In January of 2017, we noticed that the paint was peeling off of the roof of our Pilot. Took the car to the dealership - they took photos and measurements and submitted our complaint and documentation to American Honda. American Honda did pay to have the roof repainted for us. About a year later, the paint started to peel above the passenger side rear window. Contacted the dealership again - they reached out again to American Honda - no response given back to us.

Called the dealership that same summer, they were going to again reach out to American Honda. No word/response given back to us. The paint then began peeling from around all of the passenger and driver side windows. Called the dealership in February of 2021 to again report the problem. Called them back at the end of February. I was told that American Honda was not going to cover the paint peeling problem.

I asked what I could do, and the service manager at the dealership suggested that I write a letter to American Honda. I sent American Honda a letter in mid- March. I have not yet received a response from American Honda.

After doing some on-line research, I have learned that this has been an issue with this particular paint color on several Honda models.

We can tell exactly where the paint is going to peel - it will bubble up - then it will blister open, and then it will peel off. Very frustrating!!

Update from Mar 31, 2022: Had my pilot painted at a local body shop. We spent $2650 to have this done. Wrote a letter to American Honda regarding the paint and an engine issue in October of 2021. Received an email from Honda on 11/9/2021 stating that my letter was being assigned to a field services case manager, and was given a case number. After four months of no contact from Honda, I replied to the email from 11/9 and asked about my letter. After several emails and phone messages back and forth, I was basically told that they were not aware of any peeling paint issues with the white paint on the Pilots, and that I was well outside of the warranty on the vehicle.

I am not impressed with American Honda's customer service, or their willingness to stand behind their vehicles! Now I am wondering if the length of time that it took for the dealership to get back to me was because Honda was not getting back to them. I would certainly hope that they would treat their dealerships better!

This started with just the small portion over the passenger window and has progressed over the past two years or so. I took it to Honda and they will not pay for this even though they know of the problem. They had me take it to a body shop and get an estimate when it first started but will not repaint the vehicle. Only wanted to pay about half of what it would cost to only repair the first two parts where it started. That was on the passenger side of the vehicle at that time. I asked them what I was to do if it started to peel in other areas. They said nothing they could do. I did not have the work done ($4000 out of my pocket) and have to say I'm glad I didn't because it is now peeling in many different areas and I would have wasted $4000!!!

They need to correct this problem (a known problem)!!! You can tell the paint is peeling away from the primer. The primer is still in tact. I'd paid a lot of money for this vehicle. Supposedly top of the line. This should not happen. I would understand normal wear and tear. THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!! I just want it fixed.

2012 Honda Pilot Touring bought used from Hendrick Auto Group on 15-501 in Chapel Hill -- top of the line vehicle in terms of features. It is white. I love the vehicle and expect it to last many years - we own a 2004 Honda Pilot with 280k miles on it, and it is still very dependable.

About a month ago, I noticed a small spot of missing paint on the front passenger door (the flat edge at the top of the door at the bottom of the window), which I attempted to fix with touch up paint (bought from another local Honda dealership). That seemed to settle things for a while, but now there is a much larger area of peeling paint directly below this first spot. It appears the paint bubbles up and then falls off. There are also four other smaller spots on the vehicle where this is also happening - one on the edge of the hood; two on the passenger back window trim area; and one on the edge of the windshield.

When I took the car to Hendrick Acura for a recent (very expensive) maintenance visit, I asked the Service Rep to assist with the issue. He informed me that I'd have to take the car to a Honda dealership for assistance and ALSO told me that this is a known issue with Acuras and Pilots painted with white paint. That was a bit disappointing because I didn't buy the car from a Honda dealership, I bought it at the Acura dealership. All maintenance done to the vehicle since I've owned it has been done there (at the dealership where I purchased)--so that all the records are in one place. I even make them update the Service Record.

Before taking the car to the other local Honda dealership, I called Honda America Corporation to ask for assistance, because I had done an online search and found extensive information about other owners having the same issue. In some cases the dealerships assisted the owner and covered part or all of the repair; in other cases neither the dealerships nor Honda America Corporation would do anything to help the owner. I was given a case number and told I needed information from the Honda dealership on the issue. I took the car in for the Air Bag recall work and I also asked the service rep to take a look at the peeling paint so I could pursue getting help from Honda Corp. He called today to tell me the recall work was done and when I asked about the paint issue, he told me there was no paint warranty extension. I told him I understood this, but that the issue was clearly a manufacturer defect and that there was a lot of information online about this issue and that I was wanting the dealership's assistance to get Honda to fix this issue. When I asked if this was his car, would he find this acceptable, he told me no.

So, I will go tomorrow to pick up my car and ask for something in writing from the dealership as to their assessment of the issue. This is NOT from "pings" on the car...all areas of peeling paint are completely smooth and the pings on the car (from other cars hitting their car doors into mine) are not peeling...this is clearly a defect. The paint just seems to "release" from the primer underneath and fall off.

I'd like Honda to fix these issues before they spread and ruin the entire car or require a full car repaint. I will try to work with the dealership or Honda to rectify the situation. If they refuse to take care of the issue, I will contact the local TV stations who do consumer protection stories to see if they will call attention to this issue.

Our family owns 3 Honda Pilots, 1 Ridgeline, and 1 Accord. We previously owned another Accord which finally was beyond rescue so we had to let that one go. We are completely committed to the Honda brand, unless they refuse to help with this. It's a very nice car I will have for a long time (as I said, we have a 2004 Pilot as well as a 2015 Pilot) and I'd like Honda or the dealership to make this right. It's a manufacturer defect.

For those of you who were successful getting the dealer or Honda Corp to fix your paint issue, how did you approach the issue?

I've owed two Honda products: a 2006 Honda Odyssey and 2012 Honda Pilot. Both cars have had paint issues, but the Pilot is the worst.

The paint is bubbling and peeling off the roof of the car, down to the metal! The car is only 6 years old. This is unacceptable. I contacted American Honda, 800-999-1009, and they wouldn't cover the cost to repaint the car, because they have no recalls to do so. I guess my only recourse is to take them to small claims court.

Note: paint issues do decrease the value of your car. When I sold my Odyssey to CarMax, they gave me less because of the paint issues.

When it comes to Honda's, I have owned a Civic, an Accord, 2 Odyssey vans, and now this Pilot and we were considering trading this one in for a 2018 Pilot. Honda makes a great vehicle. We have always overpaid for our car repairs because we bring our Honda back to the dealership for every single repair. So when it came time to tell the dealership about the issue, they came back with a very callous response of "this isn't a problem that concerns us."

I then wrote to Honda customer service and was told that my vehicle surpassed any warranty from the manufacturer and that there are currently no open campaigns pertaining to this matter. Of course, I found that response unacceptable so I googled the Pilot paint issue and found this (https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/honda-civic-cr-v-odyssey-pilot-defective-paint/index.htm) which specifically addresses the Honda paint issue and extends the vehicle warranties regarding paint, for an additional 7 years.

I am currently awaiting their response back to me to see how much further I have to take this issue before I get a resolution acceptable to me.