Paint Blistering LC500h

Bozman79 · June 22, 2022

Hi all,

Looking for members thoughts on an issue that has arisen with the my LC500h (17 plate) which I've owned for 12 months (select approved from Lexus dealership).

I clean the car every 3 weeks or so and mid-April I noticed a small patch of blistered paint on the front offside wheel arch. Not easy to spot as it really only shows when the light catches it and you have to be right up close to it. We're talking roughly a 2cm x 1cm area.

I was due a service within a fortnight and thought I'd get the local dealership to advise on the issue whilst it was in for a service.

The local dealership advised that they thought it was an imperfect paint finish and suggested I refer it to the dealership where the car was originally purchased from an hour and half away. So I made an appointment and took the car up to them.

They've looked at it and state that the blistering is caused by an external chip to the paintwork the size of a pinhead. See photos attached (red arrow is pointing to the suspected chip).

The dealership is towing the party line - not covered under warranty etc. and don't seem to be particularly concerned and this doesn't really sit well with me.

I've owned numerous luxury and non-luxury cars for varying lengths of time (2 years - 9 years) and I have never experienced such an issue before.

Minor paintwork damage from surface stones is inevitable and Lexus must surely apply some anti-corrosion measures in the manufacture and finishing of their modern day vehicles to prevent such an occurrence?

My father in law caught hold of a bollard leaving a car park in his Berlingo 3 years ago and the scratches are deep down to the metal. He's never had it fixed and I don't see any blistering occurring (photos attached)..

I'd be interested in your thoughts and if anyone else has had a similar issue and how Lexus have handled it.

NemesisUK · June 22, 2022

I think I would have to agree with the dealership. There may well be no corrosion to the metal but if water has gone under the paint it may well swell and blister.

What colour is the car? A smart repair may be the way to go.

rayaans · June 22, 2022

I think this is probably how most dealerships would have handled it.

There is a clear stone chip that has gone down to the metal and this would cause water to get in especially in an area where water would be forced in near the wheels rather than on a door for example.

I had a similiar thing with a Jag and the dealership rendered it due to a stone chip as well - which was quite evident to be honest. In the end just had a smart repair to stop it worsening

RiverFred · June 22, 2022

If you want to prevent paint chips I suggest you have a clear bra installed, rather expensive but worthwhile. I installed mine on the front of the car, now I am thinking of the doors and rocker panels.

NemesisUK · June 22, 2022

You'll end up covering the whole car and getting a cracked windscreen!! Enjoy driving the car and deal with the inevitable when it happens!

rayaans · June 22, 2022

1 hour ago, RiverFred said:

If you want to prevent paint chips I suggest you have a clear bra installed, rather expensive but worthwhile. I installed mine on the front of the car, now I am thinking of the doors and rocker panels.

I think front bumper, bonnet and A pillars are worthwhile but anything more than that is probably a bit overkill dont you think? The rocker panel might make sense but not just a lone piece as you can see the edges otherwise. Luckily there is a panel line the sideskirts can be done in that one panel.

Bozman79 · June 23, 2022

Many thanks all for your replies 👍

Having never experienced anything like this on any other vehicle that I've owned over the years, I'm just rather surprised that a barely visible stone chip should lead to paint blistering of this sort on such a modern, prestigious car that is presumably manufactured and finished to combat such issues. If it were a common occurrence, I'd have expected to have seen more road users exhibiting patches of blistered paint on their front ends before now.

Thanks again for your replies - most appreciated! I'll update the thread once all is resolved.

(The colour is Cadoxton Slate btw)

Winston · June 23, 2022

4 hours ago, Bozman79 said:

Many thanks all for your replies 👍

Having never experienced anything like this on any other vehicle that I've owned over the years, I'm just rather surprised that a barely visible stone chip should lead to paint blistering of this sort on such a modern, prestigious car that is presumably manufactured and finished to combat such issues. If it were a common occurrence, I'd have expected to have seen more road users exhibiting patches of blistered paint on their front ends before now.

Thanks again for your replies - most appreciated! I'll update the thread once all is resolved.

(The colour is Cadoxton Slate btw)

I’m afraid I agree with the others on here, this happens sometimes and just because you haven’t experienced it means you have been lucky,

I have never won the lottery but I keep buying a ticket,
hopefully it won’t cost you too much to fix it and it’s best not to leave it to long.

royoftherovers · June 23, 2022

6 hours ago, Bozman79 said:

Many thanks all for your replies 👍

Having never experienced anything like this on any other vehicle that I've owned over the years, I'm just rather surprised that a barely visible stone chip should lead to paint blistering of this sort on such a modern, prestigious car that is presumably manufactured and finished to combat such issues. If it were a common occurrence, I'd have expected to have seen more road users exhibiting patches of blistered paint on their front ends before now.

Thanks again for your replies - most appreciated! I'll update the thread once all is resolved.

(The colour is Cadoxton Slate btw)

I do not agree with the others and would seek the views of a specialist Detailer.

08ISF · June 23, 2022

I've had tiny stone chips on many of my cars , Lexus and non Lexus and none of them have resulted in local blistering. Cars these days are phosphated during the paint process which should stop corrosion spreading. One Lexus dealer says paint fault and the one who might have to do something about it says it's your fault. Hmm, I would escalate to dealer principal level. After all, you bought a very expensive car from them , and they should be looking for repeat business. If you get no joy with the dealer escalate again to Lexus UK. It is possible that some minor damage on the car was repaired badly before you had it. I had a similar thing on my ISF where paint started to bubble on the rear wheel arch. Result, a new wing.

On the other hand, as others have suggested , a smart repair may be the easiest way out.

Winston · June 23, 2022

4 hours ago, 08ISF said:

I've had tiny stone chips on many of my cars , Lexus and non Lexus and none of them have resulted in local blistering. Cars these days are phosphated during the paint process which should stop corrosion spreading. One Lexus dealer says paint fault and the one who might have to do something about it says it's your fault. Hmm, I would escalate to dealer principal level. After all, you bought a very expensive car from them , and they should be looking for repeat business. If you get no joy with the dealer escalate again to Lexus UK. It is possible that some minor damage on the car was repaired badly before you had it. I had a similar thing on my ISF where paint started to bubble on the rear wheel arch. Result, a new wing.

On the other hand, as others have suggested , a smart repair may be the easiest way out.

Though I think is just one of those things, there is absolutely no reason not to push the main agent for a repair, it is possible there is a fault or they may just do it for customer satisfaction .

Bluemarlin · July 21, 2022

Regardless of who's liable, I'd get it seen to as quickly as possible. As said earlier, a smart repair might be a relatively inexpensive fix as it stands now, but sometimes these things can spread quickly.

ThomasLexus94 · May 7, 2023

Im curious how you got on Anthony?

Marcus63 · May 8, 2023

This may be a stupid question because I have no experience of warranty claims but do you have to go back to the dealership where you originally bought the car or can any Lexus dealership handle the claim? If that was the case, could the local dealership who thought it was imperfect paint finish not handle it? Or are you claiming on the approved used car warranty rather than the new car (extended up to 10 years warranty)

TomLC500h · July 9

Great topic, my car is going to Lexus Glasgow to be examined as both of my front wings are showing signs of corrosion (at different areas). To echo what has been said before, I have never owned a car with as bad corrosion, my old 2004 sc430 had very little rust or bubbles regardless of all its paint chips.

Malc1 · July 9

That looks quite sad really ....... what's it like behind that wheel arch area just there .... any road crud amassed ?

Malc

Linas.P · July 9

These sort of issues and areas where it is happening are quite common i.e. bubbling arches in places where stones kicked by wheels had chipped the paint... for the car made in 1990s and 2000s that is...

I have very similar looking blistering on IS250, just at the corner where bumper screws into the fender... and it seems to be caused by previous owner having small accident that pulled the bumper forward and the screw ripped out of the the fender... then over time water and dirt stayed in that little gap and attacked the metal from both sides, it must have taken many years for blistering to happen in that place. But that is 2006 car with 100,000 miles on it... not a flagship model from 2018.

I would consider that unacceptable for car designed and made after 2016. It is kind of grey area as obviously unprotected metal will rust, but these sort of issues were long addressed by the time 2010s rolled in. I can't see any way for Lexus to claim they were not aware that stones are flying inside the wheel arche when the entire bottom of the car is already clad with covers. This sort of damage prone area should have been covered in the design phase. For example if you reach inside the arch of IS250 or GS300 you will feel that from inside there is undercoating under the paint in exactly this area, also plastic cover goes right to the edge. So if they were aware of this in ~2002 when 2nd gen IS and 3rd gen GS was designed, I can't see how they forgotten to protect it in flagship model more than 10 years later.

So sure - this is stone chip induced damage, but also it is bad design. It would be hard to expect for it to be covered under warranty, but I feel it would be reasonable for this to be good will repair considering the class and cost of the car (and it is relatively new car).

Sadz · July 12

On 6/22/2022 at 6:16 PM, RiverFred said:

If you want to prevent paint chips I suggest you have a clear bra installed, rather expensive but worthwhile. I installed mine on the front of the car, now I am thinking of the doors and rocker panels.

I did a full body PPF after taking delivery of mine. Had few stone attacks on the bonnet and side of the car. But, all they did was damage the PPF itself and left the paint untouched. I'm waiting to get more damage on the PPF before I think of replacing it.

Yes, PPF is expensive but worth it!

TomLC500h · July 24

On 7/9/2024 at 5:18 PM, Malc1 said:

That looks quite sad really ....... what's it like behind that wheel arch area just there .... any road crud amassed ?

Malc

It is hard to see due to the lining.

TomLC500h · July 24

On 7/12/2024 at 11:43 AM, Sadz said:

I did a full body PPF after taking delivery of mine. Had few stone attacks on the bonnet and side of the car. But, all they did was damage the PPF itself and left the paint untouched. I'm waiting to get more damage on the PPF before I think of replacing it.

Yes, PPF is expensive but worth it!

Not a bad shout, I went down the ceramic coating route for my lc

TomLC500h · July 25

Hey everyone/ LC UK owners,

I have seen a few more LC's on the FB groups (in the UK) also experiencing the blistering on the front wings.

I was wondering if any more of you fellow LC owners on here are having this paint issue?

Sadz · July 31

On 7/24/2024 at 10:01 AM, TomLC500h said:

Not a bad shout, I went down the ceramic coating route for my lc

Ceramic coat is a great way to give a treat to your car. I also got it on mine over the PPF

Marcus63 · August 1

I did the same ceramic over PPF for the whole car. So far, and its early days, but really happy with it. Cost me 6 pct of the car but not only is cleaning a doddle but the PPF saved me when I scraped the front spoiler in France last year. The PPF was a real mess but just had that section replaced and underneath minimal barely noticeable damage to the paint.

Paul29bit · August 1

Marcus, what was the cost of PPF the LC if you dont mind me asking?

eightk · August 1

9 hours ago, Marcus63 said:

I did the same ceramic over PPF for the whole car. So far, and its early days, but really happy with it. Cost me 6 pct of the car but not only is cleaning a doddle but the PPF saved me when I scraped the front spoiler in France last year. The PPF was a real mess but just had that section replaced and underneath minimal barely noticeable damage to the paint.

PPF here too - about a month ago I parked rear end next to a carpark barrier, then put the convertible roof up. The back edge of the bootlid hit the barrier as it moved back. Left a really nasty scuff a good 4" long on the bootlid. I took the car straight to the PPF installers almost in tears where they wiped it down with a solvent to leave nothing but a tiny imperfection in the film maybe 5mm long and only noticeable if you're inches from the car. This is my first PPF - Xpel film lasercut to templates, authorised dealer fitment, whole car, cost a bit over £4k which at the time felt ridiculous but after that experience I couldn't be more positive about it - it most definitely saved me a rear end respray.