Paint Bubbling, We need EVERYONE to register a complaint! READ FORDS RESPONSE!!!

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Adieu

Full Access Members
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Posts
3,717
Reaction score
798
Location
SoCal
Since the consensus about the cause is galvanic, I wonder if attaching a sacrificial zinc somewhere would slow or stop the corrosion. Give those electrons an easy target.

The Navy has been doing it for years.View attachment 25510

Granted, its messy (nasty white powder as it does its job), and finding a place to install it could be troublesome.

Sacrificial zinc? Just drill a hole and attach a zinc screw/bolt and washer
 

LRNAD90

Full Access Members
Joined
May 29, 2018
Posts
100
Reaction score
45
Location
Maryland
I'm assuming this issue also effects the '15 thru '17 Navigators as well?
 

JExpedition07

That One Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Posts
6,530
Reaction score
3,140
Location
New York
There is a new thread in the 4th gen section too as some owners are experiencing paint blisters and small bubbles in panels. Looks more like paint defects and not corrosion to me but time will tell.
 
Last edited:

Dorzak

Full Access Members
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Posts
450
Reaction score
123
Location
California
There is a new thread in the 4th gen section too as some owners are experiencing paint blisters and small bubbles in panels. Looks more like paint defects and not corrosion to me but time will tell.

I remember I posted a thread warning 4th Gen owners to watch for it and was told Ford must have fixed it by now.
 

RustyOval

Full Access Members
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Posts
148
Reaction score
47
Location
Illinois
So what is the email address to send the compliant to? I have an 09 and I gave up and put a steel hood on it, no more bubbling. The rear hatch has been repainted 2X and is now bubbling up again! I bought the expy just out of it's three year warantee and my dealer told me they would not do a repair for no charge. Love the expy HATE this!
 

RustyOval

Full Access Members
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Posts
148
Reaction score
47
Location
Illinois
I had the body shop order it a few years ago when I had hail damage, it was cheaper than fixing the aluminum hood with all the dents. I do not know where they got the hood, I just wanted to get rid of the bubbling paint on the front of the OEM hood. the only issue I have is that the air stuts do not hold up the heavier hood, and I ordered special "heavy duty" struts. No bubbling paint though!
 

Plati

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
2,781
Reaction score
1,367
Location
.
OK ... its a BEATER so I have nothing to lose and curiosity got the better of me. I random orbit 60 grit sanded the fugly area (and beyond) and this is result. Now I can drive it for a year and see what it looks like next year. No top coat. I "could" do the entire hood in about and hour, unlikely but possible - without even removing it. Sun is bright this morning. The paint area is specular reflection (mirror) and the 60 grit aluminum is very diffuse reflection so it might actually be easier on the eyes while driving into sun. I might go over one side with finer grit and polish just to extend the test case. A careful job of sanding (or blasting) specific areas might look a lot better than that paint bubbling nonsense.
View attachment 25560

BTW ... in the bright sun it has a metalflake appearance with all the component colors reflecting at the grain level. Kind of cool.
I took a followup picture of the sanded aluminum hood this morning. Still looks great, zero oxidation or corrosion after 5 months parked outside. Ok, its summer ... the real test will be winter (with salt spray). But, the bare Aluminum seems to hold up better than the bubbling paint. I'l post a picture in the spring. Hope Rusty makes it that long!
IMG_0354.JPG
 

jimz

Full Access Members
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Posts
171
Reaction score
35
Location
florida
I had paint issues, no bubbling, on my 08. Had Ford check but was out of warranty so I was refused any help. Drainage on roof had paint separating, cracks, but not their problem. My guess on this vehicle is that dealership painted a clearcoat. It looks like they did not tape anywhere, but instead painted entire vehicle and the n scraped the windows. Had water marks in paint that would not come out. It was all my problem. After all these years of washing, waxing, the car does look better but I see the details.

I did get headlights replaced because the clear plastic was cracking, both of them. Again I think the clearcoat on the plastic caused that problem.
 

poppie

Full Access Members
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Posts
83
Reaction score
35
Location
Wisconsin
I've been a Ford guy ever sense I got away from anything GM back in 1979 and have had (6)Ford / Mercury car's , SUV's ,P/U truck's and a Ford / Kellogg conversion van back in the day and LOVED every one of them BUT on my 2007
Expy that spent the 1'st 9 year's of its life in the Center of Florida away from the sea salt and there's NO road salt down there the blistering paint is unacceptable , btw as I've posted before my back hatch was blistering by 2012, I still love my 2007 Expy except for the paint issues AND my 2002 F-350 7.3 PSD 4 door dually P/U truck is probably the best trouble free vehicle I have ever owned but being retired now and no longer owning my 5'th wheel and as my wife no longer drives I was thinking about just having ONE vehicle BUT I'LL BE DAMED IF I'M GOING TO SPEND $70,000.00 TO $80,000.00 on a new truck and have paint issues in a couple of year's AND being as I'm old school STUCK with a V-6 & a 10 speed with a knob to select the gear i'm in along with the auto stop / start BS at the traffic lights, guess as both my current rides have under 120,000 miles on them I'll keep on truckin with what I have, at age 72 they will most likely out last me being as they both are OLD SCHOOL BUILT FORD TOUGH, lot's of luck to you young guy's where CAFE standards set by
"DESK" jockeys at the "EPA" who have never had a course in engineering THINK they can tell the people who DO how to build vehicles and THAT is what's driving all of this "BS" .
 

jimz

Full Access Members
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Posts
171
Reaction score
35
Location
florida
At 76 I drive less than 5,000 a year divided between two vehicles. Cheap insurance but vehicles just set and fall apart. Might trade for a handicapped scooter soon.:(
 

Plati

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
2,781
Reaction score
1,367
Location
.
At 76 I drive less than 5,000 a year divided between two vehicles. Cheap insurance but vehicles just set and fall apart. Might trade for a handicapped scooter soon.:(
I just did my first UBER during a trip to Florida. Guy told me to try Lyft also. Its great ... might be better than owning a car for some people. It can be cheaper than a rental on some trips also. I also know several married couples wont dont drink and drive so they UBER out/back to dinner and take a load off. Not for everybody, not saying that but it has its place.
 

Trainmaster

Old School Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Posts
3,620
Reaction score
2,122
Location
Rockaway Beach, NY
I've been having some serious thoughts, like Poppy above, against all the new technology. I won't consider a Ecoboost or much of the newer nonsense that adds complexity. So I guess my next car will be a pick-up or a Suburban if I can get it with a V-8 and a bit less nonsense. Some of us don't want to change with the times, so I hope at least one American company still makes a V-8 powered full sized something for us when the time comes.
 

G213

Full Access Members
Joined
Apr 9, 2018
Posts
208
Reaction score
120
Location
Los Angeles
For what it's worth...I just had my rear hatch completely repainted last month to resolve some paint bubbling that was starting in the passenger side corner. The seam on the inside bottom of the hatch was also peeling.

I have a 2016 Expy with 45k miles; Ford covered the repair without any hassles. My service adviser noted my citing of the infamous line from the warranty book..... "If aluminum body panels have corrosion or rust damage, and the damage is not the result of abnormal usage, vehicle accident, customer actions and/or extreme environmental conditions, the corrosion or rust damage repairs are covered for 5 years, unlimited miles"

They had the truck for about a week, came out fantastic.

Link to PDF below of the paperwork for the repair. (PII redacted for common sense)

https://www.scribd.com/document/389749006/Paperwork-2-Redacted-Smaller
 
Last edited:

Plati

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
2,781
Reaction score
1,367
Location
.
For what it's worth...I just had my rear hatch completely repainted last month to resolve some paint bubbling that was starting in the passenger side corner. The seam on the inside bottom of the hatch was also peeling.

I have a 2016 Expy with 45k miles; Ford covered the repair without any hassles. My service adviser noted my citing of the infamous line from the warranty book..... "If aluminum body panels have corrosion or rust damage, and the damage is not the result of abnormal usage, vehicle accident, customer actions and/or extreme environmental conditions, the corrosion or rust damage repairs are covered for 5 years, unlimited miles"

They had the truck for about a week, came out fantastic.

Link to PDF below of the paperwork for the repair. (PII redacted for common sense)

https://www.scribd.com/document/389749006/Paperwork-2-Redacted-Smaller
This is very interesting. I don't know what to make of it. People with this problem have had problems (rejection) because the dealer (Ford) requires "perforation". The words before the words you quoted specify the perforation ... Somehow I think you got lucky. Is every Ford dealer repairing every instance of bubbling paint, with no hassle .. starting with 2016 model year? I also hope the repair lasts but have my doubts that it will.

from 2016 warranty ... "The extended warranty coverage only applies if a body sheet metal panel becomes perforated due to corrosion during normal use due to a manufacturing defect in factory-supplied materials or factory workmanship. If aluminum body panels have corrosion or rust damage, and the damage is not the result of abnormal usage, vehicle accident, customer actions and/or extreme environmental conditions, the corrosion or rust damage repairs are covered for 5 years, unlimited miles."

For my 2014 with this problem ... there are no such words in my warranty document
 
Last edited:

theoldwizard1

Full Access Members
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Posts
320
Reaction score
81
Location
SE MI
I'm assuming this issue also effects the '15 thru '17 Navigators as well?

There is a new thread in the 4th gen section too as some owners are experiencing paint blisters and small bubbles in panels. Looks more like paint defects and not corrosion to me but time will tell.

... I was thinking about just having ONE vehicle BUT I'LL BE DAMED IF I'M GOING TO SPEND $70,000.00 TO $80,000.00 on a new truck and have paint issues in a couple of year's ...

... I have a 2016 Expy with 45k miles; Ford covered the repair without any hassles.

... Somehow I think you got lucky. Is every Ford dealer repairing every instance of bubbling paint, with no hassle .. starting with 2016 model year ?
Clearly not EVERY Ford dealer is following the wording in the warranty.


from 2016 warranty ... "The extended warranty coverage only applies if a body sheet metal panel becomes perforated due to corrosion during normal use due to a manufacturing defect in factory-supplied materials or factory workmanship. If aluminum body panels have corrosion or rust damage, and the damage is not the result of abnormal usage, vehicle accident, customer actions and/or extreme environmental conditions, the corrosion or rust damage repairs are covered for 5 years, unlimited miles."
Those 2 sentences are separate and distinct. The first sentence is not a precondition of the second sentence.
 
Last edited:

poppie

Full Access Members
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Posts
83
Reaction score
35
Location
Wisconsin
I've been a Ford guy ever sense I got away from anything GM back in 1979 and have had (6)Ford / Mercury car's , SUV's ,P/U truck's and a Ford / Kellogg conversion van back in the day and LOVED every one of them BUT on my 2007
Expy that spent the 1'st 9 year's of its life in the Center of Florida away from the sea salt and there's NO road salt down there the blistering paint is unacceptable , btw as I've posted before my back hatch was blistering by 2012, I still love my 2007 Expy except for the paint issues AND my 2002 F-350 7.3 PSD 4 door dually P/U truck is probably the best trouble free vehicle I have ever owned but being retired now and no longer owning my 5'th wheel and as my wife no longer drives I was thinking about just having ONE vehicle BUT I'LL BE DAMED IF I'M GOING TO SPEND $70,000.00 TO $80,000.00 on a new truck and have paint issues in a couple of year's AND being as I'm old school STUCK with a V-6 & a 10 speed with a knob to select the gear i'm in along with the auto stop / start BS at the traffic lights, guess as both my current rides have under 120,000 miles on them I'll keep on truckin with what I have, at age 72 they will most likely out last me being as they both are OLD SCHOOL BUILT FORD TOUGH, lot's of luck to you young guy's where CAFE standards set by
"DESK" jockeys at the "EPA" who have never had a course in engineering THINK they can tell the people who DO how to build vehicles and THAT is what's driving all of this "BS" .
In regards to the AUTO START /' STOP ,The truth about engine stop start systems | Auto Expert John Cadogan | Australia, AND be sure to read the comment's below,
 

Plati

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
2,781
Reaction score
1,367
Location
.
Those 2 sentences are separate and distinct. The first sentence is not a precondition of the second sentence.
Meaning no disrespect ... just trying to understand what would stand up in a court of law ... Are you a lawyer? This wording would be litigated in a court of law and interpreted for "what it actually means and requires". Do you have experience in contract law so you can apply legal precedent to clarify how this would be interpreted?

Lawyers typically write these things up as gobblygook with the express purpose of making them unenforceable. They can mean multiple different things depending on what the lawyer wants.

Ok ... Lets say the two sentences are "separate and distinct" as you say. Lets also assume that has some legal basis for interpretation. The first sentence by itself disqualifies the Extended Warranty unless there is perforation. The only thing that is absolutely clear here is that if you have perforation AND the other requirements --> damage is covered for 5 years, unlimited miles.

I did patent infringement enforcement for 16 years and my group also negotiated and enforced contracts, so I was exposed to a lot of this "word stuff". Just try to determine what exactly a patent claim actually means! Having said that, I don't claim to actually know how to read the warranty and define it, I just have my best guess. Only a Judge and Jury can define how it applies.
 
Top