What's happening to the paint on my car's roof?
 

So today I went to the car wash and after I got home I noticed that something has happened to the paint on the roof???? :eek: It looks like only the clear coat is pealing off. It only happens on the drivers side too? Should I go back to the car wash and tell them they they have damaged my car? I don't think they will do anything though. Is that maybe covered under warranty? The car is from 2011 and is still under warranty. What should I do? Please help! :nix:

I would get ahold of your local MB dealer. The car wash won't do anything for you this is not from them.

give it a try.
body shop can sand re clear coat it.

That's clear coat failure. Its something a high pressure nozzle could make worse, but shouldn't cause all on its own. If you still have factory extended warranty I'd pursue that.

You should check whether your vehicle has ever had after-delivery paint done to it. To me, and I've been in automotive paint (both OEM & refinish), a long, long time, that looks like the failure of a paint film from a poorly masked edge, and the clear-coat is definitely peeling away. Maybe there was some reason for remedial work and the operative did not remove the trim from that area as he/she should have done, and just masked it up.

If it was the original finish, there would be no reason for a failure at that point. Get someone with a paint depth gauge to do some comparative readings around the vehicle and in the area you photographed (on the steel parts at least). That should tell a story and give you some ammunition!

:confused:

I will go to my local MB service center later this week, what exactly should I tell the service advisor? Should I tell him it happened in the car wash? What if he denies to repair it? Thank you for the replay!

It did not happen from the car wash. I would just tell him you have clear coat pealing on your roof and you just noticed it the other day after washing the car. He will go out and look at it and go from there.

You shouldn't have to "tell" them anything. I'd just point and ask what they're going to do about it. If they refuse to fix it under warranty, I'd escalate it up the chain of command. I wouldn't mention the car wash to them at all. Everybody gets their car washed.

Agree with ^^. Do not tell them about the car wash.

You're right! I won't mention the car wash. I'll go to them tomorrow afternoon and see what they say about it.

It happened to my front and rear bumper before. They sent me to their paint shop, just few blocks away from the dealer :)

The above posts are all wrong. This is not an issue with paint or clear coat. This is a very common issue, if you search.
The roof trims are plastic, covered by a clear laminate. Over time, the cheap laminate will start to peel, as shown in your pictures. This IS covered under warranty, mention that your roof trims are delaminating. The new replacement parts will unfortunately suffer from the same fate though. Best bet is just have it repainted with a real clear coat that will last, or use a black gloss vinyl wrap.

^^^^
That's very interesting. I would definitely go to the dealer especially since your car is not that old.

I wonder if the OP leaves car in hot sun often or doesn't wax/protect/sealant roof? My mom has a black 2010 RX350 with same issue on the roof of her truck. She never waxes the top of the truck unless she goes to a detailer. Also, she never wash and dries the top of her truck correctly. She eventually got her roof repainted.

I always make a point to protect the top of my cars because it's always getting beat up by the sun. I wax/spray wax my car at least once a week. I also made a point to my mom to bring her truck to my house at least once a month for a good wax detail by me.

I just got back from the MB service center, they said that my car's warranty expired 9 days ago, therefore they won't fix it! :nix: The service advisor said he can order the roof trim for around $200. What should I do?

If money is no problem for you, and you're willing to fork out $200 something for the trims, go for it. Just keep in mind the new parts are prone to the same issue. It doesn't take long either, my 2011 was only 3 years old when it started peeling. I guess the sun here in California speeds the process. Wax doesn't protect it, since it's the laminate that deteriorates. I wax my car religiously since it's a black car.

What I would do, or what I did, is had it vinyl wrapped with a high quality viny. The vinyl I used claims to last 10 years. Costs $30. Looks like new after the wrap, it's gloss black to match my black paint. I don't have that ugly, embarrassing, furry laminate peeling issue anymore lol

I contacted MBUSA and they made a claim about this, if it gets approved they will replace the part for free. Let's hope it gets approved! :y:y

I had this similar problem from a Mercedes car wash 2 months ago. Whenever I went through the Mercedes car wash, I would look around to see if there was any damage.

I found that both my roof rail's clear coat was peeling off, exactly like yours. The service manager came out and replaced my roof rails for free.

He also claimed that it is a common issue on the W204 chassi roof rails to peel in their car washes; I wasn't the first to get my roofrails replaced there for free, he said.

Go back and see what they have to say.

He said since the car is 9 days out of warranty, he won't replace them for free. He said he can order them for me and one is going to be around $200. I said, no thank you. I contacted MBUSA and made a claim, if it gets approved they will pay to get them replaced.

You should argue to him regardless. That was not a failure that happened naturally or caused by you. It was the dealerships fault, so they should cover it for free. Any damage.

Why is it the dealership's fault? They didn't wash the car.

But, OP you were right in escalating this up to corporate. I'm surprised the dealership didn't cover it. They have "good will" cash available to cover just this type of thing, especially for such a small amount. They should have just said, "Hey, even though your car is 9 days out of warranty, we're going to cover it anyway." Most likely when it's time for the next car, you'll give them a good shot at your business.

I thought it was the Mercedes-Benz courtesy car wash that he pulled his car through, after looking back I realize my mistake. That is why I thought it was the dealership's fault, because the same thing happened to me as you look above to my previous post regarding the situation.

The Service Advisor is a salesman. His job is to sell service. In sales, money isn't always made the day one meets a customer. The best relationships take longer, and last longer. You bought in a car whose warranty expired nine days before you reported the problem. The laminate didn’t start peeling the day you brought the car in. It’s a gradual process that has obviously been going south for some time. It started failing while under warranty. Rather than think of you as a long term customer, the service advisor spoke to you like you were a short term mark – someone he could make money on immediately. He could have told the Service Manager, “He’s a long term customer, let’s do the right thing”. Instead, he said pay us $200. Being the brilliant marketing strategist that his skills have demonstrated, what does he think the odds are that you will use him, personally, the next time you’re at the dealer?

I use one service advisor at my local dealer. I use him because he takes care of me. Through my magazine, I send him a lot of work he’d otherwise never see – but that didn’t start until after I decided he was going to be my personal service writer. And BTW, everyone I send him pays an allegedly discounted rate and they tell me they’ll make sure to use “that writer” in the future.

A good salesperson is one who can get you to spend money, and be happy to have spent it.

Today I got a call from MBUSA that they have contacted the manager at my service center and that he wanted to inspect the paint pealing. So I drove there showed him the paint pealing and he told me that all he can do is not charge me for the labor. He quoted me $165.85 for one. I don't know if I should pay and get it fixed or still fight it and get it done for free?

What if I contact the manager at the dealer that the first owner bought the car from? It's 40 minutes away from me. Maybe they would replace it for free? :confused:

I would try to go to another dealer and see if anyone of them is nice enough to do the work since this is a very common issue.