I purchased a 2025 Touring for my family brand new from a reputable Honda dealer in my area in August 2024, and I've had no issues with it until recently. This post is not really about the car itself, but more about how I anticipate the dealership/Honda addressing it.
In mid-August, the AC went out. We waited two weeks before the dealer could get to it, and then they confirmed the compressor was out of commission due to a faulty gasket or something, so they would repair it under warranty. Great, manufacturer defect! Unfortunately the part was on backorder, so we drove loaner vehicles from the dealer for 6 weeks while we waited for the repair to be completed. During that time our vehicle was sitting in their lot, and we got a significant amount of rain over those 6 weeks. But eventually the AC was fixed so I picked up the car and brought it home, where we store it in our garage.
Fast forward another 3-4 weeks, and I went to get the removable seat from the "under floor storage area" in the trunk, and was surprised to find standing water and mold in the storage area. The feet on the chair have developed rust and there's visible mold lining the compartment. I called the dealer right away and got a new appointment (and a new loaner). They expedited the inspection, found a leak in the weather stripping somewhere, and confirmed that they can replace the weather stripping under warranty, and hopefully (???) replace the rug in the trunk under warranty as well.
I've landed on: I don't think that's close to good enough. Technically it doesn't matter when the water got in there (because it was a defect from the manufacturer and they should fix it) but the fact that this 100% happened while the car was under their care should absolve us of even putting the car through unfavorable circumstances. And after I pulled all of our personal items out of the car and was driving it to the dealer, I noticed my throat was irritated. My wife and my mother-in-law, who helped remove personal items and begin cleaning them, also noticed throat and eye irritation immediately afterwards. Given the pervasiveness of airborne mold spores and the side effects of us being trapped with it in a small hot box that recirculates air, we no longer feel comfortable using this car for our family. I have two children (3 and 1), and my wife has asthma. We were expecting to hear that they would cover a full interior mold remediation and replacing our car seats, at least! Instead we're now left hoping they will do the bare minimum? To be fair I have yet to hear their final position on the matter, but the conversation I had this morning is not leaving me feeling optimistic.
Any and all advice is appreciated, I've never gone through something like this before and I don't know if my expectations are too high or what options I might even have. Thank you in advance.
