greylady91

I am new to this Lexus Forum. I have a 2005 ES330 - Silver. I am very disappointed with the amount of paint chips that are on my front bumper, hood and fenders. When I took it in for service, my dealer told me it was because I do too much highway driving (which was the reason I wanted the car in the first place.) Is this something I have to live with? Right now I have 17,000 miles on the car. It is 14 months old. Are other owners having this problem?

W. David

I have the same problem with my car.....you don't have to live with,and I don't plan on it.
I plan on getting the hood repainted this spring, and will likely have a clear bra put on so I don't have to deal with this again (already had it done once!).

Like yourself, I do a great deal of highway driving, and other than a clear bra, there's no way around getting the occaisional stone chip......while I don't necessarily like the sometimes visible line left with a clear bra, it certainly looks better than a hood filled with stone chips....

greylady91

David,

Thanks for your quick response. So, should I assume that there is no defect in the paint ??? it almost seems as if it should be more durable. I have been thinking about repainting and applying the clear bra. Would you suggest having this done at the Lexus dealer or an auto body shop?

maniax

iTrader: (3)

the paint on newer cars totally sux. They put more electronics in newer cars but cut costs in places like the paint. You should see the amount of complaints from 2000-2003 maxima owners!

W. David

It's really up to you....as far as the painting goes, an autobody shop would likely be a little less expensive, but I would still prefer taking it to a dealer. (better yet, the dealer the car initially came from). Given that its still a fairly new car, a dealer make take a little more care in doing the job properly as it's really not good advertisement to see a newish Lexus on the road with stonechips all over the front of it......again though, it's entirely up to you.

As far as the clear bra goes, if you took it into a dealer to get painted, they should be able to set you up with a contact to get a bra put on it...they may even arrange it for you right then.

GL!

rlewis10

Greetings everyone, for this is my first post. My Mother passed away in July and I now own her 2005 ES330, 84,000 miles, clean as a whistle, and always garaged.

Perhaps 2 years ago she had a body shop repair/repaint the front bumper after some boo-boos over a few years. I think it was big truck with big trailer hitch vs. her bumper. I personally have trouble gauging how far to pull into a space, so I practice the get my outside mirrors even with the next car trick. Perhaps a front camera? I personally find it hard getting used to front end clearance. A year later my sister had to same problem and resulted in big concrete curb vs. bumper. Although the scratches were not terrible, the paint peeled and flaked off some. I will post a few quick pics of that event.

Now, almost 2 years later the flaking is increasing and get this: the undamaged side of the bumper is starting to show pockets of blisters with resulting flakes. What's going on?

My diagnosis: the paint ain't stickin'. All it takes is a little scratch or passing glance and it starts this nonsense. The rest of the car is fine.

My question is (1) is this happening to cars with no body shop work? In essence is the primer and top coats an adhering and curing issue? (2) Is this phenomenon from OEM or non-OEM bumper replacements?

Thanks for the time.



Close-up. Right after the mishap. Wait until the next update. 10/2012.





A quick pic after the scrape.

LeX2K

That looks to me like a bumper that was not prepared properly before painting. If the plastic bumper surface is not prepped correctly (not sure the exact procedure) the paint will adhere very poorly and will flake and chip off easily. I've seen this a lot on cars that had body work done, some body shops are lazy and want to turn things around and quickly as possible.

rlewis10

Thanks Lexus2000. That's my thought, too. Later I know what to ask and expect from the next body shop. I have a recommendation here that the Toyota dealership uses. I'll include that in my estimate shopping/discussions.