GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I just noticed this yesterday

Well isn't that lovely (NOT!!!)Did somebody hit the car?

I'm guessing improper prep for the paint on plastic. This reminds me of some '80's cars where painting plastic was fairly new and they hadn't gotten the hang of it yet.Also, I see some sheen on that dog leg. It should not be shiny if prepped correctly.

oooo snap... thats bad

Whew...that's hard to look at. I can not IMAGINE seeing that on my car. I would cry.....really. I can just picture it on white 8( So sorry for you bad surprise

That sucks... Something wasn't done right at the factory. At least it isn't peeling off the entire car like so many GM's in the 80's and 90's!

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »That sucks... Something wasn't done right at the factory. .............Now most of you don't really believe that your car hasn't ever seen the inside of a body shop do you!?!When I worked in the new car industry it was ASTOUNDING what percentage of cars came in damaged. Most often nothing major but it wasn't uncommon to have minor dents on various panels, scratches, at times MAJOR damage.I worked at a Mazda Dealer in Southern Oregon and he got in a 626 and used it as a demo. It was in a MAJOR accident yet he pulled it into the body shop, rebuilt the unit and sold it as a "slightly used" demo!Don't be living in that fantasy world where nothing has ever happened to your car. The odds are better that it hasn't but the odds are also quite high that it has.Even if your dealership did not do it the distribution depot may have. I used to go to the port in Newark NJ to pick up new cars (major import brand name EXPENSIVE!!) and they had a major sized body shop humming all the time. Some of the damage they fixed would amaze you and they were shipped out as new. They dropped one onto the dock once, yep, they were fixing it while I was there. Rare was the car not repaired.I don't know how the laws have changed in the past few decades to get this on a more up front basis but I'm sure it still happens more than you wish to know about.Anyway, all of these words just to say, this was probably NOT the factory paint, this was a distribution point or a dealership repair.I bet if you start looking real close at the entire area, you are going to find evidence of things having been repaired and repainted.Dave

I saw a 2006-ish White Vibe yesterday in Michigan with the same problem. It was on the corners of the rocker panels and on the lower half of the front fascia. If I had to guess a culprit, I am going to go with the new sodium chloride solutions that they are putting on the roads. Where the paint is missing, just happens to be in the same spots where snow and slush from the road collects and sits.

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »Now most of you don't really believe that your car hasn't ever seen the inside of a body shop do you!?!Geez, sorry to hit a fricken nerve there dude. You probably weren't around when I had my miserable excuse of a Vibe... Pretty sure it spontaneously combusted on the line, they put out the fire, then they started fixing it up but it fell off the line. No big deal, beat it back into shape. Started it up (but forgot to put oil in it,) loaded it on a truck... Only for it to fall off a few more times then the dealer finally zip-tied, duct-taped and jb-welded the piece of crap back together. And finally, sell it to some unsuspecting moron (me.) At least that's what the whole experience was like.

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »Anyway, all of these words just to say, this was probably NOT the factory paint, this was a distribution point or a dealership repair.I bet if you start looking real close at the entire area, you are going to find evidence of things having been repaired and repainted.DaveDave,I seen this issue before on 2003/2004 Monotone Vibes... Something hits the area and it flakes away. So yes, it is the factory paint. Running it through a car wash would make it flake even more.

...And once it starts peeling, it's over.

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »...And once it starts peeling, it's over.i'm afraid it's already starting to peel. I have no idea how this happened. I'm pretty sure no one hit me and there's no dent in the body. I've been getting monthly touchless washes during the winter but never noticed any chips or bubbles before. No paint/body work has ever been done on the driver side. I'm going to bring into the dealer on the weekend to have it looked at

on a sidenote -- the first pic looks like rabbit

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »on a sidenote -- the first pic looks like rabbit it does . I'm glad mine is just gray cladding, not painted. I have so many little dings, chips, scratches and gouges here and there on the cladding that more or less blends right in. If it were painted, it'd be a nightmare. I wonder if you took a rock or something one day and it just got exponentially worse?

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »I wonder if you're just took a rock or something one day and it just got exponentially worse?this is the pushback I'm expecting from the dealer. Typical wear/tear so it's not covered by your paint protection plan blah blah blah....

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »this is the pushback I'm expecting from the dealer. Typical wear/tear so it's not covered by your paint protection plan blah blah blah.... I hope not. I wouldn't consider that "typical" either, as paint should be able to take a little bit of a beating without going all to pieces like that.

I work at a autobody shop and we see stuff like that a lot its from the oils in it after a while it comes to the serfice. major prob on aftermarket bumpers. Mazda has now but a note in with there oem bumpers that it is raw plastic and to sand it with some harsh grit paper then to prime it befor paint as aposed to a scuff and paint like you can do most times for the warenty on them. looks like the same prob.

Here is another example of this happening on a 2004 Vibe

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Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Here is another example of this happening on a 2004 Vibeyikes! at least mine is black on navy and not in a noticeable spot. heading to the dealer next week to have them look at it