Coming from an engineering background, I'm going to approach this analytically. First question, did you expect a coating to be invincible? If yes, then the rest of my analysis is wasted because nothing is invincible. If no, then let us analyze the conditions in which this product is exposed. Ohio... weather is unpredictable. In fact, it's been god damn cold lately. Crazy cold takes its toll on literally everything. Another factor... this it touched by human hands. Human hands are oily and acidic. Acid ruins coatings, believe me, I know. I've already had my no-name shift knob recoated after only 2 years of use. I've also had to replace gold plated guitar hardware from my oily, nasty ass hands touching it. A third factor is friction. Let's say you're proving yourself against some pesky riced out Honda (FYHN). You go to grab second gear. You reach for the shift knob, your had slips off right after it goes into gear. Friction on a coated surface. Wear occurs, as minuscule as it may be. Coating is compromised. Factors 1 and 2 come into play more. Now... as a fellow Mazdaspeed owner who understands the mentality of "I can't let this riced out piece of s*** get the best of me," factor 3 occurs a lot. Wear is increased. There is but a 4th factor that I've not included yet. The fact that many folks these days leave their hands on the shifter while cruising around. A bad habit as that can cause unnecessary leverage on the s*** linkages (cables in this application) which will transfer to the gearbox itself. Not an important factor, so we'll ignore this. This habit of leaving a hand on the top of the shifter will transfer the aforementioned oils and acids to the non-invincible coating where the hand is resting, compromising said coating in additional ways. Judging by the location of the compromised coating, this habit could be a likely culprit. In conclusion, any product could have quality issues. If these issues persist, perhaps a Six Sigma audit is in order. However based upon what I've read in the last wasted hour of my evening, this entire problem could have been resolved by a simple phone call or email to the manufacturer saying "Hi, this is occurring. I don't feel that it's acceptable. What are your thoughts about it." If their response is unacceptable and unfriendly, at this point is when you post to all your friends and ask for opinions. Too often has the car scene succumbed to the knee-jerk reactions of people looking for sympathy, support, and a fellow "**** the vendor" response (See examples of SURE, however they legitimately had it coming). On top of that, too many are quick to blame everyone but themselves for any product failure. Again I say, I'm not defending anyone in the regard, but sometimes we all need to stop and think about things as they occur.