Bought my first c5 last year it is an 02 coupe. GM has a TSB on paint blistering on the hatch due to an insulator chemical leeching thru the fiberglass. I notice this on my 02 only when it sits in the sun and then is pulled into the garage under florescent lighting. It settles back down after a few hours. How many of you folks have the same problem? GM says it affects only coupes 99-04. I have filed a claim with GM since they admit they have a problem but they wont even offer a discount on the repairs since it is out of warranty . Sad thing is the car is otherwise perfect with 18k miles.

 

Been there - done that.

I have a 2001 coupe that I bought new. After about 5 years it presented itself literally overnight. I spend a lot of time detailing my black Vette under incandescent lights in the garage, I check it over pretty much every night for any minor flaws and the night before this appeared, there was no indication - it just magically appeared overnight.

I was VERY fortunate that the local dealership had a great Service Manager at the time and even though it was off warranty, they picked up the entire bill (about $2,000). There were four reasons they did this:

(1) The car was always in near show car condition when they saw it.
(2) I was the original purchaser.
(3) I had a GMPP Extended Warranty (but does not cover body)
(4) Repeat Corvette buyer - purchased several NEW Corvettes from GM. This was a major contributor.

There is no "patch" that will remedy this problem - the deck must be replaced/repainted. That means the whole rear deck must be removed, back window removed, inner & outer deck skins separated, skins rebonded with new outer skin, repaint entire deck in and out and reinstall glass. Glass must also sit for 72 hours before moving car to bond properly - not like a windshield - the back window can see a lot of interior pressure if side windows are down.

 

Yup, mine has it. Not very visible (only under certain lighting conditions). Its a strip on either side of the rear emblem.

Hevent looked, but never noticed if it actually "settles down after sitting inside for a while" ? I just assumed it would always be there.

 

UES, my '03 50th Anniversary Coupe has it bad on exactly the same area. I had it at my local dealership and they pleaded ignorant. They did diagnose it exactly right but offered no info on a TSB. This is the first I have heard of it being a wide spread situation. Here I am thinking mine is the only one afflicted with such a "revolting development." All the info in this thread doesn't fix it but it sure helps to explain it.

I have noticed mine does look better when it has been in the garage for a few days.

 

Friend of mine's '00 coupe has this problem. Not really a big deal IMO. I would just deal with it, because it will cost you a good bit of money to get it redone, and you can bet GM isn't going to foot the bill.

 

My 02 Electron Blue has the same problem......Kinda aggravating but at the cost to fix it ive learned to live with it.

 

Living with it is OK if the paint never cracks! What do you guys think the life expectancy might be as far as paint holding out? That is my concern. I check mine every day to see if the paint is cracking yet. Are you thinking it may never get to that point. If it might get to that point then it does become a "huge deal." It is the worst factory flaw I have ever experienced in my lifetime with 63 automobiles.

 

OJ- You may not recognize my username, but I just joined CCCC about a year ago. I have a black C5 - check my profile for pics. My name is John

As far as the paint cracking, I'm not a pro but I do this kind of work on the side. The chances of it cracking depend on what exactly is going on underneath the paint. The paint they put on our cars is pretty good quality stuff. It can take a whole lot of abuse from the top side and underneath the paint before it gives. The is true with pretty much any modern day BC/CC.

The OP's post sums up what is going on under there best I believe-

GM has a TSB on paint blistering on the hatch due to an insulator chemical leeching thru the fiberglass

I haven't noticed this problem on mine, so that's probably the reason I don't think much about it. Personally if mine had this problem, I would be very careful when waxing, polishing, or buffing in this area. I don't think I would really do anything about it unless I was experiencing issues such as die back (color fading). Sometimes chemicals or solvents from the primers or fillers can do this under cars that have had bodywork done prior to painting. In this case I guess they are blaming it on an issue with chemicals in the glass itself...

Also probably very noticable on darker clored cars such as dark blue and black. You may not ever even see it on a white or yellow car.

Have you personally seen craking or heard about it form other owners?

 

Guess i'm lucky,no problems.

 

Hey John, I am not sure if I remember you or not. That is pretty normal for my memory. I have been following your story about the lady running over the front of your C5 and all your efforts to DIY. Your work on repairing your front end was very impressive! I say that to say I appreciate your response here a lot! At least I feel like you speak from some knowledge and experience working with this paint and glass. As an earlier poster stated, mine also just showed over night about 18 months ago,

I took it to Capitol Chevrolet in Montgomery. They first thougth it was in the clear coat and was about to buff it out. One of the managers with half a brain noticed wihen you push on some areas you could see the paint go down from the pressure and slowly come back. That is when they told me it was some type of chemical reaction under the paint. they said they only fix was to repaint it and that would be a major undertaking. At that time the seal for the back glass was not available anywhere in America. They had one C5 sitting in the shop waiting for the seal for 5 months. Naturally I decided to live with it for now. Mine definitely looks worse in the sun.

No, I have never heard of any one's cracking or peeling yet. I would sure like for you to take a look at mine when possible. Are you close to Montgomery?
Thanks again for the response...This has been great therapy for me to talk about it. This is by far the worse experience I have had with a C5 and this is my second one. I also appreciate the OP starting this thread. Big relief to know I am not the only one dealing with this situation!

 

The issue most likely gets worse or better with changes in temp and humidity. I'll be glad to take a look at it for you

 

If I have the problem, I haven't noticed it. You can bet that I'll look now!

 

My 1999 coupe blisters up after sitting in the hot sun then it retreats when i put her in the garage.

 

There you have it. Changes in temp and humidity.

 

Im not nutz about it. It's an eight year old car (albeit with zero cosmetic issues) but still . . .

Its on a flat area. The hatch can be taken off the car to work on it. If and when it causes a problem Ill just have that section redone and sprayed.

I gotta tell ya, I havent seen any change in it in the 5 yrs Ive owned the car. I keep the car spotless and must have waxed that area a hundered times. (actually just realized my avatar picture zero's in on exactly the area that is effected ;-), cant be too bad, worked out to be a good shot)

I wouldnt worry about it going to a state that would require (meaning it would break through) you to do something.

I've never seen a C5 with noticeable damage in that area, I would think if it was gonna go through, someone would be driving around with the damage evident?

 

Joe, do I understand you to say yours has been noticable for 5 years and hasn't cracked yet?

If that is the case, it sure helps me to relax a little. Thanks for the feedback. By the way, when you click on your avatar pic and make it bigger, you can see the imperfections in the paint. That is exactly what mine looks like. Thanks again for sharing,

OJ

 

We have seen and replaced a lot of these for folks. Bottom line the only repair is to swap out the hatch. That said there is still NO guarantee that it will not happen again (per GM).

To my knowledge none of the ones we have changed out ever popped or cracked. The blister will expand and contract with heat due to the gasses that are trapped inside.

Ballpark price on repair (depending where you have the work done) is $1500 to $2500 I have hear of lower estimate but know they used "used" hatches.

Both sides of a new hatch need to be prepped and painted, some of our customers had us paint and clear the underside while we were there.

Glass removal is obvious but there is no guarantee the the glass will not break when removing and is the customers expense if this happens. No glass shop (around here anyway) will guarantee a worry free removal.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions please feel free to pm me.

 

Thanks Noel, every bit of info on this subject is worth a million. Especially for me, I worry about finger prints much less paint flaws I can do nothing about. This has been the most priceless thread I have ever encountered on this forum. I appreciate every response more than I can say. Anything coming from you guys at Auto Buffs on this topic is certainly worth its weight in gold. Thanks again for the info,

By the way, have you guys ever experienced any problems getting the seals to replace the rear windows? My dealership said they were virtually non-existent a few months ago.

OJ

 

Wow, I haven't been on in months and just last week I posted this issue without any hits. I just went to check again and here we are! My 2000 blue coupe in mint condition just did this last week. It wasn't that hot even so I am concerned with a hot summer. I noticed it was a little better a few hours later but still there. I''' check again when I get home but either way, a new hatch seems extreme. I would think it could be spayed with a PAR type product to seal it and try again. I don't know any really good glass guys to check with..............maybe someone in the boat business.

Highlander

 

Same thing GM told me when they repaired mine. I am sure if there was a cheaper/easier fix, GM would have gone that route since they picked up the tab on mine.

I too had them clearcoat the underside.

I have had the repaired deck on for about 4 years now and no re-appearance yet. My only complaint is that they scratched off some of the black ceramic coating from the underside edge of the back glass when removing it around the perimeter, but hard not to.