Georgia may be known for its hot, humid summers, but its winters are pretty mild, so you wouldn’t think the sun would be causing any problems this time of year. Unfortunately for one family living north of Atlanta, that’s not the case. Their daughter’s 2022 Honda Civic is melting, WSB-TV reports.
According to Charles Goldberg, his daughter’s side-view mirrors, bumper and other trim pieces began to warp, and bubbles appeared in the paint. “It’s as if someone shot a ray gun at our car,” he told the news outlet, adding, “I’d never seen anything like it. It was also warped and started melting and disintegrating.”
When they took the car to the dealer, though, they got even worse news. Energy-efficient windows are designed to reflect the sun’s energy, keeping the inside of the home cooler, and according to the dealer, sometimes the glare coming off one of those windows can be enough to melt a car’s exterior plastics. Because it’s considered environmental damage, though, it’s not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.
WSB-TV contacted Honda for a comment and was told:
It is a long established fact that focused sunlight can heat surfaces and cause damage, depending on the intensity and time of exposure. This sort of damage is not isolated to automobiles, or to Honda in particular. In short, under the right circumstances, while rare, reflected sunlight can cause damage, and Honda’s limited warranties do not cover damage.
The Goldbergs, however, don’t sound particularly happy with that explanation and have reportedly filed a complaint with Honda corporate. Unfortunately for them, while a quick search for “melting Honda” turns up a number of forum results, if you dig a little deeper, Honda owners aren’t the only ones dealing with similar issues. Still, considering how many complaints there are about melting Hondas, you have to wonder if it could change the type of exterior plastics it uses to make melting less likely to happen.