Black Navi Paint Problems

I purchased my new BLACK NAVI RIDGELINE about 4 weeks ago and love it. Yesterday my daughter and I were sickened while washing it. We noticed that it had extreme paint deterioration on entire drivers side of exterior of vehicle. The problem worsened to the rear of truck. The paint appeared to be damaged from droplets of acid. Two or three of the spots were down to the metal (through clear coat and paint). The front 66% spots are small and speckled resembling a basketball. The plastic body parts behind rear wheel, mirror, and front bumper are all ok and undamaged. The rear 33% spots range from .1 to .3" in diameter. The passenger side of vehicle is ok and shows no signs of damage. I have not met with HONDA regional rep yet. Please advise if any other BLACK NAVI owners have seen this problem. I am concerned that assembly plant might have had a bad batch of black paint used on driver's side only. Thank you.

Any chance you did come in contact with acid spray somehow? Drive past unusual construction or industrial site? I hope for you it is a Honda problem. They may say it is industrial or environmental exposure damage and you will have to fight with your insurance company for a new paint job.

My little knowledge of how the factory robots paint bodys tells me it is unlikely they switched batchs of paint mid-vehicle.

I just got back from signing all the paperwork for my long awaited Black RTL-Navi. I have looked it over fairly well so far but I will pay particular attention to the paint and look for any signs of trouble when I pick it up tomorrow. If there is any indication of paint issues, you (and anybody else within earshot) will be the second person to know. I will post the results if there is any problem. It does sound like you may have encountered some sort of chemical but what would cause the damage to your paint and not the plastic or rubber trim? You may want to contact your local Police, State Police and possibly the EPA to see if they have had any complaints about chemical spills in the areas that you have traveled. I feel your pain... :(

I have own a black RTL for four weeks and have had no paint problems. Hope this helps.

No problems here either.

my black seems fine. I did notice some surface scuffs on the roof where the installed the rack, but that will come out. Also there was a small chip on one of the door edges. All in all the factory paint seems ok, although a little to much surface variations and a super thin coat for my painting tastes. Nothing like painting and wet sanding yourself

I have black RTL....nice paint.no problems....has anyone else noticed the metalic blue in the paint when the sun is shiining directly on it?

cool :D

Sorry to hear that rjjk, im sure Honda will make it right. I had an Acura that had a front bumper that looked different than the rest of the car and they sent it in and repainted it no questions asked. The aftermarket paint turned out nicer than the factory job. Let us know how you turn out, we'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

That sucks.
No problems here.

I have black RTL....nice paint.no problems....has anyone else noticed the metalic blue in the paint when the sun is shiining directly on it?

cool :D


No paint problems that I can tell and yes, I notices the blue metalic flake in the Black. ;)

The blue metallic flakes in the black paint is normal insofar as the 2003 CRV that we traded in for the Ridgeline had the same blue flakes in its' black paint. Kinda nice actually, like Superman's hair in the comic books!

follow-up: from rjjk
I have a couple of pictures I would like for everyone to see. I did go to an expert yesterday. I plan to meet with HONDA district rep next week. I also know that HONDA has an exceptional history of customer service and will take care of this apparant isolated problem. I will advise everyone later.

I dont have the problem you had with your black RL, but I do have a paint problem with mine. Where the bumpers meet the fenders and come to a corner, the paint is peeling off. Took it to the dealer today and they said it looked like the bumper was put on b4 the paint dried... so bumpers are being repainted next Wednesday. Hopefully they'll look ok when done!!!!!!!!

KingALW -

See the forum titled "Technical Service Bulletins (TSB's) and Recalls."

Honda knows there is a problem with the paint on some bumpers. Take a look and then take it to the dealer.

Thanks for the heads up :)

Last week I went to pickup my new Black Ridgeline. Excitement to say the least. Looked over the New Ridge with a microscope, was elated with it, and a nightmare occurred. The hood had a one and a half inch stripe of dull paint that ran from the passenger side of the hood diagonally across 3/4 of the entire hood. Looked like a tape mark. Dealer tried to buff it out but no luck. They couldn't swap hoods because Honda Parts are VIN stamped. Next they wanted to repaint the hood. Needless to say I don't buy new do overs, so I am now waiting for Ridgy #2. Sounds like I will have a different one tomorrow..Wish me luck. BTW I love the information I have found on this site! Gives me lots of things to get excited about and what to be aware of (like the paint).

As you can tell from my title I have a WHITE :D RTL, but I know a little about paint. The damage you describe sounds like brake fluid has gotten on the side of your truck. if not brake fluid, then something similar. I used to see a lot of cars that rode in the lower part of the car carrier have lots of spots on their hood and top from the cars above leaking brake fluid. The funny thing is, it sometimes takes days or weeks for the damage to show up because the fluid dissolves the paint slowly. This is just my opinion, but that is what it sounds like.

I had what looked like hard water spots that had gotten into the clear coat all over the hood only on my black RTL. The fenders, the roof and the rest of the vehicle were flawless. I only had the truck for a few weeks when I noticed the spots. It is garage kept and washed and dried what seems like daily. Never had any water dry on the truck. Wash in the shade or in the garage with McGuires Gold Class Car Wash, rinse with Mr Clean filtered and deionized rinse, towel dry with microfiber towels. Using clay did not seem to have any effect on the spots. I spent four hours and applied about ten coats of Klasse polish with a Porter-Cable orbital buffer to reduce them to the point that they are not noticable unless you look at a reflection of the bright sun. The dealer did not think that they could do any better and advised against repainting. I am reasonably happy with the apperance now and since I am probably the only one that can 'spot' the spots I am trying to forget about them. HiPsi, I bet that you are right about the car carrier. They do put white plastic protective film over most of the vehicle but I am not sure how much of the hood gets covered. I will try to catch a fresh delivery at the dealer just to see if that could be the cause. If the hood is not covered during transport you must be correct. I bet Honda would like to know about it. Thanks!

I noticed that too on my black hood. But I only see it while I'm drying it and really can't notice after it is dry. It is something I have never seen a paint job do when drying. I'll have to look better now. I'm not impressed one bit with Honda paint. It's very thin and I can see Orange peel in some spots.

I don't have any orange peel at all! The black paint on my 3 week old RL is like dark glass and it's babies butt smooth too. Just got lucky maybe.

I just got my Black RTL yesterday. When I was doing the final inspection, I noticed what I thought was left over plastic coating (like what the cover the car with to protect it during tranfer) sticking out between the bumper and fender. As it turns out, it's not plastic but the paint peeling off the plastic. I pointed it out to the dealer and they will fix it next week when I take it in to get my camera.

I just got my Black RTL yesterday. When I was doing the final inspection, I noticed what I thought was left over plastic coating (like what the cover the car with to protect it during tranfer) sticking out between the bumper and fender. As it turns out, it's not plastic but the paint peeling off the plastic. I pointed it out to the dealer and they will fix it next week when I take it in to get my camera.

Hey Ruffles, Our black RTS seems to be "Peeling" as well after just six weeks! We took our Ridgeline to the “Stealer” where we bought it and their service clown told us this was due to road debris or driving it over gravel roads! We haven’t even driven it off the shoulder of the road yet! Does yours look like the one in the photos? We sure hope your dealer takes better care of you than our has. Thanks a million.

Mine looks the same as yours but I can do one better. I can't believe I missed this when I picked up the truck but it looks like the inside of my passenger rear door has been sanded!! There is no damage on the inside of the door jam, just the door itself. I took it back over to the dealer and they were amazed. They are going to fix it as well as my bumper sometime next week. They said I'll be without the truck for a couple of days so they're giving me a rental. Also, please exscues the water spots. I've never had a black car before and while I heard they are hard to keep clean, this is rediculous. I'm going to have to wash it daily!

Ruffles, A very forgiving fellow ROC member gave me what is called a TSB. I'm in the process of taking a copy to the "Service Manager" at my dealer this week and see what the solution willl be. The service tech we took ours to the first time told us the paint damage was due to road debris and driving on gravel roads and I kinda "lost it". So instead of venting like a child, I thought I'd instead pass on this information in hopes that you too will be taken care of.
Print it and take it with you.



Service Bulletin #2
PRIORITY/ACTION REQUIRED



To: All Honda Service Managers/Advisors

From: Technical Research & Support Group

Re: Request For Photos: 2006 Ridgeline Bumper Paint Defects



Print this iN message and provide a copy to the Shop Foreman, Body Shop Foreman, and all Service Advisors.



Background

American Honda (AHM) would like to collect digital photos of certain 2006 Ridgelines with a customer or dealer complaint of the front or rear bumper paint peeling, bubbling, blistering or cracking.



NOTE: AHM is not interested in bumper paint issues caused by impact with a foreign object, such as a stone or debris. AHM would like to collect digital Rufflephotos of factory imperfections only.



NOTE: AHM will need at least three photos of the defect: (1) a close-up photo of the defect, (2) a photo depicting the defect and the surrounding area of the defect of at least 18 inches in diameter, and (3) a photo from a distance of 3 to 5 feet away.



If you have or know of such a vehicle with a paint issue, please refer to Action Required below.



Action Required

Call Technical Research and Support (TRS) Group at (800) 880-1072. TRS will provide you with further instructions.

What's a "digital Rufflephoto"? :)

What's a "digital Rufflephoto"? :)

Hey shovelhd, Did I do good? and did I mess up? where do you see "digital Rufflephoto"?
Ron

NOTE: AHM is not interested in bumper paint issues caused by impact with a foreign object, such as a stone or debris. AHM would like to collect digital Rufflephotos of factory imperfections only.

You said it Dude. :p

What's a "digital Rufflephoto"? :)

A photo with R-r-r-r-r-r-idges!

(Sorry I just couldn't resist).

Man! Can't even cut-n-paste anymore! gotta go now and get me some new glasses!

It sucks getting old. :)

Yeah but it beats the alternative. ;)