Hey Folks,

TL 2004 75k+

I'm having a problem with my paint. About a year ago, I started noticing white patches on the rear of my car. Progressively, over the last year, these spots have grown and popped up in other areas. I took it to the dealership but as you would expect, without warranty, your lucky to get even a free drink. They didn't really do much other than take pictures and claim that they would call me. Several calls to follow up and they didn't know what I was talking about. You'd think they'd stand behind their product a little better.

I talked to a body shop expert who said it may be clear coat delamination but wasn't sure. In order to fix this, I'd have to repaint my entire car because these spots have popped up on almost every exterior panel especially around the bends.











Any idea on what I can do short of painting the entire car?

Any one seen this before and know what it is? I take really good care of my car and use that expensive meguires car wash + wax.

Anything I can use to help me get this fixed would be extremely helpful!!

Take care.

nh

 

do you use those cheap buffers from walmart?

 

call acura client services and tell them of your dealer's incompetence. they will dispatch a regional manager to look at the car. If the regional manager sees that the car has not been abused (wash with steel wool for example) he will ask the dealership to measure the paint thickness near the affected areas. After it is determined that the factory paint is failing, the affected areas should be repainted under warranty.

 

Looks like heavy oxidation, which led to the clear coat failure. That is crazy bad. How long has the paint looked very dull like that, ie; the surrounding areas of the failed clear? Most likely the oxidation started to give the paint a dull look a long time ago, way before the clear failed (white patches).

Every metal panel should get measured with an accurate mil gauge to determine the overall paint thickness of the vehicle, front to rear. I would immediately ask for Honda's paint spec, before they mil the panels. Generally OEM paint is between 4-8 mils, usually around 4.5-6 ish. The undercoat/primer should be 1-2, base 1-2, clear 2-4. If your the original owner and it's OEM paint, should have a good case. Honda is somewhat known for having thinner, softer clear coat.

 

I'm a second owner but the first owner only had the car for 15k miles. When they found that out, they have been giving me the run around. Do you think I still have a case? I've had the car the last 60k miles

I hand buff with microfiber towels.

Unless the previous owner painted the entire car, I can't see why they have a case with me not being the primary owner.

Thanks for your help!

 

I am experiencing a similar problem on a smaller scale on 2005 TL. The front bumper and the rocker panels have peeling clear coat revealing the basecoat. I bought this vehicle as a Certified Pre-owned. Will that warranty cover a clear coat failure?

 

Since it's around the edges, it makes me wonder if the original owner had it buffed with a rotary and someone who didn't know what they were doing. Paint, and clear, is thinner towards the edges of a panel. If you aren't careful, you can remove to much of the clear near the edge, and it will eventually fail....like yours did.

In any case, there is no way that can be saved, the only option is a repaint. Good luck, I'm sure Acura will find any excuse they can to not cover it. The paint quality on these cars is horrible.

 

Did you ever check this out at the dealer regarding warranty corerage? I am having the same issue on my front bumper (06 TSX)

 

Great something to look forward too...

 

Actually, I haven't yet. I'd really like to, but with my busy schedule and the fact that the nearest Acura dealer is 60 miles away, I am having difficulty finding a good time to do it. I did however go to the local Honda dealer to get my oil changed and have them look at it. They did in fact verify that the clear coat was de-laminating and left it in my service notes as evidence I had someone look at it. They told me only Acura could make the call on a warranty claim (which seems silly to me, because after all it's all Honda.) I am hoping that will be enough leverage to access some warranty action. If you happen to get this checked out before me, let me know how it went, I'd be very interested in knowing!

 

If it's out of the warranty period good luck. I have some similar issues with my paint but they pulled out a little book and claimed it was due to the "environment".

 

I have bumper to bumper for another 20,000 miles

 

I got it checked out. Repainted under my bumper to bumper to warranty.