that they are saying it's not covered?

 

How likely is it, Steve, that it's a bird lime stain?   Is it a problem that you have anyway where you park it?

Has it expanded since you first noticed it?  Because that isn't going to happen with bird lime.

It's as likely to be a problem with the clear top coat and as that is a warranty matter I'd be inclined to take action against the Dealer.

For example, send a Registered letter to the CEO/ Owner of the dealership with your photos, challenging their decision and diagnosis.  Suggest that this was actually an inherent fault when they sold the car.  You could suggest that you will take it to an independent car paint specialist - or any motoring organisation of which you are a member - for examination.  Or rectification.  And you will expect them to cover any additional costs if it proves to be warrantable claim.

 

[paulrnx]

44 minutes ago, Bounce75 said:

I have a small blemish on my roof that has got worse over the summer.

It was there when I bought the car, but as I could only just see it under my garage lights I didn't report it to dealership (bought as pre-reg with 6 miles on the clock), but over the summer it has got worse & I can see it in the daylight now.

I took it to my local dealership & they are saying it is not covered under the warranty as it looks like bird lime stain.

My concern now is that it will flake like yours has?

What do I do now that they are saying it's not covered?

Looks like the mark I had on a previous NX. It was from bird muck. I used T-Cut metallic and it removed it straight away. I then polished the area and you couldn’t see it. The paintwork stayed perfect for the next 12 months. Worth a go perhaps?

[Bounce75]

53 minutes ago, LenT said:

How likely is it, Steve, that it's a bird lime stain?   Is it a problem that you have anyway where you park it?

Has it expanded since you first noticed it?  Because that isn't going to happen with bird lime.

It's as likely to be a problem with the clear top coat and as that is a warranty matter I'd be inclined to take action against the Dealer.

For example, send a Registered letter to the CEO/ Owner of the dealership with your photos, challenging their decision and diagnosis.  Suggest that this was actually an inherent fault when they sold the car.  You could suggest that you will take it to an independent car paint specialist - or any motoring organisation of which you are a member - for examination.  Or rectification.  And you will expect them to cover any additional costs if it proves to be warrantable claim.

 

Hi Len/Paul,

I park in my garage from 5pm until 7am every day, the remaining time it is in a works car park with no trees, so I know it definitely wasn't picked up in my ownership.

As I said it was there very slightly when I picked it up in Feb this year, but has got worse over the summer, maybe the sun has affected it?

My local dealership have offered to try & polish it out for £85 which I have forwarded to the selling dealership last Tuesday, but no response yet.

I have tried Meguiars scratch remover, but it hasn't touched it. I am concerned too much work on that area will wear through the clear coat.

I will give the selling dealer until the middle of next week to reply, but I am sure they will say it has been caused by me as I didn't report it until 6 months after purchase, I do have pics from June when I noticed it getting worse.

 

[paulrnx]

1 hour ago, Bounce75 said:

Hi Len/Paul,

I park in my garage from 5pm until 7am every day, the remaining time it is in a works car park with no trees, so I know it definitely wasn't picked up in my ownership.

As I said it was there very slightly when I picked it up in Feb this year, but has got worse over the summer, maybe the sun has affected it?

My local dealership have offered to try & polish it out for £85 which I have forwarded to the selling dealership last Tuesday, but no response yet.

I have tried Meguiars scratch remover, but it hasn't touched it. I am concerned too much work on that area will wear through the clear coat.

I will give the selling dealer until the middle of next week to reply, but I am sure they will say it has been caused by me as I didn't report it until 6 months after purchase, I do have pics from June when I noticed it getting worse.

 

Fair enough. I agree, best not to do too much in that area. As has been said above, a good professional detailer would know best about this sort of thing and could advise. They can also measure paint thickness to be sure there is enough paint to allow it to be polished out. When it happened to me I thought the paint was damaged. I tried loads of polish but it just didn’t touch it. The T-Cut removed it straight away. Good luck, hope you get a good result.

[Saaj]

5 hours ago, Bounce75 said:

I have a small blemish on my roof that has got worse over the summer.

It was there when I bought the car, but as I could only just see it under my garage lights I didn't report it to dealership (bought as pre-reg with 6 miles on the clock), but over the summer it has got worse & I can see it in the daylight now.

I took it to my local dealership & they are saying it is not covered under the warranty as it looks like bird lime stain.

My concern now is that it will flake like yours has?

What do I do now that they are saying it's not covered?

It’s disappointing that this happens to a young car in modern days with modern technology. I think it’s poor workmanship or materials. I had a Volvo XC90 that was 9 years old parked in the same street as my Lexus where I have occasional bird droppings  and never had any issues with paintwork. My Volvo had a sparkling shine after each wash and I don’t see the same with Lexus.

my suggestion would be is to get it fixed before it escalates into bigger cost. Also suggest you contact Lexus customer services expressing your disappointment and for their views.

all the best.