2003 accord factory flaw in body?

[meaccord]

Hi there, After just three days of owning my spanking new accord EX-L , i noticed a slight "crimp" "bend" on the lower driver side trunk lid... just below the tailight.

If someone were to look at the rear they would not notice it unless it was pointed out to them or they were looking for it. Its rather minor, however, I am convinced it came from the factory that way. There is no crack in the paint or stress marks... suggesting perhaps the body moulding on trunk was like that then painted over...

I took it to the dealership and they all agreed that it appears to be a factory error on this car..

There solution... they will fix it under warranty but it will be done at a bodyshop,, they will correct the imperfection then paint it.
i nearly freaked... my car is so new and the thought of it going to the bodyshop already,, pissed me offffff... I felt the whole trunk should be replaced since it was there mess up at the factory..

what do you guys think?? should i push for a new trunk.. that way it all new and no paint matching stuff.. I already made one call to Honda and the guy stated its normal if they find some flaw like mine.. its fixed at a qualified repair shop.. be it bodyshop

comments please.. i am ready to go to war with honda to have them give me a new trunk.

[princess]

I have a tiny body flaw in my Accord too. Mine is whar appears to be a hair that's been painted over on a back door. It's hard to see & coats of Zaino have made it even less visable. I knew that if I opted to take it back they'd want to do the body shop thing & I decided to live with the flaw. Any repaint job is going to have slight differences from the factory paint. Maybe better, maybe worse. If it's better then other paint flaws may show more, if it's worse then it would be even more annoying. I think even if you get a new trunk it would need to be painted. So it depends on how you feel about the paint. There's a slim chance the factory would send a painted trunk, which would be the ideal set up.

To me it would be a very big decision! Do you know which body shop it would go to? Can you do your homework on them? Have you already asked if they can send a painted trunk?

When Honda was shipping their cars from Japan they had a quality control fail acceptance of .04%. Ford's is .7%. I know that Honda's has changed slightly since building them here, but I think it's still a lower percent than the "American" counterparts. When have so many parts on a vehicle, even .04% can seem high.... especially if it's visable!

Good luck on your decision!

[meaccord]

thanks princess, your replies and comments are very helpful in this forum,, great work keep it up.

I think i have three options

1. look into getting a cash credit instead of repairing the flaw
2. seek out a high end professional body repair person to do the job, find out if they can bend it without paint repair etc
3. or just leave it

i let u know what happens

[Bean]

I feel your pain.
In all honesty though, if it really is that hard to detect, I would just leave it be. Like you said, maybe get some sort of break, cash-wise, from your dealer.

I think you are just asking for more trouble taking it into a body shop. If you look hard enough, I'm sure you could find certain flaws / imperfections on any vehicle out there.

I try to put things like this into perspective. With the Honda, your expectations are higher. The car itself is fine, but little things tend to catch your attention because there are no "big" problems to deal with.
Chances are, a trunk defect would be the last of your worries w/ a Ford or GM! :D

[princess]

The flaw in in mine isn't exactly ignored, but after weighing the options it made the most sense for me to leave it be. I did tell Honda when they called me for my survey. I had another non-body flaw that I couldn't ignore. The rear speaker on the DS wasn't ever hooked up. Following the wires it was discovered that the pins were bent where it hooks up under the dash. It's fine now. My car had been to 3 dealerships & someone should have found it before me! Unfornately the PDI's are normally done by "lube tech's" or maybe "installers", not the actually certified technicians. It annoyed me that it got overlooked so I simply added that to my list of things that I reported to Honda when they called.

You may get some financial compensation for the flaw yours has. I didn't even concider asking when I found mine. All I knew is that I wasn't letting any of our local body shops touch this baby!!:sorry:

[meaccord]

you guys are great!! thanks for the thoughts and suggestions, i have a better out look now

Just leaving makes excellent sense.... taking it to the shop may just cause all new headaches..

i will defenitely take it up with honda canada when they call for the survey

;)

[Bean]

Good luck!

[pshivers]

Just picked up my wife's '98 Civic after being repaired from a minor rear end collision. The body shop replaced the rear bumper, repaired and realigned the trunk, (severe crease along the bottom edge of the trunk).

The paint matches perfectly. They polished the entire car and even detailed the engine comaprtment. I am one very happy customer, the car looks better than new.

I know if I had a body flaw in my '03 Accord like yours I'd be pissed. I would want it fixed. (I have a '03 Eternal Blue Pearl Accord LX).

After looking at the work done to my wife's Civic. I wouldn't even need to think twice, I'd have the repair done. Otherwise everytime I opened my trunk I would just get pissed all over again.

[according2me]

Yes, but will it fade at a different rate in the future. Probably so.

Meaccord...I'm with the leave it alone crowd. Sooner or later you'll get your first door ding and your anxiety will pass.:)

It happens with all new cars eventually. The "it's nolonger new" feeling. Until then enjoy your "new" vehicle.

[zwierhiem]

Originally posted by according2me
Yes, but will it fade at a different rate in the future. Probably so.


On such a new car, I doubt this would be such a big issue. The paint, as long as it is OEM, is only a few months older than the paint on the car now, and a couple months difference in fade isn't going to show much. I'm just guessing on this, but it makes sense maybe.

[according2me]

But that's assuming the paint is a perfect mixture and matches exactly with the original base and clear coat.

The computerized matching systems today are very good, but I have a very keen eye and am always looking for mismatches. It's pretty easily done once you are tuned-in.

[meaccord]

thanks for the input guys... My first attempt to have the dealership "credit" me what it would cost to fix problem instead of bodyshop, has failed. They say they can't give credit like that.. but they can certainly repair it...as per honda guidelines.. etc etc:rolleyes:

i may just leave it for now...

but I have found a "pro"... says he would be able to colour match paint "like new"... he is not your typical assembly line body repair person.. owns his own shop and takes pride and time doing it right...

one thing on our side is .. the new honda paints are so new they haven't had time to "stray" from original colours.. ie. no "varience2 in colours yet because its so new