Hi All, I was just wondering of any of you had the same issue as I. 2015 Fit, mfg 01/2015, Alabaster Silver. The passenger rear quarter panel has white spots beneath the clear when it's been wet. Once it drys, the spots disappear, but not entirely. The issue wasn't noticed at delivery since the weather was warm and dry. The issue seems to be getting worse. At first the spots were along the edge of the panel, now that area has grown and a new area on the same panel has begun. Dealer is getting the Area manager involved, but I was wondering if any of you experienced the same issue and what they did for you. I'm not going to settle for a repaint. I took delivery just a few weeks ago.

 

Would you mind taking a picture? I bought the same model.

 

I have pics in a photo album entitled "Clear coat issues"

 

I see the photos are on your profile, but what you linked doesn't work, you need to link that album as URL instead of IMG

Anyway, that definitely doesn't happen with mine! I have an Alabaster Silver and the paint itself is flawless aside from the Hood chipping easily.

I would return it as a lemon for sure if whatever that is doesn't buff out

 

I also have a silver EX and I haven't seen anything like that. Can you tell us more about what the dealer thinks? I'm curious why you believe it's under the clearcoat; if it was underneath, I'd think it would look the same wet or dry.

 

I would definitely take it back to the dealer and have the body shop fix that. That would bother me forever.

 

Thanks guys for your input. I'm hesitant to have them repaint a panel since a) it's a brand new car, and b) there's no telling how far that issue will travel. Shortly after I picked up the car and after the first rain the spots developed only along the leading edge of the rear quarter panel. Now it is spreading to an area approximately 4x6". In addition, a new area has developed, that where the rear quarter panel meets the tail lights. The reason I said 'moisture under the clear coat' is because moisture gets through the CC and discolors it from beneath. I believe the CC was misapplied or is defective and is allowing moisture to penetrate the supposedly impermeable CC. The warranty manager took my pics and added her own and has sent them to Honda for evaluation. They are leaning on repainting the panel and adjacent areas, however, that's not an acceptable solution. Despite what others said, no repaint is ever as good as factory, never. I'll let you know what Honda wants to do and what I agree to.

 

Hi Rooster, did you get this resolved? How did it go down? I'm experiencing the exact same issue.

 

Hey Aud, sorry to hear you have the same issues. I had the issue resolved. Honda footed the bill to have the rear quarter panel and most of the rear door refinished. They stripped the CC off the affected panels and re-cleared them. Of course, nothing goes as planned, so after the body shop having my car for 2 weeks (they were busy) they had to redo it all over again. The clear had been misapplied and there were flaws everywhere. On top of that, the inside of the car was filthy... they forgot to vacuum after sanding. That repair looks good, not great, just good. Overall, I think the paint sucks. I have the silver color and there is simply no DEPTH to the finish. By depth I mean if you look at it, the color simply looks flat. It's shiny, but it doesn't look as if you could 'dive' into it like so many other silver colors I've seen. Honda footed the bill and gave me no problems. Tell me more about your issue with the CC/Paint.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I noticed it as soon as the weather got cold and wet here - about October. The patch only shows up after water or dew has been sitting on the car in the cold for an extended period - it usually fades during the day so you can't actually tell that there is any issue most of the time.

The first time I brought it to Honda it was in the evening so it wasn't visible so they asked me to bring it in another time. I did so and now they are investigating, but so far they have only said they are going to need to get approval from their regional service manager before they actually agree to repair it.

Today they called and want me to drop the car off overnight so the regional service manager can look at it.

I'm having issues getting images to work here so check my profile for the album or look at this link:

Fit 2015 Paint issue - Album on Imgur

 

Wow Aud, that is the same exact look my paint had before I got it fixed, except mine was on the rear quarter panel. Trust me, if you do nothing about it, it will get worse. Yes, the regional service manager had to approve mine, but once he saw it he approved the fix instantly. If you don't mind me asking, what is your build date and/or serial number of the VIN? January 2015 here. You could recreate the issue for them if you want, simply wet that area and put a piece of plastic wrap on top of it to keep it from drying so quickly. You'll have the evidence within 30 minutes. Then again, yours looks like mine and mine was easily identifiable even when dry as the clear had started coming off and there was a distinct non glossy area. Let me know how you make out Aud...

 

Rooster:


I haven't been on this site in awhile. But...is this the same ol problem I had e-mailed you a few months ago? Moisture causing white spots on the clearcoat due to contamination underneath the CC? Then mysteriously disappearing when the sun or heat hits that spot? I had that problem on my 2015 FIT. Honda regional manager got involved. Turned out to be a factory paint defect according to Honda USA and fixable at any Honda dealership in your country. This problem is not new and pretty well documented within Honda. It took a few months to fix but it was done under warranty. Key is to pick a very good paint shop to do the repair. Mine was performed in OCT 2015 and it looks perfect even today.

 

Sorry for the delay in response - you know how it is with the holidays.

Rooster, the build date is 08/'14.

Honda has agreed to fix the issue (after bumping it up the chain to the regional manager and then another manager in Toronto (HQ for Canada) even though I'm on the west coast.

jmsc, I'm guessing I'm at the mercy of the dealership here as to which paint shop they choose since they are repairing it under their warranty.

They've said I'll likely have to wait until mid-Jan to get the car in since the shop is booked up for the moment. I'll let you know how everything goes with the paint job and results!

 

I'd ask them to put the warrantee on the re-paint in writing. GM had similar issues in the 80's and 90's and the re-paint jobs typically did not last over 5 years..

 

Aud:


I picked a Honda Dealership in my state that used (outsourced to) an excellent paint shop for their paint warrantee work. It was NOT thru my buying dealership. Since Honda USA said that was OK, that's what I did. Repaint was best I've ever seen. Just perfect.


I would like to know your results. Keep us informed. It will take awhile. Holidays or not. My build date was 09/2014 in Mexico.

 

Hey everyone, time for an update.

Honda took the vehicle for about a 5 days in order to tackle the job. They outsourced to a local bodyshop that seems to be decent from my research.

The paint job looks well done - I can`t tell that it was painted. I`m going to continue to keep a close eye on it and other areas to make sure this issue doesn`t suddenly pop up in other spots, but so far so good.

Overall I`m happy with service received even though it`s a bit frustrating having had the issue in the first place. Feels like I drew the short straw! I guess it could be worse, at least there are no mechanical issues with the vehicle!

 

my fit, after 1 year, i've realized the clear coat is sub-par. i'm considering re-clearing the entire car this summer with a higher quality clear coat.
i can see where i went across the paint with my snow brush, which is complete bs.
ain't no thang as i'm a journeyman collision repairer wooooot!

 

I had the same problem with mine. I have a purple one. The rear drivers side had to be repainted. The dealer did it for free because it was a manufacturer issue.