cjv-baires

Hello All,

I have a 2014 allroad (Scuba Blue with unpainted cladding panels). After washing my vehicle today I noticed some spots on the cladding panels are peeling. The finish in the panels is a dark gray and the peeling shows a black colour underneath. The peeling is occurring near the front wheel wells and along the sides as well. This is not a result of any impact or scrape as the peeling is found in random spots.

Has anyone experienced this problem before? In your opinion, would this be covered under warranty?

Huey52

I have a 2013 and no such peeling so Yes I would think that a warranty item.

TREGinginCO

Nothing on my 2013.

roger_1

None on my 2014, after about 7 months of use, and 5000 miles

roger_1

Although you refer to the cladding as unpainted, my understanding is the grey is, in fact, paint. The black beneath it is plastic. My guess (and it's only that) is the black plastic wasn't properly prepared for the grey paint, or Audi had a bad batch of paint.

HTH.

cjv-baires

You are right. I meant to say the cladding is not painted with the same colour as vehicle. I have scheduled a visit with the dealer to have them assess the problem. I hope there is no resistance for the warranty claim, in my opinion peeling paint on a year old vehicle is a no brainer. Thanks all for your replies.

roger_1

I agree - they should fix it under the warranty. Please let us know how you get along.

cjv-baires

Well, I just received word from St. James Audi here in Winnipeg with a "No" on the warranty claim. Warranty manager said it's normal wear and tear due to the lack of a "Dura Seal" layer Audi omitted to use. As a result he has seen this problem on other Audi models with similar body panels and they have also been declined. I insisted they document the fault with pictures and direct them to Audi Canada. I'm awed how this could be for a $50K+ car just over a year old. Any suggestions?

roger_1

The dealer's response is self-contradictory. Either it's normal wear and tear (rock chips, essentially) or it's Audi's failure to properly finish the panels. I wonder if 'dura-seal' is essential a fancy way of saying 'clearcoat'.

I'd continue to press Audi Canada, persistently. Don't go ape-sh*t on them, but explain that you anticipate a small claims judge would likely not regard paint peeling in the first year as 'normal'..

Go to a quality auto body shop and ask them whether it's wear or peeling paint. If they say the latter, then explain to them you'd like to use their name when you speak with Audi Canada.

Can you take some good quality pics (i.e. not smart phone) and post them here?

cjv-baires

Hi Roger_1,

Thanks for the advice. I will take pictures and post them ASAP. I spoke with the service manager and he has advised me the previous decision was a "wrong assumption" as the formal process is for the dealer to document and send pictures to Audi Canada and await for their response. The previous decision from the Warranty manager/Body Shop Manager was an assumption though it was worded to me as a "No Warranty Coverage/Decline". This was said to me without any consultation to Audi Canada. The dealer has now sent the information to Audi Canada. The process can take 2-3 weeks.