!@#$ Honda Splash Guards

GeorgeBush

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Okay guys... you gotta help my mental health here. First of all its a 2019 Civic Sport and it came with factory splash guards. They were lose and rattled off the showroom floor at highway speed but I tightened them a little and everything is fine.

There are three screws on these MF'ers I can see and tightening the bottom two did the trick. But the topmost screw near the fender just goes round and round?

"!@#$... he thinks to himself, as a summer breeze blows thru the backyard oak..."

But I didn't use any pressure at all so I know I didn't strip it? So I go online and find an internal diagram... it seems those two screws go into what I would call a J-clip. The Japanese / Honda probably call them hashimoto kanichiwa... #racist.

So here's the question. Should they tighten up like normal screws? Or are they supposed to just go round and round? Are the clips just retainers? Is there supposed to be a little movement at the top for road flex purposes or something?

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Here is a representative picture. Should the dealer inspect or replace those 50 cent clips? Are they working as designed? Does anyone have a very recent Honda they can check themselves and report back?

71-PKLPWmfL._SX466_.jpg


There you can see a couple of the clip in question. Just to clarify... do screws not tighten into these the way they do a normal threaded hole? Are they simply to retain the screw? Any attempt to "tighten" results in endless round n round?

I have gotten three different answers on the phone and its driving me bananas. I've never owned a Honda before and my experience so far (not just this) has not been great. I'm about to drive to a !@#$ lot with a tiny screwdriver and start testing splash guards at random.

Thanks!
 
Let me cool down for a little while before I tell you what Honda of Statesville did... I feel sick to my stomach.
 
Well I didnt buy it there but it was convenient and the reviews looked good.
 
Ok you cool yet?

Well first of all they told me it was normal, a stripped screw, then they proceeded to demonstrate how it wasn't going anywhere. By bracing a screwdriver against my car and trying to pry it up before I could stop them. Funny enough it popped right out and then they clumsily tried to screw it back in (which didn't work for obvious reasons).

Before that I saw the tech take my car for a little joyride. Changed all my radio and AC settings. Also couldn't drive stick and watched him lurch out of the parking lot (again before I could stop him). But according to him the purpose was to see if the splash guards were still making noise at speed.

I calmly let the service manager have it and fired off a few angry emails. We will see what they have to say Monday but I don't see anything wrong with my car now except for the obviously stripped screws I visited them in the first place over. Keep in mind this is a brand new car with 750 miles.

EDIT: Honda of Concord where I bought the car didn't respond to any emails or phonecalls but Honda of Winston-Salem was appalled (they are a Flow dealership too) and said they would do anything to make me happy.
 
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Then a call to 1-800-HONDA should be your next move

Yeah that's going to happen Monday regardless (I don't care if they give me five new cars free). I really didn't have time for these shenanigans today anyway; for example the only reason I noticed the rattle was because of all the driving we were doing lately because my wife's stepmom died.

If I didn't have other things to do I would have literally refused to leave.
 
I have factory splash guards on my 2019 Accord and nothing rattles on them.

Quick story from my dealer that I'm going through right now.

I took the Accord in last week for an oil change and tire rotation. Somehow during the process one of the wrench monkeys scratched the hell out of the rear drivers side door. It was a pretty deep gouge about 10" long. I immediately notice it when I walked out to get in my car to leave and let the service advisor know. She came out to look at it and brought another guy. They spent some time running their fingernails into the gouge saying that they couldn't figure out how their mechanic could do that. They said that they had a detail guy that could look at it if I could leave the car. I asked about a loaner and they said that they didn't have one and offered to give me a ride to work and pick me up at lunch. I took the ride.

It was getting close to 1pm and I didn't hear from anyone or have the ride back to the shop show up. I called the dealership and nobody there knew anything about my car and everyone , it seemed, was still at lunch. I let the guy on the phone know that they needed to send someone to get me right now and he set that up. Got back to the dealership and the service advisor said "we got it all taken care of" and gave me my keys. I went to look at it and their guy did a decent job of blending the scratch but it was still very noticeable. I went back in and said as much and that they didn't get it taken care of. She said that her detail guy said that the still visible parts of where the scratch must have been there previously. :confused: I told her he was FOS and that I'm not accepting that answer.

The dealership manager wasn't on site and I had to wait until he called me back the next day...on Friday. He didn't call me and I called the dealership for an update. I was told that he would review and call me back...again. She called me back and said that he would get it taken care of. I need to drop my car off on Tuesday and I will have a loaner vehicle this time. I'll see what happens on Tuesday. Side note, I stopped off at an auto body shop and got estimates on fixing the gouge. It ranged from about $40 to $300 depending on how much work would be involved.

CHRIS
 
Which Honda dealership was that?

Jesus... I thought after a lifetime of owning Nissans and Kias that I was due for an upgrade. I obviously should have researched this side of the story more.
 
Yeah I'm going to Winston-Salem on Tuesday morning. Will update the thread then / trying not to think about it today.
 
Well first of all they told me it was normal, a stripped screw, then they proceeded to demonstrate how it wasn't going anywhere. By bracing a screwdriver against my car and trying to pry it up before I could stop them. Funny enough it popped right out and then they clumsily tried to screw it back in (which didn't work for obvious reasons).

Before that I saw the tech take my car for a little joyride. Changed all my radio and AC settings. Also couldn't drive stick and watched him lurch out of the parking lot (again before I could stop him). But according to him the purpose was to see if the splash guards were still making noise at speed.

I calmly let the service manager have it and fired off a few angry emails. We will see what they have to say Monday but I don't see anything wrong with my car now except for the obviously stripped screws I visited them in the first place over. Keep in mind this is a brand new car with 750 miles.

EDIT: Honda of Concord where I bought the car didn't respond to any emails or phonecalls but Honda of Winston-Salem was appalled (they are a Flow dealership too) and said they would do anything to make me happy.
In my many years at Honda, I have seen this many times. If your mud guards were either factory or dealer installed? What has happened is that the upper screw became stripped due to much force or torque was applied. What the upper screw screws into is square shaped piece of plastic that fits into your steel fender. It should not spin round and round. I'm surprised at your experience at the dealerships? Its a simple fix, Ive done it hundreds of times and even have spare plastic fasteners in my tool box as we speak. But, I must say? If the noise you are hearing is caused is being caused by stripped mudguard mounting screw, then you have amazing hearing because I venture that at least 90 % of Honda rear mud upper mounting fasteners are loose also. Im betting your noise will not go away once it tightened correctly and your story will continue. Hope this helps..
 
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I have factory splash guards on my 2019 Accord and nothing rattles on them.

Quick story from my dealer that I'm going through right now.

I took the Accord in last week for an oil change and tire rotation. Somehow during the process one of the wrench monkeys scratched the hell out of the rear drivers side door. It was a pretty deep gouge about 10" long. I immediately notice it when I walked out to get in my car to leave and let the service advisor know. She came out to look at it and brought another guy. They spent some time running their fingernails into the gouge saying that they couldn't figure out how their mechanic could do that. They said that they had a detail guy that could look at it if I could leave the car. I asked about a loaner and they said that they didn't have one and offered to give me a ride to work and pick me up at lunch. I took the ride.

It was getting close to 1pm and I didn't hear from anyone or have the ride back to the shop show up. I called the dealership and nobody there knew anything about my car and everyone , it seemed, was still at lunch. I let the guy on the phone know that they needed to send someone to get me right now and he set that up. Got back to the dealership and the service advisor said "we got it all taken care of" and gave me my keys. I went to look at it and their guy did a decent job of blending the scratch but it was still very noticeable. I went back in and said as much and that they didn't get it taken care of. She said that her detail guy said that the still visible parts of where the scratch must have been there previously. :confused: I told her he was FOS and that I'm not accepting that answer.

The dealership manager wasn't on site and I had to wait until he called me back the next day...on Friday. He didn't call me and I called the dealership for an update. I was told that he would review and call me back...again. She called me back and said that he would get it taken care of. I need to drop my car off on Tuesday and I will have a loaner vehicle this time. I'll see what happens on Tuesday. Side note, I stopped off at an auto body shop and got estimates on fixing the gouge. It ranged from about $40 to $300 depending on how much work would be involved.

CHRIS
If this scratch is horizontal, it was probably caused by road debris and you just didn't notice it until you inspected your car. If the scratch is vertical, then it could have been caused by the technician not placing the lift arms correctly while hoisting your car into the air. The scratch must be very minor if a body shop will only charge $40-$300 to correct it.. Usually a gouge indicates metal deformity and will require metal replacement and high quality painting which cost in the few thousand dollar ranges. I'm hoping you can get your problem resolved quickly with the minimal amount of emotional distress.
 
Forest City Honda. I'll see how it goes on Tuesday. They need to fix it.

CHRIS
Getting my popcorn ready. I've had my own battles with this dealership.

Chris you will have to keep pounding on them to get them to do any thing. My experience involved getting them to honor a tire mileage warranty.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
 
It it's any help, I bought after market mud guards for my truck and had a similar experience with the screws and that dumba$$ metal clip. I got tired or messing with them so I went to one of the auto parts stores and bought the plastic screws with rings around the base. I'm not sure what they are called. You push them in and they stay. They are used for trim pieces and such. It's worked really well for several months.
 
That's not normal for them to spin freely, the clip needs to be replaced. It's like a $0.75 part at best. It shouldn't take but maybe 5 minutes to remove and reinstall the correct part.

We routinely stripped these out, or broke them, when I worked at a body shop. We had a room full of clips like this, and because they aren't always visible during the install, sometimes the screw would not line up properly and when they're threaded, it separates the back, causing the clip to snap.

If it's a new car, I would raise HELL about getting it right, but they're also going to likely claim it was either wear and tear from your use, or your wrenching, that resulted in the damaged clip.
 
It it's any help, I bought after market mud guards for my truck and had a similar experience with the screws and that dumba$$ metal clip. I got tired or messing with them so I went to one of the auto parts stores and bought the plastic screws with rings around the base. I'm not sure what they are called. You push them in and they stay. They are used for trim pieces and such. It's worked really well for several months.

I thought of this, or maybe those square things that pop into those holes that your license plate screws into.

Anyway, Winston Honda says there is no clip and that's as tight as it gets because it's simply going into the fender liner. Funny, because on the other side of the fender liner I can see the hole in the metal where the clip is supposed to be on the other side of. Go figure.

In my estimation these dealerships all think this is a stupid complaint of mine and none of them want to pull the fender liner. I give up... looking for alternative solutions now.

The plastic pop-screw idea is a good one. I don't know what they're called either.

EDIT: I'm starting to wonder if that hole is actually supposed to have expansion screws anyway and the part that's blowing their mind is the fact its a regular screw. In other words, they know it's not supposed to have a clip, but they also don't know it's supposed to have an expansion screw?

I might be using the wrong terminology. Push fastener, plastic rivet clip, whatever.
 
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I thought of this, or maybe those square things that pop into those holes that your license plate screws into.

Anyway, Winston Honda says there is no clip and that's as tight as it gets because it's simply going into the fender liner. Funny, because on the other side of the fender liner I can see the hole in the metal where the clip is supposed to be on the other side of. Go figure.

In my estimation these dealerships all think this is a stupid complaint of mine and none of them want to pull the fender liner. I give up... looking for alternative solutions now.

The plastic pop-screw idea is a good one. I don't know what they're called either.

EDIT: I'm starting to wonder if that hole is actually supposed to have expansion screws anyway and the part that's blowing their mind is the fact its a regular screw. In other words, they know it's not supposed to have a clip, but they also don't know it's supposed to have an expansion screw?

I might be using the wrong terminology. Push fastener, plastic rivet clip, whatever.

Sent you a PM. That clip and screw did not work out for me. It would get tight, just not stay that way.

Just an FYI to those who may be curious, I used this kind-

https://www.amazon.com/Dophee-Faste...crew+fastener&qid=1568132483&s=gateway&sr=8-1
 
It will be alright. I should have just done this in the first place.

To be fair the Winston dealer had a much better attitude, was much more professional, and even though I still think they're wrong... they didn't try to deceive me.
 
Are you sliding the clip over the portion it is supposed to attach the mud-flap to? Should slide over like a C around the front and back. The portion to be threaded into should be away from the face of the screw/bolt.

There are also flared push clips that are used in some instances like this, but you should look at the other side to see how it's mounted to be consistent. It is possible that something was missing and a tech just grabbed what they had lying around to fix it, though likely incorrect.
 
If this scratch is horizontal, it was probably caused by road debris and you just didn't notice it until you inspected your car. If the scratch is vertical, then it could have been caused by the technician not placing the lift arms correctly while hoisting your car into the air. The scratch must be very minor if a body shop will only charge $40-$300 to correct it.. Usually a gouge indicates metal deformity and will require metal replacement and high quality painting which cost in the few thousand dollar ranges. I'm hoping you can get your problem resolved quickly with the minimal amount of emotional distress.

It was both. Down then horizontal for about 10” then up and circular. They scratched it. Somehow. It was in a very obvious location that both me and the lady checking my car in looked at a couple times each when I turned the keys over. I appreciate your incorrect analysis though. Really not helpful and consistent with my current experience with Honda workers.

It was fixed today. No more sub-clear coat line and the indentation where the scratch was isn’t there. They did run through some mud and left my passenger side tires and lower body dirty though. I get to fill out my corporate feedback questionnaire tonight. That’s going to be fun.

CHRIS
 
It was both. Down then horizontal for about 10” then up and circular. They scratched it. Somehow. It was in a very obvious location that both me and the lady checking my car in looked at a couple times each when I turned the keys over. I appreciate your incorrect analysis though. Really not helpful and consistent with my current experience with Honda workers.

It was fixed today. No more sub-clear coat line and the indentation where the scratch was isn’t there. They did run through some mud and left my passenger side tires and lower body dirty though. I get to fill out my corporate feedback questionnaire tonight. That’s going to be fun.

CHRIS
I'm happy to hear that it all worked out well in the end.. From your initial description I was expecting something worse. Dealerships, most of them anyways will do the right thing and get it corrected to your satisfaction.. Just something to think about when filling out the survey ? The lady that was checking in you car was the service advisor and service advisors pay plans are based on Customer surveys. Just something to consider when you are wanting to vent your well deserved frustration, your negative survey will cost her monetarily when none of this was her fault. Just something to think about.
 
I was fair on it. She did well on her part except for calling me back to an unfinished repair then saying the damage that wasn’t fixed was previously there. She got high marks on the good stuff. I won’t be using them for maintenance anymore though.

CHRIS
 
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