Nissan Primer Lawsuit Claims ‘Defective’ Coating Has Caused Paint Peeling, Devalued 2017-Present Vehicles

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A proposed class action alleges 2017-present model year Nissan vehicles have been coated with defective paint primer that is not durable enough to withstand the rigors of daily driving. 

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The 23-page suit claims that the primer, a preparatory coating that allows paint to better adhere to a surface and increases durability, has caused affected vehicles to become substantially devalued. The case alleges the automaker has known for several years that the primer it uses is defective yet has not disclosed the problem to consumers and has outright refused to repair the issue free of charge. 

The plaintiff, a South Carolina resident, claims that the white paint of the certified pre-owned Nissan Frontier SL he purchased in May 2018 began to chip when he washed the vehicle by hand last winter. The man says that, while washing the car, he noticed two spots of missing paint, each roughly one inch in diameter. In Spring 2023, the plaintiff washed his vehicle again and noticed several more spots of paint that came off as he rinsed the car with a regular water hose, the filing says. 

According to the lawsuit, a local body shop told the plaintiff that the issue he was experiencing with the paint on his vehicle was pervasive among white cars and that the paint job on his Nissan Frontier was “so weak that the mechanics at [the body shop] would not be able to tape off an area to paint” since any use of tape would cause more peeling to occur. 

As a result, the case says, the body shop suggested that the plaintiff repaint and reprime the hood of the vehicle for roughly $700. 

Upon calling Nissan customer service, the plaintiff was told that a nearby dealership would either inspect the paint job for manufacturer’s defects or send him to a certified repair shop, which would do the same, the suit continues. At a Nissan-certified body shop, the plaintiff was told that the only way to address the primer problem would be to completely reprime and repaint his vehicle because the car “was covered with less primer and paint than Vehicles of other colors,” the case says. 

In particular, the body shop stated that the problems the plaintiff was experiencing were affecting white Nissan vehicles, which use less paint and primer and are therefore more susceptible to peeling, the complaint shares. 

Ultimately, the plaintiff, after several phone conversations, learned that Nissan would not cover the repriming and repainting of his vehicle. To date, the man is “still left without any meaningful redress” from the automaker, the case says. 

“That said, a factory paint job should last at least 10 to 15 years, as long as a vehicle is on the road,” the lawsuit says. “But the paint job on Plaintiff’s Vehicle started peeling in roughly half the minimum amount of time estimated for the durability of factory paint jobs given the defective primer coating of the vehicle.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, bought a new or used Nissan vehicle with defective primer. 

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