I've done some reading on this issue and found other references to this issue on the Fit Freak forums, but no pictures. Here are some pictures of the problem.

https://imgur.com/a/jnCFxF3

It started with odd electrical issues my girlfriend's car. I found water pooled in the spare tire area in the hatch.

I found that the welds at the rear of the car had broken, allowing water to enter. Then I brought it to the dealership, and they said, "Yeah, that sucks that you have to fix that. That's probably where all the water is coming from."

This seems like a Honda issue, not an owner issue, anybody else have any luck in having Honda resolve these kinds of issues? Or should I just suck it up and slap some JB Weld on there?

Thoughts?

Thank you for your help.

Long story short - Weld failures are letting water in and the local dealership says its my problem. I've owned six Hondas in 20 years and never seen an issue like this. I'd like them to make it right. Otherwise, solvent + JB Weld to the rescue.

 

Are you the original owner?

The dealer might be thinking it was in an accident in which case they would not want to touch it. I would say that is not normal though. JB or have a shop weld it but then I would be concerned about it's structural integrity at that point and if it would be safe in an accident.

 

Common problem on these cars, mine has the same issue. What electrical problems were you experiencing?

I agree, Honda dropped the ball on this. But it's now a 10+ year old car. Honda isn't going to fix it.

You can:

1. Attempt to reseal the seams. This may take several attempts, and may not be successful.
2. Drill a drain hole in the spare tire well.

I went with option 2, and haven't thought about it since.

 

Not the original owner. Purchased with clean reports all around, none indicating an accident.

Some failed modules, that have been replaced, but the biggest one is that the security alarm is going off randomly. And maybe I'm connecting dots that aren't there, but when the car is dry, that issue doesn't occur. My thought is that the leak is shorting a sensor connection internally. A short term fix has been pulling the horn fuse (which also stops the cruise control working BTW) until I was able to determine all points of ingress for the water.

That's really all I needed to know. If I have no hope of Honda taking responsibility on this one, then I will. No point in whingeing.

This car now lives in Northern Minnesota. If I were to drill a drain hole there, it would likely rust out the whole rear hatch area in a half decade.

Thank you both for your feedback. I will seal the seams, monitor the situation, and hope for the best.

 

My car did it back in 2010. I used marine sealant from Home Depot and it seems to work. Never contacted dealer regarding this issue because Honda service sucks big time. What you expect from the car maker who put a ticking time bomb into your steering wheel?

 

Thank you for your reply. I was hopeful the same pragmatic and quality product that I have come to know for years. The only regular issue I have with Hondas is after a decade the exhaust system starts rusting out past the catalytic converter. Otherwise I have always been very happy with their responses to issues.

 

GolNat and Petelite, thank you for your replies. I have replied, but for some reason it went into the mod queue. When it is approved, you will see a more detailed response to your inputs.

To summarize, I will clean and patch the area since Honda is unlikely to take care of this issue. Thank you both.

 

My worry is that the cracked seam runs forward, well passed the hatch area. But let us know how it goes! Maybe I'll tackle the job too.

 

That was a Takata issue not Honda and it covered many auto makers!!!!

 

Which means poor supplier qualification procedure