Being a Honda Accord owner for 12 years, and not having any issues with my car, I decided it was time to upgrade. I purchased a 2012 Honda CR-V EX-L in July 2012. Completely happy with my new purchase and enjoying every detail about it, I was very annoyed and disgusted to see my headliner stained with a water line on the passenger side, in June 2013 almost one year of owning the car after a heavy rain storm.

I called the dealer and they told me to bring the car in for evaluation. Please note that the evaluation takes about 4-6 hours of 'flooding' the car with water to determine the issue and the dealer does not offer loaner cars. So I had to make arrangements to drop off the car and get to work and make the trip back later that day. The conclusion was that the seals cracked by the roof rails which resulted in the leak. It was also determined the water was also pooling in the wheel well causing the jack to rust. The dealer fixed the issue and ordered me a new headliner (obviously I had to bring the car back once again to the dealer to get it replaced).

Fast forward one month later (July 2013), I took the car to a car wash and decided to check the wheel well to see if there was any water and to my surprise there was a small puddle. I immediately called the dealer again and they told me to bring it in. This time being completely annoyed, I demanded to get a loaner car as they did their evaluation. They gave me a loaner car for 4 days as they would keep my car, evaluate and fix the problem. It was determined that one of the taillights had a small whole which allowed water to get into the car. Again, the dealer assured me the car was fixed and (hopefully) wouldn't leak again. Truthfully, after purchasing a brand new car one would expect zero headaches. I had only owned the car for one year and had to deal with BS. I called Honda and asked about any recalls, which they did not have and filed a complaint with a case manager. After 3 discussions, and hearing my disgust, they sent me $75 in a loyalty card for my trouble.

At this point, the lemon law for NY did not apply as it wasn't the same issue fixed three times by a dealer. I had already decided that I did not want to deal with this car anymore. In December 2013, I traded in the car and purchased a brand new 2014 CR-V ( as I still loved the car) from another dealer about 45 minutes away.

Now living in NY in the middle of winter, and not living by many trees, there shouldn't be any issues with drainage as there are no leaves and shrubbery falling.

In March 2014, my moonroof shade started showing signs of water coming through. I immediately called the dealer and they told me to bring the car in for evaluation. I again had to arrange for drop off and a way to get to work. It was determined after 1 hour that the drains from the roof were clogged. I of course questioned 'what are they clogged with?'. No one could give me and answer but they said they would clean it. I also demanded them change the moonroof shade. This of course would require me to bring the car back. After dealing with this headache again, I demanded a loaner car. The dealer obliged and the drainage issue was fixed but they requested that I 'try and not park under trees'. Seriously? Should I not drive in the rain either?

I called Honda once again and filed another complaint and received very rude customer service. I was told that they do not make the car and each dealer has to handle the situation. I had the issue escalated as I was disgusted with the customer service. I spoke with a case manager and they asked what I wanted from them. I asked them to investigate the leaks and I believe that the drainage system in the car is defective. I also explained my disgust with how many hours I spent taking a 3 month old car back and forth to the dealer to get fixed. My time is important and when I purchase a brand new car, I don't expect big issues this early on.

They sent me $100 for service. I am still not happy with how this situation has been handled. Every time it rains, I'm constantly checking for leaks.