[nyvram]

Well, its true. Don't know why it took me from June until now to find it, maybe it has something to do with the wax... At any rate, starting up by the driver's side windshield washer squirter & travelling down to the front of the hood is a big long cloud 'line'. In the fall sun here in Nashville; and I mean its S-U-N-N-Y without any hint of clouds (unlike my car) there it was.

I've washed this thing practically every week since I purchased it and never noticed this...and I looked hard but it was so obvious yesterday even my wife commented on it.

My hypothesis; I had just scrubbed the vehicle down with Dawn in preparation for some heavy Zaino action and so I probably had a good deal of the wax off. Later in the day I was unable to see it.

What to do...

A) Get really upset and start the dickering with Honda.
B) Get over it and say that its not that big of a deal, even though I forked over 30K for this thing.
C) Get over it; but let Honda know my displeasure and get on with my life.

I think C is the only way I can go and keep my sanity. Am I happy about this? NO. Am I willing to get an ulcer trying to Honda to do right by me? NO. Am I sucker who is just taking what I've been fed? NO.

I made this decision about 30 minutes after discovering the problem and I've moved on. My life is great and if this is my biggest complaint, I can suck it up and consider it a lesson learned. I'm not saying this is the decsion others should make; I'm just letting you know what I decided. If Honda happens to do a recall of all SS paintjobs or offers me a new van when I register my complain, fine. I'm just not holding my breath.

 

[DP]

My case is almost identical. It took me from July to realize the problem (I've reported about that in "02 SS Paint Condition" topic in 2002 Discussion). I haven't decided yet what to do.

 

[errol]

Hi ya folks,

Pls keep us posted on this.

You guys are starting to worry me now...

Thanks,
Errol

------------------
Keohi Web Design
Keohi HDTV

 

[tomhan]

Marvin,

Well, this really sucks! I remember when I first discovered the problem, your ody was still on order and we all held our breath hoping it would not be like mine. Have you compared it to my pics? I am curious to see if you are looking at the same scenario. By the way, my pics don’t convey what is seen in person. It is very hard to capture the variation on camera. It is much worse when you're standing next to it. Bad enough to have complete strangers comment about it. I would have been more willing to just live with mine except for the fact that 2 independent body pros said it was worth substantially less than full market value.

It sounds like you have made a sound decision in your case. Your choice will let you keep your sanity. You know what I’ve gone through, and I still don’t have a replacement (although it has finally arrived at the dealer). I hope you speak up loud and clear to let Honda know this is unacceptable. If they get enough feedback they will either figure out how to solve the problem or drop the color. I doubt if a mass recall is likely.

Again…...sorry to hear it.


------------------
Tom
2002 RP EXL-RES Soon!

 

[wallstreet123456]

I am picking my SS EX up this Saturday. Please tell me how to notice this problem. If it has the problem is it better to refuse delivery or have them repain the area that is bad? If I reject it should I not be next on the list to get another Ody even if in another color????

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by wallstreet123456:
If I reject it should I not be next on the list to get another Ody even if in another color????</font>

No offense folks but if the problem is that hard to notice, maybe you don't have as big a problem as has been implied in all the discussions on this subject. I looked my SS LX over pretty good (I thought) before delivery and didn't see anything wrong. I still have no complaints with it. At this point, I'm almost curious to have one of you scrutinize my paint to see if you're seeing something I'm not. Then again, maybe not.

Wallstreet123456: I'd imagine that would be up to the dealer. I can tell you this, if I were the next guy on the list waiting for my Ody, I'd be some pissed if you tried to grab it because of some imperfection in the paint you didn't like in the van they tried to sell you, especially if my chosen color was different than what you originally wanted. Actually, I doubt the next guy would ever notice the difference unless they were in the dealer when all this came down.

Hopefully, this won't even be an issue for you and from what I've seen, the odds are in your favor anyway. Good luck!

------------------
Drive Safe,
Steve R.
'01 SS LX
Cargo tray, leather steering wheel, mud guards, alarm, fog lights, transmission cooler, in-dash CD player, Kelton subwoofer, under seat storage tray.

 

[nyvram]

Thanks Tomhan, Errol & others.

No, my paint (just by looking at Tomhan's pics) is not NEARLY that bad. In fact, let me point out again that it took me 4 months to notice it. Having said that; it isn't subtle either; my wife noticed it as well. It seems the problem (in my case) is definitely alleviated with a good waxing. I'm not sure why; possibly because of the way the light reflects off it.

So let me emphasize to you other unlucky SS owners; if it took you several months to notice (a) even sitting at the dealer for 8 hours staring at the paint probably wouldn't have made a difference and (b) no one else will likely notice either. It was a combination of cleaning and sunlight that made it show up on mine. I can live with it although it doesn't make me happy to know Honda keeps churning these bad paint jobs out.

Quick poll; mine is obvious around the driver's window washer & then straight towards the bottom. Has anyone had this paint problem on any of the other parts of the body? It seems most prevelant on the hood although its harder probably to notice the sides (not direct sunlight) and I doubt anyone is sitting on a ladder gazing at the roof.

So, let me repeat again; for me the best decision was to live with it but at the same time to voice my displeasure with Honda. If enough of us do this; I would suspect Honda will revisit this issue at some point and figure out what the hell is wrong with their silver painting process on vans.

 

[jvennitti]

nyvram,

As another SS owner, I think that Honda should be notified of any imperfections in their SS paint jobs. I keep checking my hood area but I am not sure that I can say I have any subtle problems or whether the paranoia has taken over. Anyway, like you, if I now noticed a problem after 6 months I doubt it would be worth the battle with Honda. I have a general philosophy about first-year models, but I figured that Honda has produced silver vehicles before so I considered the new color a low-risk choice. As it turns out, it may not be as low a risk as I originally thought.

Jeff

------------------
Jeff

'01 SS EX
Cassette, Rosen Video System, Fog Lights, Splash Guards
Full Nose Mask

See photos at:
http://www.fototime.com/inv/B5EC5C7BC6CFA07

 

[nyvram]

Exactly, Jeff.

My wife made the comment to me "Oh, so you finally found it. Are you happy now?"

That brought me back to reality that I must have been quietly obsessing about this for awhile and was 'expecting something to happen'.

That's why I decided not to lose sleep over it. I probably would not have noticed it at all had I not seen Tomhan's (and others) posts and if I had noticed it; I would have just assumed it was the angle of the sun or a reflection from a nearby tree or something.

I'll try & get a snapshot of it so we maybe we can put together a photo album of owners w/ bad SS paint jobs to use as evidence with Honda.

 

[lrl95136]

-Just another experience to add to the list:

I picked up my SS '01 EX a month ago and also found that the paint on my hood is less than stellar. Like so many others, I gave the van a really thorough inspection (or so I thought) at the lot in full sunlight and didn't notice a thing. It wasn't until I had it in my garage under floruescent lights that I noticed the "blotchy" paint job (the reflectivity of the silver is uneven - darker in some spots than others). I plan to lodge a formal complaint with Honda, but will probably not pursue it any further than that, since it's only noticeable under certain conditions and at certain angles. What I'm worried about is how the paint will age over the long term. I read one posting that said an "uneven" paint job will only get worse over time, because it will absorb sunlight at different rates and therefore exaggerate the "unevenness". Anyone else worried?

BTW- I saw a brand new silver Acura MDX the other day with a really bad paint job on the hood - I noticed it about 50 feet away in the afternoon sun. I believe the MDX is made in the same Ontario plant as the Ody, so there must be something screwy with their silver painting process overall.

-lrl95136

 

[lamr846]

Can it be heat from the engine, the hood has no heat protection shield. My 01 SS clear coat has minor perforations adquired when I used my finger nails to remove specks of road tar.

------------------
care taker of my wife's 01SSLXPR
Mud Guards-Kenwood Speakers-Cargo Tray-VTEC Emblem