Honda class action overview:
- Who: A group of Honda owners are suing the automaker.
- Why: The plaintiffs claim some Honda vehicles have defective white paint that can peel and flake.
- Where: The class action was filed in a California federal court.
Honda has been hit with a new class action lawsuit alleging certain models of its vehicles from model year 2013 onward suffer from a white paint defect that leads to peeling, bubbling, and flaking.
Plaintiffs Jim Clemmens, Terri Hernandez, and Marie Toussaint filed the class action complaint against American Honda Motor Company Inc. on Nov. 12, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
The plaintiffs claim that Honda was aware of the issue but failed to disclose it, leaving affected customers with costly repairs or diminished vehicle value.
According to the lawsuit, the defect applies to all model years from 2013 to the present of the following vehicles:
- Acura MDX in White Diamond Pearl paint (NH-603P)
- Honda Odyssey in White Diamond Pearl paint (NH-603P) or Taffeta White paint (NH-578)
- Honda Pilot in Taffeta White paint (Paint Code NH-578)
- Honda Fit in White Orchid Pearl or Bellanova White paint (Paint Code NH-788P)
- Honda HR-V in White Orchid Pearl or Bellanova White paint (Paint Code NH-788P)
The plaintiffs claim the defect stems from problems in Honda’s manufacturing process, particularly with the application of “three-stage” white paint, which gives cars a pearlescent finish.
The defect allegedly causes the paint to delaminate and fail, reducing the cars’ value and forcing owners to either live with unsightly damage or pay out-of-pocket for repainting.
“The appearance of the surface significantly affects a customer’s perception of product quality,” the lawsuit says, adding that the defect goes beyond aesthetics to impact resale value and protection against rust.
While Honda extended warranties for some models of the vehicles, the plaintiffs say the automaker hasn’t done enough to remedy the problem. They say repainting fails to fully resolve the issue, as the defect remains in other parts of the vehicle.
As a result, the plaintiffs are suing on behalf of anyone in the United States who bought or leased one of the affected vehicles. They are suing Honda for fraudulent concealment, breach of warranty, and violations of consumer protection laws in California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, Honda is recalling about 720,000 vehicles over concerns they may have leaky fuel pumps that put drivers at risk of a fire or a crash.
What do you think about the allegations in this Honda class action? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Daniel L. Keller of Keller, Fishback & Jackson LLP and Stephen J. Fearon, Jr. and Paul V. Sweeny of Squitieri & Fearon LLP.
The Honda class action is Jim Clemmens et al. v. American Honda Motor Company Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-09728 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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263 thoughts onHonda class action alleges some vehicles have paint defect
Please add me to this Jim Clemmens et al. v. American Honda Motor Company Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-09728 class action. I had a white 2014 Acura MDX that was so embarrassing to drive around with all the gray peeled off white diamond pearl paint. I have pictures and want to be included in this class action.
I have a 2015 white Honda Pilot doing the same peeling on top where the sunroof is.. just like all the other photos. I understand honda extended the warranty for seven years but what bothers me is that I got ZERO notification from honda or the dealership about this issue. However when the air bag was faulty I received notification for that. This is WRONG and I would like to join this lawsuit if possible or if you could give me any guidance on where to go from here. Honda should fix this problem no matter what the year is. Period.
I have 2013 Honda Civic. The paint is peeling away from my glass roof top, & peeling away on the front side of passenger window, The peeling on the passenger side of the window has taken over half of the side strip on the car . I don’t know what to. I can’t afford to paint my car & I don’t want to drive a car where paint is peeling off the car. You know. Please let me know what I can do to get my Honda paint repainted.
Thank you for your time & support. Beverly McEachern.
I have a 2015 Acura RDX bought new and has the White Diamond Pearl paint and the paint is coming off the hatch door and end of roof.
Was wondering how to get in with this lawsuit. We have a 2013 pilot with paint code NH-603P
have a 2015 Honda Pilot, Pearl White. It has less than 65,000 miles. Turns out, there was a mfg defect that causes the paint to peel off the car on this year/color combo due to a defect from Honda. Unfortunately, honda only covers this defect until 2022 so I am past the date it can be covered. I have created a claim with Honda America as well as talked with the local dealer but I fear that they will not honor this. What else can I do? I live the state of California so I hope there is something else I can do to get this covered.
I have a 2018 Honda HRV..paint delamination on the entire care.
I have a 2015 Acura RDX I bought new in white and I have problems with the paint coming off at back of it on top rear roof and on the lift gate door and was told by dealer that my RDX was not on the list of the paint problem.
I have a 2014 Honda piolet white diamond pearl. I gave pictures of the paint peeling and documentation of going to Honda about it
Honda said I was 3 days outside of the extended warranty and they couldn’t help me. Honda in redlands California was the first place I went. Then Honda in Frisco Texas. I have pictures of my Honda piolet at the dealership with it’s peeling paint. Again told they couldn’t help me. I have pictures of many other Honda piolets with their paint peeling. I finally had to go and have my Honda painted in Mckinney Texas. I have pictures and documentation from the paint shop of it being repainted. I want to join this class action law suit for reimbursement on everything including rental car, emotional stress, damages, court costs, and anything else. Please contact me. I even asked Honda “It doesn’t bother you that my piolet is a billboard stating Honda allows this and won’t fix it” and their reply was ” it’s not mechanical”. Please help me in this matter. I love my Honda, my whole family is Honda people and this has been very discouraging.