Aloha, fellow G35 enthusiasts!

A little about me...

I own a 2005 G35 6-speed manual coupe with approximately 85k miles on it at the moment, and I totally love her, but sometimes I feel like I've got myself a lemon.

First of all, don't get me wrong, she handles beautifully and is really fun to drive, and not to mention, she's a very sexy looking/sounding car, but in the last year and a half or so, her paint has been flaking off profusely! It started out as a small little dime-sized bubble-up/chip on my hood, and it's been getting progressively worse since then. Now my hood looks horrendous! Not only that, the top of my car is starting to do the same thing! Oh and in addition to the low-quality paint job, my rear interior trims have both completely come off from the panels (for no apparent reason, but my guess is that it's also poor craftsmanship!). I bought the car brand new, too!!!

I've brought the paint issue up to the attention of the Infiniti dealership here in Honolulu, when I first noticed this, but they basically told me there's nothing they can do about it and referred me to Infiniti Consumer Affairs, who was equally unhelpful. I've dealt with them twice already, explaining to them my situation and how it's most definitely a manufacturer's defect, but they just brushed me off both times, claiming that it's due to normal wear/tear and environmental roadside hazards. I'm currently in the midst of dealing with them again (third time's a charm, I hope), since I've actually brought my car to a auto body/paint repair shop and the techs there confirmed my suspicion of the shoddy factory paint job and highly advised me to bring it up to the attention of Infiniti again. So here I am again... third attempt! I am going to have the dealership take photos of the damage and send them up to corporate. Hopefully, they'll finally own up to their mistakes and stand behind their products (for once)!

I am just really disappointed and bummed that such a high-end and nicely designed car is experiencing such problems. It also really annoys me that Infiniti doesn't care about their customers (in my opinion, anyway).

Anyone else out there having similar problems with Infiniti (or Nissan) paint, or are unhappy about Infiniti's crappy customer service? Please share your experiences, advice, and/or thoughts. Thanks!

 

I don't mean to be rude but paint is considered a wear and tear. You realize that the vehicle is a 2005 and the paint is 7 years old. I own a 2003 pearl white coupe and am also having paint issues but it's about time the car gets a fresh paint job anyways.

 

I have an 05 DG coupe with much higher miles and have no paint bubbles. The previous owner had it garage kept, is your's in a garage or in the sun? Dont get me wrong the paint is not perfect several chips and scratches but I can live with it the car is beautiful. I've heard a lot on how the paint on our cars sucks but it is what it is. Keep pushing Infiniti they may fix it just to keep you from bothering them

 

Also not to sound rude at all, but in hawaii I am sure that the sun is absolutely pounding that car. Not to mention the salt from being right on the ocean...

 

My 06 has chips everywhere. It isn't the strongest of paint. IMO the paint shouldn't be flaking at 7 years, to early.

 

Seven years old is young for paint. I've seen cars from the 60's and 70's with factory paint jobs on them in good condition.

Wear and tear? Maybe. But how the person takes care of the paint on a vehicle plays a huge factor into it, as well as environment. My Maxima's finish looked like glass, and that paint was from 2003 as well. Not a single flaw with the paint aside from a few scratches/chips. But I clay barred it 2x's yearly, and waxed it every third wash.

It's not a wear and tear issue. Nissan definitely used, or is still using, shoddy, soft paint. To put it into perspective, the 2001 Lexus IS300 I owned had 139k miles on it, and the paint was in far, far better shape than the paint on my '03 Max with 124k on it. And I neglected that car's paint pretty severely...

 

Infiniti uses soft paint, there's no getting around it unless you re-coat the car with a better quality paint. And the dealership isn't going to do squat for you there. Not sure what to say about the trim besides re-attach it. You bought a Nissan, not a Mercedes.

 

Best of luck. I just want my front bumper repainted due to all the chips. Have you been waxing it?

 

About the best thing you can do for these cars, is if you get them re-painted, or buy a new car, is to seal the finish with Optimum Opti-Coat.

It's a self-leveling laquer that you apply to the finish with a foam pad. Works wonders for protecting the finish from what I've seen.

 

A friend of mine has an 07 mercedes c230 and i wasn't impressed. The interior trim was cracked and faded. Exterior trim was crappy to. Point being I think most car manufacturers are using cheap parts.

 

Donna, fact is your coupe is suffering from the previous owners not taking care of it. Had it been garage kept and covered when left outside in that hot Hawaiian sun it would be like new. It's probably just the clear that's flaking, talk to a body shop and see if it's possible to sand and re-shoot the clear without painting the whole car....Gary

 

Have you had it detailed at all with a buffer since you first bought it?

 

Paint is kind of tricky to pin on Infiniti to be honest... It's constantly being exposed to the elements, and on a seven year old car it could definitely show. I've seen paint jobs last much longer than what you're experiencing, and I've seen paint jobs that don't last as long. It comes down to the maintenance.

That being said though, seven years is still kind of "young" for a paint job to really flake in my opinion. I know a lot of Hondas have problems with their darker paint job clears (Nighthawk/Flamenco Black Pearl, Black Currant Pearl, Dark Emerald Pearl, etc.), and some of those cars are near the same age. So that being said, you may be able to say it was a defective paint job and get it taken care of.

 

i must be lucky my 03 paint looks great still. not to be sexist but unless donna has a man taking care of the car for her im sure part of the paint problem could be female neglect lol

 

Weak paint has been an ongoing problem even when these cars were new. I've read posts of owners taking their cars through car washes and finding sheets of paint peeled off once they left. Laser Red is probably one of the more notorious earlier colors that had more than it's share of issues with chipping etc. There have also been success stories where owners had gotten the dealers to repaint their cars and sometimes, even the entire car. There is no question about it, that Infiniti is aware of all of these issues, but deal with each one on a case to case basis. Some owners other than the chipping have escaped some of the horror stories told by others. Personally, I've probably only been lucky due to very little driving per year, having a clear bra since new, and keeping most of the miles off the highways.