Honda Owners Sue Over Peeling White Paint: Class Action Lawsuit
When you take a look around, you might be surprised to find out that a whopping 80 percent of cars on the road today are gray-scale: white, black, silver, and gray. Surprisingly, white leads the pack with a 34 percent share of the market. With so many white cars out there, you’d expect the paint finishes to be top-notch. However, Honda owners are singing a different tune and have decided to take legal action due to what they believe is low-quality paintwork.
A class-action lawsuit was recently filed against American Honda Motor Company, alleging that defective paint was used on 2013 and newer model-year Honda and Acura vehicles. This lawsuit was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claiming that some white paints are of such poor quality that they “inevitably fail, peel, delaminate, bubble, and flake.” You can actually find examples of these issues all over the internet on forums like the Ody Club and Reddit.
The specific shades of white currently named in the lawsuit are White Diamond Pearl used on Acura MDX and Honda Odyssey, Taffeta White used on Honda Odyssey and Honda Pilot, White Orchid Pearl used on Honda Fit and Honda HR-V, and Bellanova White used on Honda Fit and Honda HR-V. The plaintiffs reserve the right to add more vehicles to the lawsuit if they experience the same paint defects that are listed.
This isn’t the first time Honda has faced legal action over paint issues. A similar class-action lawsuit in Canada was settled in 2022 for over $27 million. Maybe it’s time to consider a more vibrant color option for your next car—it might even help you spot it more easily in a crowded parking lot.
The affected vehicles in this lawsuit are spread across the nation, indicating that the paint problems are not linked to specific regional climates. The lawsuit claims that the paint issues were present when Honda manufactured the vehicles and have only become more visible over time. The vehicles were manufactured at Honda’s plant in Lincoln, Alabama, with the paint applied using a robotic system.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and various remedies, including compensation for repainting, reimbursement for legal fees, and a range of other damages. Honda has not yet commented on the class-action lawsuit, so we will have to wait and see how this situation unfolds.
