Paint match and body panel problems

After 5 days, I've started to notice a few fit and finish problems:

1) The blue paint on the front and back bumper panels don't quite match the rest of the car.

2) The rear bumper panel does not quite line up on one side. The front bumper panel is also a little off on both sides.

Anyone else see similar problem? Any suggestions what to do about it?

awolfe63 said:

After 5 days, I've started to notice a few fit and finish problems:

1) The blue paint on the front and back bumper panels don't quite match the rest of the car.

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The paint not matching problem is pretty common (and it's like that on my car too). I don't think the plastic surfaces take the paint the same way the metal ones do (my Focus has always been the same way). I don't think there is much you can do about it and I think it's particularly noticeable when it comes to the blue paint on the LEAF vs. the other colors the car comes in.

My white one is just fine and I have been all over it with a sharp eye (I used to be a professional detailer). I would suggest taking it back to your dealer and discussing it with them. The panel alignment they can probably take care of. The paint match will be almost impossible, even on some colors from the factory, as it is difficult for a steel surface to exactly match a plastic surface if they are painted exactly the same.

Mine is White so I will be looking good in my new LEAF

I've heard that paint matching on plastic and metal parts is difficult, and I believe it. However, it is certainly possible. My Hyundai came from the factory paint-matched nearly perfectly. An accident required replacing the front bumper and hood, and I was fortunate that the body shop I chose did an amazing job and matched the colors perfectly so it's impossible for me to tell the difference. That said, I've seen some other new cars where the colors don't quite match. So it depends how skilled the paint crew is, I guess.

As for the body panel alignment, that should be easy to adjust. Bring it to the dealer and they should be able to take care of it for you.

johnr said:

So it depends how skilled the paint crew is, I guess.

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The paint crew is typically a robot - it usually has more to do with the additives they need to add to the bumper paint to keep it flexible so it doesn't chip when it flexes.

Ya, the bumpers are a little off in shade. Very slight but yes I noticed it on delivery. The front is more off but the rear is very close. I also agree that the sides of the bumpers do not alight flush with the fenders. This will just be a warranty issue later. Small price to be for being a very early addopter.

It's interesting, in the sunlight the bumpers and panels on my LEAF match perfectly. But under fluorescent lighting, in my garage, you can see they differ very slightly. As for overall fit and finish of my LEAF, I've found absolutely no issues. In fact a guy on my street used to restore vintage sports cars. He dropped over a few weeks ago when he saw me pull in. He started scoping the body and I figured he would pick it apart. It's not a concours-quality Gullwing after all. But he said all the panel alignments and gaps were excellent to the naked eye. But if I wanted, he could run his gaping gauges over the car. No thanks I said it's just a daily driver. But it's kind of nice to know Nissan can assemble a LEAF, this early in the production cycle, with such high quality fit and finish.

I think it depends on color, with the blue being the worst offender. It also doesn't help that the bumper panels catch the light at a different angle to the adjacent panels.

Does the protection package affect this?

smkettner said:

Does the protection package affect this?

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Mine doesn't have it.

Actually ... my panel alignment is not perfect. There's a misalignment between the plastic(?) bumper panel and the sheet metal next to it. The right-rear corner is the worst, the left-rear is much better. Front is ok. The RR can easily be seen with a good eye, and definitely felt. Plus the plastic bumper line along rear quarter panel has a slight convex curve in it. Nothing bad enough to take the panels apart for ... and my son does not want it touched ... but not perfect Nissan quality either. This would not be happening on equivalent vehicles (Versa, Juke, etc).

Noticed the described paint mis-match on the blue pre-production model displayed at the Nashville Auto show back in late Nov.

smkettner said:

Does the protection package affect this?

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Mine has the protection package. I'll take a pic and show the area covered in the front by the clear bra...it's smaller than I thought it would be.

I haven't noticed any ill-fitting panels or even blue pain mismatch. I'll look closer next time I'm in the car and see if I can find anything wrong. But so far, VERY happy with the car. :mrgreen:

Jimmydreams said:

smkettner said:

Does the protection package affect this?

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Mine has the protection package. I'll take a pic and show the area covered in the front by the clear bra...it's smaller than I thought it would be.

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Yeah, me too :x

No really noticeable paint color mismatch between the panels on the silver one ... wonder what happens as the paint ages on the two different materials ...

For what it is worth, I saw a Volt in the wild on the Ventura Freeway, and you could see problems with the paint and matching overlooking from an SUV vantage point in the other lane. I didn't care for the styling and badging, either. I speced siilver, so hoping that will be okay. I get kind of anal about these things (valet walk arounds showing things they find hard to see before I leave my ride with them), and walk my car before and after any driving segment like one pre flights and post flights an aircraft.

Aren't bumpers usually painted by the bumper supplier in a separate factory from where the car is made and painted? Also, didn't Nissan change the specs on the blue color?

For what it is worth, my neighbor has a Red Volt (which I have been driving for the last week), and the color match on his is very good. Personally, the styling is growing on me and I now like it better than the Leaf... I'm also getting more and more of an appreciation for how well it drives.

JimSouCal said:

For what it is worth, I saw a Volt in the wild on the Ventura Freeway, and you could see problems with the paint and matching overlooking from an SUV vantage point in the other lane. I didn't care for the styling and badging, either. I speced siilver, so hoping that will be okay. I get kind of anal about these things (valet walk arounds showing things they find hard to see before I leave my ride with them), and walk my car before and after any driving segment like one pre flights and post flights an aircraft.

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Well, you have time in the seat and it may very well drive pretty well. I am trying to like the styling--it is distinctive... Still not my cup of tea--but if it is your good time, no problem. Still the difference in seaming was apparently clear from 5 feet away--no one can like that--but may overlook it for the good of the show.

I prefer a cleaner look in general, with an emphasis on contiguous color and a more rounded feel (i.e. Aston Martin, Porsche). So the LEAF is closer to that, and do like it better...

To each their own, as they say.

mogur said:

For what it is worth, my neighbor has a Red Volt (which I have been driving for the last week), and the color match on his is very good. Personally, the styling is growing on me and I now like it better than the Leaf... I'm also getting more and more of an appreciation for how well it drives.

JimSouCal said:

For what it is worth, I saw a Volt in the wild on the Ventura Freeway, and you could see problems with the paint and matching overlooking from an SUV vantage point in the other lane. I didn't care for the styling and badging, either. I speced siilver, so hoping that will be okay. I get kind of anal about these things (valet walk arounds showing things they find hard to see before I leave my ride with them), and walk my car before and after any driving segment like one pre flights and post flights an aircraft.

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I'm glad that someone popped this to the top again. I had a chance sit and really look at my car and am now mostly convinced the color issue with the blue is more to do with the differing contours/lines of the bumper covers than anything else. A good place to observe this is where the bumper cover meets the rear quarter panel by the side of the tail lamp assembly.