[Nouseformonkeys]

This is the first vehicle that I’ve owned that have these rectangular shaped, clear plastic stickers on the bottom of the rear doors. What are they for? Were they used in shipping and my dealer’s crack prep guy failed to remove them?

I’ve seen other cars with them and I always wondered what they’re for. And they’re always yellowing and have crud built up around the edges.

 

[jmurphEV]

This is the first vehicle that I’ve owned that have these rectangular shaped, clear plastic stickers on the bottom of the rear doors. What are they for? Were they used in shipping and my dealer’s crack prep guy failed to remove them?

I’ve seen other cars with them and I always wondered what they’re for. And they’re always yellowing and have crud built up around the edges.

I think they are to protect the paint in that area from chips due to rocks and grit being thrown up by the wheels. The material looks the same as the clear bra stuff some people put on the front of their cars for the same purpose. My guess is that after the car went into production they discovered that there was some quirk of airflow around the bottom of the car that made that spot really susceptible to damage from road debris. Too late to go back to the wind tunnel and massage the body shape, so slap a clear bra sticker on it and ship it! As an engineer I can appreciate the simple solutions.

So the short version is, it's literally a band-aid fix to a problem. >

 

[Nouseformonkeys]

Well that’s disappointing.

Has anyone taken theirs off?

 

[jnight310]

yeah it's a protective layer from debris kick up or tar. tar will come off more easily than from paint surface.
i've seen this on all kinds of cars.

 

[Amyga]

It's a protective film. I don't know if this is the same brand than Kia offers as an option for protective film on the front of the car.


It's certainly removable, like other film, but should not. Shipping that corner on a side walk, or a rock coming from your wheel, would guaranty that are to rust in no time. Fixing corners like these are a pain, never look like nothing happened, and will stay weaker that the rest of the panel. I would suggest a film patch after doing the job.



I had this at several locations on my previous Toyota. So it was acting as both a chip and rust protection. I wish Kia was a bit more generous.