So I just purchased my first car in 23 years. That’s right, I drove the same 1996 Mustang for 23 years and it was a great car (I credit that to the manual transmission, but I digress).
Anyhow, the Mustang dropped her pistons on the freeway in January and decided to retire forever.
After doing an enormous amount of research…aka talking to every guy I know, also mechanics, the AAA drivers, etc, I decided to buy a Honda because of their impeccable rep for reliability. Sorry Ford, but your rep took a nosedive in the last 2 decades.
I bought a white Honda HRV (manual transmission…no way to CVT). I LOVE this car. Its so fun to drive. Its got a buttery clutch and gear shift and it’s cute as can be.
BUT, there is a bit of a situation. About a month after I bought the car I noticed a 2 x 2″ piece of paint peeling off the roof. I thought the paint was just an anomaly so I called a mobile painter that had stellar Yelp reviews– Al’s Mobile paint Repair. Al came out and looked at the car. 
He said “Look I hate to say no to money, but this is clearly a defect on Honda’s part and the car is 3 years old and they really need to fix this for you.” He also said, the paint is going to peel off the entire car.
Needless-to-say I was devastated that my otherwise perfect vehicle had one very big and very expensive issue. The paint was all going to peel off. So I took Al’s advice and took the car to the Honda Dealership in El Cajon and to their credit, they were very nice about the situation and documented it and gave me a case number.
Unfortunately, it’s up to the regional manager to do something about it, and therein lies the problem. That was 3 weeks ago and I have yet to hear back. But in the meantime I discovered I am far from alone. There are 100s of people online with nearly identical photos of white paint peeling off the roof like painters tape or wallpaper.
Here are a few of the pics from people:
![57267729_10218536716354133_4533859239633879040_n[1]](https://okhereisthesituation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/57267729_10218536716354133_4533859239633879040_n1.jpg)
![57328151_10218536715714117_8948967989357576192_n[1]](https://okhereisthesituation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/57328151_10218536715714117_8948967989357576192_n1.jpg)
And Honda is being far from being helpful. So I’m dreading what I expect to be a very contentious and patronizing conversation with Honda corporate where they insist it’s “normal wear and tear” and not covered under warranty.
You won’t need to look far to find similar complaints.
If you are in the same sad boat, please join the page and help put the pressure on Honda to take some action.
Thus far they deny any wrongdoing but experts like the one on this CBS video disagree and state this is clearly a defect on their part.
Paint problems for Honda are nothing new. They actually had to issue an extended warranty back in 2013 after a tsunami of complaints from owners having similar issues. It’s confounding that Honda has not properly addressed the issue in their factory given this has been an ongoing defect situation.
2016 Civic blue. Paint peeling next to rear window. Dealer won’t help. Customer service won’t help. Filed a complaint with corporate today
My 2016 Honda CRV color white is peeling above the glass on the back hatch. Only place. 62000 miles.
I too have a 2016 HR-V, my paint is peeling on the roof and around the tail gate. I see I am not alone. I love my car but I had this same issue with my previous Suburban… I will be keeping a eye on this. I hate to spend a ton of money to repaint, but my last car peeled so bad it makes me sick to think I got a newer car just to have the same problem I had with the last! 🙁
I bought a 2016 CR-V – Blue from a dealer a few months ago. Within a week we noticed peeling paint inside the tailgate at the top that we hadn’t noticed. Then it started peeling on the outside of the tailgate above the rear window below the spoiler. We contacted the dealer where we purchased it. They said to get an estimate. The estimates I got were so high they took it themselves to check it out. They found additional peeling paint inside the hood and around the edges. They said it was factory delamination. They offered us $3,000 and they had someone touch up all the peeling spots. I feel like they were trying to be fair with us.
My big question is, will this continue to peel? Will it peel other places? What have you experienced? I’m wondering if all the spots that would peel would have started by now or if they are just beginning.
I have a 2014 Whtie Honda Pilot and took it in for repair in 2020, they only coated the roof of the car where it was completely delaminated from the roof of the car above the windshield. Now 10 2022 the paint is peeling off of the hood and at the top of all four car doors. I took it back into Honda and they said I am outside the extended warranty, in addition only the roof and tailgate are included in the extended warranty. They won’t do anything to help, I also called corporate to ask for help and they said there is nothing they can do, its outside the warranty period. Very frustrating since this is a known issue and they are refusing to help with it.
Reading your post. You had peeling on roof first and two years later it started peeling on the hood and doors? We had peeling around lift gate and inside hood. They have touched up all the current peeling/delaminated spots. I know we can’t foresee the future, but curious about what others have experienced. Wondering if this has solved the issue or if I will be battling paint issues on this car permanently. I’m trying to decide if I should keep my car.
I have a white 2015 Honda civic and the paint has been peeling for years on the roof around the back windshield now is peeling around the license plate. have been in contact with Honda for a few years back and forth and they keep telling me its wear and tear and cant do anything.
My HRV is also having issues with paint peeling on the roof door and sides of car, I was told that I had been mailed notices that stated I had a 7 year warranty extension due to these problems, I never received any notices, especially stating that my car might have problems with paint, it was not until I looked up this issue on the internet that I became aware that peeling paint was an issue with many pearl white cars, I took my car immediately to the dealer who sent me to a paint shop, the bid is $2000 and I must pay $600, they will only paint places that are peeling my fear is more will come. They said that I was two months past the 7 year warranty which is why I pay $600. I also called Honda Consumer to complain and was told there was nothing they could do and I had no way of appealing this decision, seems like there should be a class action lawsuit.
I have a 2016 HRV. The paint is peeling from the roof, badly. After 3 months of trying to get answers, I was finally told they will cover 80% (of a $2500 bill), for a problem they are WELL aware of, because I purchased the car NEW in June of 2015, and reported in June of 2022. No recall notices were sent to me, no real help on their part. That $500 that I have to pay is in addition to figuring out how to get to the dealership & back (a 3 hour round trip – twice for drop off & pick up), and also how to get around for the time that the car will be getting repaired. I am thoroughly disgusted with Honda and am very disappointed. Have been in a Honda (Civic, CRV, HRV) since 2018.
I have the same problem with paint chipping off by the rear window of my 2016 civic. I only have 22,000 miles on it.This is my third Honda Civic,I never had a paint problem even with my 2003 Civic which I sold last year. Took it to my Honda dealer, they called Honda and were told they would repair it, but I have to pay a $500 deductible and they take it to a body repair of their choice. The dealer doesn’t have a shuttle service anymore to give me a ride home and I cant afford a rental car for the week they need to fix it. They don’t offer any discount on a rental.
I have a white 2016 Honda CR-V and just noticed the paint peeling directly above the rear window – right side. Tomorrow I take it to the dealer for a regular service and will point it out to them. Thank you Christine for starting this post.
Ted
We have a 2015 Pilot. Peeling stared almost in the middle above the windshield like everyone else.
I have a Honda CRV 2016 blue and just today noticed peeling paint on the room section above the suv back door and bubbling on the back passenger door. I googled it and found this info on their ongoing issues with this. Now to figure out what to do.
My 2012 Honda Odyssey has the same problem. I reached out to Honda America and got a case number for what they called Goodwill Assistance. No monetary help was denied. The first denial claimed *Minimal Dealership Visits, which had nothing to do with the paint issue. It was reopened and denied again because of the age of the car and mileage of 93,000(not even 10,000 miles per year). Clearly a blow off. I am interested in joining a class action suit to resolve this if someone has started one.
Same thing with my 2016 hr-v. calling today to add my voice for a recall!
I have a 2017 HRV that we took to the dealership months ago about the paint. They know nothing can tell us nothing. Even tried to say it wasn’t covered under warranty. Since the. The peeling has been increasingly worse. So disappointed in Honda right now.
I have. 2016 HRV AND JUST NOTICED MY PAINT PEELING AS WELL! I will be going to the dealership tomorrow to see what they say!
what color? If you want to email me a photo Ill add it to the post.
Hi Christine, as a follow up to my paint (white pearl) peeling issue on my 2016 CR-V. The local dealer (Ocean Honda in Santa Cruz, CA) had me go to an autobody shop and get an estimate. The shop people there were all too familiar with the problem…’seen it many times’ they said. The dealer then sent the info to American Honda and they flat out denied it; ie: won’t fix the problem. The dealer says their hands are tied…sigh. American Honda told me there just isn’t enough people complaining about the problem to warrant a ‘campaign’ to recall the cars. They went on to say that I was out of warranty (which I am not) and if I was interested in paying to get it fixed, well then, if and when they do have a campaign they would maybe re-imburse me. And now neither the dealer or American Honda will respond to my calls – when I point out that I am very well within my extended warranty. I believe my better use of my money will be to parade – off property – with signs stating that Honda has a paint issue and refuses to do the right thing. As a side note, my girlfriend bought a 2016 CR-V a month after me and has no issues with her red paint – as of now. Thank you again Christine.