Jeep Corrosion Warranty Boondoggle

Doesn't mean that was the only change. Aren't there vehicles with aluminum hoods and steel hinges? Why yes, yes there are. And they don't have these problems, do they?


True, but the others don't bolt their hinges up bare metal to metal like Jeep. They're at the very least primed. My old CTS-V aluminum hood was fully painted under the hinge.
 

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Save a few pounds, they should have stuck with steel. I saw quite a few Fords, and Jeeps with aluminum panels that looked like crap, especially if you look at it from the side. Aluminum causes body shop nightmares, and drives body shop prices higher than working on steel.
 
OMG, during the height of Covid Spring 2020 I had Carvana deliver a low mileage super perfect (read on) beautiful dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee. (2017 or 2018)
Lots of options, really nice, HK audio system if I remember correctly.
It did have one thing wrong and that was about as wide as masking tape pealed off paint on the lower side of the rear bumper, was not thrilled about it but it wasnt bad, dark blue paint and a black bumper cover and it was the lower part of the bumper, paint was just kind of pealed off no damage to the bumper. (read on *LOL*) you really had to look for it.

Anyway, took delivery, truck was perfect in every way other than that I thought.
Then I SAW IT. Some bubbling of paint along the front leading edge of the hood. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I mean, this stuff isnt supposed to happen at all anymore, never mind a couple year old truck with less than 24,000 miles on it! On top of it, I keep my vehicles a long time and I keep them in pristine shape.
So I started researching and here we are, DOZENS of posts, about the hood issue, just like the OP issue too. How can this be in this day and age?

SO lucky for me, someone I know very well in our community is actually a Jeep Service manager, like, manages the service department. I give him a call, yup, it is an issue where the steal frame of the hood meets the aluminum top. If it's not properly sealed at the factory, corrosion and honestly I think in time it will affect almost anyone.

So he did say Jeep will REPAIR or REPLACE THE HOOD, ummm ... no, that doesnt work for me. He also told me it is not up to him or the dealer. They can not even choose which body shop. Jeep contracts with the shops, not the dealer.
He said the shop determines if the hood is repaired or replaced depending on a formula.

This was killing me, I didnt want a repainted hood and I didnt want a repaired hood, I KNOW it would come back to haunt me, so I called Carvana and had them pick the truck up and refund me the purchase price. I played it safe and bought a Chevy Traverse with Tow package, factory over size rims and tires, running boards, same year, same mileage as the Jeep and slightly less money, GM certified from a local dealer at the height of covid so I got a great price. Never looked back.
I am SHOCKED to see this still goes on, I read its been an issue for a decade on the Jeeps. It's just crazy! Any time I see a Jeep in a parking lot now I look at the front leading edge of the hood for paint bubbling, it's hit or miss, sometimes yes and sometimes no. Just the fact that it's sometimes yes means this is not some one off thing. Geez.

Ps, I did have pictures at one point think they are on another computer or I deleted them. If in the unlikely chance I have them I will post. It's an older unused computer but I have to get photos off it before the trash.
 
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OMG, during the height of Covid Spring 2020 I had Carvana deliver a low mileage super perfect (read on) beautiful dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee. (2017 or 2018)
Lots of options, really nice, HK audio system if I remember correctly.
It did have one thing wrong and that was about as wide as masking tape pealed off paint on the lower side of the rear bumper, was not thrilled about it but it wasnt bad, dark blue paint and a black bumper cover and it was the lower part of the bumper, paint was just kind of pealed off no damage to the bumper. (read on *LOL*) you really had to look for it.

Anyway, took delivery, truck was perfect in every way other than that I thought.
Then I SAW IT. Some bubbling of paint along the front leading edge of the hood. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I mean, this stuff isnt supposed to happen at all anymore, never mind a couple year old truck with less than 24,000 miles on it! On top of it, I keep my vehicles a long time and I keep them in pristine shape.
So I started researching and here we are, DOZENS of posts, about the hood issue, just like the OP issue too. How can this be in this day and age?

SO lucky for me, someone I know very well in our community is actually a Jeep Service manager, like, manages the service department. I give him a call, yup, it is an issue where the steal frame of the hood meets the aluminum top. If it's not properly sealed at the factory, corrosion and honestly I think in time it will affect almost anyone.

So he did say Jeep will REPAIR or REPLACE THE HOOD, ummm ... no, that doesnt work for me. He also told me it is not up to him or the dealer. They can not even choose which body shop. Jeep contracts with the shops, not the dealer.
He said the shop determines if the hood is repaired or replaced depending on a formula.

This was killing me, I didnt want a repainted hood and I didnt want a repaired hood, I KNOW it would come back to haunt me, so I called Carvana and had them pick the truck up and refund me the purchase price. I played it safe and bought a Chevy Traverse with Tow package, factory over size rims and tires, running boards, same year, same mileage as the Jeep and slightly less money, GM certified from a local dealer at the height of covid so I got a great price. Never looked back.
I am SHOCKED to see this still goes on, I read its been an issue for a decade on the Jeeps. It's just crazy! Any time I see a Jeep in a parking lot now I look at the front leading edge of the hood for paint bubbling, it's hit or miss, sometimes yes and sometimes no. Just the fact that it's sometimes yes means this is not some one off thing. Geez.
Bad paint out of the factory scares me. IMO once they start repainting panels there's always the chance of problems later on, and a trained eye can detect paint work if/when it comes time to sell or trade it in. Years ago I bought an 84 E-150 new, in black. I was young and had a lot of energy. I washed it and planned on waxing it. When I took a look at the roof there was a spot right down the center of it that was missed about a foot wide. It was in from the windshield, and back doors about a foot. You could only see it with a ladder. I took it back and they agreed to repaint the roof. A month later and several excuses as to why it wasn't ready I still didn't have my van. I took a ride to the body shop and saw the van in their lot, gray primer over spray on the sides, and the roof buckled in from the scaffold collapsing with a worker on it. Long story short they replaced it with an 85, after a long drawn out fight.
 
Bad paint out of the factory scares me. IMO once they start repainting panels there's always the chance of problems later on, and a trained eye can detect paint work if/when it comes time to sell or trade it in. Years ago I bought an 84 E-150 new, in black. I was young and had a lot of energy. I washed it and planned on waxing it. When I took a look at the roof there was a spot right down the center of it that was missed about a foot wide. It was in from the windshield, and back doors about a foot. You could only see it with a ladder. I took it back and they agreed to repaint the roof. A month later and several excuses as to why it wasn't ready I still didn't have my van. I took a ride to the body shop and saw the van in their lot, gray primer over spray on the sides, and the roof buckled in from the scaffold collapsing with a worker on it. Long story short they replaced it with an 85, after a long drawn out fight.
Wow... Yeah, Im pretty good at noticing defects and repainted panels. It used to be a little easier in the old days as they were more sloppy but still pretty easy, mostly.
When I was younger (a long time ago) a friend of mine and I repainted our own cars with a make shift paint "booth" in his parents garage.
Didnt come out half bad, but he had money and bought the right compressor and gun. My car was a 77 Honda Accord hatchback only a couple years old but the dreaded front fender corrosion which Honda replaced both, of course the gold metallic didnt match and I was told at the start it wasnt going to so I repainted the whole car myself. It was kind of fun ... That was then, last time I ever got burned on corrosion and why I sent that Jeep back within 3 days after Caravan delivered it.
 
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I get zero pleasure in writing this, but this was likely a case of everyone seeing a woman's name on the repair order.... and then just assuming that the odds were that they could do a shoddy job, and they'd get away with it.

I finally found a body shop whose owners have decided that life is easier for everyone involved, if it is done right the first time.

And it is. And the really perverse thing about it is... they have no problem in dealing with particular customers. I asked their Lead Adjuster if I'm their most particular customer, and without even missing a beat, the adjuster replied with "Oh God no...... but you're in the Top 10". That's a Badge of Honor.
 
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..... a beautiful dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee. (2017 or 2018)....
Sounds exactly like my brother's.... It's one of those years. I'd better have him take a look at it!

Or maybe not. There's probably little he can do about it if the issue is there besides ride it out and hope for the best. 🤷‍♂️
 
True, but the others don't bolt their hinges up bare metal to metal like Jeep. They're at the very least primed. My old CTS-V aluminum hood was fully painted under the hinge.


The bolts that attach the hinges could be the culprit. Even if stainless steel bolts are used that just slows the process from what I gather.

It’s been many years for me but they still use different primers for aluminum and steel, right?
 
Does Chrysler still allow the customer to choose the body shop... or is it now the dealer's choice?

I had warranty work done for tailgate seam corrosion on a Town and Country, and I was allowed to choose the body shop. However, that was around 10 years ago. A Chrysler dealer provided an OEM tailgate for the body shop to use.

Funny thing on that repair. Chrysler refused to provide new "Chrysler" and "Town and Country" emblems for the tailgate. They were 23 individual letters. Chrysler wanted the body shop to remove the letters from the old tail gate, clean them up, and then glue each of the old individual letters back on, and... AND make it look right.

My response was "screw it". We left it all off. And it looked way better without Chrysler's name on it.
 
OMG, during the height of Covid Spring 2020 I had Carvana deliver a low mileage super perfect (read on) beautiful dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee. (2017 or 2018)
Lots of options, really nice, HK audio system if I remember correctly.
It did have one thing wrong and that was about as wide as masking tape pealed off paint on the lower side of the rear bumper, was not thrilled about it but it wasnt bad, dark blue paint and a black bumper cover and it was the lower part of the bumper, paint was just kind of pealed off no damage to the bumper. (read on *LOL*) you really had to look for it.

Anyway, took delivery, truck was perfect in every way other than that I thought.
Then I SAW IT. Some bubbling of paint along the front leading edge of the hood. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I mean, this stuff isnt supposed to happen at all anymore, never mind a couple year old truck with less than 24,000 miles on it! On top of it, I keep my vehicles a long time and I keep them in pristine shape.
So I started researching and here we are, DOZENS of posts, about the hood issue, just like the OP issue too. How can this be in this day and age?

SO lucky for me, someone I know very well in our community is actually a Jeep Service manager, like, manages the service department. I give him a call, yup, it is an issue where the steal frame of the hood meets the aluminum top. If it's not properly sealed at the factory, corrosion and honestly I think in time it will affect almost anyone.

So he did say Jeep will REPAIR or REPLACE THE HOOD, ummm ... no, that doesnt work for me. He also told me it is not up to him or the dealer. They can not even choose which body shop. Jeep contracts with the shops, not the dealer.
He said the shop determines if the hood is repaired or replaced depending on a formula.

This was killing me, I didnt want a repainted hood and I didnt want a repaired hood, I KNOW it would come back to haunt me, so I called Carvana and had them pick the truck up and refund me the purchase price. I played it safe and bought a Chevy Traverse with Tow package, factory over size rims and tires, running boards, same year, same mileage as the Jeep and slightly less money, GM certified from a local dealer at the height of covid so I got a great price. Never looked back.
I am SHOCKED to see this still goes on, I read its been an issue for a decade on the Jeeps. It's just crazy! Any time I see a Jeep in a parking lot now I look at the front leading edge of the hood for paint bubbling, it's hit or miss, sometimes yes and sometimes no. Just the fact that it's sometimes yes means this is not some one off thing. Geez.

Ps, I did have pictures at one point think they are on another computer or I deleted them. If in the unlikely chance I have them I will post. It's an older unused computer but I have to get photos off it before the trash.
Maybe it's just me, but I would have rather had the Jeep repaired and dealt with the chance that it will corrode again, then pay out of pocket for a new hood when the time comes than have a Chevy Traverse instead.
 
Maybe it's just me, but I would have rather had the Jeep repaired and dealt with the chance that it will corrode again, then pay out of pocket for a new hood when the time comes than have a Chevy Traverse instead.
Of course it is you, we buy what we like, the Jeep for me would have been a major mistake, it is small. The Traverse actually turned out great for me, not easy finding vehicles all the time with the factory tow packages. In addition I was shocked at the highway performance on 7 trips to Florida early summer of 2022. Amazing ride, cringed one time when I realized I was going 95 MPH and didnt even notice.
Ps, The reliability and satisfaction of the Traverse is WAY better than Jeep in Consumer reports. Maybe part of that is the hood doesnt start rotting in 3 years or less. ;)

I keep my vehicles a long time and in nice shape, compared to some and repainted vehicles never are the same and the paint does not last.
 
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True, but the others don't bolt their hinges up bare metal to metal like Jeep. They're at the very least primed. My old CTS-V aluminum hood was fully painted under the hinge.

If it was electrolysis or galvanic corrosion then it would start at the hinge area.

If the area of corrosion and the dissimilar metal hinge are both in constant contact with an unbroken solution of electrolyte (water containing salt)...and by unbroken I mean it's continuous from the hinge to where the aluminum is corroding..AND the aluminum has to be exposed, not protected with paint...then the corrosion is caused by electrolysis.

You have to have a complete circuit for electrolysis to happen. It's why a water heater that doesn't have enough water in it to make contact with the anode rod will corrode much faster than a full one. (In the case of a water heater, the anode rod is sacrificial and the electrolysis causes the anode rod to corrode rather than the tank).
 
My JLU has minor corrosion on one of the back doors and a little on the very top of the windshield frame. It's not very noticeable, definitely less so than a bad paint match if I let the dealer fix it! Mine is black as well.
 
They also had to replace every door hinge for corrosion on her Jeep.



There was a theory that the Ford hood issues were caused by them using the same stamps for metal and aluminum hoods, small amounts of metal transferred onto hoods during production. That could be the issue here. All panel corrosion was near a fold.
Yeah, that's actually mentioned in that link I shared, iron contamination of the aluminum surface.
 
I can't believe that there is no paint or other treatment between the hinge and hood, that is truly amateur hour. Then again, my Wife's '22 Wrangler had a piece of masking tape painted over in body color on the rollbar...oddly, there was primer underneath so I just removed the tape and use touch up paint; executive decision that a trip to the dealer could result in more issues than my solving this on an almost invisible spot.

Frends have this issue on their very low mileage '20.
 
That's good information. It did have corrosion around and on the hinges. But the big spots were on the door edges far away from them.


If it was electrolysis or galvanic corrosion then it would start at the hinge area.

If the area of corrosion and the dissimilar metal hinge are both in constant contact with an unbroken solution of electrolyte (water containing salt)...and by unbroken I mean it's continuous from the hinge to where the aluminum is corroding..AND the aluminum has to be exposed, not protected with paint...then the corrosion is caused by electrolysis.

You have to have a complete circuit for electrolysis to happen. It's why a water heater that doesn't have enough water in it to make contact with the anode rod will corrode much faster than a full one. (In the case of a water heater, the anode rod is sacrificial and the electrolysis causes the anode rod to corrode rather than the tank).
 
That's different from corrosion caused by electrolysis, which is the current (no pun intended) theory.

It probably IS defective paint. Especially if it's happening nowhere near the steel parts that are bolted to the aluminum.

Go back far enough and Ford was having problems with paint on steel, too.
Honda struggles with clear coat
Honda struggles with White
Ford struggled with aluminum Expedition tailgates
Chrysler struggled with aluminum minivan hoods
Apparently Toyota can't get white to stick to Camry/Rav4
Detroit as a whole struggles with keeping white attached to a vehicle (especially a van/truck)
And who's old enough to remember the GM El-Po paint fiasco?
My mother's first new car was an '89 Beretta in black, they repainted it twice



Can ANYBODY get paint right anymore?
 
Update for everyone, since this Jeep is just now finally back from the Body Shop.

The third repaint they got the color close enough for me. But this time they screwed up the fresh paint not knowing how to use a buffer. So it went back again...

Jeep.jpeg


Hilarity ensued when the owner of the body shop called my girlfriend to tell her the paint cannot look any better than it does. He stated that by summertime this new paint will be cured enough to use waxes with silicones or carnauba to hide the swirl marks. I was listening and waiting to get the phone. I didn't yell but I told him no bodyshop should send out work looking like this and to invest in a random orbital polisher so he's not ruining his paint jobs. I asked with Jeep's horrendous orange peel, did he paint it with an old Binks gun if every panel needed completely sanded and buffed?

The owner did take the criticism in stride and said that if I could do a better job on the swirl marks then he wants me to send Him a bill!! Haha! What Balls. I asked him to tell me what grit he sanded with and what compounds/pads he used so it's easier for me to fix the mistakes. He said he only sanded with 3000 grit and only buffed with 3m Perfect It and a 3M foam pad. So this was possibly just user error, overworking with an orbital. BUT to my eye it looks like someone started with a more aggressive compound or pad and didn't know what they were doing and didn't attempt to follow through with anything finer.

Maybe I'll find out they didn't use enough hardener in the clear or something. Wouldn't surprise me. They did use a heated paint booth so it should be plenty cured. I've been doing paint correction for a long time. It will probably take me an hour or two to fix this. (Famous last words)
 

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So far - no issues with my 2020 - hit the beach/marsh allot and wash it really good each trip … Will keep a sharper eye on it after reading this thread …
 
I totally understand your frustration with this as I am picky myself but the first 2 attempts are pathetic. I’m a body tech and we have a painter that doesn’t really care, no pride in his work, and refuses to buff unless the manager yells at him. It’s a very tiring situation to get a car back from paint and then see how bad it looks and then have to kick it back to him.
 
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