How paint problems are infuriating 2015 Chevy Silverado owners

A check of recent truck forums finds that a number of owners of 2015 Chevy Silverados are having problems with paint flaking or peeling off. The problems are serious enough that people are taking their complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, because they aren’t receiving help from the dealerships.

On one discussion about “weak paint”, one owner asked “Has anyone else noticed that the paint on 2014+ silverados chip and scratch very easily? Seems like every time I wash my 2015 I find new chips or scratches.”

Another person adds, “Yes the paint quality on the 2014+ trucks is poor, my 15 already looks about how my 08 did after it was 7 years old. You can thank the epa for that.” And yet another posted, “My black 2015 gets scratches just by looking at it. I have a buddy who needed to get his front end repainted a month after purchase because of all the stone chips.”

A person who claims to work for a dealership denies there is a problem with the paint on 2015 Chevy Silverados “Well as a painter at a Gm dealership, your 2015 weak paint complaint is completely false. The paint is actually pretty good vs the 09-13s. We haven't been seeing any issues with 14 and ups at all.”

But yet another owner fires back “about the fragile paint on the K2XX trucks, worst paint I have ever seen, but the problem is wide spread over all the newer GM vehicles, water based paints suck but our air has improved 700 percent since GM was forced to switch.”

Chevy Silverado Paint Problem Complaints Are Widespread
The complaints are widespread, from different climates all over the U.S. and Canada. A check of the website CarComplaints.com, that compiles consumer issues on all types of vehicles, finds that the concerns are serious enough that many owners have taken their complaints to NHTSA.

For the 2015 model year there have been four complaints to NHTSA over paint problems with the 2015 Chevy Silverado. The complaints are that the paint either peels or chips too easily. The paint problems seem even more pronounced for the 2014 Chevy Silverado. For the 2014 Chevy Silverado there are 33 complaints, again for peeling or excessive chipping.

I have messaged the public relations person who oversees truck production for General Motors but haven’t heard back yet. It is true that the auto companies are constantly reformulating paint mixtures to be more environmentally friendly but paint peeling within the first few months or even the first few years is inexcusable. I can’t find any recalls for paint for these model years but there are enough forums and complaint sites to indicate that the issues are widespread enough to trigger concern.

Mary Conway covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin. Follow Mary on Twitter at @maryconwaymedia.