Rust spots/bubbles on roof 2017 Mazda6 GT

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Ottawa, Ontario
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17 Mazda 6 GT
23 Kia Stinger GT Elite
Well, I noticed earlier this summer that I had 3 small paint bubbles starting on the roof. One of them has now broken open, and the other two are still intact, but look like they are about to burst.

The car is less than 4 years old, just turned 25,000 kms (about 15,000 miles), and is not driven in winter salty conditions. I am not a happy camper.
Today I took the car to a Mazda dealer, who was actually very nice, helpful and sympathetic.

They did not try to blame the problem on me, which is what I was prepared for. They sent me straight away to their body shop contractor to have it looked at and have pictures taken.

They actually said they will forward the body shop recommendation to Mazda Canada and file a warranty claim on my behalf.

I took it to the shop right away, and they were great. They were not surprised to see it. Told me they fix lots of Mazda paint issues.

Interestingly enough, they said the worst offender was Pearl White. Anyway, they took pictures, and said they will forward an estimate for a roof repaint to the dealer, and that I should expect a reply next week.

Hopefully the good first impression I have of the process will continue throughout. If you folks are interested, I will post updates as they happen.

Cheers everyone.
 
That’s certainly a bummer but nice to see service has been great so far…Updates would be appreciated! There may be others with the same issue.
 
Took the 6 in to the body shop this morning. Got a rental for the week. Guess what? It's 2021 Mazda 6. Coincidence? Not sure.
The roof is getting a repaint under warranty, plus I've asked them to install a clear PPF over the front half of the hood and a bit down the front facscia. That's on my dime though.
It will be interesting driving and comparing it with my 2017 this week.
I don't know what trim level it is, but it's not a fully loaded GT like mine.
No HUD, NAV for starters. No turbo either. Darn it. Passenger seat is manual, but it does have a leather interior and a sun roof. No adaptive cruise control (just regular cruise).
I've already decided I like the interior of mine better than this one. The redesign is not as nice.
Driving dynamics seem to be the same though.
I'll be interested to see if I detect the CD system. I only drove it home today, so didn't get a chance to do a cruise at highway speeds.
More later.
 
I'm supposed to get the car back tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, after 4 days of driving the 2021 6, here are a few impressions and differences from my 2017, (for those that are interested):
Why is the 2021 key fob so big, and the buttons on the side so small? Who came up with this? Thumbs down on that.
Front end is more attractive on the 2017, IMHO. I prefer the traditional small round fog lights at the bottom outside corners of the fascia. The new non functional horizontal slits do nothing for the look.
I also have the LED strip surrounding the front grille, which was deleted in 2018. Too bad, cause it looks cool at night.
Some interior tweaks in the 2021 I feel are negative. The handles to open the door are now just a straight stick, whereas the 2017 handles are curved. The straight handles are not comfortable when opening the door.
The newer HVAC control panel layout is not as nice. The whole dash just looks cheaper.
I didn't notice until yesterday that there are indicator lights in the top of the black rear view mirror shroud. They are the small warning lights for the rear seatbelts, and the front passenger airbag indicator. How are you supposed to see them? The roof console at the front, with the map lights, hangs down too low and blocks the indicators. Unless you are really short, or duck your head down, they are blocked from view. Stupid design.
Also, this car is not equipped with a day/night mirror, or homelink buttons. That should be standard fare.
As for driving dynamics, there is really no noticeable difference there. The car feels the same on the road as mine. Interestingly enough, I had the cylinder de-activation page up on the screen, and while watching it switch back and forth between 4 and 2 cylinders, I could honestly not tell when the car switched. It was seamless. That was surprising in a positive way. I also wound it out a couple of times and it pulled well at higher RPMs. I'm assuming the valve rocker has not fallen off...lol.
FYI, the gas mileage indicator showed it used more gas per mile on average than my car.
Maybe because it's a rental and city driving makes the difference, but I'm getting better gas mileage without the CD.
Speaking of CD, the elimination of the CD player is annoying. I sometimes play kids CD's for my grandchildren when ferrying them around, and would not be able to do that in the 2021 model. Thumbs down on that.
Ok, that's my ramble for today. If I think of anything else, I'll add to it.
 
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Last update.
Got my car back today, and it looks great. I was amazed when I picked it up.
The new roof repaint was a perfect match, and it has a deep mirror finish to it. The body shop did an amazing job.
I also had them install some PPF on the hood, 16" deep from the front edge, as well as a small pieces on the edge of the front fascia, and the back of the mirrors. Again, they did a great job.
The car was spotlessly clean on pick-up, and they even buffed out a minor scratch for me on one of the doors (it was barely visible, but I knew it was there). Very good service and friendly staff. I'll give them a five star google review.
I took some pictures when I got home, so I'll have to figure out how to post them.
As for the 2017 to 2021 comparison, I'm sorry to say I like my car better. It's a better looking car, inside and out, in my opinion. The tweaks and minor design changes were not for the better.
 
Thanks for the updates and please do post the pictures. As for the differences between 2017 and 2021, as an owner of a fully loaded 2017 I have to say that on the outside, 2017 looks better, however if you compare the 2021 Signature trim with the 2017 fully loaded one I think 2021 wins by a fair margin. My 2 cents.
 
I have before and after pictures on my phone. I'll download them onto my laptop and then figure out how to post them.....soon.....promise.😁
 
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