Rust

We all know it comes sooner or later. We prefer if it comes at a later time. Rust... To prevent rust I had the Honda Accord sealed with a special Oil Mixture from the company PAVA. They have faith in their product and give a "Lifetime Warranty" - without specifying what exactly "Lifetime" is. Their warranty does not cover the entire car. Only from the lower part of the window and downwards. Should rust come above this thin line, you are on your own.

I'm known to be a bit pedantic when it comes to my car, but I had by no means expected to find rust in a 3½ year old car. But that was exactly what I found. All 4 doors were under heave rust-attack. All at the very same place. Here is an example from one of the doors illustration the issue:

How can this happen - and on all 4 door at the very same time? In the hole you would normally find a piece of rubber used to prevent the door from making weird noises when the door is closed. When the car was sealed by PAVA they had most probably removed these to get an easy access to the door. You then unscrew this piece of rubber - and afterwards screw it back in. But I guess they had forgotten to clean these rubber pieces before inserting them, why they must have damaged the painting. After that things tend to go fast. The sealing of the car has to be done every 2 years and the second time it had to be done, I confronted the company with the rust issue. They clamed they couldn't see or find any rust and I simply couldn't make them see that they were responsible for the mess. In other words - I was again alone with a problem. But this was not the only rust issue I had. When I opened the bonnet, I found this:

Needless to say I wasn't happy with this. But there was more. This was what I found in the left rear door - or the window frame to be more exact:

The last two examples were deffinitely a production problem. I've often been to the local Honda dealer, and I know their answer before I even come there. It's never their problem, and the price is high. Warranty was over, and there wasn't a hole yet. I did therefore again not expect any help. I contacted FDM (Union of Danish Motor Owners), and as usual they were happy to tell, that they did not see a reason why they should help. I was on my own.

In 2010 I met a woman who lived just outside Dortmund in Germany, and I visited her every so often. We drove by the local Honda dealer here, and the answer was as expected. Warranty is over, and the price will be around 1.300,- €. They didn't see any reason to contact Honda Import. On my way back to Denmark I drove by my Honda Dealer in Flensburg. They had a quick look. Took a bunch of pictures and told me that they would contact me later. 2 Days later I had the reply. Honda Germany would pay the repair - my share was 150,- €. The repair would be around a week. I booked time and shortly after you couldn't see there had been rust anywhere.

I contacted FDM to tell them what I'd done. Their response was that the outcome most probably would have been the same should I have chosen the local Dealer where Iived. There are times where I think that this organisation is sponsered by the Automobile Industry.

1½ year later. I had forgotten all about the issue. But I decided to take a closer look at the doors. What a disappointment. The rust was back. I wrote the Dealer in Flensburg - they never replied. Hereafter I gave up. Watched how the rust just grew and grew. in 2014 I decided to sell the car.