I've had my 2017 Ultra White IS350 since early-December 2016. Right now I'm right around 5k miles. No mechanical issues, no other problems aside from a couple of nails in a tire that was replaced back in March. Considering that, it is more than a little surprising that the clear coat is peeling off my front bumper. There is no scratch, dent, scrape, etc. that I can see that could have started the peel and after driving at highway speeds for one day, it had increased from dime size to about 2" in diameter. I called my service advisor on Monday and didn't hear back until yesterday, at which point she told me she had entered a service appointment I could drop it off anytime and let them check it out. When I got there, she was tied up with another customer and another service advisor checked me in. I've never had an issue with the dealership in the few times I've had to go in for service. They go above and beyond to make sure customers are satisfied. I wasn't really prepared when the advisor checking me in accused me of having had low-quality paint work done that led to the clear coat peeling. I pretty quickly corrected him and said the car had no accidents or paint work - that it was essentially still new to me - and my concern is why a seemingly new car is having this issue. He pretty much doubled down on the fact that I had done something wrong and said that Ultra White specifically has something different about the way it is applied that makes it even less likely to peel than other "standard" Lexus colors (I've actually heard this about some Toyota colors, so someone step in and confirm or deny if they know this about UW).

I searched the forum and couldn't find any other posts about clear coat issues on new cars or specifically Ultra White. Anyone had anything similar happen? As of now, I'm not really worried about the service department taking care of the issue - even a little push back and they magically find a way to cover the repair. I just don't want one spot to be fixed to later have others pop up.

I apologize for no photo - I forgot to snap a one before I dropped it off.

 

Sorry to hear about the new car.

But, I have a '16 IS with UW as well. From what I find, the paint is super soft, I have a good number of rock chips in the front bumper. But other than that, I have not heard or seen Lexus paint "peeling"; especially brand new.

Are you sure your car did not come with a factory Clear Bra? If so, the film of the clear bra may be the stuff that is peeled off, not the clear coat.

 

Is there any possibility that the bumper could have had any paint work before you got the car?
To be honest, factory clear coat just doesn't peel off...there would have had to be some serious defect with the factory paint process, in which case other vehicles would be having the same issue. (I think back 25 years ago to the Chevy Corisca and Berretta...now that was peeling!!!)
I'm not taking the dealers side, but the advisor's impression of the bumper having been painted was a reasonable possibility.
If I had to put my money on a cause, I'd say something happened to the bumper before you got the vehicle and it was repainted. It's a real long shot because that means the dealer didn't disclose that to you before you received the vehicle.
I'm interested to see what conclusion they come to.
To fix it properly they should repaint the entire bumper...or paint a new bumper...either way.

Maybe a member who's a bodyman or painter can chime in.

 

I got my 2017 350 exactly the same time as you did, early Dec'16. What Nathan is saying is true. The paint is super soft, and to prove my point, I got stone chips quickly in first 1-2 months vs. next to none when I drove my wife's Fiat on same commute on regular basis. But peeling is another thing altogether, and I'm inclined to agree with above comments that there may have been post factory work done on your bumper before you got delivery.

 

Dealer likely not have known. Cars are banged up and touched up at the port all the time.

 

I tracked my vehicle from port to rail to dealer. If there was anything repaired before I got it, then I would never know. I picked it up the day after it arrived at the dealership so I know that isn't enough time for the dealer to have repaired something. Would they even know if something happened during shipment or at one of the stops along the way? If I don't get any update by about noon CST today then I am going to call and ask what's up.

 

I'm sure there's no bra. The service loaner car I have now has one and the cut off point is pretty noticeable at least where it ends on the hood.

 

can you provide pictures of where it's peeling...

 

he forgot to snap pictures before the dealership took it and it is still at the dealership.

 

I totally glanced over that part haha, can always go back?

 

It's unlikely that a single car would have a clear coat failure from the factory (especially a Lexus). I think it's more likely that the car was damaged and repaired during the delivery process and whoever did the repair didn't clear coat it properly.

 

I took possession of an RDX back in 2014 and I know that behicle was re-sprayed before it arrived at the dealer, not sure where, but it did. I was there was the RDX was off loaded off the truck and later that afternoon, when I picked it up, I noticed over spray in the wheel well, inside the driver door, the bottom of the rubber....so this may be the case with your IS.

Hence it supports my claim that when vehicles are re-sprayed (body or wheels), the finish is never as good as the original finish and why vehicles take a depreciation when they know the car was re-sprayed.

 

Like Sasnuke said, front bumper repainted, it happens all the time during delivery, the guy who did the bumper repaint didn't do a good job or cheap clear coat. Paint from Lexus of Japan never ever i mean impossible to have that kind of peel-off issue especially straight out from Lexus Japan facilities. Some people has roof paint damage some has rear bumper and you had front bumper, rare side doors Top front rear the most, loading and unload causes damage and they repaint, i think the courier company paid for it thats why its cheap paint. Also its depend on that bodyshop and the paint they use. Just tell Lexus what i write here and tell to repaint your bumper, don't have to discuss too much with them.

Lexus Toyota paint feels softer than other luxury like BMW Audi and Merc i agree but it does not peel off like that, Lexus paint easy to get scratch though and Chip rock unless BMW.

 

I think you lost me on that last sentence, but I kinda follow what you were saying. In any event, they are repainting the bumper. The manager called yesterday and said they couldn't figure out why this happened and that it hasn't happened to another vehicle that he can recall. The bumper itself is OEM and no parts they can tell have been replaced. I asked if it were possible that the car was repaired/resprayed before I took delivery and he said that if it was damaged on a test drive that they would have told me. I said there were no test drives, I selected it from the first batch of 2017 IS350s allocated to the dealership long before it was actually there and it was at the dealership no more than 18 hours before I picked it up. He wouldn't go as far as saying that cars get damaged during delivery and repaired prior to arriving. They are covering the repair and it is no cost to me, which is enough to keep me happy even if I don't get the definitive answer I want as to what is going on.

 

As a precaution I would suggest getting an invoice from them when the vehicle is done.
Just in case later on down the road there is an issue, you have proof the bumper was repainted.
It's possible for work orders to "vanish" in the database, so a hard copy will be your record. I'm not saying the dealer would do this...but you can't be too careful.