Front grille coming apart.

raibola

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Yea man I’m in the same boat first time ever going with a Honda and the last. My wife’s 13 year old corolla is like a rock compared to a few month old Civic. Issue with the grille, rattles from every corner possible, windshield has more hairline scratches ever (I only use microfiber towels when washing and Leah’s hand wash) but it scratches for no reason like crazy, issues with car play, paint spots, etc etc if I can go back in time I’d pick a different car/brand in a heartbeat... eh live and learn. I even wrote to Honda of my short experience and that it’s the first and last I’m sure they don’t care they already got my money.
I feel ya. it sucks. This is my first car and my baby is just 9 mos old but I feel like it's been 5 years since I had it coz of all the issues. I also wish I've taken my time to check other cars but I guess charge it to experience.
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dby2017

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Took my not quite 2 weeks old 2017 Civic EX-T (built May 2017) to my dealer for the first time. They looked at it and acknowledged that it was not right and made an appt for next week. The service manager came out and looked at it and said it looks like a clip isn't snapped in correctly. I'm playing dumb and I'll see what they have to say. Both the service adviser and service manager were very nice about it and acted like they never seen this issue before. I am kind of surprised because posts here make it out to be a widespread issue that Honda has acknowledged. We'll have to see. This is a real large dealer too (they currently have over 230 Civics in their inventory), you would think with the volume they sell this would have come up already.
 

wmo168

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Thats great they replaced the bumper which seems to be the culprit...wonder if the shop did anything "Extra" to make the grill stay in place better.

Seems the whole issue is the "nubs" that hold the grill are just too soft/weak and the grill just pops out by a few millimeters? Which is why a solution is to alter the grill tabs to grab better?

Another question is, what if you decide to sell the car @anthogonzalez2 ? With a new bumper won't that have a non matching VIN/Serial sticker now? GUess you could always just show the warranty invoice to show it wasn't due to physical damage.
since 2010+ Bumper, Fender, Door, Hood don't have VIN sticker anymore... this is old school that back in the 90's. Those are replacement part so they don't tag those anymore.
 

Chupacabra519

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Both the service adviser and service manager were very nice about it and acted like they never seen this issue before. I am kind of surprised because posts here make it out to be a widespread issue that Honda has acknowledged. We'll have to see.
My local Honda dealer, although not nearly as large as what yours sounds like, also seems to not be very aware of this issue. Although when I had taken my car in to get the front bumper trim replaced in an effort to fix the issue (which it didn't, actually looks a bit worse now) they said they've seen it on one other car in their lot. They said they'd have another crack at it when I get my first oil change, although even the service manager thinks, based on how I described how it's a bad design with the clips, that Honda will need to release a TSB on the issue, and perhaps they can use double sided tape to band-aid the issue in the meantime. We'll see but I know not to get my hopes up.

Much like others who gave Honda the first go because of their reputation, and I'm disappointed on how much effort went into the design of the car, but things like fit and finish leave much to be desired. Mechanically and electronically, I'm not having a single actual issue, only gripes mostly with the infotainment unit, which I've gotten over with for the most part.

However I've come to the personal conclusion that every manufacturer has their shortcomings. For example, my best friend bought a Ford F150 Lariat sport truck, sticker prices was something like $70K (CDN) and he has some weird paint blemishes on one of his doors. Another example is of some quest a Youtuber named Jeff Aston had on getting a tricked out a GT350 Mustang and ran into 2-3 cars at dealership that had TERRIBLE fit and finish issues, or damage that the dealership never noticed on their lot models. Point is, very few cars are rock-solid top to bottom, and I feel like there's always something wrong somewhere.
 

Chupacabra519

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Just to add to my post above - I phoned Honda's corporate line in Canada, and brought up the front grill issue. The guy said there are no TSB's about this issue, however it blatantly said it's a numbers game. The more claims or people phoning in about the issue, the more likely it will get noticed and a TSB will be released about it. So for anyone experiencing issue with their front grille, MAKE AN APPOINTMENT with your local Honda dealer or CALL HONDA CORPORATE to report the issue. Unfortunately, as the guy I spoke to blatantly put it, if no one is reporting the issue to Honda, or taking their call to a Honda dealer to have it looked at, we're less likely to see Honda put out some kind of fix.
 


dby2017

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I had to switch my appt with the dealer to tomorrow morning. I'll report back and tell everyone what they said or did. I looked at a few random Civics in the parking lot today and found one that is doing the exact same thing. I hope Honda relaizes this is an issue and gets it corrected.
 
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JonInAtl

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Had the same issue with my month old EX-T. Had the dealer look at it while in for a couple other things. They fixed it and noted on the RO "Had to remove the bumper and found the grill was not clipped in as it should. Had to super glue at the retainer clip to hold in place. 1hr diag and labor"
 

dby2017

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Well, dropped my car off at 8:30 AM and got a call at 11:00 AM that it was done. I picked it up at lunch and it's perfect now. All they told me was they took it apart and reassembled it. Here is what my service invoice says:

"Tech removed upper grill trim cover and reattached driver's side front grill extension to body panel between grill and hood"

So I'm very happy for now. I have no idea if they had to do something extra to it (like glue) or not. I guess we will see if it remains like it is now. At least I have it documented with Honda now.
 

cubsws2016

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My local Honda dealer, although not nearly as large as what yours sounds like, also seems to not be very aware of this issue. Although when I had taken my car in to get the front bumper trim replaced in an effort to fix the issue (which it didn't, actually looks a bit worse now) they said they've seen it on one other car in their lot. They said they'd have another crack at it when I get my first oil change, although even the service manager thinks, based on how I described how it's a bad design with the clips, that Honda will need to release a TSB on the issue, and perhaps they can use double sided tape to band-aid the issue in the meantime. We'll see but I know not to get my hopes up.

Much like others who gave Honda the first go because of their reputation, and I'm disappointed on how much effort went into the design of the car, but things like fit and finish leave much to be desired. Mechanically and electronically, I'm not having a single actual issue, only gripes mostly with the infotainment unit, which I've gotten over with for the most part.

However I've come to the personal conclusion that every manufacturer has their shortcomings. For example, my best friend bought a Ford F150 Lariat sport truck, sticker prices was something like $70K (CDN) and he has some weird paint blemishes on one of his doors. Another example is of some quest a Youtuber named Jeff Aston had on getting a tricked out a GT350 Mustang and ran into 2-3 cars at dealership that had TERRIBLE fit and finish issues, or damage that the dealership never noticed on their lot models. Point is, very few cars are rock-solid top to bottom, and I feel like there's always something wrong somewhere.
i agree with this, it seems a lot of companies are having the same issues though with fit and finish and ac issues though.
 

Monkeyelvis

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Just to add to my post above - I phoned Honda's corporate line in Canada, and brought up the front grill issue. The guy said there are no TSB's about this issue, however it blatantly said it's a numbers game. The more claims or people phoning in about the issue, the more likely it will get noticed and a TSB will be released about it. So for anyone experiencing issue with their front grille, MAKE AN APPOINTMENT with your local Honda dealer or CALL HONDA CORPORATE to report the issue. Unfortunately, as the guy I spoke to blatantly put it, if no one is reporting the issue to Honda, or taking their call to a Honda dealer to have it looked at, we're less likely to see Honda put out some kind of fix.
I have raised this issue (and a ton of others) with Honda Corporate to the point of having arbitration scheduled for next month. The Regional Parts and Service manager from Honda Corporate came out to inspect the car and dismissed it as "common for mass produced vehicles". I had to force him to walk the lot with me to show him examples of proper fit, and otherwise. About 50% of the cars from all trims are affected by this, at least at my local dealership, and Honda seems to be really dismissive of this as a problem. This was my first new car, my first Honda and this will definitely be my last Honda. They're going to have a hard time keeping that reputation for quality and reliability unless they do some major course corrections on how they're handling these.
 


raibola

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I have raised this issue (and a ton of others) with Honda Corporate to the point of having arbitration scheduled for next month. The Regional Parts and Service manager from Honda Corporate came out to inspect the car and dismissed it as "common for mass produced vehicles". I had to force him to walk the lot with me to show him examples of proper fit, and otherwise. About 50% of the cars from all trims are affected by this, at least at my local dealership, and Honda seems to be really dismissive of this as a problem. This was my first new car, my first Honda and this will definitely be my last Honda. They're going to have a hard time keeping that reputation for quality and reliability unless they do some major course corrections on how they're handling these.
it's so bs how they use the mass produced excuse to dismiss the issues this generation of civic has been having. we're paying our hard earned money for the freakin car. you would expect them to be top notch and not have a lousy excuse for being cheap. shake my head
 

wmo168

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it's so bs how they use the mass produced excuse to dismiss the issues this generation of civic has been having. we're paying our hard earned money for the freakin car. you would expect them to be top notch and not have a lousy excuse for being cheap. shake my head
Human can be mass produced too, so we don't need doctor and hospital and medicine, let them die off... and don't waste time on the sick...
 

dby2017

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Well, after 2 weeks of my dealer's "repair" its not as tight as it was. It is still better than it was when I took it in but it looks like it is coming apart again. The interesting thing is it seems to tighten up when it's cold, maybe the parts expand when it's warm and loosen but then tighten when it's cold? I hope eventually Honda officially addresses this. I've now got into the habit of looking at other Civics I see parked and have come across a few that are doing it. It appears that it isn't an isolated issue. I just wonder how many owners have not noticed it.
 

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That’s exactly what happens now it’s cold it almost not noticeable but when it’s hot the things are flimsy but it’s the constant moving back and forth wears out those tabs and you’ll end up in the same boat.
 

Chupacabra519

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That’s exactly what happens now it’s cold it almost not noticeable but when it’s hot the things are flimsy but it’s the constant moving back and forth wears out those tabs and you’ll end up in the same boat.
Noticed the same thing on mine too. Even the shitty attempt my local dealer made at fixing the issue (which made it look worse) is looking better, mind you not perfect. 100% heat is a factor here, but mainly the shitty clip design.
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