Long story short.. Car purchased new last month with 16 miles on it. Now has a little over 1300. I Hand waxed every square inch of the car last Sunday morning and went to the afternoon Braves game. Upon returning home I realized I slaughtered an army of bugs on the highway coming back.. Front bumper mostly, but the driver side mirror caught a monster as well. Once I got home I couldnt tend to the bugs right away but an hour or so later I took them off with a microfiber and some detail spray.. The bugs came off no problem everywhere except the mirror. This bastard left what looked like his soul permanently etched on my painted mirror.

I forgot to mention I'm 15 years into the auto detailing business and I know my stuff. I have never seen this on any car in such a short period of time.. Especially a freshly painted, brand new, freshly waxed vehicle. I've seen love bugs here in Atlanta destroy the clear coats of many vehicles after baking in the sun for a while, but not 4 hours! And this wasn't a love bug either, just some worthless, winged spawn of the devil.. None of the other hundred bugs left even the slightest of marks that day..

The first pic is at the stadium .. No Bug.. The next two show the mirror after I removed the corpse, used a clay bar, compound, and Zymol..

 

Wow that's messed up. You might be able to submit a warranty claim for that one, I'd talk to your dealer.

 

I did.. They kind of gave me the run around. Before I go back and take a stand, which I'm not sure I have the foundation to do so, I just wanted some feedback. I pm'd Deysha but I'm not sure if this falls under something she wants to waste her time with. I know the mirror covers aren't expensive but ****, I figured they would take me more seriously..

 

Yeah that doesn't look like anything that should happen so quickly. Screw these Georgia bugs!

 

are they Love Bugs? They will do that

 

Must have flown over from the Fukushima plant in japan.. Lol I have a spot on same mirror from bird droppings from yesterday.. Still trying too get it out.. What are these things eating theses days??

 

Yesterday morning on the way to work, I had either 7 or 8 birds crap at the same time or one big one shoot me like a gatlin gun but there were two or three big spots on the windshield, two big shots on the hood, one small spot on the right rear quarter panel, and one small spot on the roof. I turned around and went home and cleaned the car off. Weirdest thing I have ever seen happen from bird(s).

 

I know all about those .. Make my living off people leaving those little jerks on their car for too long in the hot Atlanta sun. However, this was not a love bug.. It was green and scaley.. I've been kicking myself for not taking a picture before removal but at that time I never saw this coming..

Definitely an alien bug.. probably responsible for the wild fires out west too..


i would've immediately turned around as well. No way I could focus on what I was doing with my car outside covered in bird bombs..

 

Damage like that really isn't a warranty matter, ford didn't invite the bug to slam into the mirror. It would be the same as if it was hail damage, not fords fault.

Be glad that it is only the mirror cover, not a big dent in the hood or something.

 

But wouldn't you expect that the paint would be able to cope with "bug splatter"?
On the other hand, my previous Edge was once "egged", and it was dark outside. I cleaned as much as possible, but in the morning I noticed a fairly large spot I missed, and the paint was permanently damaged. I did not pursue taking it up with Ford as I assumed an act of hooliganism would not be covered under warranty. But "bug intestine".... I would give it another shot.

 

You're missing the point and probably misunderstanding what the damage actually is.. If this doesn't fall under paint defect, I don't know what does..

Ford didn't invite the bug... lol....

 

Op sorry for that etch. I'm a professional detailer on the side as well, and I've never seen anything like that. Gives new emphasis to the importance of getting a clear bra and keeping it properly sealed. I also always remove bugs as soon as I return or park.

Did you say buffing also didn't remove it? That etch looks like it's still bug gut remnants, no? That's too dark to be anything else... Hmmm

 

No man.. I wish the pictures did it justice but imagine how smooth a fresh clear coat is after a clay bar session and some good wax.. that's how my mirror feels after i cleaned it.. It's literally a shadow, almost like the sun intensified bug guts burned the white paint under the clear coat.. whatever, I'll stop whining now

 

Looks bad. I had a bird poop on my hood, wasn't on it for more than 10 minutes. It left a dark spot after i cleaned it off. I spent over an hour using everything from cleaner wax to 3M scratch remover to remove the dark place on the paint. Its hard to find the dark place on the hood now. Its hard to believe what damage was done in just 10 minutes

 

How about some TruFiber mirror covers now?

 

Thought did cross my mind a few times.. They do look good.. However, I'm a recovering carbon fiber addict from my GSXR. It was bad. I neglected friends, family and even my health. I fear that if I started now there would be no turning back.. Alternatively, I have decided to see what a gloss black 3M vinyl would look like on the roof.. maybe after I'll try to cover the mirrors and see if it looks alright.. Here's the reason i'm in recovery..

 

Must have been some kind of Communist plot. I had the same thing happen yesterday also. I told it was a dayum flying cow or something because there was so much crap that hit the car at one time. Strange, very strange.

OP, I have to agree with you. One would think something would be wrong with the clear coat for it to stain that way. Another Communist plot, ummmmm maybe.

 

doubt you will get anywhere with Ford on warranty. If it was me, I would start looking fro a replacement mirror cap from fleabay or something. may take a few weeks, but a white one should turn up.

 

WOW, your bike looks sweet!, I think doing the black vinyl would be a good option.

 

Ouch! I知 in Florida, so I知 very familiar with our awesome love bugs and such, ohsix750. However, I知 not a technician or an engineer; therefore I知 not able to advise on repairs/coverage. As per your warranty guide, if the concern is caused by a manufacturer痴 defect it値l be covered under your new-vehicle limited warranty unless it痴 expired.

Your service manager is in the best position to look into this for you and advise of any next steps.

BTW, that is a great looking bike!

Deysha