Black Paint problem

I purchased my 2005 Tribute in Sept 2004 and love it. I must have had a senior moment cuz I ordered the Mystic Black paint. I guess I figured I had nothing to do but wash and wax my car. My model has the matching trim on the Bumpers, Door panels and Rockers. (Not the charcoal) By late winter I noticed a little grey on the raised profiles of the trims after I washed the winter salt spray off especially just in front of the rear wheel. I thought it was just poor washing but after investigating I found the paint was turning grey. Now, months later, every raised edge, bottom edge, flair and even the bottom of the rear bumper cover is turning grey. Its especially noticeable with the gloss black and I'm sure the charcoal doesn't show at all. I've been to the dealer and body shop several times who all agree it's a paint adhesion or hardness problem on the trim panels. The problem is that MAZDA'S District Rep disagrees and says its due to the environmental conditions and road conditions. Has anyone had any similar experience?

did the dealership do anything for you?

i think the body shop would know more about paint than a dude that sells cars well.

Tell the dealership to FIX THE PAINT! Its a paint problem, and Mazda can trace that back to manufacturing. It could possibly be a problem with their paint supplier also. Mazda can file a claim against their paint supplier and get compensated.

I am a new 2005 Tribute owner and went with BLACK as well. I am also a paint chemist that works for Sherwin Williams Automotive. We don't supply to OEM exteriors and almost certainly the OE Tribute paint is PPG or DuPont. We do OE interiors(panels, dashes, air bag covers, steering wheels, etc...) and we also do Auto Refinish paints.


The problem that you described about your paint peeling off can be due to many factors. Plastic substrates are very difficult to get adhesion to. It could be as simple as the plastic panels were not cleaned properly or got contaminated on the assembly line prior to getting painted. This is something that Mazda can't really trace, but if your paint is coming off, then by all means, DEMAND that the dealer take care of it. Environmental conditions that your Tribute will see, even in a harsh winter, are no excuse. The OE paint suppliers go through strict product testing, and they guarentee that your paint will NOT have defects. Keep pushing and Mazda will fix it.