Grand Cherokee L - Paint Chips ARGHHH

[Peerless]

2021 Grand Cherokee L Laredo bought last November. It's my wife's driver (who works from home) with only 5k on the odometer.

Took it out the other day to give it a car wash in the drive way, and noticed MULTIPLE little paint chips on the hood and roof of the vehicle. Contacted the dealer and of course, there's nothing they can do as debris/rock/chips aren't covered under warranty.

$50k vehicle with horrible paint issues and it's not even a year old. How deflating....

I don't even want to know what it's going to look like in a year or two if the paint is ALREADY chipping this early in the game...

 

[fifthwheel]

Count your blessings if that’s the worst problem you’re having with this
$&@“?$&@“ excuse for a car. You’re definitely living right.

 

[fifthwheel]

Count your blessings if that’s the worst problem you’re having with this
$&@“?$&@“ excuse for a car. You’re definitely living right.

 

[Kablemodem]

I have several chips on the hood of my red 2021 Overland. I never had any on my 2014 Overland.

 

[PhillyG11]

I have one minor paint chip on a somewhat strange location - to the right of driver's side door.

 

[Peerless]

It just seems ridiculous to me that we all pay $45k or more on a vehicle, and there's no help from the dealer or manufacturer for this cheap paint.

 

[SweetAndLow]

get ppf if you don't want to look at rock chips.

 

[Sarge]

get ppf if you don't want to look at rock chips.

This is definitely true (I did), but some paint is more resilient than others, and it seems like this stuff is pretty thin/brittle/poorly-adhered and is more fragile than 'average'.

 

[SweetAndLow]

This is definitely true (I did), but some paint is more resilient than others, and it seems like this stuff is pretty thin/brittle/poorly-adhered and is more fragile than 'average'.

If you get out a paint depth gauge I think i saw people reporting super thick paint actually. People just say it's thin paint but really they have no clue or data to back that up.

 

[Sarge]

If you get out a paint depth gauge I think i saw people reporting super thick paint actually. People just say it's thin paint but really they have no clue or data to back that up.

Yeah I admittedly have not done that and don't have a gauge, and that is in fact how you measure it. I also haven't had any chips yet b/c I read the early complaints on here and put PPF on everything right away.

Another part of the problem can be the chemistry of the paint. As environmental regulations have imposed more changes on that process, paint manufacturers have taken various paths to meeting those standards and it's made paint less durable and more brittle, and susceptible to chipping regardless of the depth. I recall my Dad's old Mercedes as a kid, going to car shows, etc, with some restored, some original cars, and owning newer 70's and 80's Mercs the paint quality was absolutely superb. That quality has gone considerably downhill over the decades, and I say that as someone who learned a good bit about paint correction, etc, and ran my own detailing business to make money through college. I've spent more time around auto paint than the average person... And while I'll say the overall finish on my WL is 'OK' (still orange peel, seems to scratch kind of easily, etc), it's not horrible at all compared to past Jeeps I've had.

But... anyone who cares about chips, or lives in an area where there are a lot of rocks (they use crushed granite on the roads in winter here in Wyoming), you should put PPF film on ANY car these days. If people are seeing lots of chips in areas where it shouldn't be much of a problem (ie FL, CA, AZ, etc), then the criticism is more legitimate.

 

[Korros1v3]

Yeah our 2021 Jeep GCL has about 10 chips in the paint. Cheapest paint on a car I have ever had. Lots on the rockers that I had to immediately order mud flaps. The rest are on the hood. Random places.

 

[Jheineman17]

Yeah our 2021 Jeep GCL has about 10 chips in the paint. Cheapest paint on a car I have ever had. Lots on the rockers that I had to immediately order mud flaps. The rest are on the hood. Random places.

Yeah I noticed the same. I’ve only had my jeep for 3 months too.