I've noticed paint bubbling under the hood on the leading edge by the radiator and on the outside by the antenna. anyone else have this problem?

2005 black, no paint issues. List your color and if the paint is original.

Morning Edk,

sounds like the first signs of rust under the paint.

Mitch

PS. If you could include a pic, that would be great!

Well, the paint issue keeps ongoing. I have the LTD green one
the paint is now starting to come off of the leading edge of the hood. it is also flaking off under the edge where it meets the hood latch. I called Ford, and it is not under 36,0000 miles ,so the factory warrenty is no good. all i get is a 400.00 body shop repair bill. any one else have this happen ? or what suggestions should i try?

Paint/ Corrosion are covered under warranty for 60 months unlimited miles.

Warranty covers rust-through from the inside out, not rust caused by anything that nicked or wore the paint from the outside. Since I and others haven't seen this, I'd look to see if somehow there was something that nicked the paint or maybe the hood was rubbing the grille causing the paint to get worn in one spot. The leading edge of the hood is about the worst place you can have exposed metal since it takes all of the abuse from wind and water (and salt if you're in the snowbelt) - so rust in this are accellerates faster than in other places. Likely you won't get any satisfaction from the dealer/ford unless you can show it was a paint defect or a misaligned hood causing the problem...

andy

Did he not say it was bubbling up?
I had paint bubbling on the tailgate of our silver Freestyle.(lower bottom edge)
Dealer took care of it no problem said it was covered under warranty.
The standard warranty was over on the car at that time.
Maybe my dealer was being just a good guy?

The Ford customer service couldnt help me, they did not mention anything about it being covered. so, unless i call them every day, i dont think im going to get the right answer. From what I get is the hoods are aluminum. Apparently, there is some paint adheirson problems along the edge. It looks like blisters, and since it is not steel, there is no rust happening. NO, there is no chips or rock pits or the hood rubbing anywhere, if i can get a pic, i will post it. When i showed it to my dealer body shop manager he said "OH YEAH .... LOOKS LIKE THE OL ' F 150 SYNDROME."
so meanwhile, i guess ill call all the dealers to see what their answers are. BTW if anyone has a wrecked green freestyle, i would be interested in the hood

Okay here is what is going on if this is your hood: You have an aluminum hood and the paint had some junk in it, and its flaking off. Go to your dealership, they should know about this. My trunk, on my 500 (which I do wax 2-3 times a year!), did have some rust which started with some white residue first. My father's 500 has the same thing....My Freestyle doesn't have that problem. I've seen 05's at dealerships and nothing....

i have dark blue, my dad has the grey and our FS is red - no rhyme or reason I guess?

My paint is good, no problem here on my pueblo gold 05 AWD SEL Freestyle.

Had the wife's style in the shop for bodywork(she spun out of control on a curved interstate ramp which only affected the front and back bumper),the bodyshop guy and the insurance adjuster told me of rust under the hood. What I saw was the paint bubbling above the headlights on both sides on top of the hood. The adjuster said he worked for Ford and it's defitnately covered. Haven't take it in yet

I am so fastidious when washing and drying my car I noticed two small rust spots the size of a pin head in the rain channel of the rear hatch. The body shop guy said some foreign material got in to the paint and created an air pocket. Fixed in 2 days under warranty.

I wondered if the hood was aluminum. It seems pretty damn light for a large piece of metal. Is it really aluminum?

Yes, 2 dealerships told me

I noticed the same 'bubbling" when I first purchased the car back in 2005. It is under the front edge of the hood in a localized area. You can feel it if you gently move your fingers underneath the edge when opening the hood. It looks like there was just a little too much paint applied and it dried with some air bubbles in it. I was dissapointed when I found it but it can't be seen from outside when the hood is closed. I was also VERY concerned that the dealer would make things worse by fixing (repainting) the area.

I'm glad to hear that the hood is made from aluminum (I just verified it with a magnet). Now I don't have to worry that the bubbling is actually rust.

2005 Limited 2WD