I also posted this on Zcar.com and note that many Z owners are having this problem also.....

My hubby and I just bought the 350Z Performance. Hubby drives it mostly. He drives over 100 miles a day on the highway and thus wanted to enjoy his daily commute. He noticed that from rocks on the road, ALREADY he has about 5-6 tiny paint chips on the front bumper! WHAT?! This should not be happening on a 30K car. So, he saw the dealer this morning...They said that we obviously have a right to be mad about the situation and that Nissan should in fact do something about the problem...What is the question. I hope to be speaking with the regional VP of Nissan either today or early next week (my dealership will be putting me in touch with him).

We NEED to not stand for this! Call your dealership and get in touch with the top people in your area. I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay $800+ to have a clear bra installed, when Nissan should have put a little more thought into there paint jobs and clear coat process. Even the paint techs I spoke with said that they always put such a thin layer on.

Lets stand up ya'll...U got chips? Demand answers! You paid 30K+ to drive a premium automobile...Make sure you are treated as such!

I know the world does not owe us anything..but damnit Nissan does. My dealer even went as far to tell me NOT to get the cler bra installed until Nissan is held accountable for this problem. And that they must be forced to come up with a fix. If that means Nissan pays for a new paint job and my clear bra then so be it.

:::Steps of Soap Box:::

 

a 30k car! thats really not that much, but still no car should have problems, thing is, theres nothing wrong with the Zs paint, all cars get chips, how bout... instead of rushing to blame the paint, you stop tailing trucks and rocks wont hit your car. dont tell me its nissans fault cause I have a Z for almost 4 months and 3500miles now, and not a single chip anywhere.

hope nissan helps you out, but they dont owe you anything.

 

A 30K car is a lot compared to the average Joe's car. We do not "tail trucks". And I am not talking about big rocks, I am talking about pebbles. No need to be nasty. It IS Nissan's fault. The car barely has 500 miles on it, and a few pebbles should not chip the paint. I am not the only Z owner complaining of this either, check out Zcar.com. I am happy for you that you have no chips, but some of us are not so fortunate and I can guess if you did, you'd be mighty upset too.

 

Ares is right.

It sounds like its a driving issue and not the paints fault. If its highway miles, your talkin about rocks hitting the front of your car at 65-75 miles an hour.

My Daily driver has the same problem. The main highway I travel on is known as the sandblasting tunnel because it has a high volume of gravel trucks that go on it, and hence, it is HORRIBLE for causing paint chips.

If you back off and don't ride peoples asses it will help a ton. I really don't think Nissan is to blame for this. Unless your paint is actually "chiping" off, like you can run your finger over it and a piece chips off from an existing chip or something.


I believe in being compensated for bad workmanship, but there are way to many people on this board who are trying to rip off dealerships just because they can.

 

We are not trying to rip anyone off but you should be able to drive the frickin car on the highway without getting big paint chips! GEEEZ! And we DON'T tailgate! We had a Mustang GT before this that we drove daily over 100 miles on the highway and it does not have a single chip in the paint!

 

I agree with you , I have 200miles a I already got a paint chip on the hood, it went all the way to the primer.

 

rock chips will happen. if it is huge deal to you, i would suggest getting some kind of bra. for me personally, ill pay the 100-200 bucks a year to get it resprayed if it's looking really bad.

look at it this way, all most of my s2000 buddies go through windshields and headlights once a year bc of rocks atleast we (hopefully) wont have that problem.

one thing i am looking right now is to pick up just the clear protector for the headlights as ive noticed some pits in the lenses.

 

For those of you who can afford to have a $30K car just to play with on Sundays at the track, that is great, but this IS our daily driving car. We bought a nice car because my husband does have a long daily commute and feels since he spends so much time in his car, he should enjoy it. And while $30K may not be a lot to you, it is to us! Nissan 350Z comes in a TOURING model, i.e. it is meant to be driven and not just on the track. The fact that the paint is chipping from pebbles hitting the bumpers, is in my eyes, RIDICULOUS. And apparently in our salesman's and service manager's eyes too, because they were very sympathetic. Wait till it happens to you. I, for one, did not pay $30K for paint that chips in the first week. And yes, it went down to the primer! That's total BS. We will probably have to get the clear bra...but you can bet Nissan is paying for it and not me.

 

Oh, stop crying. I had a 2001 Toyota Celica GT that chipped all over the place, and I have a small rock chip on the hood of the 350z too. But you know what? No car can stay perfect forever. DEAL WITH IT. I see cars like shoes, they're made to be used and eventually replaced, especially as a daily driver.

I have a reason to ***** to Nissan - The car stopped steering, i needed a new rack & pinion, new steering pump, new tires, and they STILL didn't grant me a new tranny for the 3rd gear grind. And you cry about a few rock chips? Psh.

 

Somewhat off topic, but is it really just 100 - 200 bucks to get a bumper resprayed? I would have guessed it more. If it's that low then it would alleviate many of my anxieties regarding chips.

 

I drive mine everyday. also do a 80mile drive twice a week. like I said 3500miles, NO CHIPS. just back off people bumpers and a rock cant hit your car, no problems. if your not willing to do that, then stop complaining, one day we can all stop blaming others. the rocks dont fall out of the sky onto your car. so it stems from you following too closely, be glad its only chips and not a cars rear bumper when he slams on his brakes.

 

Liane, what year was your mustang? In recent years, to reduce emissions, paint has been reformulated. Unfortunately, you won't find any mass produced cars of the current year that do not chip, and also that don't have orange peel. Its not Nissan's fault, its the damn bed-wetting. tree-hugging democrats.

 

I agree/disagree with both sides. The obvious is that the more you drive the more prone your car is to getting paint damage. Most if not all cars will eventually get chiped. This is a no brainer. In my case for example backing off of peoples bumpers on an interstate during the "bumper to bumper" morning comute is rarely an option. The guy that keeps saying "just back off people bumpers" is probably one of those dumb-*** morons that ties up traffic every morning, so as not to hurt his "po widdle baby". Wake up and smell the roses buddy some of us do have to work for a living, so stay the hell out of our way! Plus you need to respect the fact that Liane has already stated that she doesn't "Tail" other cars.
Another point is that I have two cars (My Z doesnt come 'till mid Feb.). One is a 1996 BMW 328i with 98000 + miles on it. I have used the car as a daily comuter in heavy traffic. I have also made many interstate trips. North Carolina to New York Mostly. I only have three small chips on it. My other car, which is actually my wifes car, is a 2002 Jetta. My wife comutes 60 miles round trip every day. Part of her comute includes a stretch of road that has very heavy truck traffic on it. After 30,000 + miles she has zero chips on the car (but there is one small chip on the chrome VW logo). And as much as I love my wife, she has been known to "tail" cars. So as you can see my personal experience dispells some of the comments made in this thread. That's not to say that there is no truth to the comments being made. I just don't agree with all of them.
Finally, me being the cheap SOB that I am, I will be very upset if my Z starts chipping after the first 500 miles. I agree with Liane that a car in the $30-40 range should hold up better than that. There is no excuse for it. This is not a matter of whining, rather this is someone who works hard for what they have, and takes pride in what they own, ands basically gives a ****. Sounds to me like Liane just so happens to have higher standards than some of you arrogant bastards (waah, waah, just don't follow close to other cars). I wouldn't be surprised if these losers are the ones that work on the paint mix design. Let's call Nissan and have them fired. More power to you liane, and good luck.

 

that was damn long

but by the way, 5mph traffic isnt gonna chip your paint... thought that was common sense, tailing a guy at 65 70 mph will. sorry if this was a bit too much for you to concieve.

 

HaHa Ha, this is too funny I feel like I'm on an episode of Jerry Springer. (Jerry, Jerry). I am well versed on the laws of physics. A "chip" is not determined by a specific speed, It is determined by Newtons laws of motion.

Newtons First law of motion: Inertia
A body remaines at rest or, if in motion, it remains in uniform motion with constant speed in a straight line, unless it is acted on by an unbalenced force.

Newtons second law of motion: Acceleration
The acceleration produced by an unbalenced forced acting on a body produced is proportional to the magnitude to the net force, in the same direction as the force, and inversly proportional to the inertial mass of the body.
(In other words acceleration is directally proportional to the amount of force excerted and inversly proportional to the mass of the object that the force is being excerted on.)

Newtons third law of motion: Action/ Reaction
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

So you see Ares though I may not have, as you put it "common sense" I do know that a chip can be created at 5 mph, it all depends on the circumstances. And for the record, the Interstate I drive on can literally be bumper to bumper at anywhere from 0 - 70 miles per hour during rush hour. I apologize for yet another long reply, I just couldn't resist. Hey and if you give me the address to your trailer park I will send you a velvet Elvis picture for your wall.

Jerry!, Jerry!, Jerry!

 

HA HA HA, this is TOO funny. I like you, SeanRod! Boy there are some pompous people on this board, aren't there?! Even if I am richer than god someday I will never tell someone else that $30K+ is not "a lot" to spend on a car. Puhleeze.

Well, the latest is that the dealer is recommending the clear bra but they are going to fix the paint chips for us and have ordered us some sort of paint pen to correct any future nicks in the car's paint that we can apply ourselves. They also applied a special paint sealant which may help a little. They gave us extra of that stuff too, and it is nasty stuff, you have to wear gloves to apply it it is so toxic. Lovely! We also had an alignment issue with the car pulling to the right, and they are going to fix that as well. Then there is the grease streak on the windows that they are still waiting for the fix for...so we have to wait until then to get the darn windows tinted.

 

was delivered to me a few weeks back. When I first saw this car, I quickly came to conclusion that the sweeping design of the front fenders and dam would post a chip problem. One thing that does work well (other than a front bra) is to give that area 6-7 coats of No1 grade white Carnauba wax. Carnauba is a very very hard wax and will indeed withstand pebbles.

However, we all know the perils of highway driving and, coupled with the fact that todays paint processes are not as hard as the older types, chips are inevitable. Try the wax, don't follow too closely....and good luck.....we are in this together.

 

I just got off of the phone with Nissan today. My paint is chipping off of the sides of my REDLINE track. I have only had it two weeks, and driven it 350+ miles. They informed me that what they could do was track what the service manager said. If he felt it warrented a paint tech to come in and assess the finish then they would do so. I will update the site as I receive more information. Everyone should place a call to 1-800-NISSAN-1 and press 0 to speak to an operator. All they need is your VIN and your story. If we all band together we can get a service bulletin written so that others can have a vehicle that doesn't fall apart from small stones in the road.

 

Where on the sides is the paint chipping off? Oh and regarding the physics lesson above ;D, you also need to take into account that when a rock gets kicked up off the road at 70mph, it is spinning a great deal more than if youu were driving at 5 mph. This will cause more damage. Luckily for me (or unluckily...?) my Z came with a dealer installed scrape on the front bumper, so they paid to have the front stripped and professionally repainted at the body shop of my choice. I took it to a place that only works on high dollar cars ...oh and 30k dollar car?? Does that come with an air conditioner? Damn mine was almost 40k (37.5+tax).

 

Well appx. $30K...ours was closer to $32K and yes it came with A/C, Cruise Control, and lots of other neat stuff...we have the performance model.