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One of my neighbours in Pune recently got a new Honda Civic.

Inspecting it closely I noticed a crude jagged edge where the sheet metal is folded for the rear wheel arch.



No clean rolling and tucking here.

Shocked to see such careless attention to detail in a car considered so premium by the Indian buyer.

The unfinished wheel-lip valance cries out for a plastic body-kit treatment

Any opinions on this?

Ram

Could it be due to transit/handling damage? Btw, thats not taking away any responsibility from Honda for this unacceptable sight.

Is it really that big an issue?

Drifter

Is it the same on both sides or just one? If it is on both sides then it could be a folding point for the crumple zone.

@vikram_d
We are finding an execution defect in Honda's manufacturing quality here.

IMHO, much better is expected from a so-called premium manufacturer.
Even the aftermarket customization industry uses specialized professional metalforming tools to achieve this.
for example:

• to increase tire to fender clearance,
• to flare arches and
• to repair wheel arch collision damage.

Take this tool for example.



It bolts directly to the wheel hub flange.
It has elongated holes in the adapter plate to fit all popular 4 and 5 bolt PCD hubs.
The length of the forming arm can be adjusted from 14" to 22.75".
A skilled metalworker can even fold the inner lip flat without damaging the paint.

Ram

We don't tolerate slipshod code delivery from our software engineers. Why should we tolerate slipshod stuff elsewhere in our life?

Trifles make perfect and Perfection is no trifle -- Michelangelo

Sir with all due respect your post doesn't answer my question. Is it the same on both sides. I have not seen a Civic up close hence I'm asking.

This is quite terrible, its like honda is allowing sub standard work in their Indian plant? will they allow this abroad? dang!!

@ Ram - slightly OT - Whats IMHO? you use this often, so do a lot of people. have been wondering! sorry!

In my humble opinion.

Post count+1

let me answere your question for you we had a civic and i can clearly remember that the uneven curves were on the both sides of the car

You ought to be online more often madan, IMHO.

But honestly, i am not surprised if honda did foul up here.

Unfortunately, nearly all new launches (not a facelift but a new model) in India face some problems or the other in the initial phase. If I remember, Swift had some build quality and suspension problems, NHC had problems of thudding, and Civic had initial problems of faulty engine mounts in some. Even UVA has had some electrical problems which the existing GM dealers have found perplexing.

Regarding this specific problem, it does not look so big but yes coming from a company that claims `top quality' this may be a sore point. The new Civic launched in the US has also had initial problems (which have been rectified). This can be checked by going to the website of Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of NHTSA, and check the recall problems of Civic (and any other comparable car that you may care to research). Civic recall problems attributable to Honda Manufacturing. For example, on certain 2-door vehicles, rear quarter glass panels did not adhere properly to the body, which may result in it becoming loose. Further, on certain 25000 vehicles, pedal were not properly installed. On many 2-door Civics, the front passenger occupant detection system (ODS) contained a faulty electronic component. This will not suppress front passenger airbag deployment, and cause injury.

Corolla also has had 2 recall problems for 2006 year but all related to replacement market products and not related to Toyota manufacturingIn Canada, according to official stats, Corolla has had no recalls since 1997. Both the 8th generation (1998-2001) and 9th generation present car has been recall-free.

I do not know what other members feel but I have never been a keen first adopter willing to stand in line for being the first to buy the new model. I would rather wait for customer feedback and initial problems to be sorted out, which in most cases are (at least by most Indian manufacturers).

.. Transit/handling damage at just that point, without any damage in surrounding areas - A little un-likely.
Also used instead of In My Honest Opinion

Fender is not a structural part, its aesthetic & aerodynamic member.So no questions of crumple zones here, its a skin panel.

Secondly the 2 lower arrows shows the "free cuts" or "releiving cuts", which are necessary to provide to avoid wrinkles during flange folding, also to relieve stresses at flanges at the areas where main profile takes sharp change of curves.

Uneven edges may be attributed to trimming qulaity/trimming tool of vendor supplying the fender to honda, it passed QC as that area is classified as class B surface(after fillet) & is not visible to customer.

But certainly trimming edge is of poor quality & will not pass a german Qc.

Any questions about sheet metal parts are most welcome.

Making stress-relief cuts to help fold the sheetmetal without wrinkles is very standard. But then I would spend some money and manpower on welding, brazing and sanding to get a good finish. Was that done?

At one end Honda wants to charge a premium price. For what? Consumer ignorance?
At the other end they save money leaving surfaces not visible to the customer unfinished. Do Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda do such 3rd class work?

Quality is doing the right thing even when nobody's looking