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

[Rjwecker]

This is a copy of what I sent to Ford:

WHAT IS YOUR VEHICLE SALES OR SERVICE ISSUE?:I own a 2011 Expedition EL with 26571 miles on it,I have noticed a small bubbling of the paint just to the right of the license plate trim on the rear gate.
WHAT ACTION HAS YOUR DEALER TAKEN TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?:I was in yesterday for service on my drivers side window motor and scheduled maintenance .I [pointed the bubbling out to the service man when checking in and he said"those can be tricky to fix probably would cost $1000 and why don't you do what I do use some clear nail polish and just live with it." this was not the response I expected given I paid 20000 plus for the vehicle along with the ESP,I love the vehicle but am not happy with the little foxes and the lack of service I got yesterday.
WHAT ASSISTANCE ARE YOU SEEKING FROM FORD MOTOR COMPANY?:I would like it repaired as it is still under the 36/36 warranty and I also purchased ESP premium package.
Are you the owner of the vehicle :Yes
VIN : 1FMJK1H50BEF44701
MILEAGE : 26571
WHERE IS YOUR VEHICLE NOW : InPossession
HAVE YOU CONTACTED THE DEALER :Yes
DEALER NAME : Kelly Ford
This is the reply I got:
My name is Dan and I am from the Ford Customer Relationship Center. I received your email regarding the concern on your 2011 Ford Expedition and your experience with Kelly Ford.

I am sorry to know that you are having bubbling issues with paint of your vehicle. I understand the inconvenience that this situation might have caused you, considering that your recent experience with the said dealership has not been positive.

I have escalated this to our Customer Care Solutions Team so they can investigate your request further and work with your dealership to utilize all available resources to resolve your concern. A Ford Customer Care Specialist will contact you within two business days.

In addition, Ford Motor Company is concerned with the satisfaction of Ford and Lincoln owners. Excellent dealer service helps us maintain our customers' good will. When that service affects you, we appreciate being informed. Customers such as you give us information that helps keep dealer services at the highest possible level. We are concerned about the unpleasant events you described that tainted your service experience. We believe every customer should be treated courteously, professionally, and with integrity in all instances. I apologize for any treatment that fell short of your expectations.

Please understand, however, that Ford and Lincoln dealerships are independently owned and operated. As such, we cannot intervene in any of their policies and/or practices. The issues raised in your message will be best addressed by people in a supervisory role within the dealership. With that being said, I have documented your experience and I have forwarded it to the Customer Relationship Manager of the said dealership for their review and consideration.

We value your business and again apologize for any frustration or inconvenience you may have experienced as a result of this situation.

I hope that your future experiences with Ford dealerships will be more positive.

Thank you for contacting Ford Motor Company.

Dan
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company

I got a call today from customer relations to bring my car into the dealership as this is a covered claim under the 36/36 bumper to bumper and should have been addressed at the time I was pointing it out to the service man.

 

[andrew_s]

Noticed I have a few spots of this that I didnt pickup in my excitement during purchasing. My spots are near the licens plate area, and the bottom lip on the inside. Nothing terrible, but not what I expect from a near $50k truck made in 2008.

I have yet to talk to ford about it as I have 72k miles and Im well past the warranty, so I guess its preventative care and maybe a new liftgate when it gets bad. Live and learn I guess. My question is this rust or just bad paint? I hear the tailgate is aluminum so that would point to paint and making it not a huge concern with me as rust effects safety and reliability and paint can be redone. Thanks!

 

[BIGRED03]

I know I have a new 2012 but I checked it carefully anyway. All is well here. My recent 2003 known as Big Red had near perfect paint on it at 10 years old. The roof had some fade to it because I think I did not do a great job always with the waxing. The hood and bumper was perfect because I spent time in cleaning and waxing and removing the Love Bugs and all it's friends I live in Florida directly on the ocean and have seen what the salt air can do to a finish. The tropical sun makes only it worse.
I am not saying that paint cannot go bad, we have all seen examples of that but it has to be maintained. At seven years old the warranty coverage even on corrosion is over. I'm sorry but expecting any automaker to warrant paint finish after it has been in an accident is not being reasonable by any means.
Word to the wise would be to check your vehicle regularly while in full warranty and while under corrosion coverage and to actively maintain the finish especially if the car is not garaged. Report any concerns to the service writer and make sure it is noted on the work order while under warranty and take pictures of any suspect problems. When a service writer tells you to fix it with nail polish run do not walk to another dealer.
I am not saying that there is not a problem with the paint that being reported but after 7 years come on Ford it should last that long anyway especially if there is no signs of rust or corrosion or repair. On the other hand how long should it be warranted and how much are you willing to pay for it? I think seven years is not unreasonable all things be equal.
BTW there is a new spray on film to protect the paint from the elements it is made by a well known name brand company.

 

[BIGRED03]

Way to go Rjwecker!!

 

[ad6562760@gmail]

Hello.
I just signed up today with Ford Expedition Forum. I own a 2008 Expedition XLT & Im having the same problems with the paint on the tailgate & hood. I bought the truck brand new in October of 2007 & take very good care of it. The problem started at about 35,000 miles & I had the hood / Tailgate repainted at Ford for half the cost. Now it started again & Ford feels they dont have to do anything about it. The dealer wont pay for it either. What other options do we have. My truck now has 130,000 miles on it & only maintained at Ford.

 

[Rjwecker]

Update

Just to update,spoke with the dealership body shop today and have an appointment to take my Expedition in for repair covered under the 36/36 bumper to bumper next Monday. Very good news and restores my faith in Ford.

 

[FordCustSrvc]

Just to update,spoke with the dealership body shop today and have an appointment to take my Expedition in for repair covered under the 36/36 bumper to bumper next Monday. Very good news and restores my faith in Ford.

Great news, Rjwecker! Thanks for the update.

Crystal

 

[ndpuckhead]

Just to update,spoke with the dealership body shop today and have an appointment to take my Expedition in for repair covered under the 36/36 bumper to bumper next Monday. Very good news and restores my faith in Ford.

Good thing you caught it under warranty first, otherwise you would have been SOL. You would think they would correct the problem after 6 years. It's not like we bought Geo Trackers.

 

[smokeater]

I bought an 09 EB in Sept 2011. I noticed all the bubbles on the tailgate and the dealer repainted it as part of the sale. While searching for the vehicle I eventually purchased, I test drove two other 09's. One had just been totally repainted and the other had bubbles.

 

[u.p.expy]

While mine was still under warranty I noticed the bubbling paint and I was told that unless a hole develops there was nothing ford would do, and they didn't. I guess this is the out they have-I wonder how long it would take for a hole to develop in aluminum-100 years? More? Less? Either way, this is a quality defect ford has mostly walked away from, leaving their customers with expensive vehicles looking like crap in comparison to yukons, tahoes & suburbans.

I posted this on this same thread shorty after it first started.

I really like the ride of the vehicle, but admittedly, recent service issues have me wondering about switching to other brands.

 

[handyone]

Come on Ford step-up & do what's right!

My '04 has bubbled paint all over the lift gate. I knew it when I bought it. Took it to the dealer to see what it would cost to repair, estimate is $1090.42. Ford has known about this problem since before 2004, I think it would be fair for them to cover at least half the cost on out of warranty vehicles

 

[rachel]

Worst paint job ever

I just picked up my expedition from being repainted where it was bubbling--worst paint job, ever. There are pen-size "holes" all in the paint on the back, specifically where it was bubbling. The "ford" oval and "flex-fuel" decal on the back now sticks out twice as far as before and has sticky black foam like pieces sticking out around them.

I had also asked the dealership to fix my brakelight and turn signal which were out, while it was there, and to look at my radio and back power seats which intermittently stop working. I got my car back only to be told that they test drove it and could not replicate any problems, including the tail lights/blinker. After some discussion of me politely asking the service manager to come stand behind my car while I pressed the brake, he finally agreed (although told me it was not replicated) and he saw for himself that, indeed, it was not working. Reluctantly, he agreed to fix it. If they can't replicate a tail light, how are they competent enough to replicate any other problems that cannot be seen? We have had so many problems with Ford. Maybe because I'm a female they think I will just give up? Next time I am buying a Honda or Toyota...

 

[smusch]

09 bubbling pretty bad on back hatch. Haven't noticed any on good yet.

 

[u.p.expy]

Well, decided to finally get the bubbling paint from the hood & lift gate off my mind once & for all-I will be turning in the expedition for a new make.

Sorry, FORD, but your unwillingness to take care of these issues on your high end products has forced me to make this decision.

 

[andrew_s]

While mine was still under warranty I noticed the bubbling paint and I was told that unless a hole develops there was nothing ford would do, and they didn't. I guess this is the out they have-I wonder how long it would take for a hole to develop in aluminum-100 years? More? Less? Either way, this is a quality defect ford has mostly walked away from, leaving their customers with expensive vehicles looking like crap in comparison to yukons, tahoes & suburbans.

I posted this on this same thread shorty after it first started.

I really like the ride of the vehicle, but admittedly, recent service issues have me wondering about switching to other brands.

While I do not condone AT ALL what Ford is doing here. At least fords arent rusting like 1500 chevys do so easily. One of the reasons I didnt consider the tahoe more is I heard so many times and seen it first hand how they rust and rot. God help yall in the snow/salt belt and a chevy.

 

[david_jr]

I have got the bubbling on my hood (across the front just above the grill) and the lift gate below the chrome. The lift gate is worse with the paint cracking and peeling off. There is one spot on the hood where I can see metal through the bubbling. I have reported it to my dealer over the phone and made an appointment to have it looked at during a service appointment. I have the ESP for corrosion. I am well under the miles on the ESP. So I took it in and they looked at my truck, took photos and said they would submit my claim to Ford. Basically the service manager said Ford would most likely deny the claim because while the paint IS bubbling and peeling both on the hood and the tail gate, there is NO RUST, so it is NOT covered even under the the ESP that I paid dearly for. The next day they called me to confirm that Ford did in fact deny the claim due to no perferation in the body panel. Then they mailed me the paperwork. Another satisfied customer here I guess.

There are 95 posts in this thread and several requests for the website to post a complaint, but no one ever posted it in 3 years. Does anyone actually have a link?????

 

[Rjwecker]

Bubbling

I'm not sure if I posted a follow up to my initial remarks but Ford did take care of my bubbling problem and the dealership did a good job they even found more evidence of bubbling and corrosion at the bottom edge of my light gat along the rubber seal.
It is a shame that they know this problem exists and play a waiting game hoping it doesn't show up before the warranty runs out ,and the ESP doesn't cover because of a "rust" clause. But this website helps get the word out ,and like me people look their vehicle over before the hammer drops.

 

[kawi_200]

Just bought my '05 EB and it's got bubbling on the hatch in a couple places. Didn't notice it until later AFTER I signed the As-Is paperwork and got home.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

My 2005 EB Expedition has severe bubbling on the hatch and not so bad bubbling on the hood, but the paint did flake off when I touched it. I just purchased this vehicle back in August and I knew about the bubbling when I bought it. Unfortunately it is the only thing that mars an otherwise almost perfect vehicle - I realize that its 8 years old and has 122,000 miles on it but is shines like its new except for a few scratches and chips.

I previously owned GM cars for years. The last one I owned was a '90 Corsica that I bought new. It had paint problems that GM refused to fix; I haven't owned a GM product since then.

I switched and I've driven Mercedes Benz cars for the last 20 years both new used ones and new ones.

The '05 Expedition caught my eye and I'm hoping to upgrade to a new one in 4 or 5 years, but I sure hope Ford fixes this problem before I drop $60,000 + on a new one.

 

[Roverabe]

Bubbling

2010 Exp Limited bubbling under hood just above grill.