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Sedans Honda Accord Accord Exterior Issues
42 messages, Last post on Jan 03, 2008 at 5:35 PM
You are in the Honda Accord Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: rob3201 (Apr 17, 2006 8:10 pm) |
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Replying to: paul60 (May 31, 2006 5:55 am) |
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Replying to: paul60 (Jun 16, 2006 4:56 am) Not perfect, but not nearly as bad as your experience, and for that I'm sorry for ya. |
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Replying to: paul60 (Jun 16, 2006 4:56 am) By chance the Mexican Honda facility? |
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Replying to: paul60 (Jun 16, 2006 4:56 am) |
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Replying to: paul60 (Jun 16, 2006 4:56 am) Frankly, reports such as yours have scared the cr*p out of me, since I'm probably more picky than I should be about the fit/finish issues-- and they run counter to the generally good experience I've had with the 3 previous Hondas I've owned, not to mention 3 more owned by other family members. All in all, I'm talking about fairly intimate knowledge of the history of Accords representing the '88, '89, '96, '97, '00, and '03 model years. All were in fine shape when delivered, held up well, didn't rust, rattle, or for that matter require any unscheduled service with the exception of a slow driver's side power window motor on the '97 replaced under warranty, a seat belt buckle recall (forget which car that was for) and another recall having something to do with an A/C wiring inspection (maybe on the '97 again; I forget). Anyway, after waiting to see what the '07 Camry had to offer (I'm also a former Camry owner) I decided the '06 Accord was still the car for me. I've owned an Alabaster Silver EX V6 sedan for several weeks now and so far it's met or exceeded just about all of my expectations, with a couple of minor exceptions. Powertrain performance is outstanding; power comes on strong and smoothly with no hint of drive-by-wire surging or hesitation that seems to be filling the 'Camry Woes' forum. It's a QUIET car-- by far the quietest Accord I've driven; noticeably quieter than the '03 EX owned by my father. This surprised me since road noise seems to be one of the few negatives in that comes up regularly in older Accord reviews. There may be quieter cars, but it's certainly quiet enough that I notice and appreciate the lack of wind and drivetrain noise every time I drive it. The climate control is truly set and forget, and a joy in operation. I'm still discovering clever design features (like the speed sensitive wipers, and the passenger power window switches that either 'go dark' or illuminate depending on whether the driver's master window switch is off or on)-- and I thought I had found them all on my father's '03. Switch gear is first rate and all the panels fit tight. Nothing rattles except the keys on the key chain, and I have been paying attention. Interior quality is (in my opinion, as this is somewhat subjective) superior to any Japanese make in its class, in both design and materials. I've never seen any better uniformity of gauge cluster, control, and radio illumination-- even better this year now that they've made even the instrument pointers white to match the white on black look of all the interior displays. With the black interior and aluminum trim that I have in my car, it looks more like a business-like cockpit than a make-believe Lexus, and that's the look I prefer. To my eye, the '07 Camry looks like a distracting toy by night-- and at least one review I read agreed, comparing the interior of the new Camry to a 'designer food fight that nobody won'. It's 'flashy/cheesy' interior was the swing factor in my decision not to purchase that car. Anyway, this thread is about exterior issues, and that is probably the only area that if I had any nits to pick, I could find a couple. But I'd have to say that they are very tiny and haven't diminished my satisfaction with the car in any significant way. The Alabaster Silver finish is completely uniform and looks great on my car, though in some lighting conditions I can tell a very slight difference in the tone of the paint on the plastic surfaces (bumpers and rocker panel moldings. But I don't find it objectionable. I did find a tiny speck of what appears to be grit (literally the size of a tiny grain of sand) in the paint on the corner of one fender; and there was a tiny nick in the finish on one of the door handles (it appeared to have been touched up; I'd pin that one on my dealer). There have been no issues with paint chipping. I did notice brake rotor rust for the first week I owned the car (it had sat for weeks in the dealer's inventory) but it's now polished away except for the perimeter area not contacted by the brake pads. From what I've noticed on other makes of cars, this isn't unusual. In a nutshell, if this were a high priced exotic car, even tiny flaws of this nature would be disappointing. But for what it is in this day and age (namely, a mass produced sedan in the family-friendly price category) I think just about anything else in its class would be a downgrade. I'd tend to agree that you got a lemon. The cars aren't perfect, but the multitude of the defects that you describe all piling up on the same car seems to be an aberration. That's when you have to rely on the dealer to make it right, and it doesn't sound like you're getting satisfaction in that regard either... that's unfortunate. |
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I'm new to this forum, so please tell me if this has been covered before, or if this subject is not appropriate. We have an 04 Accord that got hit with bird guano while we were away (10 days). When the stain was washed off, it was revealed that the entire clear coat AND paint had been eaten away. Bare primer is exposed in a 3 inch diameter spot. Never having had this problem with paint before, I am inclined to say that Honda's paint system is not adequately robust. 2 questions: Has this been experienced before by others? What recourse do I have with the Company or dealer?
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Replying to: fastfreddy (Jun 19, 2006 12:34 pm) Bird crap, if it has the right acidity in it (depends on what the bird has eaten...berries are particularly bad for paint), will eat right through the paint of any car, including our old Hondas and Chryslers. Always, ALWAYS wash off the bird poop the day it happens (the sooner the better), or you run the risk of paint damage. It's not just Honda that will be ruined by bird poop...My girlfriend's 2004 Corolla has a round spot on her roof where clearcoat is missing...she went a week without washing bird poop off. Paint's still there, though it wasn't left in the heat for 10 days. If you are lucky, the dealer might help you out, but I wouldn't think they'd be inclined to do much. |
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Thank you for your comments. I guess we must just have been extremely lucky in all our years of car ownership. I've never seen paint damage that looks anything like this before. I can imagine there is plenty of wiggle room for a dealer not to be held liable, even with the car under warranty. I'll pursue nonetheless. I know you say all paint jobs are at risk, but I wonder: are some cars/years known to be more fragile? Is the 2004 Accord in midnight black particularly vulnerable?
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Replying to: fastfreddy (Jun 19, 2006 6:13 pm) |
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