Dent above passenger doors, accident or body issue?

[AChav]

Hey!

Just to clarify. I drove my Civic off the lot without any dents. They appeared afterwards. We purchased it early February. Even if you don't see dents now, they could occur as in our case. I'm heading to the dealership Thursday for a comped oil change and I'm going to bring it up to them there.

Another hypothesis, more of these dents could occur as the summer months roll in. These dents became incredibly apparent during a trip I did to Miami last weekend. The panels could essentially "warp" under the heat. Just a thought.

BTW, just passed the 7K mileage mark.

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[Warren803]

Well this is annoying. While at the dealership addressing a different issue today, I took a look at my car's C pillars. I definitely have the same dents on both sides of the car. I wouldn't categorize them as dents though, as they're very small and look more like warped panels. They're definitely not as noticeable as the original poster's car.

Since I had the service manager's attention at the time, I showed him the issue and asked him if he knows of any other civic owners complaining about the same issue. He said this was the first he's heard of it but he said he could definitely see it. He was going to take photos of the pillars, but I suggested video might capture it easier since the glare of the light at certain angles was the only real way to see the issue. Since my car is white, it probably makes it even harder to tell.

I assume he's going to pass this info onto Honda. I mentioned to him this seems to be a relatively new issue that's cropped up on internet forums, so Honda probably doesn't even know about it yet.

My car was manufactured 2/16 and I've owned it about a month.

Not sure what the fix would even be. Could it be fixed with paintless dent repair methods, or would it require bondo and repaint?

I assume Honda won't issue any resolution for this either, unless there are mass complaints.

Do we wait for Honda to possibly address this, or take it back to the dealer and hope they fix it. That's if they don't just say it's not covered because it looks like someone hit the car and not a manufacturing defect.

I'm definitely not paying out of pocket to fix the issue as it seems to be a warranty issue plus it's really not that noticeable on my car.

It bugs the hell out of me now that I know it's there though.

 

[AChav]

Well this is annoying. While at the dealership addressing a different issue today, I took a look at my car's C pillars. I definitely have the same dents on both sides of the car. I wouldn't categorize them as dents though, as they're very small and look more like warped panels. They're definitely not as noticeable as the original poster's car.

Since I had the service manager's attention at the time, I showed him the issue and asked him if he knows of any other civic owners complaining about the same issue. He said this was the first he's heard of it but he said he could definitely see it. He was going to take photos of the pillars, but I suggested video might capture it easier since the glare of the light at certain angles was the only real way to see the issue. Since my car is white, it probably makes it even harder to tell.

I assume he's going to pass this info onto Honda. I mentioned to him this seems to be a relatively new issue that's cropped up on internet forums, so Honda probably doesn't even know about it yet.

My car was manufactured 2/16 and I've owned it about a month.

Not sure what the fix would even be. Could it be fixed with paintless dent repair methods, or would it require bondo and repaint?

I assume Honda won't issue any resolution for this either, unless there are mass complaints.

Do we wait for Honda to possibly address this, or take it back to the dealer and hope they fix it. That's if they don't just say it's not covered because it looks like someone hit the car and not a manufacturing defect.

I'm definitely not paying out of pocket to fix the issue as it seems to be a warranty issue plus it's really not that noticeable on my car.

It bugs the hell out of me now that I know it's there though.

Bugs the hell out of me too! Before I used to salivate looking at my car and it's lines. All I see now is two dents. SMH.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

@Warren803 thanks for your feedback. I am positive my car was 100% straight when I pulled off the lot, so I am leaning more towards the "after driving" hypothesis or even warping from summer heat like you mentioned. As more people see this post and this thread gains more traction then we can see about presenting the information to Honda and maybe get this fixed.

My dent is more like a warp or "ripple" or "wave" I would almost call it like you mentioned. I will see if it gets worse as warmer temperatures come.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

@AChav can you create a poll still in this thread that says what side or both are your dents?

 

[AChav]

@AChav can you create a poll still in this thread that says what side or both are your dents?

Done.

 

[Warren803]

The day after I got my Civic home for the first time, I noticed two indentations on the hood near the center and immediately took it in. They could not repair it without some bodywork that would require painting and several days. I would not have that, so they opted to change the hood from one in stock.

Since then I've noticed how soft/flimsy our body panels are, especially every time I wash mine. When I first saw this thread I started to wonder if someone out there, indivitual or individual(S), knowing how beer-can like our cars are, have taken up going around banging on our cars since it doesn't take much to dent them. But now with these dents on this thread being on very similar spots on different cars and different cities/states, that now seems a bit far-fetched.

I haven't yet noticed the dents metioned in this thread on my car, but rest assured, I'll be looking later today when I get out of work!

This may in fact be a defect that shows perhaps after driving over bumps, etc. as the car's body shifts and flexes. If that is the case, I see another recall in our future!

Highly doubt they would issue a recall over this. The dents probably do not compromise the safety of the pillar so it wouldn't warrant a recall.

Best case scenario that I see happening is that Honda fixes it for free upon customer request. The question is, when will Honda offer to fix it for free? After they know about the defect or after someone files a class action lawsuit? If the fix is bondo and repaint on both sides of the car, that is going to be pretty darn expensive for Honda. They'll probably just wait till someone files the class action lawsuit.

I'm starting to wonder if our best bet would be to return to your dealer and convince them to fix it stating how new your car is and this being a defect. But then again, having both sides of your car repainted sucks also on a brand new car. It's not always as good as new.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

Hard to say if they will fix it. They might try to play the blame game, but if there are new cars on the lot with it and more proof online then we might have a case. My dents are minor and I can live with mine, but @AChav his are terrible and I could not live with those and I never want to have to get my car repainted. It always looks so nasty after a repaint

 

[inv4zn]

OP - please include "none" as options, just so we can see? People can change their votes later.

I've had mine for a month and still don't have any dents on either of the points

 

[Warren803]

Hard to say if they will fix it. They might try to play the blame game, but if there are new cars on the lot with it and more proof online then we might have a case. My dents are minor and I can live with mine, but @AChav his are terrible and I could not live with those and I never want to have to get my car repainted. It always looks so nasty after a repaint

Yup, my sentiments exactly. If mine were as bad as ACHAV's, I would definitely want them fixed. As long as mine don't get any worse, I rather live with the minor dents than risk a repaint.

How can this first year new gen civic have so many damn issues? This is pretty ridiculous when my best option is to live with dents in my brand new car.

 

[Pearl]

Well I'll be damned... I was feeling bad for you guys when I thought what the hell, I'll just go look at mine even though I'm sure I don't have dents. Sure enough, the driver side has a slight dimple! It was too small to photograph no matter how I held the camera but it's there. I'm sure if I could get my thumb behind it, I could push it out with slight pressure but I'm not in the mood to disassemble half the interior just to get to that spot.

 

[NorthernEX-T]

Yup, my sentiments exactly. If mine were as bad as ACHAV's, I would definitely want them fixed. As long as mine don't get any worse, I rather live with the minor dents than risk a repaint.

How can this first year new gen civic have so many damn issues? This is pretty ridiculous when my best option is to live with dents in my brand new car.

It's okay, we will get through this lol

 

[NorthernEX-T]

Well I'll be damned... I was feeling bad for you guys when I thought what the hell, I'll just go look at mine even though I'm sure I don't have dents. Sure enough, the driver side has a slight dimple! It was too small to photograph no matter how I held the camera but it's there. I'm sure if I could get my thumb behind it, I could push it out with slight pressure but I'm not in the mood to disassemble half the interior just to get to that spot.

EXACTLY! I was like no wayyyy, walked outside in the sunlight and sure enough..

 

[Pearl]

Lol. Now I'm obsessing over it, twisting my head this way and that way to see it better under the garage light.

 

[AChav]

I'd advise for everyone who has even slight dimples to keep a close eye on them as you rack up the mileage.

Also, I just tweeted @HondaCustSvc with pics of my dents. Let's see what they reply with.

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