Truthfully, I just don't see any, but my niece's husband says "all of them do it".

I'm talking about paint peeling on white, 2004 to 2006 Express vans. He's had both of these years, and his primer lets go of the metal, leaving huge spots of raw metal, and bubbles of peeling paint. About 75% of the paint on his hood is gone. And some other smaller spots as well.

Is this really a thing?

 

Yes it is. My old petroleum distribution.company had a 1989 Chevy K-1500 5.7 liter TBI pickup with white paint, that we bought for our salesman to use, since we needed a 4WD vehicle for off-road dirt and mud use to reach some of our customers. It started with the the white paint peeling off in the first year!

The engine hood and the roof were the worst for the paint peeling. White and silver are the top two vehicle colors in the US. I've owned lots of vehicles in my time, and as much as I love my Chevy's, I dont know why this has been a continual GM issue for so long???.

I did own a <gasp> found-on-road-dead Mustang F-I 5.0 liter motor back when I was racing in the 1980;'s. It was white, yet I had no peeling paint. The seats, however, started to fall apart, and I had to replace them, before i sold it to trade up for a silver Chevrolet Camaro. Never had a paint peeling issue with that sweet Chevrolet at all..

I also had a Jeep CJ-5 for many years, and it was/is a tan color with NO paint peeling at all. My brother owns it now, and its still original paint with no peeling paint..

I've also owned many motorcycles, both dirt-bikes and street bikes, some painted white and never had a paint issue with any of them at all. GM really needs to address this white paint peeling problem, IMO

 

But how big of a problem can it be? Until yesterday, I'd never seen one with this problem. And I live Washington D.C area, probably the third largest populated area in the country.. If "all of them do it", it seems to me that I'd have seen one or two. I'm just curious.

And there is no shame in owning a Mustang. It is a cult classic. I had a '65. And I'd have another if the opportunity arose again. But I'd rather replace my first Chevy, a '72 El Camino.

 

I see a lot of them. I wonder how long it takes for it to happen. The corrosion warranty on my van expires this year. But it seems kind of useless, because GM won't do anything until your van body is rusted completely through.

From the Center for Auto Safety:

 

Yeah, I've seen lots of GM white vans and pickups with this paint issue. Blue metallic as well. Can't says as I have seen it with silver, and I've owned three silver Chevy's, including my 15' Malibu. No issue with the paint so far. (knock on wood)

 

I just had paint come flying off my 2500 yesterday at the car wash. I had had it happen in a small way a few years ago, but yesterday was unreal.

Fortunately I went to Lowes immediately afterwards and bought an air compressor.

I will be doing some sanding and painting soon. Glad that Summit White is a common color.

 

If you wouldn't mind. Can you post photos?

 

Now that we've established that this is a thing, why aren't I seeing them? I live in the third largest area in the U.S. (Washington D.C.) and I'm sooo guilty of car watchin'. Couple that with the thing where you always notice a make/model you either want as your next vehicle, or you already own one. If there are many of them out there, Why aren't I seeing them?

 

I see a lot of them in my travels, in fact, the top edge of my hood where the metal turns down by the windshield the paint is coming off.

 

maybe it was only certain batches, sold in certain areas.