VAG 12 Year Corrosion Sham on YETI

[tiddy]

So, here is the story

My 70 yo father bought a 2011 Skoda Yeti FSH

I noticed bubbling on 3 doors under the paint, on inspection there was no stone chipping and other bubbles on these doors.

No problem as the car is covered by Skoda 12 year anti corrosion warranty covering any defect in manufacturing which could impact the corrosion integrity.

Took it to skoda who set me to their bodyshop dept.

They looked at it, took lots of photos and said yet that is a defect in the painting process.

They then sent the photos to Skoda UK who then forwarded them to the decision makers VAG.

VAG sent back a request for correct photos claiming that Skoda had "Taken incorrect photos" no problem we had more photos taken and paint depth taken which was told by the paint dept was all fine and in tollerance of factory paint.

Now VAG have turned down the warranty, their reason is....


"Paint is too thin, this means the car has been reworked (body repair ) and so not covered by warranty.

The Bodyshop were aghast at VAG's claim as they stated ANY rework on bodywork would result in an increase in paint thickness.

I am disgusted at VAG's policy of Guilty until proved otherwise, as a customer they make you feel you have done something wrong???

Just checked the paint thickness with a few sites to find it is in the catagory of factory thickness, the thickness is 3.6 or 36 on the meter.

Trying to fight this all the way, what do you all think/experience?

 

VAG seem impossible to contact directly, will only speak to skoda vw seat etc.

From what I gather of this odd modern world the only way to get things done is to get a "Twitter" account go to their twitter page and mouth off on there. I'm not fond of this Jeremy Kyle approach and so am trying to do this through their "Customer Care" teams, though no one takes responsibility for anything

 

 

 

 

Paint and body warranty
All new vehicles supplied by ŠKODA Auto are provided with a three year unlimited mileage warranty against defects in the paintwork. Any manufacturing defect in the paint finish or application should be reported to an appointed ŠKODA retailer or authorised repairer where it will be rectified at no cost.

In addition ŠKODA Auto are pleased to provide an anti-perforation warranty for a minimum of 10 years (please refer to your owners manual for specific details). This offers assurance that any defect in the corrosion protection applied to body panels, that results in perforation corrosion is rectified at no cost.

 

 

 

 

Am I missing anything here? I feel every criteria has been met, and contrary to their advert I am NOT sleeping well...

 

Just looking at this I have to get another paint thickness test, if it is micrometers being measured then the paint is VERY thin, not indicating rework but indicating insufficient paint thickness from the factory on the doors, this would result in increased likelyhood of film degredation. Any thoughts from detailes who knoe alot more about film thickness?

This is on 3 out of 4 doors, paint thickness is uniform and showns no sign of being refinished in its 4 year life

[domhnall]

Pretty much what my 2011 yeti had. Traded it in for an Octavia, had 5 if them before with no issues. Yeti was a disappointment in that regard though it was the most fun to drive since I had an estelle.

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[tiddy]

Have just sent an Email to UK Brand Manager so will see what he says about this..

[Llanigraham]

I suggest you do a search on here for "Zinc inclusions".

[tiddy]

I suggest you do a search on here for "Zinc inclusions".

Yes Zinc inclusions....why then when skoda see these issues do they say and I quote "I have never seen that before on a YETI"   ???  they all act as if it is the first car they have ever seen to be defective

[Ryeman]

Is there such a thing as a Small Claims Tribunal which we have or an industry ombudsman you could go to?.

[briskycat]

But what about this:

All new vehicles supplied by ŠKODA Auto are provided with a three year unlimited mileage warranty against defects in the paintwork. Any manufacturing defect in the paint finish or application should be reported to an appointed ŠKODA retailer or authorised repairer where it will be rectified at no cost.

Did they try to point out that this is not the same as the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty which essentially is just

anti-perforation warranty for a minimum of 10 years

?

[Llanigraham]

Hmmm!

 

Having also read the same post "elsewhere" I have had another look at this, and I have noticed one thing that obviously the OP has not read/noticed. In the paragraph that is headed "BODY PROTECTION WARRANTY" read the words with great care. There are a couple of words on the third line that are particularly relevant in the OP's case. They only cover corrosion emanating from INSIDE the body panel.

 

From the photographs provided by the OP he has the classic zinc inclusion "problem" and that does not fit into the above words. 

 

Why do some dealers say what they do? Haven't a clue. As you don't state where you are and (thankfully) haven't named the dealer we can only guess.

[tiddy]

The bottom line is the car IS rusting from the inside out and thus IS covered by the Perforation warranty

[favguy]

Whilst I agree entirely that it's not good enough for this to happen to a 4 year old car, I'm surprised they are arguing about the paint thickness rather than just pointing out your paint warranty has expired!! It's only for 3 years....

 

Your car most certainly isn't rusting through from the inside of the door panels, (this means actual holes through the steel!) it's the zinc coating on the steel oxidising! Although unsightly, it's very superficial and easily dealt with by any good painter.

 

The 10/12 year warranty is only for rust through perforation, not surface zinc oxidation as you have there.

 

In any case, I hope you get it sorted, but it will be purely a goodwill gesture if VAG fix it, there is no warranty obligation and you won't win in court in this case.

Edited 13 August, 2015 by favguy

[Llanigraham]

The bottom line is the car IS rusting from the inside out and thus IS covered by the Perforation warranty

 

Really?

 

I suggest that you scrape one of these "rust" spots. You will find that is only on the outer surface of the door, and is not a perforation. Therefore the warranty does not apply. Your concern about paint thickness is pointless and has nothing to do with this "problem"

 

Have you read all the threads about zinc inclusions here? Your photos are quite obviously the same as mine had and which was dealt with by Skoda.

[tiddy]

Whilst I agree entirely that it's not good enough for this to happen to a 4 year old car, I'm surprised they are arguing about the paint thickness rather than just pointing out your paint warranty has expired!! It's only for 3 years....

 

Your car most certainly isn't rusting through from the inside of the door panels, (this means actual holes through the steel!) it's the zinc coating on the steel oxidising! Although unsightly, it's very superficial and easily dealt with by any good painter.

 

The 10/12 year warranty is only for rust through perforation, not surface zinc oxidation as you have there.

 

In any case, I hope you get it sorted, but it will be purely a goodwill gesture if VAG fix it, there is no warranty obligation and you won't win in court in this case.

 

 

 

The Zinc coating has failed, the car has multi blisters, some have cracked the paint others have not, cracked ones are rusting, if it was protected by the zinc then they would not be rusting, this is rusting from inside to outside, what you are describing is the common mistake that it is rust from the inside of the panel to the outside that is covered. Having been in the business for 20 years I know that inside is inside of the protective coating of the metal not inside the door panel..

 

In addition I am not arguing about paint thickness, this is just the curveball that VAG are using to slow and hopefully get sucess by my withdrawal of my claim

Edited 14 August, 2015 by tiddy

[Llanigraham]

The Zinc coating has failed, the car has multi blisters, some have cracked the paint others have not, cracked ones are rusting, if it was protected by the zinc then they would not be rusting, this is rusting from inside to outside, what you are describing is the common mistake that it is rust from the inside of the panel to the outside that is covered. Having been in the business for 20 years I know that inside is inside of the protective coating of the metal not inside the door panel..

 

In addition I am not arguing about paint thickness, this is just the curveball that VAG are using to slow and hopefully get sucess by my withdrawal of my claim

 

Strewth!!

 

Yes you have got zinc inclusion blisters. it is a known "problem" that has been dealt with by Skoda under their standard 3 year warranty. 

It is not covered by the Body Warranty because it is not a perforation from the inside of the panel.

 

The fact that you have been a car painter for 20 years proves nothing in this case.

[tiddy]

Strewth!!

 

Yes you have got zinc inclusion blisters. it is a known "problem" that has been dealt with by Skoda under their standard 3 year warranty. 

It is not covered by the Body Warranty because it is not a perforation from the inside of the panel.

 

The fact that you have been a car painter for 20 years proves nothing in this case.

Priceless I take my hat off to you sir

[tiddy]

you have won...

[favguy]

I'm sorry tiddy, but you're dead wrong on this. I've personal experience from some years ago discussing it with VAG at length. Their 10/12 year warranty is an anti perforation warranty and covers rusting through, meaning actual holes in the metal, from the inside of the sheet metal to the outside only, ie. rot, not paint faults, or faults in the zinc coating of the metal leading to surface rust bursting out of blisters on the outside of the panel, this is only covered for 3 years, and then it's near impossible to prove it wasn't caused by road stone abrasion if the blisters have any cracks or holes in them, as you are saying yours do!, as microscopic holes caused by stone chippings etc. will allow damp to start the oxidation process...then it's a chicken or egg situation... 

 

You may well be able to get them to fix it anyway on a goodwill basis, so I wish you luck with this.

[tiddy]

I'm sorry tiddy, but you're dead wrong on this. I've personal experience from some years ago discussing it with VAG at length. Their 10/12 year warranty is an anti perforation warranty and covers rusting through, meaning actual holes in the metal, from the inside of the sheet metal to the outside only, ie. rot, not paint faults, or faults in the zinc coating of the metal leading to surface rust bursting out of blisters on the outside of the panel, this is only covered for 3 years, and then it's near impossible to prove it wasn't caused by road stone abrasion if the blisters have any cracks or holes in them, as you are saying yours do!, as microscopic holes caused by stone chippings etc. will allow damp to start the oxidation process...then it's a chicken or egg situation... 

 

You may well be able to get them to fix it anyway on a goodwill basis, so I wish you luck with this.

 

Ok so the situation is multiple paint blister, SOME have broken, as an example with the bodywork representative I took the undamaged head off another one, no outward damage before, inside was rust, not white zinc oxide reside but rust from the inside to which he confirmed with his own eyes

Edited 14 August, 2015 by tiddy

[tiddy]

ANyhow I'm not going to argue the issues here..

[favguy]

tiddy,

 

Once the sacrificial zinc has all oxidised, you will get rust, yes. However, unless there is a hole through the panel, which there almost certainly won't be, this isn't covered under the 12 year perforation warranty, it only covers rust through, ie, nasty rot holes like we used to see in the bad old days, Not external surface rusting!!

 

This discussion is becoming entirely circular now, so I'll leave you to it and not reply further!

 

In case you're not sure, I do agree this isn't good enough, and should be sorted out for you though

Edited 14 August, 2015 by favguy

[Sad555]

I think this is just bad customer service by Skoda/VAG,this problem is well known on this forum and if it is corrosion /rust/zinc inclusion or whatever the fact is blisters are appearing on the doors and under the paint blisters there is a deterioration between the metal/zinc/paint within the warranty period and vag are only intent in most cases of denial of an ongoing problem to save money and I am amazed that after all this time the problem has not been resolved and every time this occurs dealers are surprised,never seen it before but are 100% sure it's not covered by warranty under corrosion and covering their own backs without giving good customer service,so best of luck.

[Ryeman]

Is this zinc inclusion problem associated with any other factory or manufacturer?

I've never heard of it before.

[Ryeman]

I think this is just bad customer service by Skoda/VAG,this problem is well known on this forum and if it is corrosion /rust/zinc inclusion or whatever the fact is blisters are appearing on the doors and under the paint blisters there is a deterioration between the metal/zinc/paint within the warranty period and vag are only intent in most cases of denial of an ongoing problem to save money and I am amazed that after all this time the problem has not been resolved and every time this occurs dealers are surprised,never seen it before but are 100% sure it's not covered by warranty under corrosion and covering their own backs without giving good customer service,so best of luck.

Perhaps start a register and make it a 'public' issue.....it'd work here as VAG don't want anymore bad publicity but in the UK their attitude might be that they can't supply the demand.

[FLAPPERJACK7]

Why buy one with rust?

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[briskycat]

Is this zinc inclusion problem associated with any other factory or manufacturer?

At least my Yeti has been welded and sprayed not in the Czech Republic, where Skodas for the UK market are made. Yet it had the same issue with paint bubbling.

[Ryeman]

At least my Yeti has been welded and sprayed not in the Czech Republic, where Skodas for the UK market are made. Yet it had the same issue with paint bubbling.

Interesting, so where was yours made?