What's up with Honda Paint?

[The Critic]

2009 Honda Fit - 102,000 miles.

5.5 years old, and this is what happens:

Untitled by thecritic89, on Flickr

Sure, the car was parked outside 24/7 and did not receive a proper exterior detail for the first time until March 2014, but still...

And in case you folks were wondering, the car did get a coat of Opti-Coat in March 2014, but I guess that did not delay the inevitable...

 

[skyactiv]

You've probably heard me say I was a mechanic at a Honda dealer before going back to school and becoming a UPS diesel semi mech.
One thing the Japan built Honda's lacked on vs the ones assembled in the USA was paint quality.

 

[MalfunctionProne]

It is hazing? (I am looking and that is my best guess at the issue with the paint.)

Tried rubbing compound?

 

[CharBaby]

This has also happened to most of my Honda's. And I have seen this over the years. Even when taking good care of the paint, I have seen this happen.

Not so much the hazing LOOK but, mostly the rain or acid rain spotting LOOK etched into the paint!

What I am seeing in your photo is some actual sun damage to the roof that(seems) to have had little to no wax/polish over the 5 years. Maybe parked outside 24/7???

 

[krismoriah72]

yep..mine is a 2012 and starting to chip a little here and there.

I think i read somewhere that they couldnt keep up with the demand worldwide with the Jazz/FIT.. probably had to cut corners in the paint department with drying/curing.

 

[AKhan87]

Honda being cheap is all!

 

[powayroger]

at 85,000 miles on my 2008 civic, I complained and Honda repainted my roof and hood. Yes, I agree. Honda's paint quality sucks.

 

[spasm3]

Are the oems using low voc's or trying waterbase coatings?

 

[chrisri]

Water based colour, especially blue is prone to develop issues like this.

 

[JHZR2]

Lack of quality. There is a general brainwash about Honda, yet their value is questionable, IMO.

I didn't observe this on our friends' crv though. It was white.

Seems to me that blue and maroon are the colors most prone to issues.

 

[6starprez]

I've never had a problem with the paint on my Honda's. Being garaged definitely helps but you have to keep the surface smooth with washing and waxing. Contaminents and the sun will destroy paint. My wife used to say "you're always rubbing on the car". Dammnn Skippy! Everyday when I get home from work, it's California duster time. Spray mist detailer too if it needs it.

 

[ThirdeYe]

My Acura just started doing this, but then again it's over 20 years old and it used to always be garaged. It started appearing when I moved it out of the garage and stopped washing/waxing it last year. I'm more surprised by my Firebird's front driver's side fender having this issue as it's always been garaged (and stored winters) and it hasn't been driven very much. The only thing I can think of is that the previous owner didn't wax it enough.

 

[sasilverbullet]

That's the clear coat failing. Older Honda's had this problem, there was even a recall out on some of them.

I'll do what I can to mitigate it on my two new Honda's, only time will tell!

 

[raaizin]

Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
That's the clear coat failing. Older Honda's had this problem, there was even a recall out on some of them.

I'll do what I can to mitigate it on my two new Honda's, only time will tell!


My niece had an issue with her black 2007 Civic coupe a few years back purchased new. After several phone calls honda did the right thing but at first they denied there was an issue..

 

[matrass]

Honda paint is thin and very soft. really need to stay on top of them from new. leaving it go 5 years was too long. best bet for flat surfaces, especially the hood, I have found is ppf. I have seen water etch deep in the clear all too often. coat the rest of the ride with a quality coating such as opticoat when it is fairly new. this way you save the precious and thin clear coat from the elements. do this and your Honda paint will last a long time.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
Are the oems using low voc's or trying waterbase coatings?
YES and YES.

 

[mclasser]

My green 02 Accord has recently started doing the same thing on the roof. It's almost never seen the inside of a garage since new. Paint on the rest of the car's fine, though.

 

[Doog]

Low VOC waterbased coatings are no match when compared to the paint from the good old days. If you don't garage them...in 4-5 years you will see the degradation. My 2012 Toyota looks bad already while the wifes 2011 which gets garaged every day looks like new.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Are Fits built in Japan? I wonder if there's something that they can't put in paint in Japan that does this. The horizontal surfaces with OE paint started doing that ~1 yr ago on my car. It looks terrible and a paint job would probably cost as much as the value of my car so I just have to live with it. The FL sun is deadly for paint too.

 

[Vikas]

that Honda dark blue had few recalls on the paint flaking