CX-9 2016 - Red Soul Paint Issues

I have Owned a Previous CX-9 2008 Galaxy Gray - Never had a problem with the paint or anything else for that matter - that vehicle was involved in a head on collision - so it was totaled -
I was very happy with the 2008 so I Purchased a Slightly Used 2016 CX-9 which only had 3600 miles on it in August of 2017 *. Here we are 1 year later and there must be at least 20 chips of paint on the hood and a few on each of the front fenders ( What makes it very obvious is its Silver under the Red)- I have taken it to the dealership and they had me bring it back when the district field rep was there - * He Said that this is "Normal" wear and tear *. that the paint Mazda is using these days is Water Based and that all the vehicles are chipping (meaning All the vehicles not just Mazda are using water based paint) .. REALLY When You PAY $50,000 for a car that is only 2 years old and it has this many issues with the paint This is Not Something we Want to Hear ..... and Mazda wants to tell me that this is NORMAL wear and tear.... So I Called the Headquarters in California * They said they can understand my frustration on my purchase - but that they can not override the District field reps. decision.. ( mind you they took my car behind the wall to view it) and the Service Manager came out to give me the news - NOT the District Field Rep.. That they aren't going to stand behind their product * Looking online - I don't see any other paint issues with Any of the Other paint colors used on Mazda's ??? Just put in the color RED SOUL and MAZDA comes up mostly (CX-5) Also the RED SOUL Paint - is a 3 layer process - not a easy match *. HAD I KNOWN - I would have never purchased this vehicle - Im new to this site - will post pictures - when I can figure that out!

Mazda paint is very thin. You really have to go true luxury brand names for better thicker paint. BTW how you figure $50k?

Pics?

I mean I could see how you would be upset...if you paid anywhere near 50k for a used, 2016 lol

Honestly, Mazda doesn't know if you got caught up behind a dump truck or something so they won't do anything on a car that's 2+ years old with that kind of mileage. Your best bet is to have a professional detailer look it over to see what he can and can't fix (or a body shop to repaint; pricey!).. Then put on PPF (Paint Protection Film) or, if you would like to save a little money, ceramic coating.

How did you get to 50k for a used GT? Even factoring in all of the options and the extended warranty, I don't understand how the price could jump so much, especially for a used vehicle. Anyway..

What's the current mileage on the car? Highway driven or city driven? Do you tailgate often? All relevant factors that would have an effect on the issue at hand.

If Mazda can't help you, I'd suggest getting the paint fixed professionally, then getting paint protection film installed immediately after the paint cures.

All cars chip easily. It comes down to the road condition and traffic. Your best option is to go through insurance to claim the rock chips and having clear armor applied to the hood/fender/bumper. Most popular brand is Xpel.

CX-9 Owner said:

I have Owned a Previous CX-9 2008 Galaxy Gray - Never had a problem with the paint or anything else for that matter - that vehicle was involved in a head on collision - so it was totaled -
I was very happy with the 2008 so I Purchased a Slightly Used 2016 CX-9 which only had 3600 miles on it in August of 2017 *. Here we are 1 year later and there must be at least 20 chips of paint on the hood and a few on each of the front fenders ( What makes it very obvious is its Silver under the Red)- I have taken it to the dealership and they had me bring it back when the district field rep was there - * He Said that this is "Normal" wear and tear *. that the paint Mazda is using these days is Water Based and that all the vehicles are chipping (meaning All the vehicles not just Mazda are using water based paint) .. REALLY When You PAY $50,000 for a car that is only 2 years old and it has this many issues with the paint This is Not Something we Want to Hear ..... and Mazda wants to tell me that this is NORMAL wear and tear.... So I Called the Headquarters in California * They said they can understand my frustration on my purchase - but that they can not override the District field reps. decision.. ( mind you they took my car behind the wall to view it) and the Service Manager came out to give me the news - NOT the District Field Rep.. That they aren't going to stand behind their product * Looking online - I don't see any other paint issues with Any of the Other paint colors used on Mazda's ??? Just put in the color RED SOUL and MAZDA comes up mostly (CX-5) Also the RED SOUL Paint - is a 3 layer process - not a easy match *. HAD I KNOWN - I would have never purchased this vehicle - Im new to this site - will post pictures - when I can figure that out!

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This is a problem and it is turning into a big issue for me personally. Mazda in Japan, is using paint that is simply too soft. I've already filed a complaint with Mazda USA in Irvine, California and am waiting to hear back for a final solution on whether they are going to repaint my front fascia or not. They say they "want to help me out." I'm not 100% clear on what the means. I've asked them whether they will cover the repair cost. They replied: "Yes, we want to help you out." Helping me out could mean they pay a portion of the repair costs and not the full cost of the repairs. That would not be standing behind the product in my view and would cause me to not include Mazda in my new vehicle purchase project for 2019 - where I will be back in the market for another SUV or Truck.

I have a White Pearl CX-9 Signature 2018 with 16k miles. The front fascia (bumper cover) looks like it just got back from a tour of duty in the deserts of Iraq. I don't drive off-road. I don't tailgate. I've never heard my vehicle struck with anything while driving it. The freeways where I live were repaved just last years and are in pristine condition. The streets and freeways between my house and office are very clean and well maintained. My commute is only 26 miles round trip. The vehicle has not been put on the open highway for extremely long road trips (yet). It gets washed every week. It has been cut and polished by hand twice. It gets spray detailed several times a week. It gets compliments for being so clean multiple times a month by strangers. This vehicle is pampered both inside and out. 5 oil changes in less than 10 months of ownership because I wanted the engine break-in period to be done with clean oil. 4 tire rotations. Engine compartment cleaning 3 times thus far. Interior is spotless. This CX-9 Signature is the very definition of pristine.

Yet, the front fascia looks like an Abrams A1 Battle Tank. All the trim pieces in the front are fine. The plastic logo cover is like brand new - not a scratch. The ONLY component that shows pitting is the front bumper cover. It shows impacts drilling all the way down to the black plastic in almost 80% of all impacts. That's simply too high for normal driving in excellent driving conditions. The vehicle has been driven in the rain once since we owned it.

The paint Mazda uses is simply too soft for automotive applications - at least the White Pearl is too soft. It looks outstanding mind you, but it is simply too soft or they do not apply enough coats, or the primer is not allowing the paint to adhere to the substrate well enough. My gut feeling is that the paint formulation is simply not hard enough back in Japan. For whatever reason, Mazda, decided to use a softer finish and it is causing problems in the Frontal Area of the CX-9 in particular. This vehicle has a wide frontal area - a large aspect ratio up front. The paint on the front fascia and hood area needs to be hardened. In fact, they should just harden it all and use that to cover the vehicle's surface.

I only buy flagship vehicles brand new and I've never experienced a paint this soft in my life before now. It is not just soft. It is TOO soft. There is a difference. The front fascia needs repainting right now in just 9 months! I can't imagine what it will need in a mere 18 months and that would still be considered a relatively new vehicle time wise!

I thought GM paints were bad and they are. This under performs GM paints and that is not a good omen for Mazda. This needs to be fixed. The CX-9 deserves better. It is an awesome SUV. Mazda needs to handle this properly and not try to sweep it under the rug. And, no. Not all vehicles go through this. Not all brand new vehicles have paint so soft that routine road rash penetrates down to the black plastic bumper cover on such a regular basis. A small (tiny) percentage will penetrate that far. However, in no way should nearly 80% of all impacts result in penetration so deep that it reaches the black plastic bumper. That means its penetrating beyond the Primer Layer a high percentage of the time! That's not normal for any brand new vehicle I've ever owned. That's completely abnormal.

It is the rate of penetrations that reach the bumper or hood substrate itself that's the issue here. Of course, there will be rock chips. If paint protection film were a requirement to prevent bumper substrate penetration in the vast majority of impacts, then that's something that Mazda should have disclosed at the time of sale. They should have simply disclosed that they use a soft paint formulation and then allowed me as the buyer to make a wiser decision.

Benhui86 said:

All cars chip easily. It comes down to the road condition and traffic. Your best option is to go through insurance to claim the rock chips and having clear armor applied to the hood/fender/bumper. Most popular brand is Xpel.

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This subject has come up in quite a few different posts, and it always makes my blood boil.
This is a Mazda problem that can not simply be swept under the carpet with a blanket statement like "normal wear and tear", or "all cars chip easy". Sorry dude.

I've lived in the same house for the last 40 years, driven the same roads to the same destinations, in dozens of different vehicles during that time.
Never, ever, have I had as many chips in the paint on those cars as my current 10 month old Mazda 6 has.
There are well over a dozen chips in the hood and fenders, and it only has 7,000 miles.
No freeway driving, no dirt roads, no construction zones, no tailgating. Suburb environment.
I paid a good price for a brand new fully loaded GT, thinking that if I take care of it, it will last anywhere from 10-15 years.
I've said this before in another thread: My 16 year old Pathfinder has less chips in the paint than my new Mazda.

Don't anybody bother telling me that these paint chips are "normal". I don't buy it.
I am truly pissed at the paint quality in this new car.
I'll drive it for a few more months until my next oil change is due (there will be a dozen more chips by then), and then I'm going to s*** all over my dealer.

.....and yes, I'm venting.

White Pearls said:

*snip*

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Could you please post a pic of the problem? The exaggerated comparison to a tank makes it hard to imagine how bad the problem is, especially when you pair that with the regimen of (what I, personally, would call excessive) care you outlined in this post.

"It has been cut and polished by hand twice. 5 oil changes in less than 10 months of ownership because I wanted the engine break-in period to be done with clean oil. 4 tire rotations."

Did you cut and polish the entire car twice in 16k miles? Why did it need to be cut and polished? Polishing only needs to be done to remove micromarring, and a cut is only necessary for deeper scratches. In both instances you don't have to do the entire car, just the affected areas. A weekly wash combined with multiple spray detail cleanings a week tells me that you really like your car clean, and as such, you'd take care not to scratch/mar the paint. Barring outside factors like renegade shopping carts and Wal-Mart parking lots, I can't figure out why anyone would cut and polish the entire car twice in 16k miles.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mazda paint is soft/thin. My MGM has it's share of hood, bumper, even rear door chips, but I used to live in Calgary where they salt/pickle the roads often. Roads can be as clean and well-maintained as possible, but you can't control other drivers or know where their cars have been. Plenty of cars pick up debris in their neighborhoods before getting onto the freeway, where they can come loose and make their mark on some poor SOB's bumper or windshield.

All that aside, contacting Mazda Corporate was a great idea. If they get enough complaints, they should look into it and hopefully offer some sort of recall down the line (if you don't get the outcome you desire). I'm going to call Mazda as well just for this reason.

Please understand that I'm not trying to disprove your claims, I just want to understand the depth of your issue.


Here are the chips on my MGM (no chips on my bumper/side mirrors due to the PPF):







I also have some minor pitting all along the lower chrome trim piece on the bumper. Just over 13,000 kms on my 2018, with one 1,300 km trip under it's belt.