RDX14631

Hello all!

I wanted to share some paint issues I am experiencing on my CPO 2011 RDX (color - polished metal metallic) to see if anyone else is having a similar issue or any general advice. I purchased my RDX from an acura dealer back in June of 2013 with only 15,000mi. The car was spotless; not a scratch on it. While washing my car in September, only a few months after purchasing it, I noticed some minor cracks in the clearcoat on the hood which began to peel away when I wiped my finger across it. I took it in to the dealer and pointed it out to them and asked that it be repaired. They took pictures and told me they would submit to acura for their assessment. I asked what they thought was happening and the dealer said they don't comment on paint complaints, which I found rediculous considering they would be relying on someone looking at a picture to determine if it would be covered under warranty. Acura declined the claim stating that it was caused by impact. There isn't a scratch, dent, ding, anything in the area of the cracks. I told them I wasn't satisfied and would continue to monitor the paint finish.

Fastforward to March 2014. Again, while washing my RDX, I noticed a dime sized bare spot of exposed primer in the center of the roof, directly under the front roof rack cross bar. At this point I began to examin the paint finish in much more detail and discovered yet another location on the roof. This one is located directly under the side roof rack rail that runs the length of the car. This spot was blistering, i.e. the clear coat had peeled back, finish coat was beginning to delaminate, and primer is starting to show.

Armed with the history of my first complaint and pictures of the two new defects I took my RDX back to the dealer and also emailed copies directly to the Acura warranty claims department. The dealer again wouldn't comment and just took pictures. Acura called me back today to basically tell me it was my fault and the paint issues were caused by impact or negligence. I asked how they came to that conclusion because where the paint defects are located they could not be impacted as they suggested because they are located under the roof rack. I have never even carried anything on the racks. Acura said their "Field Representative" examined the pictures and it was his call. I asked to speak with the field rep but was told by acuras client relations dept that the field reps do not speak to customers. I then asked to speak with a supervisor and was told that my request would be submitted and that the supervisor would review my claim and decide whether he would return my call.

When I'm not driving my RDX, it's almost always parked in my garage or in the parking deck at work... And no, I'm not washing my RDX with acid, haha. Any suggestions on how to push this issue with Acura?

I would upload pictures but this is my first post. Will upload some once my membership allows.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

it's a used vehicle.
some one banged it up and had it cheaply re-painted, then let go of the vehicle.

the first complaint does sound like an impact. a shop that didnt care or wasnt paid enough to take the time to prep the vehicle. poor prep = poor finished product.

Sorry.

RDX14631

The acura dealer I purchased it from said there had been no touchup/body work done to it and it has a clear history - 1 owner.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

NOT everything is reported.
1 owner and not a lease?

also, you can upload photos to a photosharing site, like photobucket.
copy the image URLs and paste them here.

again, sorry! you can try arguing the CPO aspect of it.

RDX14631

RDX14631

Per the dealer, it had one previous owner who originally purchased it from them but later traded it for an MDX because they wanted something bigger.

mrgold35

I purchased my 08 RDX used with a clean carfax report. The RDX was a company car out of California and everything seemed in order. I notice my driver's door and front fender seam wasn't straight and the gap was paper thin at the bottom. My paint on the front bumper started to get the same patches a few months later. Took it back to Acura and they could not determine if it was a factory defect or a bad paint job from an unreported fender/bender. Since it was still under the factory 4/50,000 mile warranty; they gave me a loaner for week and repainted the bumper and adjusted the door. It has been 3 years and no problems with the repainted areas.

Last summer in my TSX, a city truck hit a bump on the hwy and dropped a bunch of nails from a construction site right in front of me. It put about 50 chips my paint, cracked my windshield and put several holes in my A/C condenser. The city tried to low ball be for the repairs and was going to give me only $4500. My insurance company estimated the damage at $7800 and cut me a check minus my deductible. The TSX already had +100,000 miles on it and I was going to give it to my son as his first driver when he turned 16 (paid off the RDX instead). Long story short; I look up my TSX on carfax in Feb/14 when I was looking for a MDX to purchase and there was nothing about the accident listed on the Carfax report 10 months earlier.

So much for "Show me the Car Fax".

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

makes me mad every time i click on this thread....
one can only imagine how the OP feels.

RDX14631

@justnspace - if you're mad by clicking on the link, imagine how it feels to find yet another spot this afternoon. This time it's where the recessed trim at the tail end of the roof rack meets the top of the rear quarter panel. This trim has been rubbing against the paint which is now peeling too. It's very minor but beginning to peel and I'm disgruntled. Will send pictures soon.

Rhetorical question - How can all of this be caused by excessive environmental influence or my negligence? I've owned a Toyota, 2 Nissans, and a GM. By the time I ended up selling them, I hadn't ever had this number or type paint issues. Heck, my 97 4 runner had 230k on it with a paint job that didn't have peeling paint.

wrestrepo

That's the story they told me when I got mine..

The story about finishes is that it's always your fault. I remember my accessory chrome rims flaking and bringing it up to their attention....off course it was my fault for using whatever product that damaged the chrome...Only to find out that every Acura that I saw sporting chrome rims had flaking as well, and believe me when I say every single one that I was able to see up close had flaking.
My white RDX had issues in around the plastic bumpers, from overall quality, to plainly not being the same color as the rest of the car.
Wait for the call, and if the answer is not satisfactory put it up for the "wold" to see it, when you use Social Media they tend to respond quicker.

RDX14631

I met with the warranty specialist last Friday. He looked at the two locations on the roof for less than a minute and said it was from bird crap left on the paint too long. When I informed him that there were no blemishes on the car when I purchased it and my car is garage kept and washed every other week, he said "the damage could have been done before you purchased it and hasn't surfaced until now". Typical warranty dept response to put liability on the owner and minimize Acura exposure. Nobody I have talked to has ever had bird crap do this to their car throughout the life of the vehicle.

There was another location on the roof that I brought to his attention that was peeling due to the trim below the roof rack rubbing against the paint. He acknowledged it as damage due to the trim but said it was damaged by the trim being replaced during the dealer installation of the "dealer add-on optional roof rack". I said , what type of repair will acura make to fix this . His response was that it was from replacement of a piece of trim and not a defect. I said, "regardless of whether it's a defect or not, the dealer installed option takes place prior to the original owners taking possession of the vehicle; thus not the owners fault. So, it should be covered by warranty". He said there was a warranty claim on a piece of body molding on my car and he would need to verify exactly what it was. He never confirmed and didn't include it in his report. Is this typical acura procedure? I'm planning to take my car to a few non-Acura dealers/body shops for their opinion and see if I can get something in writing confirming my warranty claims.