Got the dreaded paint bubble. Seems like an easy diy?

[Johndd]

Was reading the forum on it the other day hoping to God I never get it...sure enough this morning noticed paint bubbling around 2 hinges and I also noticed some white powderish look on the hood hinges near the bottom which I can only assume that is the aluminum corroding underneath. Swear to God this only happened simply because I had started researching it.

Immediately called jeep cares and I have an appointment set up for an inspection. My problem is, most say to wait until if forms on all 4 hinges and tailgate possibly. It's a 2021 and I was told I am covered until August.

My primary question is..this seems like such an easy fix diy especially after warranty is out. Regardless if it's the alloys creating a chemical reaction when water is present. Would it not be a stupid simple fix to pull the hinge off, get a really thin rubber gasket and cut it to the shape of the hinge to seal the unpainted part so water never even gets there?

And for good measure even paint the unpainted part to begin with beforehand? I'm curious on what people have done when out of warranty. Wrapping the jeep or spraying with bedliner seems incredibly expensive and not to mention would destroy the resale value later on.

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[MPMB]

Stated warranty terms from Mopar (emphasis mine):
"• For sheet metal panels, the limit is three years, with no mileage limit.
• For an outer-body sheet metal panel, one that is finish-painted and that someone can see when walking around the vehicle, the limits are five years, with no mileage limit."

Warranty info

If it's a '21, based on purchase date, should extend into 2026. I bought mine April '21, so I have until April '26 to get my paint fixed. It's only on the hood.

 

[Johndd]

Stated warranty terms from Mopar (emphasis mine):
"• For sheet metal panels, the limit is three years, with no mileage limit.
• For an outer-body sheet metal panel, one that is finish-painted and that someone can see when walking around the vehicle, the limits are five years, with no mileage limit."

Warranty info

If it's a '21, based on purchase date, should extend into 2026. I bought mine April '21, so I have until April '26 to get my paint fixed. It's only on the hood.

It is August of 2026. These spots were not there a week ago. Literally showed up over night so if it's on your hood I would look a lot closer in other areas.

 

[Idlethunder]

They had my hood repainted by a local body shop about 9 months ago. Last week I noticed it starting on one of the doors. My 22 has until spring of 2027 and right now it’s not bad. I’m not planning on another paint repair until it is either bad enough that it bothers me, or there are multiple places that need it

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

Would it not be a stupid simple fix to pull the hinge off, get a really thin rubber gasket and cut it to the shape of the hinge to seal the unpainted part so water never even gets there?

My '23 has some kind of thin spacer/shim/SOMETHING between the hinge and the door/fender (and I assume for the hood hinges as well though I can't quite get a good look at that). So I would think doing like you said and putting something in there would help. And also yes to painting the unpainted surfaces, you'd just want to give them plenty of time to dry/cure up before reinstalling the hinges.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Stated warranty terms from Mopar (emphasis mine):
"• For sheet metal panels, the limit is three years, with no mileage limit.
• For an outer-body sheet metal panel, one that is finish-painted and that someone can see when walking around the vehicle, the limits are five years, with no mileage limit."

Warranty info

If it's a '21, based on purchase date, should extend into 2026. I bought mine April '21, so I have until April '26 to get my paint fixed. It's only on the hood.

For me it has started on my hood but nowhere else.

Gonna wait it out till closer to the warranty limit - try and catch as much as possible

 

[Johndd]

Thing is what are people doing out of warranty?

And if let go how bad have people seen this get on these aluminum panels.

I'm a new jeep owner and live near the beach so naturally I freak out about this stuff. Live in MB and might as well be called jeep country of the south east so I know people are getting this alot. Hell a thing to do down here is driving it on the beach in the off season...how even..

 

[agoldxj]

I did mine out of warranty this past spring, I ordered the hinges and hardware for all 4 doors and had our body shop at work fix it, they painted the backside of the hinges and the bare metal on the doors first, then reinstalled everything and finish painted it. Luckily it was all at cost.

 

[CVrubi]

This is my biggest issue with my 2022. Mine had corrosion on the doors, hinges, hood and tailgate last year. I finally found a dealership that was 2 hours away to get the work done. They documented all the areas that needed repair and forwarded the pictures to Jeep. After about a month they approved the work so I took the Jeep back to the dealership and it took about another month or so to have it finished. I have a year and a half left on the corrosion warranty. My concern is that I have read the corrosion issue most likely will return. I want to keep the truck for a long time, but I will not pay out of pocket to repaint it. I’ll have to make a decision on it next year.

 

[Johndd]

I have a year and a half left on the corrosion warranty. My concern is that I have read the corrosion issue most likely will return. I want to keep the truck for a long time, but I will not pay out of pocket to repaint it. I’ll have to make a decision on it next year.

This is my biggest issue. In my work, I see a lot of jeeps parked often since I'm in the vacation realty biz. Occasionally I will walk up to one either it be a wranger or gladiator and it's a 50/50 shot that I see bubbled paint around the hinges. I wonder if most people get to the point of fk it I'll deal with it one day

So is it common practice now that jeep replaces the panels instead of repainting? And does anyone know if they add the zinc plate in by default now with replacing them. Hell I see the OEM ones on quadratech cheap as hell with zinc plates built in

 

[JustKruzn]

Same here. Both sides of hood. All four doors at the hinge and along the door edges. Also the tailgate. Mine is a 2021. I have until april of 2026.
from what I understand, they are supposed to REPLACE said panels not repair.
interestingly enough my daughter has a 2021 she bought about a month or two before me and it has bubbling on the hood and in the upper corner of the drivers side windshield frame. I believe that is a first.

 

[Johndd]

Same here. Both sides of hood. All four doors at the hinge and along the door edges. Also the tailgate. Mine is a 2021. I have until april of 2026.
from what I understand, they are supposed to REPLACE said panels not repair.

Question is. If the jeep dealership says they are going to repaint them, can't you fight that with corp since they are instructing dealerships to replace?

And I heard in other threads about it happening at the windshield frame to. Which imo destroys the notion of it being 2 different kind of alloys causing a chemical reaction. I think it's a piss poor prep job on the aluminum.

 

[JustKruzn]

I would talk to the service advisor and let them know that they are supposed to submit it to jeep corporate and that the proper fix is to replace the panels. If they dont want to do that then i would look another dealer.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

So is it common practice now that jeep replaces the panels instead of repainting? And does anyone know if they add the zinc plate in by default now with replacing them. Hell I see the OEM ones on quadratech cheap as hell with zinc plates built in

Not built in. They come with them, but not built in.

Jeep replaces the parts - if the door has a problem, it gets a door and hinges, If 4 doors and the tailgate have a problem, it gets 4 doors and a tailgate

Yes, be careful what you read and the assumptions people make - it's the internet and any idea or opinion becomes fact if it's repeated enough times in various places.

Galvanic action takes place where the two metals meet.
The hinges are not steel, the door skin is not steel, and how does an aluminum windshield frame do it when there's no other metal even close to it?

 

[Johndd]

Galvanic action takes place where the two metals meet.
The hinges are not steel, the door skin is not steel, and how does an aluminum windshield frame do it when there's no other metal even close to it?

That's what gets me with some of the places it's happening. Makes no sense. In my view it can be one of 2 things. Poor prep work of the aluminum beforehand and it shows up first at the hinges just because of all the moving parts associated and ease of water finding a path.

And the other thing, could be cheap ass Chinese aluminum.

I do a lot of plumbing and I've noticed over the years of the quality drop in copper fittings alone. Either the threads not being rheemed properly or actual pin holes in the copper itself without the presence of flux or solder.

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