Mitsubishi Lancer 2008 Paint Chips

j_fifer_919

DO NOT BUY THE NEW LANCER!!!

The car is great if you like the paint to fly off of your brand new car. I bought a black 2008 Lancer GTS. I drove the car for 50 minutes on sanded roads during a recent snow storm. I ended up with Hundreds of rock chips along both sides of the car. Mostly next to the rear wheels. The car looks as if it has been sandblasted.

I went to the dealership and they told me it did not fall under warranty. Instead, they gave me a $1500 dollar estimate to fix the damage. My insurance company would not touch the claim, stating it is a problem with the car's design.

I called Mitsubishi corporate and sent them pictures. They determined it was not their fault and suggested I buy mud guards from them. I advised them that they don't even make a front mud guard for the Lancer! The customer service rep said "oh." I told them the damage comes from the FRONT tire.

I have filed a compliant with the Better Business Bureau and consumeraffairs.com. I hope they can help me. I also requested third party arbitration that Mitsubishi is required to pay for. They said they will sent me the paperwork.

If you have this problem call Mitsubishi corporate so we can get a recall!!! 1-888-648-7820

Think about it. If this car can't be driven on any kind of gravel without extensive paint damage, you would think they would have put a warning in the manual. WTF!!!!!!!?

I have heard this may be happening with other Mitsubishi vehicles. Check your paint.

rcpax

Can we see some pictures of your sandblasting issue? First time I heard of it on a Lancer

jhaussler

Boy does that sound familiar. Your darn right it is happening with other Mitsubishi vehicles. Just check out the 2007 now the 2008 outlanders. Same exact problem.
Strips the paint right off the body. In fact I just got off the phone with the Mitsubishi District rep. & she gave me the same song & dance they gave everyone else, it is a "road hazard". Not a design flaw. When I asked who higher up the ladder to contact she told me she was it and if I :mad: wrote a letter of complaint it would come right back to her. Really sad if you ask me. I just want to know how we can alert the general public. This really stinks & now lancer owners. What is wrong with a company like Mitsubishi??

lancerfan

is there anyone that has owned the lancer for a while that drives on gravel alot? if so have you had any problems?

j_fifer_919

What do you mean for a while? It only takes a few minutes of driving on gravel for the Lancer's paint to start falling off. Do not drive on gravel with this car.

I received a letter today stating I can't go to arbitration with Mitsubishi due to the fact that the car has a design flaw and the warranty doesn't cover rock chips. So Monday I will be speaking with a lawyer that handles product defects.

I did order some touch up paint from www.drcolorchip.com. They claim their product works very well. If you have paint chips, check out this site.

lancerfan

really wow that sucks! I love this car and am planning on buying it soon but i will have to drive on gravel probably at least once a week. Maybe j_fifer_919's had some screw ups at the factory or something cuz i have read many owner reviews and there was never anything like that reported. Do you have some pictures?

j_fifer_919

It's not looking good. The third pary arbitration company advised me they could not take this to arbitration due to the fact that the problem has nothing to do with the warranty.

I spoke with an attorney today. He advised me we could win the case, but it would cost a lot more than a $2000 paint job. He agreed with me that the car is flawed. He further advised me that filing a claim with the Better Businss Bureau may help. If you state in our claim that you will be advising other consumers not to buy their cars, they may help you in order to shut you up.

I ordered some touch up paint from drcolorchip.com. I will try that when it arrives. Check out the site. The results look good.

j_fifer_919

How do I upload pics from my computer to the web site?

lancerfan

:confuse: umm not sure. Im not the sharpest pencil in the box when it comes to computers lol

gijoewildbill

You need to upload them to a support website such as photobucket and then post the url to the picture here in the forum so that we can follow the link and see the pictures.

Bill

pat

Actually, everyone can upload pictures to their own CarSpace page right here. There is a My CarSpace link on the upper left. Go there, look for the albums link and follow the instructions.

j_fifer_919

Today I tried out the touch up paint that I recieved from drcolorchip.com. This stuff worked great on my black 08 Lancer. There was severe road rash and it completely covered it up, making it look factory fresh.

Everyone should buy some mud guards from rallyarmor.com when they release the new flap for 2007+ Lancers. I watched a video with an STI fitted with rallyarmor. This car was whippin' around a gravel and dirt lot at high speed. He also did some 360's. There wasn't hardly anything on the sides of the car when he was done.

I believe dr colorchip and rally armor are our best options for our Lancers. Check out the sites!!!!!!!

finjeh

OMG you have the same problem as me...i knew something couldn't have been right...i bought a black 2008 lancer as well and the paint is chipping like crazy back by the rear tires...do u mind sending me some pictures so i can see if it is in the same spot as mine?

j_fifer_919

I can send pics to your email.

pat

Or you could post them on your CarSpace page and share them with everyone. You have a My CarSpace link in the upper left. You can post them in your album there and then use the automatically generated code to display them in a message, or just link to them if you'd rather.

feliciadavis

Hey, I was curious to see if Mistsubishi had done anything else. My 2008 Lancer is doing the exact samething, but mine is ten times worst. It is on both sides and the door is starting to rust. The dealership was trying to help me out and they sent it up to the Corporate office. The Corporate office contacted the Bureau of Better Bussiness and told them they were going to fix the problem. A couple days later Corporate told me that it wasn't their problem and that I had ran through something even though I took it to the body shop the dealership told me to go to and they said it was a manufacture problem. If you could reply back and let me know what your out come was I appreciate it.

djkram2005

I also bought a black 2008 lancer gts 5 months ago. Since then i have been fighting with mitsubishi and the dealer because of the same paint problem. The paint is gone in front of the rear wheels and also its now starting back the whole side of the car. I dont recommend anyone buy a new lancer unless you care to have it paint twice a year. If anyone is getting anywhere with this with mitsubishi let me know.

ctrygirl66

I have had my car 2 months and am also having the same problems with paint chips in front of the rear tires and now its starting on the rear door. The dealer took pictures and sent them to Mitsubishi and the said it wasnt covered under paint warranty. So the dealer gave me the number to call Mitsubishi 1-888-648-7820. They are aware of the problem and more people that call and complain will help get a recall. They told me to be patient. HA!!
And I do not drive on dirt roads. They are all paved roads. Its the car design not the driver.

courtneyh

have you had any results??? i am desperatly trying to figure out what to do as my 08 lancer is rusting as well and the dealership won't do anything~!!!! please let me know if you have gotten any results!

ctrygirl66

If you have not called Mitsubishi yet...do so the more people that call then something will get done. 1-888-648-7820. They will take down the information and call you back. They told me it wasnt a paint warranty issure it was from road hazzard. They will send you paper work to fill out a dispute resolution. I juat received mine today and havent had a chance to read it over. My dealer told me it was a body style issure and their suprised MItsubishi wont fix it. He said if they keep having problems they will eventually do a recall. Let me know how you make out.

blu5092

I have a silver 2008 GTS and have not yet seen this problem, however, I can tell you that the body of this car is very weak. The sheetmetal is so thin that I'm afraid to park anywhere. Take you finger and barely push on the door and you'll see. Tap on the sheetmetal and you'll hear how thin it is. This may be the underlying issue with the paint and rust issues. There is no body for the paint to hold on to. I would advise using a strong teflon type wax to deter small flying particles. It will help them to glide off the paint. If you are in traffic, especially rigs, try to stay clear. I was recently behind one and they were carrying sand. Behind the truck was a sand storm so strong that I hear it from closed windows. I stuck my hand outside and felt it being pricked like needles. Thank god I was not in the lancer otherwise, based on what you guys are saying, I would be looking at primer.

thanks

ctrygirl66

I read over the dispute resolution from Mitsubishi and It pretty much says that they wont even look at if it it has anything to do with the design of the car. So its going to have to be worded about the paint job. Thanks for the info on the weak body. They should of put a rock guard on it. I just traded my Endevor and it had rock guard on it. Why not the lancer?? My son has a 95 eclipse and dont have paint problems. Their just getting chep with everything they make now. Pretty depressing if nothing gets done about it. The value of the car just keeps going down.

blu5092

This car was an attempt by Mitsu to get back into the market in a hurry. I think there wasn't much emphasis on the quality. There are some impressive toys in the vehicle like the Mitsu communication control/Nav and the 650W Rockford sys. These alone are worth lots. In my opinion however, they should have spent the money on the body. This car sits on a Dodge Caliber chassis, totally not it's own. While it is tighter than most sedans, I would have preferred that Mitsu come up with their own. It helps :mad: not be associated with another manufacturer. That explains why it's value is dropping. To explain how cheaply this car is made, I just had my windows tinted and it is ruined. The inside weather strip is made of plastic and has no felt, so it scratched my tint up and down both the passenger and driver sides.. I am taking it to the dealership and they will have to pay for my tint. I am not about to ruin a $180 tint job.

broonsby

I have 1 small chip from a truck throwing a stone. Can't complain as most cars get this. BUT, if what you say is true, then I'll have to be proactive up here in Maine. Anyone one know how well Liquid Glass works for things like this? I've heard this stuff is good, but those are mostly rumors.

iluvmysephia1

but it sounds interesting and something I would like to know more about. Do fill us in if you find out more, OK?

mbcowboy

I would get paint chips right behind the back door on the edge where the door is and it flares out to the back tire. my vehicle is 98 % highway or city driving and still get paint chips. My dealership is covering the repairs for free. They are touching up the paint and putting strips of gravel guard on the car. Im happy with this..

j_fifer_919

May I ask what dealership you went through. It seems that everyone else has had their dealership tell them it is not a warranty issue. My dealer in Eugene, OR gave me a $2000 bill.

naybeahm

I am sooooo glad to discover I am not the only person having trouble w/ paint chips in front of the rear tires and around the back doors of my 08 Lancer. My car is Electric Blue and all the chips and discoloration in those areas is very obvious. I took it to my dealer, where the service manager took pics and said he would have to talk to the Mitsu rep about it but from what I am reading it's not looking good. I don't drive on dirt roads and I have been making the same commute to work for over 5 years. I had a Hyundai Sonata and a Civic SI before the Lancer and never had this problem with either car. My dealer used the excuse that the body is shaped differently so that is what is causing it. I didn't pay over $20,000 for this vehicle for it to start looking like crap 6 months after buying it!!!!

iluvmysephia1

I think what is helping us not get more paint chips is our 'Auto Butler' service. We bought it at the time of purchase from our dealer. It's cost was $400. It is a coating that is applied by the dealer every 6 months, for 5 years. I have two very small paint chips by the driver's side rear door. I have a tough-up stick that I bought for $9.95 from the dealer, in Rally Red color. I still have to touch up those two spots.

But my point is that I am not getting more paint chips and my wife and I have had two 'Auto Butler' treatments applied so far. They appear to be helping quite a bit.

mbcowboy

I had it done in Winnipeg, at Waverly Mitsubishi. I first contacted the company and they said to contact the dealership, who took picutures and sent them to their headoffice. My chips were only small ones at the edge of the metal where it sticks out slightly at the door. They touch painted and put stips of 3M coating 3/4 of the way up the tire wall and 4 inches into the back door and covering the edge that the door doesnt cover. They were good to me so far.

blue08lancer

Hey guys, im new to the site and i see that alot of you are having problems with your paint. I have a blue 2008 lancer gts and by the rear wheels i have what looks to be sandblasting. I contacted 2 different dealerships and both have not only given poor customer service and both didnt do anything to help me. Ive been told to contact the state attorney general to help with the situation, because mitsubishi will not touch any paint defects and it says that the paint is not covered. Ive had the car for less then a year and they wont cover the paint, and atop of that, the low pro dunlop tires that come with the car are trash. Barely lasted 15,000 miles. If anybody has had the same paint problems thou please respond back that way if we find enough people with the same problem hopefully mitsubishi will cover this problem, because i dont think anyone wants to pay 4000 for a new paint job on their new car

ctrygirl66

Have you called Mitsubishi yet? you need to do so if you havent. The more people that call they will eventually have to do something. The Attorney general and BBB do not associate with MItsubishi. This is what I've found out anyway. Unless someone has had better luck. I'm still fighting with the dealership to do something. They agree that something needs to be done but there not doing anything to help. I have recently also had issues with it not starting sometimes. Anyone else had this problem. The dealer told me the injectors needed to be sprayed. What a joke!!

packheat

I've also noticed paint chips and I have an '09 Lancer (barely 1000 miles). I made an appointment with my dealer and they said they'll take care of it but I have a feeling it's just going to continue to happen. I'm going to apply a car polish soon and see if that helps. Ctrygirl66, I'm glad you mentioned the engine starting problem because that happens to me every once in a while. I drove my last car 10 years and not once did I have a problem starting it. I've had my Lancer for 2 months and have experienced starter problems a handful of times...Greaaat.

ctrygirl66

I still havent gotten my paint fixed and it just keeps getting worse. My husband was recently at a car show in Maryland and there was a guy there with a Lancer that had rock guard on the back doors right where mine is chipping. He said that it come like that. I thought maybe Mitsubishi was getting smart but I guess not if Packheat is having the problem with a 09. Anyone else have any luck yet getting anywhere. Oh ya...when I turn on my AC there is a clunk noise now. I intended on keeping this car awhile. Not now.

mssurrey

Thanks for the heads up.
!I'm sorry to hear all you guys and gals having problems with the new Lancer. I was going to buy one but considering that i'm buying a first car for my son, the last thing i want are such issues. After hearing all your reports, I think I'm going to stick with the Mazda 3 instead !

naybeahm

I am taking my car to the dealership on Monday to have the sides repainted and covered with rock guard. The only thing I was required to do was purchase mudguards and have them installed....which I was happy to do considering it's like $100 for that and it will protect my new paint. As far as anyone else who is experiencing this problem, just be patient and stay on top of the service manager at your dealership. I am extremely happy that Mitsu is offering to do this and will of course update everyone of how the car looks next week with fresh paint!

j_fifer_919

Can you tell me which dealership is fixing your car? A phone number would be great. Thanks.

pat

No posted phone numbers, please. To exchange this kind of information, you can make your email address public in your profile and ask the member to email it to you.

Thanks!

ctrygirl66

Good for you at least someone got somewhere. Im still fighting them. Did Mitsubishi ok it. or is the dealship doing it? My car is red and now looks white all over my back door and in front of my rear tires. I would gladly get mud guards if they would repaint it. They told me they didnt make them that they would have to customize them. Good luck with the new look.

ctrygirl66

The dealership where I got my car called Mitsu yesterday and again said they would not repaint my car. So the dealship is going to pay for it. I wont buy another Mitsu again but I will buy from the same dealship seeing they went good on it. Good luck to everyone else

andisa

I have the same problem with my 08 Lancer. Paint is chipping off every where,doors,hood,trunk you name it. Mitsubishi Head Quarters say they can't help me because it's rock chips. The dealer tried their best with no results so I have our Maine Attorney General looking into it.

ctrygirl66

WELL.....The dealership paid to have my Lancer repainted. Although they did a horriable job. The color matches great. But they missed spots were the doors meet and they over sprayed so there are places where the paint looks rippled. There are scrathes on it that werent there. They told me I couldnt prove it. I've bought 4 cars from this dealership and it will be my last!! It would be nice if Mitsubishi did a recall.

cjay20

Glad to hear we're not the only ones with this issue. We leased a White 2008 Lancer GTS in October of 2007 for my wife. She loves the car, except for the paint. After a few thousand miles we noticed some paint was flaking and chipping on the fender flare in front of the rear tires. It got worse so we took it to the dealership at about 8000 miles to have it looked at. They took pictures and sent them into Mitsu for warranty approval. Long story short it took forever for them to get back to us. We took the car in a couple weeks ago, now with 12000 miles to follow up. We called today and we got the same story, not a paint issue, its from the road and there is nothing they can do. The paint on the leading edge of the hood is now doing the same thing. I called Mitsubishi and opened a claim today and they said they will get back to me by end of business tomorrow. I'm sure I will get the same song and dance as so many of you others have.

My Ford F-150 truck has a protective coating on the fender flairs to keep this from happening on it. It sees much worse driving conditions and after 37,000 miles the paint is pristine.

Why cant' they offer a simple solution such as touching up the paint and putting protective stripping on? Lack of a simple fix will cost Mitsubishi this repeat customer.

If they fail to fix it, as other have recommended I will buy some touch up paint and put some Rally Armor mud flaps on it.

cjay20

Took my 2006 F-150 in a few days ago for service and to have them investigate a potential exhaust leak and the passenger side window that had degraded weather stripping and was going up real slow.

The dealership called later that day and said exhaust manifold studs were broken and was a known issue with certain motor / exhaust manifold combinations. Said they would warrenty it but had to order the parts so it would not be done the same day. They also quoted me over $400 for the passenger side weather stripping and a new drive motor since it was smoked from binding on the weather stripping. I declined having them fix that, I just won't put the window down. Note that my 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warrenty has expired by almost a thousand miles.

The dealership called me each day to let me know status since it was taking longer than they thought.

I just got off with the phone them and it is all done. Oh, by the way, the service representative tells me that he pulled some strings and they covered the passenger side window and its all fixed.

I wonder if Ford will take my wife's Lancer (see above post) in on trade?

cynthia

in the front and the rear end-to where you see some cracking in the paint (splicing).However, it has been in the body shop for repairs after a car accident so I'm not sure where the problem lies....a) manufaturing or b) poor repairs to the body. I am calling the 800 # listed in a response below and reporting the problem regardless as it is obvious (by reading this page that it is a common problem). They may recall it if enough people complain. Any thoughts,comments or suggestions are welcome.

-cynthia

KJW_Lancer

I'm REALLY PISSED about the design flaw in the new Lancer's too. I have an 2008 Lancer GTS that I bought 6 months ago and the rear door, dogleg on the quarter panel, and the end of the rocker molding all look like theyve been sand blasted! I can also relate to the window tint problem also, I have deep scratches in my passenger and drivers side tint. Im going to make a video about the problem in the morning, hopefully it will help spread the word and get Mitsubishi to do something about it!

Oh yea, dont buy any mud flaps for the car either, they dont work. I bought some Rally Armor mud flaps and they havent done anything to help the problem.

I took my Lancer on Route 22 in Blairsville, PA (they put Cinders (Rocks) on the ground here instead of salt) and I was driving in a straight line and I had my drivers mirror pointed towards the problem area, you can actually see the rocks hit that area!

I'll post the video link on here tomorrow, make sure to spread it around!

slider12

I'm glad that I found this site. I was treated like I had the plague by my dealer when I brought my 09 Lancer in with paint chipping and erosion in front of the rear wheels. They actually had the stones to look me straight in the eyes and tell me this is an isolated issue. I'll give it a little time, but based on what I've read here, and they're attitude I have a feeling I'm screwed. I live in the northeast and this section of the body will be a mess within 3 winters EASY. I'm not quite sure what I'll do if I don't get satisfaction. I will definitely file a complaint with the Attorney General and w/ the BBB, and I might even consider a class action lawsuit, a party to which you all will be welcomed. Even if they paint it, it will just happen the next winter. There needs to be a protective part added. I noticed that the upgrade model has a plastic rocker panel trim piece. yes, it's for style, but I can see how it would solve this issue. I asked if they were available and was looked at like I was from another planet. Anyways, I traded in my 02 Lancer w/ 120,000 care free miles on it. Now I'm wishing I kept it.

slider12

oh, and front mud flaps will do nothing IMO. Stones are "popped" up from where the tire meets the road. Unless the flap was almost touching the ground I can't see what good it would do.

slider12

FWIW...I just called a local auto paint shop to get some alternatives to this problem. They sell a Mylar product (clear) that is self adhesive and comes in 12' x 6" rolls and can be applied to rocker panels or wherever for stone damage protection. I know it won't look great, but I'm going to apply some to the flared problem area as a stop gap. I'm still ticked about this whole thing, but lately I've come to realize that customer service and backing up a product is a thing of the past. When it hits the fan, one has to fix things on their own.

My buddies Acura flares out like my Lancer and the paint is still there after many seasons. Bad paint...cheap, fun and good looking....hmmm just like the A6M. Is there a pattern here with this company?

yvettec

We purchased an 08 Lancer EVO. Spent $37,000. Worst purchase EVER out of 28 cars we have bought! Paint chipping everywhere. We live in the Chicago area and completely agree that by next season out car will look like total crap! We just brought the car to the dealer today and I also phoned Mitsubishi direct. Since this is the third issue with the BRAND NEW CAR THAT HAS UNDER 3,000 MILES ON IT, they put it under "Lemon Law". We all need to get together on a class action, period!

slider12

If I paid that much money and had this problem I would be insane. I've got the granny version of this car. I just wanted reliability and mileage, like my old Lancer. I thought the rocker panel trim pieces might help with this problem, but apparently not.