Chunk of paint missing in between panels

[Koobs]

I noticed as I was washing my car today that I had a huge chip in my hatch's panels on the left side. It is dark now and I didnt get a pic but I covered it the best I could with touch-up paint but is there anything else I should do to avoid rust? I have no clue how it happened as its in between the gap, but shit happens. I borrowed a pic online and circled the affected area. Thanks for any help!

 

[Flaco]

I have the same on my 14. I tried to mask it off and put some touch up paint in between the panels. You can still see a small area of bare metal, but it has never rusted.

 

[Fistfan]

Same on my '16. Must be something they are doing on the production line.
I'll be touching it up as soon as I can.

 

[Petroman]

Happened to my Oxford white FiST. Dealer fixed under warranty. It started out small under those panels and slowly started flaking away on the hatch. I would get it taken care of before it gets worse. Just make sure they put the hatch back together right. Mine pops and cracks now because they put it on wrong.


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[Striker]

My hatch was repainted under warranty due to that reason. Also check where the spoiler meets the hatch. I've seen this down to bare metal on a non ST car recently.


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[OCS12]

I'm surprised to see this is so common. The paint flaked off in that exact same spot on both sides of my 2016 as well.

 

[AZST]

I have this same exact issue. Hoping it doesn't get worse.

 

[Striker]

Get it fixed ASAP dude. It ain't gonna get any better.


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[AZST]

UPDATE:
Don't fix this yourself. My local dealer was very quick to cover it under warranty. Just take it in and have it done (hopefully) correctly and for free

 

[blackonblacksvt03]

YES take it into a dealer, as long as there is not any impact damage it will be covered.

 

[DangerMouse]

Thanks to this post, I checked and mine is flaking off as well on both sides. I'll take it I after the holidays.

 

[redox87]

I noticed something similar when washing my car a couple weeks ago and thought it was just wax residue, but after seeing this thread I took a closer look and it definitely is missing paint in the area you described. It's strange because it's in an area where nothing can hit it. It's almost like something was stuck in there to pry the plastic piece off at some point.

 

[Mike V]

Same issue here on my MO 15. Fixed it with some touch up paint. Defect from the factory.

 

[kuja1120]

To those who have taken theirs to the dealership to repair, did the new paint job hold up?
I've taken mine in to the dealership 3 times for repainting the hatch and the panel seems to keep scratching the paint off.
They've tried putting in spacers to increase the distance between the panel and the body, trimmed some of the edge off on the panel and added foam to minimize the damage, but it's still happening.

 

[Flaco]

I did my own repair by removing the plastic panel and grinding down the area (on the panel) with a dremel tool. Then used some touch up paint on the hatch. After it dried I applied a narrow strip of 3M foam tape and put everything back together. No more paint damage.

 

[kuja1120]

I did my own repair by removing the plastic panel and grinding down the area (on the panel) with a dremel tool. Then used some touch up paint on the hatch. After it dried I applied a narrow strip of 3M foam tape and put everything back together. No more paint damage.

Did you also replace the foam tape that was used on the panels mounting points and how tight did you torque the nuts?
After so many times at the dealership for the same issue, I think it's time to DIY it.

 

[Flaco]

Did you also replace the foam tape that was used on the panels mounting points and how tight did you torque the nuts?

No, I didn't replace the foam and I only hand tightened the retaining nuts. I think they may have been to tight from the factory