Owners of 2017 Ram 1500s Are Peeved About Paint Problems

A new 2017 Ram 1500 owner, who calls himself Ranger, reached out to a popular truck forum for suggestions about problems with his paint finish. Ranger says, “Waited over a year to select what I believed was the best light duty pickup for me, a 2017 1500 4x4 Laramie Longhorn. I loved the Delmonico Red and found one about two hours from my home. Bought it and super satisfied with purchase until my first wash this weekend. There on the roof of the crew cab was a 1 foot circumference of tiny air bubbles in the paint. Had to be standing in the bed to see them and they can be felt running your hand over them. Called dealer and they say it has to be brought in to photo, send to Chrysler and wait for their decision what to do. The truck has 300 miles on it and I am guessing they will require me to have it brought in for warranty body work and paint. Any suggestions or experience with an issue like this? It's brand new!”

2017 Ram 1500 Drivers say Paint Flaws are Fairly Common

Other drivers immediately reached out. Ram, from northern California says, “Sorry to hear that. Definitely not a normal situation. They’ll re-paint it. My front bumper cap (painted piece above front chrome bumper) had to recently be repaired/repainted due to damage received either in transit to dealership or on dealer lot. They really looked long and hard as to whether to cover it, but I put my foot down (especially after just purchasing a truck stickered at over 50K, paid 18K less, which was a steal). They agreed and sent the truck off to be repaired at their preferred body shop on their dime (free rental vehicle for me and I made them program the daytime running led’s on it too). They did a great job and didn’t pay a dime.”

A Massachusetts Ram owner had a similar issue. “I have 3 spots on my rear passenger side door (crew cab). They are about 2" x 2" each where they look "cloudy". My guess is when getting painted at the factory, there were a few bubbles, so they were squirted with a quick blast. My truck is True Blue Pearl coat. The metallic that pops in the sunlight really makes these spots stand out. I may have a good friend that owns a body shop take a look at it. If it can be wet sanded and buffed, I may have it done. If you plan to keep your truck (mine is leased) then I would absolutely have it fixed. It may not be visible all the time, but you know its there, and it will drive you nuts.”

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Thunder, who is a frequent poster, says, “Unfortunately Warren Truck has the oldest paint shop of any Chrysler assembly plant. Its chain driven and due for an update as part of the production plant shuffle. On the plus side, when Ram production moves to Sterling Heights Assembly for the 5th gens in model year 2019 they will have a brand new state of the art paint shop. Warren Truck Assembly has been building Dodge and Ram trucks for nearly 80 years since 1938 (12,500,000 of them as of 2015), and the paint shop was last renovated in 1997. I have a couple dust nibs in one of my doorsills, but nothing to be concerned about like your issue OP. My Durango that was built at the Jefferson North plant also has nice paint with the exception of a small run on the roof that is noticeable when your face is 8" away while waxing it.”

Paint Problems should be Fixed Under Warranty

Magna, from Toronto, has similar paint issues. “My new 17 is in the shop now for a damaged A pillar. I noticed a couple days after picking it up paint was peeling off with rust underneath . It was covered up with touch up paint that neither the dealer nor the manufacturer would take responsibility for. In the long run the dealer took it upon themselves to pay for it but it took a lot of bitching from me.”

A Nebraska owner is disappointed to hear that the paint problems continue. He was upset about his 2012 Ram. “I just found this thread doing a search for "paint". I had planned to post a question asking if by chance the paint out of the Warren plant had improved. I'd really like to buy a new Ram. My 2012 Ram now has 103,000 miles on it, but no way will I buy now. My 2012 Ram had 79 dirt nibs in its paint...every body panel except the tailgate. I wet sanded and polished each one out. While having some minor body work done, the body shop techs discovered that my Ram had two complete coats of base coat and clear coat. They said it must have been run through the factory paint booth twice.”

Ranger responded to the posters. “Viewed a new post today discussing paint issues on a new 2017 on the hood. This was a similar experience to mine and looks to be same Delmonico Red color. I have still not taken my vehicle in to get the dealer to photo the problem. I am away from home on a job assignment and have not been using the truck. The more I read, the more I dread this process. I'm starting to stew about this a bit also knowing that I just bought a $57k truck that has a major flaw. This should NEVER have been allowed to leave the factory this way. Makes me wonder what else is wrong, but trying to keep a positive attitude.”

Another thread about problems with paint on 2017 Ram 1500s has comments like this one from a Florida owner. “Noticed several bubbles in my paint, primarily on the roof, but also present on every other body panel. Anyone else have signs of what I think is solvent pop?” The dealership told the truck owner, Bulb, to take his new vehicle to a body shop for an estimate. “35% of roof is covered in these mysterious dots, A-Pillars, a couple dots on each bed side, numerous dots in door jambs. Pretty bummed that a $40k plus vehicle has to be painted when I've only had it 2 months.”

Bulb got his answer. “Just got back from body shop and Chrysler was sent the quote of $6K for complete paint job minus hood and tailgate. It was indeed solvent pop and is something that cannot be buffed out.”

It is very frustrating to have a brand new vehicle and discover major flaws. Ranger has not yet said what the outcome of his problem is. At least the Florida owner is on the road to having his paint finish repaired.