Mazda North America
 

Just got off the phone about an hour ago with Mazda USA rep.

Called Mazda up @ 1-800-222-5500. Asked the lady about clear coat situation for the yellow Mazda Protege5 and yellow Mazda Protege MP3.

She could not get hold of the people who could answer that question for her so asked that I leave my name and number with her so she could give me a confirmed answer by the end of the day.

10 minutes later she calls me back and tells me that the Mazda Protege5 and MP3 are identified as having clear coats on them.

If you STILL want to see if you get the same answer just call the above number and ask again.

The rep who spoke to me was, Michelle @ x1140. Just don't pick the same rep I spoke to or you'll just get the same answer.

Hope this helps, laters.

Doh! Sorry bout that; fixed the links.

Re: Mazda North America
 

Have you waxed your car yet? When I waxed mine, I saw some light yellow on the applicator I was using. This only happen when I was giving it a good rubbing. Is this normal?

Thanks Mnky!

Nice pics, what kind of car is the red one with white wheels? I can barely see it in one of the pics.

Check out our banner: www.lvmoc.net All the way on the left. I eat, breathe, sleep, and live em.

Back on topic: I've never had any paint come off during application or removal from anywhere on my car. You guys/gals with the Vivids: do you know your build dates? Mine was 10/01/01; maybe the date (and the corresponding batch of paint) has something to do with it?

date
 

i don't know the exact date my car was produced but it was early may 2001. i picked it up july 19, 2001.

someone asked what my "serious paint problems" were. well in a nutshell my paint was melting off my front fascia. turns out there was no hardener or something to that effect. it was so bad that it was not repairable and they had to get me a whole new fascia and then paint it here.

i would really like some kind of definative answer from mazda. maybe if we organized a group letter from all the yelow owners we could get a response from someone fairly high up.
in my case there is no disputing the FACT that my car has no clear coat. the rep, dealer, and paint shop and i have all seen for ourselves that there is no clear. the issue in this case is wether or not it is SUPPOSED to have clear from the factory.

Re: date
 

I think from the calls that have been made to Mazda, it's evident that there is supposed to be a clear coat. I don't know how they'd miss putting clear coat on your car....that would definitely be a gross oversight :eek:

Re: Re: date
 

Actually, sir, there is conflicting information from Mazda, which is the problem. I've had one VY Miata owner report to me of her paint being stained when she drove through something. After a long and drawn out affair with the body shop and the dealership, her complaint was escalated way up within Mazda, to which she received "official word" that VY is not clearcoated. Another addition to the confusion, for sure.

Do not assume anything. If the paint is supposed to be clearcoated, why are so many VY owners, regardless of the car in question, reporting that they're pulling paint? Why are others (like me) not? There has to be a common denominator that we can't see. It's not as simple as "they missed it"; these cars are produced and painted on an assembly line. Missing one is impossible. I once again point to the theory of tinted clearcoat mixed in with the paint, and some people being the result of poor mixing, resulting in a "bad batch". It explains a lot, and would coincide with roswel's experience.

Edit: Here is a lengthy discussion on the topic, with conflicting info from Mazda.

Ok, sir, I'm just going by what's been said thus far. 2 people on this board have called Mazda NA and have been told that the yellow is supposed to have a clear coat. People have asked at dealerships (for whatever that is worth) and have been told the same.

Now I know that you don't think the customer service people at Mazda NA can help, but IIRC, when somebody called, the service rep referred to a tech and the tech told them that the yellow did indeed have a clear coat.

In my previous post, I said, "I don't know how they'd miss putting clear coat on your car....that would definitely be a gross oversight ," implying that I was thinking that it would be extremely difficult for a car to be missed during the application of clear coat. BTW, nothing's impossible on an assembly line....look at all the people that are missing a single heat shield bolt off of their engine.

Anyway, I'm not too sure about this mixing of clear coat and base coat. The purpose of clear coat is to protect the base coat, right? By mixing them, what is gained? What is lost? If mixing them is such a good idea, why not do that to all paints?

I'm not trying to fight you on this....If a car is supposed to have a clear coat, then paint should not be coming off on towels. And you're right...it doesn't make sense as to why some people are having this occur while others are not.

BTW, not sure if this has been brought up, but what areas are people pulling paint from? Hood? Trunk? Mirrors? Side body effects? etc.

all the plastic parts... actually, the mirrors, and under the side skirts etc.

Ah....this makes sense to me.

Side skirts and mirrors are put on the body at different stages in the building process. So, it's entirely possible that those pieces (ie. side skirts) did not get an application of clear coat to them.

I can imagine a plant would have the bodies on a huge belt....each body getting sprayed with Clearcoat. Then as the car becomes more and more assembled, the other parts are put on and it just may be that parts like that are not clear coated. That makes more sense to me than some new painting process (ie. mixed clear and base coat).

Or, since you say it's the under side of the skirts, then maybe they are put on early, and sprayed. But the sprayers don't spray underneath the skirts/body and therefore, there is no clear coat there and paint comes off.

Ok, sir, I'm just going by what's been said thus far. 2 people on this board have called Mazda NA and have been told that the yellow is supposed to have a clear coat. People have asked at dealerships (for whatever that is worth) and have been told the same.

Now I know that you don't think the customer service people at Mazda NA can help, but IIRC, when somebody called, the service rep referred to a tech and the tech told them that the yellow did indeed have a clear coat.
I used to work in customer service as well as technical support, hence my faith in "asking a tech". ;)

In my previous post, I said, "I don't know how they'd miss putting clear coat on your car....that would definitely be a gross oversight ," implying that I was thinking that it would be extremely difficult for a car to be missed during the application of clear coat. BTW, nothing's impossible on an assembly line....look at all the people that are missing a single heat shield bolt off of their engine.
A bolt and a clearcoat are two different things entirely. Apples and oranges. Bolts come from assembly; clearcoat is from manufacturing. If you've ever seen the painting line of an automobile manufacturing plant, you'd understand the difference.

Anyway, I'm not too sure about this mixing of clear coat and base coat. The purpose of clear coat is to protect the base coat, right? By mixing them, what is gained? What is lost? If mixing them is such a good idea, why not do that to all paints?
Some research of paints and talking to local body shops will explain it better than I can. What is gained? Cost savings. What is lost? Nothing, if it's done properly. Why not do it to all paints? Because the pigments in the paint determine whether or not this process can be used. IIRC, Chevy uses the same process with their Millenium Yellow, hence the ordering constraints when getting one.

I'm not trying to fight you on this....If a car is supposed to have a clear coat, then paint should not be coming off on towels. And you're right...it doesn't make sense as to why some people are having this occur while others are not.
I never thought you were. I've been tracking this with great interest over at miataforum for some time now; just thought I'd share some of my observations with you guys to help out. At this point, no one really knows anything (including me; I'm stumped), so I think assumptions and "majority rules" determinations are the wrong way to go.
As to why some people have it and others don't: if you accept the mixed clearcoat, it does make sense. If the clearcoat wasn't mixed properly, you'll get non-clearcoated paint in spots.
Here's an analogy: take your favorite Italian dressing. Shake vigorously, pour on your salad, and eat. Yummy, right? Now, take the same dressing after it's been sitting for 10 minutes, and apply it without shaking. Eat. Sure, you'll get some of the seasoning, but the oil and vinegar is seperated, because they're not soluble. Now, apply this to the paint: if the clear and the base isn't mixed right, it won't come out right, correct? Which would explain why it's only pulling in some areas; those are the areas that were sprayed with "pockets" of paint that the clear wasn't mixed with correctly.
It is a theory, but honestly, it's the only one that makes sense.
I'm not trying to argue anything, either; I'm trying to protect my $27K investment.

My Miata example above was from the bottom half of the door, not the body cladding. That dismisses that idea. Mirrors go through the same paint process as the rest of the car; body cladding can be port installed.