Paint issues on a 09 lancer (red)

315

Asked by Jon Apr 17, 2010 at 12:58 PM about the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have an 09 lancer (4months old/5000km) wich needs 2 thousand dollars in paint repairs, not including the hood. It has more stone chips then my wifes hyundai elantra (04/160 000km)!
thinking of taking legal action. Would like to hear from anyone with a similiar problem?

21 Answers

Hi I was wondering if you took action on this and if you have any pointers if so please email me jax.sy@hotmail.com

315

Complained to mitsu dealer I bought the car from. Offeres to respray the "dog legs" in front of the rear wheels, install mud flaps and 3m film on hood and over re-spray. Cost to me 500$ spraying over a problem wont correct the fact that the paint doesnt stick to the metal. I having put everything i had into the downpayment didnt have the 500$ and wasnt interested in playing that game. The lemonaid guide suggests taking the offer and then small claims court to recoup what you paid. That means missing work for court etc... where is the gain? still pondering what to do. keep in touch :)

1 people found this helpful.
25

I have the Same problem with the white, has your problem been solved?

315

certainly not..it keeps getting worse. I asked the dealer to take back the car, he refused. Ive had the car less then a year still, and already i can see rust where the paint is comming off... The car needs to be stripped completly and totally repainted in order to fix it. Thats never going to happen. the cost of doing that outweighs the value of the car.

1 people found this helpful.
25

dam... same here paint chips away way to easy and it already rusted...

1 people found this helpful.
65

mine is like that to kinda...my hood is chipped and side skirts by the rear wheel

10

I understand that entirely, I've got a 2010 lancer that has less than 12k on it. Already got about 15 chips on the paint. All I got from mitsu was a tough-luck explanation. I had a Honda previously, and frankly I'm not sure what posessed me to switch. I love the features/performance, but the service sucks. They shouldn't even offer the warranty if they aren't going to stand behind it. It took class lawsuits to get the black fixed for many, and most people had already incurred costs before that was resolved. I think they're using PPG paint, and they seem to be having real issues. Either in the application or with the paint itself. Unfortunately legal action would cost way more than simply fixing the problem. I'm pretty sure mitsu knows this, which is why they refuse to claim the problem and fix it. This will be my first and last mitsu. vehicle: mitsubishi lancer sportback gts rally red

I complained numerously about the chips on my 09 lancer, aqua color. They finally came by the service center and looked at my car and have agreed to place guards and the 3m coating. I hope it works, cuz the chips are starting to rust. I was told by them that they are aware of the defect, and that the doors don't line up smoothly with the rest of the car.

425

I have a 2009 GG Ralliart and my hood is covered with areas where the clear coat has been stripped off by bugs on the highway. It also seems to scratch very easily compared to the paint on other cars.

Hi I bought my sportsback Lancer 2011 in just last month. I've noticed the chipping in the rear wheel wells and am not happy. I have ordered mud guards and will apply protective film. Will wait and see if Mitsubishi want to help with a warranty claim but I doubt it. Might get the car clear coated with 2pak paint and call it quits. David

35

I have a 2008 Lancer and I ordered mudguards while buying the car in 2008. Does not have any problem, a small suggestion do not follow the car in front of you to close.

10

I started having issues within just a few months. Following too closely does increase the likelyhood that you will encounter rocks, but with every other vehicle I've owned, I've never had this issue, and my driving habits having really changed. I think it is an issue with the curing process of their paint, people typically assume that using a higher-powered curing setup will make the paint better and more durable, while in reality it has the opposite effect. Paint requires a certain amount of elasticity to perform properly. When it is improperly or overly cured, the paint becomes extremely brittle resulting in a far lower inch pound force to create chips. All paint will chip, but the amount of force required for mitsubishi applied paint seems to be far lower than almost all others. I'm curious actually if they use these same paints across their full line of vehicles, or just the lancers, and if other models experience similar issues. What I don't understand is that this would classify it as a manufacturer deffect, but proving beyond doubt that this is the exact cause would require the help and support of a certified lab and PPG. Also, the rear fenders has been stated to be a design flaw the allows the front wheels to throw rocks towards that area. Again, I'm not sure how they aren't responsible for their design flaws, since everyone else is. My plan at this point is to work with some of our industrial suppliers and repaint using a better paint that we can apply and cure at work.

35

In my country the quality of roads is very bad(3rd worst in the whole world: Turkey) If you drive over steer style and does not have mudguards then you should probably have chips, I think there is a problem about the paint issue in Lancers' but I does not have a very big problem but note that my lancer(blue) is way too different then US cars it is called lightning blue so this could be another reason.

10

The sad part here, is that I am experiencing issues on paved highways. I've driven on gravel roads 3 times since getting my car and I got chips on the front side of the rear wheels, like many others here.

1 people found this helpful.
315

Ok .. update! Mitsubishi edmonton alberta canada (north side) the head of the service departement said they would pay 1/3 the cost, mitsu would pay 1/3 the cost of a respray on the sides (rear doglegs) and then apply mud flaps and 3m film... only on the sides...front hood NOT covered! However after I spent 2000+ on a respray I returned (with reciepts) to the dealership to find they fired the service manager! Now im stuck with the bill... they only 3m'd the sides and mud flapped the car. very poor service mitsu.... sorry not gonna buy another car from you guys!

1 people found this helpful.

I noticed thousands of chips in the exterior paint of my red 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer and first contacted my insurance company who said that it was a manufacturer defect and will be covered by warranty. Agreeing because of the large number of chips, I reviewed my warranty booklet and followed protocol. I first contacted the local Mitsubishi dealership, Jabco Maggi in State College, PA who took pictures of the damage and submitted them to corporate. When the service manager shared that corporate has been choosing to ignore the paint issue I began looking further into it online. Seeing thousands of complaints by customers saying that Mitsubishi refuses to cover the paint and says it is because of road conditions (as I pass other makes of vehicles even older than my 2009, I do not see any vehicle with such extensive chipping and the drives drive on the same roads as I do). Mitsubishi refuses to do anything about the defects in their paint! Now I am among the thousands of dissatisfied and disappointing Mitsubishi owners, not because of the issue but because of the refusal to admit to and solve the issue.I urge anyone looking into buying a Mitsubishi vehicle to stay away! BOYCOTT MITSUBISHI Vehicles until they decide to stand by their vehicles and their customers!

205

yep i,v bought one myself 2010 got 30.000 miles on it now probably got 30,000 chips on it even on the roof! crap paint work nice car though shame on you mistabishi for using shitty paint

I have a 2006 Mitsu Lancer Ralliart 2.4L, & I am having chipping paint issues on the roof, trunk, hood. I contacted my insurance company, they told me it was a dealer issue, so I went to the dealer, they told me it was clear coat, & the sun is doing it. Would not do anything. not sure whatelse I can do. On my roof it literally looks like someone took sandpaper & scratched the top, and they tell me it is the sun doing this. This sucks. If anyone knows what other steps I can take, call me (407)936-4588

Here are a few things that may or may not be useful to those of you doing your own body and paint work. Hopefully some of them will save you some time, a few dollars and get your job to turn out better. 1. Have you ever noticed how a painter can tear a piece of sandpaper in half and it's straight, almost as if it was cut? Always fold it grit side to grit side FIRST. Crease it between your thumbnail and finger and then fold it backwards and do the same, then once more grit to grit and it should tear straight. Folding grit to grit first breaks the "back" of the sandpaper. Fold it the other way first and it'Il tear where it wants to. 2. Note that a sanding block has a round "top" with less sharp corners. Put your paper on the top side for sanding reverse curves. 3. Having a sanding block for each grit of sandpaper not only saves you the time of changing sandpaper when you need a different grit, but also saves sandpaper too. Leaving the 80-grit on the 80 block gives you a chance to wear it out before you take it off. 4. The longer the block, the better the blocking. 5. Tape will stretch when taping a curve one way better than the other will. 6. You can force a cord or coated wire under rubber to lift it up for sanding and painting. Works great on the rubber around windows. 7. If tape won't stick to rubber, wipe it clean with thinner. If it still won't stick, wipe it with very thin black paint. 8. If you’re taping on fresh paint, apply the tape to your pants first and then pull it off. It won't stick as tight to the vehicle with the lint it has pulled off your pants and won't tape mark as bad. This is also good if you’re afraid it might pull paint up when you’re unmasking. 9. You can spot-paint up to a sharp body line without leaving much of a paint edge if you reverse tape. Reverse taping is done by taping half of the sticky side of the tape on the part of the car you want to protect then roll the other half up and back loosely and hold it with a few tabs of tape. This leaves only a soft edge of the sticky side of the tape and if removed while the paint is wet will leave almost no paint edge. Two-inch tape is best for this. 10. If you have a large opening to tape up, let's say you have a door off, run several lines of 2" tape sticky-side-out across it. The paper will stick to it and make a stronger, less floppy closure when you spray cover. 11. Tape down all loose masking paper. Press it down tight and tape the creases. You don't want anything flopping around while painting and dirt can hide in creases. 12. A little bit of tape folded sticky-side-out, stuffed in a socket will hold that little bitty nut in place on the end of your longest l/4" extension when you’re trying to put an emblem back on your deck lid through that 1/2" access hole the factory gave you. A little bearing grease on a washer will hold it to the socket so you can put them both on in one shot. 13. A little grease on the socket will prevent that little bitty nut and washer from becoming a rattle left inside a panel when you’re taking your car apart too. 14. Trying to mask something odd shaped or doing some touch up work in the engine compartment? Use aluminum foil to mask with. It'll crunch down to hold on almost any shape and stay there. 15. Ever need to paint something in a tight area in your engine compartment a foot away? Spray down an empty paper-towel tube held over the spot. The paint will get there and not on everything else. 16. A squirt can with lacquer thinner is a good thing. I've never been able to pour just a little bit from a one (or 5) gallon can. 17. An old 3M scratch pad with a squirt of lacquer thinner is the fastest way to clean that almost hard body filler off the spreader. 18. Those black 3M rubber spreaders will squeegee off water while color sanding and show you where you need to sand more. 19. Some rubber spreaders will bum like hell if put in your pocket after cleaning them with lacquer thinner. 20. Round toothpicks and Q-tips are paint gun cleaning tools. Never use anything metal for cleaning a paint gun. 21. Leftover paint with hardener mixed in will keep for a day or so if put in a refrigerator. The cold slows down the hardener. You might need some touch up later. 22. Cold paint runs easy. 23. Regular cornstarch mixed into a paste is one of the finest polishes. Mixed with Meguiars #5 and a little water will polish out swirls on the darkest colors. 24. Masking tape on all edges when polishing will prevent you from catching them with the polisher and ““burning through”. Hand rub the edges. http://www.thetorque.in/services.php Car Paint Works

20

Not only did I notice Mitsubishi red lancer chipped very fast and furious, now after nearly seven years and just less than 90,000 klms, the lacquer has started peeling off the roof paint. LOVED driving my car but with the paint problems, never will I buy a Mitsi again !!!!

2 people found this helpful.

I have a 2017 Mitsubishi back lancer and its new and the hood is chipping .never had this problem with other cars and the dealership won't evenfix it... need help what to do?

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