Within 6-7 months my paint started peeling so I took it to the dealership and I was told that it was because I was washing and waxing my car to often and that it was not covered under the warranty. Later on I started noticing other civics with same problem and so I called the dealership and I was told by the shop supervisor that the paint job was peeling due to the hot weather were I live at and that it was not covered by the warranty. It is very sad to see that Honda has lost pride in there vehicles. My first car was a Honda and I never thought of owning else but I now will reconsider before make my next car purchase.

Paint is peeling from the roof. Issue appears to be common with darker color Hondas (all models). Clear coat is peeling from the paint. Paint appears to be adhering fine. Obviously a defect out of the factory, maybe they rushed the clear coat part of the process (supposed to let paints cure for a certain amount of time in a warm environment). I've had plenty of vehicles (Subarus, Hyundais) and never had a single square millimeter of paint peel from any of them with even more miles in the exact same geographic area. Honda is trying to blame sun and other factors, but the sheer volume of complaints and identical symptoms point to an unwillingness to perform a recall. Maybe we need a class action suit (?).

Update from Apr 24, 2012: Adding a couple recent photos. In one of them you can see my clear coat touch ups on the ever increasing (in size and frequency) peeling spots on the roof.

Paint on hood was flaking/peeling in small spots. Roof was the same but not as noticeable. Had the hood and fenders touched up as a favor from a manager I knew at a collision center. Only cost $500 out of pocket, but would have been easily twice that in labor. At the time we suspected it was a poor paint job from a repair, as the hood is a replacement hood. But now that thr ROOF is also starting to peel, but in more significant sized sheets, it's obviously related to the numerous complaints I've read online about the clear coat separating from the paint after a few years on darker color models.

The paint/clear coat on my 2007 Honda civic started peeling off and shows the black surface underneath at several spots in the roof and trunk. This started happening around end of 2010 and the peeling seems to slowly expand + starting to peel at new places.

I reported this problem to the dealership where I bought the car (new condition) from - Honda of Kirkland, WA. They sent me to their usual body shop for an evaluation and what came out was the problem is happening due to environmental issues (bird poop to be specific). However, when I consulted with other body shops I heard different opinions along the lines that a car that is only 4+ years old shouldn't be doing this and it is more likely a poor paint job. Also I don't park the vehicle in the open during daytime so the concern of environmental issues seems rather weak. When I took it up again to the Honda dealer, they weren't very accomodating.

I saw several similar complaints in this site (CarComplaints) and others about the poor quality of Honda paint jobs and I feel obligated to take the issue further. As one of the steps, I'm documenting the problem here for others to read and relate to their problems.

Clear coat is oxidizing and peeling away. Honda said it is not common. Honda said we must not be waxing it enough and leaving it out in the sun. Honda has decided that even though it is not their responsibility (as it is out of warranty) they will pay for HALF the cost to repaint it- as a courtesy for being a good longtime customer. When I asked the lady at Honda USA why we are having this problem, how do I know this will fix it, and why do they feel they should only be paying for half, she said if I was not happy with that then they would rescind the offer. Because 'why should we do anything at all if your not going to be happy anyway'. She then boldly stated that "No other car company would do even this much to help."

And then I look online and see that there are tons of people with this same problem! This needs to be a class action law suit!

Our car actually seems to be in the newer range of ages to have this problem.

I purchased a 2007 Honda Civic LX Coupe brand new. I have always kept this vehicle well maintained, washing by hand regularly and hand waxing every couple of months. Last month, the paint on my roof suddenly began cracking and looks awful. Otherwise, the rest of the car (interior included) is immaculate. I just finished paying off the car, and if history will be my guide, I will probably drive it for 15 or more years. I am embarrassed to drive it if its going to look like a junkyard car. It currently has 66000 miles on it, so it is out of warranty. I took to the dealership where I bought it, and they offered to repaint the roof and rear quarter panel (they found more damage above the door), but I would have to pay a $100 deductible and have to pay for a rental car as well for up to a week. Now this may seem like a good deal, but I wonder why I need to pay anything if this is a manufacturer's defect? Also, what happens in six months or a year when the same thing happens to other areas of the car? Am I out of luck? Will I have a vehicle with patchwork mismatched paint? It seems like a factory paint job would be expected to last more than 4 years. I have a 14 year old Toyota Tacoma in my driveway, and the paint is still perfect. After the horror stories I have read online, with this problem continuing to occur even in newer models, I am hesitant to think about buying a Honda again. I would like for the entire car to be repainted at Honda's expense.

I've had my Civic less than four years and the paint is cracking. Even though the car is still under warranty, paint is not covered, so Honda won't do anything. Very frustrating that a fairly new car, pretty much perfect condition and well maintained, needs a new paint job already. It's obviously a paint defect because I'm told by a painter that "lacquer cracking" should never happen with a factory paint job unless the factory mixed the paint wrong. So I feel the factory should be responsible for fixing it.

WE took delivery of the car in January 2007. Approximately August 2007, the paint began to peel off the insides of all four doors. (Honda have accepted responsibility for this under warranty). However as time moved on I noticed small patches where the paint had lifted, these grew more and more. The front bumper, bonnet, two front wings, including the sides of the wings and some on the side of the car. HOnda had a paint specialist to examine the car, I was present at the time. He told me that it certainly seems like some sort of problem with the paint/lacquer and that his report would reflect this. When he submitted his report to Honda, they then decided to get a second opinion and brought another paint specialist in. He decided that it was all down to stone chips, on the front bumper and two front wings. No mention of the bonnet!!! I have been in contact with Honda, who actually sent me a copy of the 'second' report, however they are very reluctant to let me have a copy of the first report. I have examined these patches very, very closely, the strange thing is, if indeed it is stone chip damage, why has it not damaged the primer. I intend to persue this issue further. I am now awaiting a reply from them, regarding a copy of the first report.