Incidentally, how might a lemon law factor into this problem? I don't really understand that whole thing.

 

I just spoke with the Service Manager at my local dealer. I believe that they are the ones who originated that foam fix for this problem. Now that the problem is reoccuring, even with the foam "fix", they're handing the issue over to the Research and Development department at Honda for suggestions. More to come...

 

Checked the spoiler on my '06. I have mostly a dulling of clearcoat, but there is one tiny spot where primer is visible. It's going in to get driver's window fixed on Monday so I will be pointing this out. It's obvious how this occurred since even a slight pressure causes the spoiler to move. Honda definately removed their thinking caps when they came up with this design. I hope that a solution to this problem will be coming down from Honda America. I really don't want the dealer experimenting on my car. I'm wondering if a rubber gasket between spoiler and trunk lid would fix problem. I also would rather not have entire trunk lid repainted.

 

I spoke with my service manager again today, and she said that she is still working on this issue for me. She acknowledges that the foam is NOT a fix, neither is simply repainting it, and says we're waiting on the Honda engineers to work out a fix. She also stated that since the issue is not a "drivability" issue, it is on the bottom of the list for them.

Can anyone give me any info on lemon laws and how/if this issue fits?

 

Most Lemon laws (they do vary state to state) indicate that the failure must do several things to qualify:

1) The issue must be a significant impairment to the use and/or value of the vehicle.

2) The problem must have occurred at least three times (the dealer is allowed two unsuccessful repairs for the same condition) --- OR --- the vehicle must have been out of service for at least 30 days (for ALL failures... not just the recurring problem)

3) In some states, the manufacturer must be notified by the owner of the vehicle in writing, and they must be given one final opportunity to perform the repair

4) In some states, you also have to go through arbitration (like "BBB") first.

First issue here... does a 1 mm stripe of eroded paint on the trunk lid really provide a "Significant impairment to the use and/or value" of the vehicle? It's up to the judge, and they often favor "the poor, defenseless consumer" over "the big, bad corporation"... but it seems hard to meet that standard with a small paint blemish. This would be especially hard to prove if you had other scrapes, dents, rock chips, etc. on the vehicle when it is inspected by an arbitrator.

Then you've got the time down / repair attempts issue to get past.

All in all, I'd say it would be quite difficult to get performance under the lemon law on this failure. You might, however, get an arbitrator to agree to some cash settlement to reimburse you for the trouble and somewhat diminished value to the vehicle (but it wouldn't be for much!!)

Whatever you decide to do, good luck.

 

I had a fight with my dealership about mine. I told them that it was rubbing off my clear coat and they were like "it's just wax" and i told them that it wasnt, and made them take off the spoiler to look under it, wipe it all down and sure enough they suddenly saw it. they repainted the areas, put extra insulation down to lift up the spoiler a tiny bit. and thats been months now, and ive not seen any other wearing down. I had to go to the owner of the dealership himself though to get anything done.

 

Nice story LeAnn!
I may just try to get the dealer to remove that spoiler also, so they can really SEE the issue (as though it's not already blatantly obvious when explained to anyone [with a brain]).

 

It seemed to really get them interested when I told them I was a member of the GreenHybrid online car club, and I had read of several other people having a similar problem.

I'm all about the name dropping

Plus, if you get someone who will listen to you, tell them what you had heard of being done to help remedy the situation.

 

I posted the following in the "Spoiler vs. Trunk Lid Update" thread (in this forum) on 6/27/07 and thought I'd re-post here FYI:

In case anyone's interested, I've had a case # on the trunk spoiler issue with Honda since Nov 06 (I have an 06 HCH2). I met and talked to the Regional Rep back then, and he was surprised that the spoiler moved as much as it did. He checked others in the lot and they moved as well; since then, nothing from Honda. Interestingly enough, the service rep at my dealer pulled the drawings of the trunk and discovered that the Civic Hybrid is the only Honda vehicle that uses clips to secure the outside edges of the spoiler while using bolts to secure the center; all other Honda vehicles use bolts across the entire spoiler (probably why it moves - duh!). Anyway, since Honda has yet to come up with any kind of fix, my dealer (Schaumburg Honda, Schaumburg IL) decided to perform the following fix for me, which was done today:

-Put two-sided tape under the spoiler
-Place a dab of silicone at each corner under the spoiler
-Re-bolt/re-clip the spoiler on to the trunk lid

As of now (I just picked-up the car), you cannot move the spoiler at all, whereas before each edge slid a good eighth-of-an-inch back and forth. If you look at it from the side, the spoiler is up off the lid the thickness of the tape, so even if it does move a bit, it won't scratch the paint (by the way, it's the same "tape" used to place the "Hybrid" and "Civic" emblems on the back of the trunk). I have no idea if this fix will be permanent, but as of now, I'm satisfied - we'll see how it goes.

One last thing: The Service Rep told me that if there are any other Civic Hybrid owners in the Chicago-area that would like this done, all they need to do is call. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll send you his name and phone #.

 

I purchased my HCHII last week. Only have 350 miles, but I am paranoid in that I see the wear already. I have uploaded pictures on both sides to be sure if this is consistent with what other people have on their cars.

Right side:


Left side:


The troubling thing I noticed is that they are about the same size & area on both sides.