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Mitsubishi Lancer 2008 Paint Chips

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Comments

  • slider12slider12 Member Posts: 15
    Mike, I hope they re-painted it. It was pretty bad. They said they painted anyways. Mine looked almost sand blasted, so I think it would've been hard to buff it out.

    We'll see how it looks this spring. Winters are nasty around here.

    Cheers...
  • pissonmitsupissonmitsu Member Posts: 1
    I bought my gts when they first came out with the new body style. Ive been thru the crap with my dealer, Mitsubishi itself, and the attorney general and all i get is i shouldnt drive it on 99% of the roads in america. So, if someone needs my help to get this thing rolling i'm definatly in. Just tell me what I need to do!!
  • j_fifer_919j_fifer_919 Member Posts: 12
    You are stuck with it dude. I'm Sorry to say it. I've tried to get my Lancer fixed by the dealership and mitsu, but no luck. I traded my Lancer in about a month ago. I took a 1500 dollar hit on it. I'm just glad to be rid of it. There is a pending class action lawsuit out of Washington DC. I tried to call them a number of times but they never returned my calls. I imagine if the suit is settled, Lancer owners will be contacted. My advice is to try and get rid of the car and avoid the stress.

    Good luck
    Jeremy
  • tdn062000tdn062000 Member Posts: 2
    I too have this problem with my car. I just bought the car at the end of October, 2009 and now I've been seeing at least one noticeable paint chip or scratch every month (or every other car wash). This makes me sad.
  • ml640ml640 Member Posts: 1
    I'm in too!! I have a 2010 Lancer GTS with 4,119 miles and there are 2 paint chips on the hood,4 other small ones on the front bumper, and so many more on the side skirts near the rear wheels! The color of the car is Apex Silver and it looks good but it's slowly starting to chip.
  • zerazera Member Posts: 3
    Just wondering looks to be mixed comments, are all the class suits on the black color. I'm having alot of problems with the rally red. It seems as though the paint is too brittle, (too much plasticizer maybe). I spoke with the dealership and mitsu corp. in cali. and all I got was the shaft.

    I previously had a honda that drove the same trip as my lancer, but in 1/3 the time I'm having way more issues than with the civic. I love the features on my car and the performance increase from the honda, but as others have said, it's not worth the headache.
  • paintchippaintchip Member Posts: 10
    Yeah, the paint on these cars is garbage but there's also a problem with the design of the car. The front is narrower than the back and since there was no deflector incorporated into the design everything that's kicked up by the tires hits the back of the car. I know of people having problems with white, silver and black (mine's black) so I'm sure it's not just one color that's too weak to withstand even sand particles.

    I don't really have any chips on the hood but the sides of my car look like crap. They look like I've been driving sidewaysdown a dirt road everyday. I brought it to the dealers attention a month after I bought the car (new) and they agreed it shouldn't be happening. The only recourse Mitsubishi offered was for me to re-paint the car myself (at my expense) and purchase mudflaps (also at my expense). Problem was they didn't even make flaps for the front of the car. They tried to tell me to take the back mudflaps and put them on the front. One look told me that wouldn't work. Rally Armour came out with some about a year after I bought it but by then the paint was chipped to hell and back all the way up the back doors.

    I have tried to contact the Mitsu rep for this area many times but he refuses to return my phone calls and is a no show for every appointment the dealer tries to set-up. That seems to be the response in many parts of the country.

    Word of mouth is the oldest and most powerful form of advertising. It seems that the only thing that will get their attention will be a SERIOUS drop in market share or a lawsuit. Pass the word around about this BS to everyone you know and if someone is able to get an attorney to take the case, please count me in.
  • slider12slider12 Member Posts: 15
    I think it's all colors. Mine is kind of a barf purple/sliver color. It looks better than it sounds. The 3M fix is ugly, and the plastic gets pitted and turns white, this of course makes the once transparent plastic more noticeable. Don't let the dealers lie to you folks. I was told that Mitsubishi is well aware of this issue. It is not just limited to Lancers either.

    Don't get me started on my rear caliper that seized up causing my rotor to destruct. Of course the dealer refused to warranty anything.

    I wish I kept my old car. It would've been paid off by now.
  • batman47batman47 Member Posts: 606
    Owners of Mitsubishi cars built outside the USA have report all kind of paint chips on their cars including mine. I protected my 2008 Outlander XLS with mud flaps (imported from Japan). See somewhere in this forum part# (mud flap not mud guard) from the Japanese accessory catalogue. I equally protected the car with the plastic (transparent) film kit sold by Mitsubishi dealers. The result was that I didn’t have any paint chips with the exception of the normal very few paint chips on the nose.

    My Outlander GT 2009 came with a protection package kit installed and I wrongly thought that after so many complaint of customers Mitsubishi have put it right in order to prevent paint chips. Winter in December 2009 showed the reality when the rear side of my car had so many little paint chips that the only way to put it right was to repaint the dam car. Mitsubishi dealers are a waste of time because the Mitsubishi officer has to approve first the repair and everything goes down to cost. It is too costly to repair paint chips and too time consuming. There are a lot of comments somewhere in this forum about paint chips.

    If you like the car and would like to maximize the prevention of paint chips then you may: (1) - change the stock wheels (225/55R18) to tires 215/60R18 ideally although I think a tire with the named dimensions may not exist. (2)-Buy OEM Outlander mud flap kit (the mud guards are too rigid and may damage the arch protector affecting the bumper assembly). (3)- Buy a 3M plastic (transparent) film kit.

    Very few car models have a limited slip front differential, a limited slip differential centre and a center differential at a price of $35,000. So crap paint finishing may be acceptable. If you want a car with 2 or 3 layers of paint so the price you may pay may be above $55,000

    Brake assembly must be inspected every 2-years (i.e. disassembly, cleaned, and caliper pins re-greased) to prevent brake freezing. Remember that dealers make their money by servicing your car. So they are eager that something in your car get wrong so they can go doing business. Some unscrupulous mechanics even make sure to do something to your car so you can come back for something in the near future.
  • zerazera Member Posts: 3
    I'm pretty weary of the 3M film kits. They may work to protect the existing paint, but they are going to weather differently eventually. The problem with alot of clear films is that they look the same now, but down the road, they will either yellow or get milky in color from the weathering. At this point they are simply an eyesore.

    The same concept applies with touchup paint kits. Unless it is the exact same paint, then it is going to weather differently. Granted it will probably look about the same for the first couple thousand hours, but most paints like this will hold color for quite awhile and then they catastrophically fail resulting in a rapid deterioration in color.
  • jcb9jcb9 Member Posts: 1
    Looking back... I guess taking my new car out for doughnuts in the gravel was a bad idea...
  • monikak1979monikak1979 Member Posts: 3
    Hi
    I'm from UK, i'm Pole, so sorry for my English. I have this same problem but my dealer refuses to paint my car. I would like to get in touch with you. If your dealer accepted to paint your car it might be a precedent. I'm looking for anyone who can support my claim to Mitsubishi. Because you managed to force them to paint your car it might help me. I would like you to send me your email. Mine is monikakozak79@rocketmail.com. I'm looking forward to hear from you soon. Thanks
  • j_fifer_919j_fifer_919 Member Posts: 12
    I was unable to get anything out of Mitsu or the dealership. I was so upset about how I was treated. I decided to fix the car myself with a product from doctorcolorchip.com which worked very well. I sold the car to a Ford dealership and got something else. I suggest you all get rid of your Mitsubishi products ASAP. They are a horrible company. My wife and I have moved on to buy Ford, Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru cars. All with superior quality and customer service. Stay away from Mitsu!!!!
  • monikak1979monikak1979 Member Posts: 3
    Hi
    Any chance to get in touch with you? I'm needing any evidence to prove that your dealership agreed to touch paint and put 3M. I'm beging you for respond.
    My email:
    monikakozak79@rocketmail.com
  • batman47batman47 Member Posts: 606
    A lot has been written in this forum about the paint chips on cars manufactured by Mitsubishi. My 2010 GT got a lot of paint chips and even a windshield crack (2-inches) in my adventure to Patagonia (Argentina).

    If you drive your car round your home town and on tarmac the odds will be that you do not have any paint chips. If you drive on gravel or off road tracks most probably you will get paint chips if your car has not been protected for paint chips beforehand. I think any car, regardless of the manufacturer, will have paint chips if you take the car outside your nice home environment and out of proper tarmac roads. Perhaps the Mitsubishi cars are easy to chip, however, when I protected my Outlander 2008 XLS in my adventure to Alaska I got hardly any paint chips.

    My Outlander 2012 has got the full protection package and I have also replaced the front mudguard with mud flaps which are 2-inches longer and have I have also bought the hood protector kit that I expect to install when I adventure off road.

    My experience of this situation is that no Mitsubishi dealership will re-paint your car when they infer you did not take any care in protecting your car before hand. If you puncture a brand new tire no Mitsubishi dealer will buy you a new tire or repair it. The nail that punctures your tire is a random event as well as the stone flying to your car. The impact energy of the stones vary, but when the stone reaches and is above the defensive impact of your car paint then paint chip will be the result. Somebody told me that some cars receive 2, 3, or 4, films of paint, indicating that more films of paint is better and therefore it can sustain better impact energy. I do not know how much it costs for each film of paint (I think it is expensive and requires a proper painting environment). If painting bothers you and you are prepared to pay more than $2000 then ask your dealer to order your car from Japan with extra paint films
  • monikak1979monikak1979 Member Posts: 3
    My husband drives 15 years old Honda Prelude and this car has few stonechips. His car is not protected at all. How is that? The answer is simple and obvious.
  • batman47batman47 Member Posts: 606
    Ground clerance could be a factor. The Prelude has a small ground clearance than the Outlander. Equally if your husband has drove his prelude on gravel or off road and still it has few paint chips then this car is execeptional. In my adventure to the Patagonia I saw many Honda CRV many with paint chips and also corroded. Other forum (e.g. Nissan, Honda (Pilot), Susuki, Toyota, etc) also have complaints about paint chips issues.
  • boxermom2boxermom2 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2008 Lancer GTS. I bought it new. I have under 30,000 miles on it and the paint looks like it is just sandblasted! I had to have the hood replaced about 3 or 4 months after buying the car, (my boss ran over it with a Harley!) The paint on the hood is great! I can not say this about the rest of the car. I have keep it clean and clear coat polish protecter and wax, you name it I have done it and it did not help. I have never had this problem with any of my other cars I have owned. I do not have a dealer anywhere close, the one I bought if from closed down about a yr after buying it. I took it to my paint and body guy and he is est 3 thousand to repaint it. I highly recommend to never spend any money on these cars, they are not worth it. I have never been so dissapointed in a car.
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