When did Honda start cutting corners on quality?

[Monnk13]

I bought my Si 10 weeks ago. It has 1400 miles. The paint quality is well below what I would consider adequate. After about 800 miles I noticed significant paint chipping in the wheel wells from rocks/debris kicked up by tires. It was so bad I had to buy splash guards. Today after washing my car, I noticed several areas of clear coat delamination on my bumper and paint pitting near my quarter panel. Is this an anomaly or has Honda lowered their quality standards? Is there anything I can to to get the paintwork fixed under warranty? Should I call Honda of America to complain? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Edit: not to mention the copious swirl marks in the clear coat even though I use nothing but chemical guys professional microfiber towels

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[gtman]

The soft paint on these cars is terrible. I am a detailing fanatic but no amount of protection seems to help. I've never had a car chip so easily. I don't think warranty would apply here but you could try. The huge panel gaps were my number one complaint but after seeing quite a few new chips recently, paint is the worst.

 

[Monnk13]

I’m a detailing freak too. I’m very disappointed that Honda is ok with putting poor quality paint on their cars. I wish they at least had a few paint colors as paid options. I’d rather pay $1k extra for a high quality factory paint job. I’m going to have to call the dealership and talk about the garbage paint job on my brand new car to see if they will do anything (doubtful).

 

[COOL COUPE]

My 2008 Mazda Speed 3 was 100 percent made in Hiroshima Japan. Need I say more??? Mexican and even worse Canadian workmanship equals a pile of shit. I have SOOOOOOO much orange peal on my deck lid on my coupe ... it;s really a S A D mess.

 

[ebhaynz]

The hatches built in Swindon, England--they must have no quality control as it seems like they just go down the line ruining the paint by overbuffing. Really, when you look at a hatch you can tell the workers just don't give a shite. I have a feeling that's why Honda is shutting down the plant and getting the heck out of there.
My Si isn't all that bad but I don't pay as much attention as I did when I was a young man.

 

[REBELXSi]

My 2008 Mazda Speed 3 was 100 percent made in Hiroshima Japan. Need I say more??? Mexican and even worse Canadian workmanship equals a pile of shit. I have SOOOOOOO much orange peal on my deck lid on my coupe ... it;s really a S A D mess.

I had a first gen Fit and the paint was equally shitty (as the X Gen) and it was from Japan.

I think the paint quality started going down around the introduction of the 8th gen civics. My 06 had tons of chips early on and I always see other 8th gens with oxidation

 

[Monnk13]

The hatches built in Swindon, England--they must have no quality control as it seems like they just go down the line ruining the paint by overbuffing. Really, when you look at a hatch you can tell the workers just don't give a shite. I have a feeling that's why Honda is shutting down the plant and getting the heck out of there.
My Si isn't all that bad but I don't pay as much attention as I did when I was a young man.

I think you are right on the money about production ending in the U.K. Quality car fabrication has never been found in Britain.

 

[Monnk13]

It seems that the quality of paintwork has declined throughout the auto industry. How much money can they really save per unit using cheaper paint (I assume bots are actually applying the paint, not humans anymore)

 

[jred721]

Yeah...its terrible. I have no idea why Honda thought this was reasonable at all. Adding to the paint, the panel gaps and the horrible quality fabric door inserts and armrest are just awful. I dont get it but it is what it is I guess. The rest of the car thankfully makes up for it though, if it didnt drive well that would be the biggest disappointment of all.

 

[gtman]

It's interesting. I had owned a number of Honda and Acura products but my last two cars before the Civic were a Hyundai and a Kia.

When I bought my 2017 Civic, the huge body panel gaps shocked me. And the paint quality just sucks. Much worse than my last two Korean cars. The Civic has a nicer interior overall but the "carpet" is thinner than on my Korean cars. My Civic has very average Firestone tires. My Elantra GT came with really nice Michelins. My Kia Forte SX had a cloth interior but the armrests and center console were leather/vinyl. I was shocked the EX-T had the cheapo cloth on the armrests and console wear areas. That was one of the reasons I bought an EX-L instead.

The saving grace on the Civic is it's terrific mechanical engineering and drive quality. But it's clear that a lot of corners were cut.

Having said that, I love my Civic. But damn that shitty paint annoys me.

 

[Monnk13]

I agree. They absolutely cut corners on the exterior with the paint and panel gaps. Thankfully the engine, transmission, and suspension are among the best of cars in the price range. The interior is better than average but could use some better materials for the high wear areas. As someone who is very OCD with car detailing, the paint issues and panel gaps are frustrating.

 

[hobby-man]

I thought the paint issue was due to environmental issues about using lead-based paint / paint loaded with VOCs. Paint used to be fantastic quality and super durable but now we have more "environmentally responsible" paints which are just weaker. I dont think it's Honda specifically, seems to be most automakers these days.

 

[HSFBunny]

“Global Warming” activists have killed the quality of paint used on production cars through air pollution regulations. Car companies have been forced to use water based paints that have less toxic outgassing.

Car companies that want to use high quality “polluting” paints need to install expensive gas scrubbers before venting paint into the atmosphere. In some cases the use of such paints are outright banned. In other cases they are only allowed to use limited amounts.

Unless you are rich, for most people that means their cars have crappy paint.

 

[Monnk13]

Screw the polar bears, I want a high quality paint job

 

[ebhaynz]

If it's between my Civic Si having great paint quality and global warming then it's "Surf's Up"!

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