Paint Chipping - Warranty or Recall?

newdude · May 5, 2017

If it is not the half ton crew cab, so what model would you consider the vast majority of GM full size trucks produced?

They only produce hmmm...1/2 ton crew in Flint, All HD crew and I think chassis cab HD in Flint, all other 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and 1 ton production in Ft. Wayne. Tahoe/Suburban/Escalade/Yukon/Yukon XL are all pumped out of Texas.

I don't have any exact production #s to reference, and neither do you...but there is A LOT of the K2 fleet NOT made in Mexico. To be specific, 21 out of the 23 truck configurations (SUV and pickup) are US. TWO of them are Mexico. Crew cab short box and crew cab standard box.

The 21 that are US:

Chevy/GMC: 1500 regular cab standard box

Chevy/GMC: 1500 regular cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 1500 double cab standard box

Chevy/GMC: 2500HD regular cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 2500HD double cab standard box

Chevy/GMC: 2500HD double cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 2500HD crew cab standard box

Chevy/GMC: 2500HD crew cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD regular cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD double cab standard box

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD double cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD crew cab standard box

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD crew cab long box

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD chassis cab regular cab

Chevy/GMC: 3500HD chassis cab crew cab

Chevy/GMC/Cadillac: Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade

Chevy/GMC/Cadillac: Suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV

Silverado Steve · May 5, 2017

OP,

Any reason clear bras business have been popping up everywhere? Sad fact of life is as otherhs have mentioned, the transition to water based paints, means a less durable base coat. It's not only a GM problem, Toyota, Honda, Ford too have issues with paint. Solution to your problem is if the dealer agrees to repaint your truck, and that's a big stretch, is to immediately pay the $1200 to cover your bumper, hood, a-pillars and roof with a good quality clear bra and not worry about your front end looking like it was hit with buckshot.. Check out X-Pel.

aseibel · May 5, 2017

I find that not driving on the interstate daily helps prevent chips too. I don't know how large a stone needs to be to damage the paint, but I sure as heck make sure I'm not closely following a semi or dump truck. Those things throw up 1" stones.

I don't think I have a single chip in 20,000 miles. But I also drive very little on the freeway.

I wonder how many of the people with a lot of paint chips are frequent highway drivers in heavy traffic. If you have no choice due to your work commute, I guess you either put the clear bra on, or live with chips.

Delgaty · May 5, 2017

Wow, didn't think I was going to get this many responses already. I find the chips on the rear bumper and tailgate are likely from towing my sled trailer with salt shield and the rocks are bouncing off it and hitting the back of the truck. My solution so far is I'll be getting big mudflaps instead of the stupid splash guards installed Monday, and I've been dealing with a Ziebart dealer to get the film applied to the bumpers. I'll touch them up just before that. Either that or have the bumpers sprayed with color-match rubberized bedliner (Reflex) but on a white truck I'm afraid it'll yellow over time.

Thomcat · May 6, 2017

I find that not driving on the interstate daily helps prevent chips too. I don't know how large a stone needs to be to damage the paint, but I sure as heck make sure I'm not closely following a semi or dump truck. Those things throw up 1" stones.

I don't think I have a single chip in 20,000 miles. But I also drive very little on the freeway.

I wonder how many of the people with a lot of paint chips are frequent highway drivers in heavy traffic. If you have no choice due to your work commute, I guess you either put the clear bra on, or live with chips.

X2

Nine months on a Flint mfrd. double cab and not a single real defect in the machinery, electronics or bodywork. Might be a little nuts, but after owning 3 Avalanches I will never buy any "3" VIN Mexican mfrd. truck ever again. No chips in the paint or starbursts in any of my windshields either- yet - not because the paint isn't easy to chip, but because I reduce the possibility following simple rules:

Keep adequate distance -at least 2 sec rule - no matter what you are following which most of the time will also keep you a safe distance from the arc of projectile motion from the projectiles launched from the forward vehicle's tires

Never get behind or stay behind a semi with missing or damaged mud flaps - if unavoidable, fall back and let some other motorist who is in a hurry cut in and run block and get "peppered".

Ditto for Jeeps and other raised vehicles with aggressive tires extending outward beyond the edge of the fenders even if they have mud flaps

Get out of the lane or pull off altogether if found following a gravel truck or concrete truck - even if they have flaps, bed covered and not actively spitting stones, all it takes is for them to hit a bump and knock caked on crap off the suspension and have the tires launch them toward you at 100 mph

Never closely follow a vehicle toed on the outward line of the outward lane(s) - stones dirt and crap build up just off the road edge and you'll get "dusted" with debris.

Paranoid is as paranoid does - but no major chips in any of my vehicles so far.

Z45 · May 6, 2017

I worked for years as a DOT surveyor along the highways under traffic conditions. While you may not realize it, your vehicle is getting sand blasted all the time. Dirt/grit/rocks/sand all kicked up by moving traffic and most of it by big trucks. Just standing along the shoulder when trucks pasted by you could feel it, always had to look away or get blasted. Once a semi sped past us, kicked up so much grit that a worker 50 ft off the road got it in the face and eyee even with safety glass's on, had to go to ER and have his eye drilled to remove fine dirt. Its not the paint, its the environment that is the problem. Stay of the freeways, don't tailgate etc.

Buckshot556 · May 6, 2017

I recently sat down with an chemical engineer who works for a tier one chemical & additive supplier to GM. He said GM's focus on the K2 trucks was rust prevention so the additives in the paint are geared for preventing rust. The compromise is a more brittle paint. GM compounds that by painting these trucks as thin as possible. Some Engineer got a nice pat on the back for that cost saving measure.

The problem I'm experiencing isn't so much the frequency of rock chips, but how devistating they are when they occur. A simple rock chip now involves touching up an area the size of a pea. The textured paint along the bottom of our trucks doesn't work worth a crap because it's just so brittle. Best thing I did was buy a WeatherTech low pro stone shield for the hood, and I linex'd the rockers on my truck. Now the only susceptible spot on my truck is the area between the headlight and bumper.

Buckshot556 · May 6, 2017

X2

Nine months on a Flint mfrd. double cab and not a single real defect in the machinery, electronics or bodywork. Might be a little nuts, but after owning 3 Avalanches I will never buy any "3" VIN Mexican mfrd. truck ever again. No chips in the paint or starbursts in any of my windshields either- yet - not because the paint isn't easy to chip, but because I reduce the possibility following simple rules:

Keep adequate distance -at least 2 sec rule - no matter what you are following which most of the time will also keep you a safe distance from the arc of projectile motion from the projectiles launched from the forward vehicle's tires

Never get behind or stay behind a semi with missing or damaged mud flaps - if unavoidable, fall back and let some other motorist who is in a hurry cut in and run block and get "peppered".

Ditto for Jeeps and other raised vehicles with aggressive tires extending outward beyond the edge of the fenders even if they have mud flaps

Get out of the lane or pull off altogether if found following a gravel truck or concrete truck - even if they have flaps, bed covered and not actively spitting stones, all it takes is for them to hit a bump and knock caked on crap off the suspension and have the tires launch them toward you at 100 mph

Never closely follow a vehicle toed on the outward line of the outward lane(s) - stones dirt and crap build up just off the road edge and you'll get "dusted" with debris.

Paranoid is as paranoid does - but no major chips in any of my vehicles so far.

You sir speak from experience. I excersize the same cautions as you because I also own a jeep Wrangler and know how bad tires like that throw stones

Frank4001 · August 12, 2017

I thought my truck was the only one that the paint was chipping . Even washing it gives it scratches.

muddkatt · August 12, 2017

I thought my truck was the only one that the paint was chipping . Even washing it gives it scratches.

If you are scratching the paint when washing it, you are not washing it the right way. Washing it using the 2 bucket method will prevent scratches.

Frank4001 · August 12, 2017

Thanks for that video !

truckguy82 · August 13, 2017

I thought my truck was the only one that the paint was chipping . Even washing it gives it scratches.

Yeah we have two totally black cars, my truck and the wifes rdx.

Rdx only sees the standard car wash, truck saw a regular car wash twice in it's life.

Not a single noticeable scratch on the rdx, truck looks horrible up close, so many micro abrasions from the wash.

Thomcat · August 13, 2017

Yeah we have two totally black cars, my truck and the wifes rdx.

Rdx only sees the standard car wash, truck saw a regular car wash twice in it's life.

Not a single noticeable scratch on the rdx, truck looks horrible up close, so many micro abrasions from the wash.

My car wash is putting on a slicker and soaping the exterior of all the vehicles during a heavy mountain cloudburst, and not even micro-abrasions in the Jello hard clear coat on any of the vehicles. No hard water spotting and ready to quick wax as soon as dry.

I don't trust any commercial car wash. Whether or not the finish suffers abrasion is not so mush the hardness of the paint but the car wash itself. They used recycled water that is supposedly filtered and the filters changed regularly. Yeah, right. Get in line behind some off-roader ahead of you caked with mud and grit and that's what is going to be power washed on you next - if it has brushes or moving chamois anything in the water gets rubbed on your finish - touch free that uses only high velocity air to force off the dirty soapy water is not much better - then the coup-de-grace if unfortunate enough to get a finish wipe by the attendant with a dirty rag.

Takes a good three or four tries and a minute or so to slowly dissolve caked on bird crap without rubbing it and grinding grit into the finish - car wash brush can do it in less than a second and screw the finish.

Photo taken right after a nature car wash.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Thomcat

buckwuk · August 13, 2017

I've actually had my bumper repainted under warranty. They have a test that they do to find out if it is an adhesion problem or not, they pretty much take a piece of tape and if paint comes off it's an adhesion problem. I had about 100+ little paint flecks that came off my bumper though.