April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Honda Korea, local unit of the Japanese carmaker, on Sept. 27 issued an official apology to the customers for rust discovered in its new CR-V vehicles. 

Honda Korea CEO Jung Woo-young said in a statement, he is “sincerely sorry” and vowed to make every effort to find the exact cause of the problem. 

The carmaker said it began looking into the case after receiving some consumer complaints in August about rust in some parts of the vehicle. Following the initial inspection, the carmaker admitted it discovered corrosion in beam clamps used in dashboard for CR-V SUVs, which began delivery earlier in May. 

The embattled carmaker said it will take a while to thoroughly investigate the exact cause, stressing the rust does not impact the car’s safety and performance. 

It also assured consumers that rust has no harmful impact on the air quality inside the vehicle. 

The carmaker said it has offered free repair services for the corrosion-affected cars at Honda Service Center across the country since Aug. 22. It is providing free rust removal service for not only CR-V cars, but also Accord and Civic sedans that are within three years of purchase or up to 100,000 kilometers travel distance.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)