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Major Paint Problem

10090 Views 93 Replies 32 Participants Last post by  jnatsu, 
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Hi Everyone...HELP!
Love this forum. Here's my 1st post and it's not so good. We picked up our 01 SS EX two weeks ago. After a rigorous inspection at the dealership we felt satisfied, accepted the vehicle and drove away. It was generally cloudy and overcast in our area for the next four days and there was nothing suspicious about our beloved silver ody. Finally, on day five, the sun came through and we happened to have the van parked in the driveway. I noticed what appeared to be a streak of dirt on the hood and decided I would clean it off. As I looked closer I realized that it was a streak in the paint, underneath the overcoat. Looking further I found many blotches in the paint all over the van but especially on the hood. These are only visible in certain lighting conditions but in bright late afternoon sun the blotches on the hood can be seen from 30 feet away. It looks terrible!
When we picked up the van it was at night, under the lighting of the dealer's service bay and there were no visible blotches under those conditions. I called my dealer as soon as I discovered this flaw and he immediately offered to repaint the hood under warranty. I neglected his offer and decided to talk to an independent professional bodyman. The 30 year pro says that Honda must of had a problem with spray nozzle pressure or perhaps a poor mixture of paint at the factory an that he has seen this quite often on Cadillac factory paint. He further advised that I only repaint as an absolute last resort because the vehicle is painted at a temperature of near 400 degrees in the factory before actual assembly and the physical properties cannot be duplicated in a repaint. He said that any areas repainted will fade at a different rate than the factory job and will be very noticeable after a few years (especially with silver). He also said that the blotches on my van will get worse over time because the varying thickness of the paint will absorb light and heat unevenly and certain areas will therefore oxidize at a different rate. I received a follow-up call from Honda concerning my overall purchase experience and took that opportunity to register my complaint. I also sent a letter to the Honda zone office 7 days ago and haven't received a reply yet. Any suggestions???

I can't imagine how this could get by Honda's Quality Control department. The van also has three misaligned doors and, as others have posted, the so called "magic seat" won't fold flat, with or without the cargo liner in place. My seat when folded is a 1/2" larger than the cargo opening.

How do I invoke a lemon law status? I can't have them try to fix it three times. Any help will be very much appreciated. I want Honda to give me another van or refund my money.

Sorry for such a long 1st post.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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I also noticed that my Starlight Silver EX has a blotchy paint job. It shows more on cloudy days than when in direct sunlight! I think this may be a serious problem that Honda will have to deal with in the future. I can only hope that they will stand by the quality of their work and do what ever it takes to rectify this issue with faithful Honda owners. Let me know what you find out!
Thanks!
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I have also experienced clouds in my silver paint. Picked up my new silver EX 4 weeks ago and noticed immediately what looked like a dark spot in the middle of the hood. The salesman said he didn't see it (surprise!). The dealer's detail man told me that the cloud was there due to the car being wrapped in plastic in the cold, damp Northeast weather for delivery from the factory, and that the cloud would disappear in a few days. I believed him and took delivery. Almost four weeks later the cloud hasn't faded at all. I love the Odyssey, but am disappointed that Honda allowed this quality control breakdown to happen. Thanks for listening.
-New Jersey
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Here's a reference for lemon laws for each state, hope this helps:
http://www.autopedia.com/Lemon/

[This message has been edited by hip (edited 04-22-2001).]
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Silver is hard to paint. But, Honda should know that.



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Jim
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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by hip:
Here's a reference for lemon laws for each state, hope this helps:
http://www.autopedia.com/Lemon/

[This message has been edited by hip (edited 04-22-2001).]</font>
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Hip,
Thanks for the lead. I'm took a quick look at the Indiana lemon law from that site and I guess I have nothing to loose by trying. This can get real ugly unless Honda owns up to their lack of quality control and replaces the vehicle. If I allow them to repaint the van, that in itself causes an immediate decrease in value, and on and on etc. I may have to get my attorney involved.

Thanks again.
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Hi ya folks,

You've got me worried now. Now I have to go home and inspect the paint on my 2 month old silver as well. Will report back.

Thanks,
Errol

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Well....It's been about 9 days so far and no reply from Honda. I would think they would at least email or write to acknowledge the receipt of my complaint and tell me that someone will be assigned to my case. Has anyone else attempted to get Honda to respond to this??

errol: I appologize if I've started a panic here. I would think that if your paint was as bad as mine or djpep's or new jersey's you would have seen it by know. Many have posted that they have a fantastic looking finish on the SS models. I hope yours is one of them!

new jersey: Don't feel bad about getting scammed by the dealers detail man. Had I noticed the blotches at the dealer facility and been told that it was caused by the plastic wrapping, I would have accepted it. That is a valid sounding excuse. Who knows...maybe he believed it was true.

As triplecut said. Silver is hard to paint, but if Honda can't monitor and control the process then they should'nt offer it.

More than anything, I'm frustrated that this type of thing is allowed to reach the market place. If my paint is bad and doors are out of alignment, and they can't even control the loose manufacturing tolerance of the magic seat to ensure that it fits correctly, then how can I have any confidence that the other 50,000 parts are designed and assembled properly. If I do resolve this issue and remain a odyssey owner I will absolutely buy an extended warranty.

Let's add a little insult to injury here and remind ourselves that we waited on a list for the van and most all of us paid at least MSRP. Guess I'm really venting here and that is no longer constructive.....sorry. To demonstrate that I'm really loosing it...I still love the van. I just want the problems solved.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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Quick update on Honda Customer Service. I mailed them on 4/10/01 about the paint problem. Yesterday (4/25/01) I still hadn't received a response so I called the zone office in troy Ohio. I was initially put on hold for app. 20 min. When I finally talked to a human being, he fumbled around and said he couldn't find anything on file for my van. Then he suddenly found my letter and said it was logged in and accidently placed in the file assigned to my 2000 accord. Then he said my van situation was just about to be assigned to a rep. I was put on hold again several times while he supposedly had to walk around the office to see who was going to get my case. When he returned he said my case was assigned to some guy named Ron but Ron was to busy with other calls to talk to me. He put me through to Ron's voice mail to leave a message and said he would call me back same day. Well guess what....no call back yesterday, or today.

Has anyone out there dealt with Honda customer relations before?

Is this normal?
Am I the idiot here?
Am I over reacting?
Does a bad looking paint job qualify as a lemon?
Any suggestions as to a coarse of action?

I was reading more on the lemon law site posted by HIP and they explain that a common tactic used by manufacturers is to stall the customer in hope that they will get tired and just go away or sell the vehicle. This relieves the mfg. of all the costs associated with a replacement or by-back.

By the way...After work I made a quick stop at the store and parked next to another SS EX. I had the opportunity to make a direct comparison between my SS ODY and another. The paint job on the other ODY was beautiful. I looked at every square inch of that van and could not find a blotch or flaw in the paint. My hood on the other hand looks as though someone attempted to repair a large section of it in a poorly lit garage and couldn't match the color.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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Has anyone out there dealt with Honda customer relations before? YES

Is this normal? YES
Am I the idiot here? I don't know you well enough to say.
Am I over reacting? Probably not
Does a bad looking paint job qualify as a lemon? YES
Any suggestions as to a coarse of action?
Document, document, document

I was reading more on the lemon law site posted by HIP and they explain that a common tactic used by manufacturers is to stall the customer in hope that they will get tired and just go away or sell the vehicle. This relieves the mfg. of all the costs associated with a replacement or by-back.

It is a game, the question is how determined are you? In the past, Honda was pretty good about repairs and very customer oriented. Lately, they seem to have become somewhat complacent and apathetic, stuck in their own bureaucracy. Too bad they became so popular, nothing like lean and hungry to keep you competitive, as opposed to fat and happy. Anyway, stick to your guns and document every word and conversation you have. You need to think about what you want to happen. Honda will very likely try to have you bring the vehicle in for a paint job. If you can play the game and wait it out, you will eventually get a replacement. There are legal professionals who specialize in this sort of issue. If it gets too tough, you may want to consult one. Good Luck and hang tough!
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Hip

Again...Thanks for your response! I am determined and will hang tough on this. I will wait another week for their call back (the ball is in their court) and then make one more effort to contact them. If they continue to ignore me I will go ahead and turn it over to the legal pros. The site you posted related to lemon laws has a firm that specializes in auto related issues with no cost to the consumer.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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Hi tom,

Hang in there. We're behind you.

Luckily for me, no streaks or paint problems that I could find on my car after washing it this weekend.

Thanks,
Errol

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by errol:
Hi tom,

Hang in there. We're behind you.

Luckily for me, no streaks or paint problems that I could find on my car after washing it this weekend.

Thanks,
Errol

</font>
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errol,
Thanks for the support. Glad to hear your van is OK. I'm beginning to stew over Honda's complete lack of interest in a patron who just shelled out $27,000.00 for their defective product. Not even a returned phone call to date!

It is good however that few others are affected with this problem.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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Originally posted by tomhan:

It is good however that few others are affected with this problem.

[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry to hear of your problems. However, I don't think it's an isolated issue. I was at a Honda dealership yesterday in the L.A. area, and they had 2 SS and 1 GG in stock. Even though we were examining the cars at twilight, my wife and I were appalled with the blotchy paint on the SS models. Needless to say, we opted for the GG. Good luck with your claim. You're right to be complaining about a defect on what is for most of us the second most expensive purchase after a house.
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Originally posted by nyvram in "My other car is?....":
Dude...!

"What's wrong with the SS 01 Ody? Lousy paint job...? Are you joking? Is there something I should know since I just ordered the same? I thought I had seen the silver ones on the road, but with the GG and gray from last year I get confused as to which one is the silver one from 2001.

Inquiring minds want to know!"

nyvram:

Sorry about that. I don't want to create a panic here. I hope that as we all have problems and concerns we can post them here to both find a resolution and offer a service to other owners.Please read through this topic. If the # of posts on this site is any indicator, the problem appears to be rare. If I had to gamble on the matter I'd say your odds are very high in getting a great van! Most owners are very pleased with their SS Odys. The best thing to do when the van arrives is to look at it outdoors from various angles and see if there are any blotches or streaks. The above post from rainmeister will attest to that. If you are happy, accept it and look forward to owning the best van currently on the market. If not, don't accept it. Honda has been very illusive so far on this issue and hasn't shown any interest in dealing with the customer.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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We have an '01 SS EX and do not have the problem that was reported here, luckily, I guess.

I can only venture to guess that somehow, during the painting process, the paint supply emptied and a new batch was not supplied in time and blotches and bubbles got into the painting system.

Good luck in your dealings with Honda.
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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by kvoman:
We have an '01 SS EX and do not have the problem that was reported here, luckily, I guess.

I can only venture to guess that somehow, during the painting process, the paint supply emptied and a new batch was not supplied in time and blotches and bubbles got into the painting system.

Good luck in your dealings with Honda.</font>
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Thanks kvoman:

I think your assumption is on target. I don't believe there is a generic problem with the SS paint process. Just a random problem along the lines of paint supply changeover or possibly problems with nozzle pressure regulation. We can only guess. My dealer said my van was built on march 18th which was a Sunday. It's hard to say if that is an issue or not.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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Tom,

I just saw a post over on Edmunds (Honda Odyssey - Prices Paid, Posting #1236) that there's now a delivery delay due to paint problems at the factory. You might want to do some investigating since this could be a tacit admission by Honda on the problems with SS colored Odys. Good luck.
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RainMeister,

Thanks for the info. At the least, I can use that post in my negotiations with Honda. That is, if I can get them to respond to my calls and letters.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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Paint update...No luck yet.

I've fallen into a game of perpetual phone tag with the honda rep assigned to my case. We keep leaving messages for each other but still haven't had an actual conversation. The only sign of progress is that he did state in one of the messages that he has read my letter and honda will make good on it. No mention of how that would be accomplished. He even stated that he would like to discuss it with me but we can't seem to hook up. Has anyone out there been able to actually talk to a honda customer care person for any issue? I'm about ready to drive my ODY to Troy, Ohio and park in front of their door until I get some attention. I'm getting extremely frustrated because all of my plans for the ODY are on hold until this issue is resolved one way or another.

I just read of another lucky customer with cloudy paint on his new SS over on the honda owners club forum.

On the bright side, my Zaino products should be here any day and I can hardly wait to try them out on my cars.

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Tom
2001 SS EX
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