Bubbling on front grill surround.

[Mr H]

Has anybody else seen any bubbling on the front chrome effect plastic trim that surrounds the front grill. Mine has little bubbles appearing on the left and right bottom curve's?

 

[Paulie68]

No, but the fault you describe is familiar to me, the chrome finish on the grill is faulty, if left it will worsen and start to peel. You need to get it changed under warranty.

 

[bloggsy]

No, but the fault you describe is familiar to me, the chrome finish on the grill is faulty, if left it will worsen and start to peel. You need to get it changed under warranty.

I'd better check mines!

Cheers

Bloggsy

 

[Lovemyev]

I have a feeling that “Hard Trim” items are only covered by the first 12 months of the warranty on other manufactures cars.
I would think that MG is no different in that respect.
Get that grill surround replaced ASAP.
Just as I reference point, my car is 15 months old and has covered almost 12,000 miles.
I have just checked and I can see no evidence of “pitting” on my grill surround in the bottom corners.
Has the car been subjected to a LOT of road salt by any chance ?.

 

[Mgmedd]

I have a feeling that “Hard Trim” items are only covered by the first 12 months of the warranty on other manufactures cars.
I would think that MG is no different in that respect.
Get that grill surround replaced ASAP.
Just as I reference point, my car is 15 months old and has covered almost 12,000 miles.
I have just checked and I can see no evidence of “pitting” on my grill surround in the bottom corners.
Has the car been subjected to a LOT of road salt by any chance ?.

Yes I have noticed this on mine also. Intend to ask at dealer but not sure what to expect.

 

[Sidemips]

Ugh, this is NOT good, any idea how to prevent this ?

 

[Mr H]

I have a feeling that “Hard Trim” items are only covered by the first 12 months of the warranty on other manufactures cars.
I would think that MG is no different in that respect.
Get that grill surround replaced ASAP.
Just as I reference point, my car is 15 months old and has covered almost 12,000 miles.
I have just checked and I can see no evidence of “pitting” on my grill surround in the bottom corners.
Has the car been subjected to a LOT of road salt by any chance ?.

Its 6 months old 4000 miles normal winter driving. Bubbling from under the chrome paint.Will pop in to the dealers this weekend if i can.

 

[Mgmedd]

Its 6 months old 4000 miles normal winter driving. Bubbling from under the chrome paint.Will pop in to the dealers this weekend if i can.

Mine is 18000 miles. Let me know how you get on. I’ll pop it mine in in June and do the same. Good luck.

 

[Paulie68]

A further word to the wise regarding this issue. The cheap hand car wash places use traffic film remover in too high a concentration to get quick results, this will do this to chrome finished plastic parts. Those of you who frequent these places will most likely see this issue arising...

 

[Lovemyev]

A further word to the wise regarding this issue. The cheap hand car wash places use traffic film remover in too high a concentration to get quick results, this will do this to chrome finished plastic parts. Those of you who frequent these places will most likely see this issue arising...

That is interesting news !.
Just to say, I have never let anynobody but myself, wash ANY of my cars EVER in the last forty plus years.

 

[Mr H]

A further word to the wise regarding this issue. The cheap hand car wash places use traffic film remover in too high a concentration to get quick results, this will do this to chrome finished plastic parts. Those of you who frequent these places will most likely see this issue arising...

Never been to a car wash with this car.

 

[Mgmedd]

Yes, this is my experience also. Always hand washed myself with the car shampoo supplied by the dealer.

 

[Kithmo]

Found this on Google:
"When the object becomes heated enough, the gases expand toward its surface and push against the chrome plating, creating a visible bubble or blister. A severe blister can also cause the plating to lift off entirely. Blistering can also occur if the object's surface was unclean when the plating occurred."
Any of you guys who are affected, park near a heat source, central heating outlet etc. ?
Or could it be prolonged direct sunlight (doubtful in the UK ) ?

 

[Tim Green]

The one on my car looks OK. I suspect it is a manufacturing defect -it looks like car paintwork where there is moisture in the air at time of painting. Any one who has such a problem should head straight back to the dealer to get it changed.

 

[micky]

Found this on Google:
"When the object becomes heated enough, the gases expand toward its surface and push against the chrome plating, creating a visible bubble or blister. A severe blister can also cause the plating to lift off entirely. Blistering can also occur if the object's surface was unclean when the plating occurred."
Any of you guys who are affected, park near a heat source, central heating outlet etc. ?
Or could it be prolonged direct sunlight (doubtful in the UK ) ?

just like the 70's jap bikes could peel the chrome off after 12 months that was chrome plate tho not plastic

 

[Kithmo]

just like the 70's jap bikes could peel the chrome off after 12 months that was chrome plate tho not plastic

Is chrome on plastic the same chromium metal coating as is applied to metal ?

 

[Lovemyev]

Is chrome on plastic the same chromium metal coating as is applied to metal ?

I don’t think so ?.
Chromium is plating process usually applied over steel by series chemical and harsh dipping processes.
The steel usually has a copper plating applied to the items first.
The liquid Chrome plating is then attracted to the copper as it bonds with the copper under treatment.
I seem to remember that the immersion bath or the item is electrically charged in the process somewhere ?.
Excuse the bad joke, but I am just a little “rusty” ( sorry ) on just how the whole thing works now.
Too many years have gone by now after watching this process was actually done.
The chrome affect we see applied to plastic items must be sprayed on now I guess ?.
I have noticed that when the chrome finish over plastic breaks down, the under treatment on the plastic always tends to be black in colour.
It never comes off in strips, it just breaks down and leaves the plastic in very small pieces to expose the black under treatment.
It would be interesting to see what happens when the chrome affect on these affected grills accelerates ?.
I guess like most things really, there is chrome coating, and there is chrome coating !.
Clearly, something has gone a miss with chrome affect on some of these grill surrounds.
Chrome effect on plastic has been used in the motor industry for years now, strange that some items have outlasted the life of the car, but in this case, it has only lasted a very short time.
Maybe MG has switched supplier or out sourced the job to another company who offered a better price to produce them ?.
Replacing them is likely to be an expensive job for MG that’s for sure.
I am awaiting the “Warranty Wiggle” on this one !.

 

[micky]

I don’t think so ?.
Chromium is plating process usually applied over steel by series chemical and harsh dipping processes.
The steel usually has a copper plating applied to the items first.
The liquid Chrome plating is then attracted to the copper as it bonds with the copper under treatment.
I seem to remember that the immersion bath or the item is electrically charged in the process somewhere ?.
Excuse the bad joke, but I am just a little “rusty” ( sorry ) on just how the whole thing works now.
Too many years have gone by now after watching this process was actually done.
The chrome affect we see applied to plastic items must be sprayed on now I guess ?.
I have noticed that when the chrome finish over plastic breaks down, the under treatment on the plastic always tends to be black in colour.
It never comes off in strips, it just breaks down and leaves the plastic in very small pieces to expose the black under treatment.
It would be interesting to see what happens when the chrome affect on these affected grills accelerates ?.
I guess like most things really, there is chrome coating, and there is chrome coating !.
Clearly, something has gone a miss with chrome affect on some of these grill surrounds.
Chrome effect on plastic has been used in the motor industry for years now, strange that some items have outlasted the life of the car, but in this case, it has only lasted a very short time.
Maybe MG has switched supplier or out sourced the job to another company who offered a better price to produce them ?.
Replacing them is likely to be an expensive job for MG that’s for sure.
I am awaiting the “Warranty Wiggle” on this one !.

I had a Mokka and after 4 years the plastic chrome around the radio also started to bubble so its not just MG

 

[Lovemyev]

I had a Mokka and after 4 years the plastic chrome around the radio also started to bubble so its not just MG

@Paulha has only had his car for 6 months and covered only 4,000 miles.
Clearly NOT acceptable in n a new car !.
My fear is, until they identify the problem in the manufacturing process and correct it, the replacement surround is very likely to follow down the very same pass !.

 

[Kithmo]

@Paulha has only had his car for 6 months and covered only 4,000 miles.
Clearly NOT acceptable in n a new car !.
My fear is, until they identify the problem in the manufacturing process and correct it, the replacement surround is very likely to follow down the very same pass !.

Not many have this problem, so I'd suspect a bad batch of materials rather than the process itself, maybe a dodgy batch of plastic.
The same with the clicking steering thing, could be some guy on the assembly line had his torque wrench incorrectly set for a while.