Our LS430 is experiencing paint chips on the hood (approximately 30) and on the side (4 to 6) of the car near the door handles. I had a Volvo for 17 years and a Mercedes for 5 years and never experienced the number of paint chips that I have on my LS430. The paint chips started to appear approximately 4 months after we purchased the car. Is anyone else having this problem? Is this a common problem with Lexus or is this unique to my car? Is there a test to test the paint and its resistance to chips?

 

for sure the volvo is OLD, and what yr was the mb? new paints are all water base so they are not as hard and durable as the oil base paint on most of the older cars. my 92 camry had superb paint quality.

oh and btw, if you think lexus is bad, my old acura was way worse

 

This is why I've clear-bra'd our 06 LS. If it really bothers you, you could get your car professionally touched up then get a clear bra installed.

 

I suspect you may have a bad paint job. I have a 2005 LS430 (white) and have maybe 3 little paint chips on the front bumper....so tiny they are not at all noticeable. I have none on the hood. All my driving has been on paved roads and freeways. What are your driving conditions?

Note: I always keep my car waxed....at least a full wax job twice a year. That may help.

 

Everyone - Thanks for your responses to my thread on paint chips. I am at a loss on what to do because the dealer told me the paint chips are from rocks hitting the car. Lexus does not have any tests they can perform on the car to determine if there is an issue with the paint. I am going to contact Consumer Reports and see if they have any tests that can test the paint on my car.

I can understand a few paint chips but I have paint chips all over the hood and on the door - near the door handle. How did a rock hit near the door handle and chip the paint. Not one chip by the door handle - but several.

Again - thanks for all your comments.

 

I had a 2004 LS 430 and experienced the same problem as you. I even had the clear bra on the car and still got chips on the hood, fenders as well as many small nicks on the windshield. The truth of the matter is that the paint on most of the Japanese cars is soft. I have a friend who owns a auto body repair shop who caters to high line cars and he confirms this, In his words he loves Lexus because of the paint touch up revenue they generate. He calls them his touch up annuity.

 

Don't you find it strange that this seems to be a rather isolated case? There just aren't that many complaints on any of the Lexus forums relating to soft paint or inferior paint jobs. The complaints are rather isolated and rare. My 2005 LS430 does NOT appear to have "soft paint." My previous car was a 2001 Mercedes E-430 and it DID have soft paint...I experienced several dings and paint chips on the hood of that car....however my Lexus has been fine. I continue to think the original poster may have a less than perfect paint job on his car, however, I don't think it is typical for Lexus. It appears to be an isolated case.

 

Do you think the painting robots were having a bad day? Let's not get our knickers in a twist.

 

Thanks for your additional comments. RJM - I do think it is strange that I am the first to post an issue with paint chips. I will continue to monitor and see what paint issues others have experienced. I do plan to continue to bug Lexus with this and hope to have them resolve it. Again - thanks to all of you for your responses.