This 2022 Honda Civic Is Melting, and the Owner Blames It on the Sun
Unfortunately, sun-melted parts aren’t covered under warranty.
Charles Goldberg is unhappy with the explanation Honda gave him about his daughter's slightly melty 2022 Civic. After Goldberg's daughter returned home from college, she left her car in the family driveway and the sun reportedly started to melt some of its exterior plastics and even cause the paint to bubble.
“It’s as if someone shot a ray gun at our car,” Charles Goldberg told WSB-TV Atlanta. However, when Goldberg took the Civic to his local Honda dealer, he didn't get the answer he was hoping for. The Honda service advisor told Goldberg that the sun can reflect off of home windows, acting like a magnifying glass and amplifying the sun's rays. In rare cases, that can cause exterior plastics and paint to overheat and melt slightly. That sort of damage isn't covered by Honda's warranty, leaving the Goldbergs to repair it out of pocket.
I reached out to Honda for comment on the situation and a spokesperson provided the following response:
"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. However, it is possible that an automobile insurance policy would account for such physical damage, as it might cover damage from a tree branch falling on a vehicle.”
Meanwhile, the Goldbergs have filed a complaint with Honda's corporate office. Unfortunately for the family, a quick Google search brings up several examples of cars melting or burning from reflected sunlight. Homes, buildings, and even people can suffer similar fates, too. So it seems doubtful that the Goldbergs will get their melted Honda repaired under warranty.
But it does bring up an issue I never really thought of: check to make sure sunlight isn't being reflected directly onto your car, otherwise you may get some melty parts.
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