As the sun was shining and I had a few hours to kill I thought I'd get on with replacing my broken grille (thanks to a piece of plasterboard, a motorway and some wind ) and maybe remove the sidestrips. Heated the strip for a few minutes to soften the glue and eased a piece of flexible plastic under to gently tease it away. I'd got about 8-10" off nicely with very little residue left to remove and then I notice the paint underneath looked bubbled. Sure enough, the foam adhesive seems to stick in two lines top and bottom with a channel between them. It looks like water has been trapped there over time and got into the paint, starting the onset of dreaded RUST :eek: It's still under warranty so I've logged a call with the dealer to see if they'll repair it. Not a good show on a two year old car though :(

Mine is the same, all bubbled underneath! passengers side door has faded too. Wish i hadnt bothered

Edited 5 September, 200916 yr by DGW
No need to quote post above.

Took mine off today, took 5 mins.

No bubble's thankfully though.

Spoke to the dealer and they're having a look on wednesday. 10yr bodywork warranty apparently, take note all those with bubbles.

Mine came off ok mate.

What year is your car?

This sort of thing was quite common on 8L Audi A3s.

Spoke to the dealer and they're having a look on wednesday. 10yr bodywork warranty apparently, take note all those with bubbles.

Ahh right..

Sounds good

Mines is an 04 to add :thumbdwn:

Mines a 55 plate from November 05, under 20k, always kept clean and well protected, apart from these bits you can't get to :(

Spoke to the dealer today and they were a bit cagey, saying that as I'd been trying to alter the car from standard they might not repair under warranty. I pointed out that even if I hadn't tried to remove the strips that the rust was still there and would surface eventually anyway. They agreed and said they'd word the claim request that the trim had begun to lift away itself, and whilst attempting to refix it the corrosion had been noticed. Let's hope they wear it, which they should. Whatever I did to those strips the corrosion was there anyway. I didn't cause it, but my actions caused it to be noticed much earlier than it would have otherwise, possibly making the repair easier and cheaper, as rust left untreated just gets worse over time.

Idiots....how on earth can they claim that you removing the side strips caused the rust????

These things are galvanised for crying out loud. It wasn't Keiths was it? Their bodyshop guy leaves a lot to be desired...

Edited 5 September, 200916 yr by DGW
No need to quote previous post.

It was indeed. They've always been OK before, but let's see what answer he brings. They admitted that they welcome warranty work as they get paid for it, but would have to tell a little white one to get it past warranty claims as they were getting very anal about things.

well i have an 07 and my paint is all faded under the strips,i'm going to have a word:mad:

Tbh i wonder if they apply the sidestrips while the paint isnt fully cured ??

It's galv so shouldn't matter what state the paint is in, it simply should not rust unless the galv zinc oxide coating is damaged. I had rust on my boot lid up near the number plate lights....had to have that fixed under warranty too. Good job it's a 10 year one.

Are you sure it is corrosion?

I have seen moisture under the paint before that shows in the form of bubbles. They increase in size over winter and in the summer reduce again. Slowly get worse over time.

Brothers car had it on and found out car had been damaged on the production line (hit by forklift) and had a poor repair on it. This was on a corsa less than 6 months old. Car was replaced in the end.

Well, the dealer has got approval to repair the O/S front door, but he says he'll need to blend the paint back onto the rear door so that will get done too. He has advised me that the N/S trim needs to come loose and display the same corrosion before it goes in in a couple of weeks too

Just fully removed the O/S strips to reveal.....

I'll remove the other side another day, and it's booked in for painting under warranty. Also fitted my LCR splitter, pics to follow

Never good!

mine is the same but only on driverside door did some on say there is a 10 year paint and body warranty

Just fully removed the O/S strips to reveal.....

I'll remove the other side another day, and it's booked in for painting under warranty. Also fitted my LCR splitter, pics to follow

Ouch, thank god mines isnt that bad:eek:

mine is the same but only on driverside door did some on say there is a 10 year paint and body warranty

Yes, my Skoda dealer :P That's why they're fixing it under warranty

Just fully removed the O/S strips to reveal.....

I'll remove the other side another day, and it's booked in for painting under warranty. Also fitted my LCR splitter, pics to follow

Unless I'm missing something, that's not rust.....

Unless I'm missing something, that's not rust.....

Technically, no ! Trapped water has permeated the paint layer leading to bubbling. The side-strips have a curved surface which attaches to the car which results in the adhesive foam padding strip used to attach contacting in two places, top and bottom, leaving a void between where water is trapped. A definite production/design fault, and as the damage is caused by the design and application of parts during manufacture, and results in damage to the paint not through penetration by an external object or any subsequent damage, a valid claim on the 10 year paint and body warranty.

...a valid claim on the 10 year paint and body warranty.

Is the 10 year paint warranty on any Fabia? I'd be tempted to remove mine if this is the case, otherwise I don't want to fudge it up if I can't fall back on a paintwork warranty.

If you cause damage whilst removing them then it's your problem. With mine, the damage was there and clearly a production/design fault. AFAIK all VAG cars have a 10yr paint warranty.