Many Honda vehicles have experienced paint problems, and the automaker is offering to repair at least some of them, extending the paint warranty to seven years from the original purchase date, with no mileage limit.
If you own a 2006-2011 Honda Civic, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2011 Pilot, or 2011-2012 Odyssey with cracked or peeling paint, you may qualify for a free fix at your local Honda dealer, according to a series of Technical Service Bulletins issued by Honda of America between January 2013 and November 2013. (Learn more about Technical Service Bulletins.)
The catch is that the repainting applies to only some body panels, in some cases only to vehicles originally sold in 25 northern states, and in other cases only to certain colors. Honda has sent out notification letters to affected owners, but there’s a good bet not all owners got them. What’s covered and what’s not is truly complicated.
For Civics, for instance, bulletin number 12-049 covers just the hood and top of the front fenders on 2006 to 2010 Civics that came in one of nine specified colors (four shades of blue, two shades of black, and three in gray or silver), and 2011 Civics of any color. Another TSB, 13-060, covers the roof and trunk of the same cars in any of the nine colors. Finally, TSB 13-004 applies to just the trunk lid of 2009 to 2011 Civics sold in 25 northern states, excluding the Pacific Northwest.
Remedial work on the CR-V (2007-2011), Odyssey (2011-2012), and Pilot (2009-2011) is limited to “refinishing and polishing” the tailgate, and applies only to vehicles sold in 25 northern states. The relevant TSBs are 13-005, 13-002, and 13-003, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the warranty work covers only defective paint and not paint damaged by stone chips, bird poop, or some other external cause. But there’s a good chance that if your car’s paint defects have shown up on more areas than the TSBs specify, you can get Honda to repair those free, too. The dealer has to get prior approval from the district office, though, and that might take a while. Be persistent.
For another interesting Honda TSB, check out: How to protect your car from rodents.
—Gordon Hard and Seung Min Yu
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