I recently purchased a set of fog lights for my element, and had them installed by the dealership. Not only did they do a terrible job, they told us that we would have to purchase the on button. Has anyone else who had fog lights installed run into this problem? :cry:

I don't have foglights yet, but the switch is a sold independantly of the foglight kit. It's ridiculous, but your dealer might have a leg to stand on here.

Hand A includes the switch in your choice of colors with the fog light kit. Maybe you should have gone through them!

A good dealer would have told you that you had to get the switch. My best guess, the dealer did not know you needed another part. Most dealers don't know that much about the E's extras.

I bought my fog lights from hondacuraworld.com for $252.40, plus a $2 shipping and handling fee. The price included the switch, which comes in either black or gray (the black fit my Shoreline Mist Metallic perfectly). My mechanic of 10 years (with extensive experience working on Hondas, Toyotas, Volvos etc.) installed the fog lights and charged me two hours labor, or a total $120. During that time, he also installed an exhaust finisher and all-season floor mats (both quickie jobs). I'm very pleased with the fog lights and feel they're worth it. :lol:

Hello All:

I just had some new fog lights installed at a Honda dealership in Northern New Jersey, and they look great. However, the cuts that were made to house the lights are very rough around the edges. You have to look closely to notice, but I don't like this. It seems like they should have sanded the cuts down before installing the lights, particularly given what they charged me.

Has anyone else noticed this on newly installed fog lights? Do you think I should tell dealership and see if they can smooth them out after the fact?

Thanks

The Honda instructions for installing the fogs don't require that the edge be smoothed. Are they wrong in some way? Do you think the edge could cause some problem with the fogs in the future?

My dealer installed my fog lights and it was completely bad! Comparing yours to mine, yours would be 10 times better than mines anyday! My dealer cut the holes like it was tin foil with ragged shark teeths all the way around the holes. The bumper was scratched from top to bottom with plenty of deep gouges thrown in.

Back to your question... i think they should of filed the edges smoother for the money you paid.

my .02

Sorry meek about your experience but my dealer messed up mines totally also adding gouges and scratch marks inside and out of my E. I got a new bumper but i am going to another dealer to install them tommorrow morning. Please cross your fingers and toes for me :D


EX 2WD NBP

I don't think the cuts will affect the performance of the lights, but they are unsightly to look at. And to be honest, the main reason I got the lights to begin with was because they look cool (not a ton of fog here in NJ), and it looks like something needs to go in that space. So to have them blemished kinda defeats that purpose.

They're not as jagged as the previous poster's description, but they certainly don't look like they were professionally done. After paying nearly $600 with tax and installation, I think they should have taken a few minutes to smooth out the edges.

I am going to call the dealer and tell them I am unhappy. I'll post the results later.

I just spoke to the service manager, and he said that since there's nothing in place from Honda that says the technician HAS to file down the cut after he makes it, there is nothing he could do. It's funny, because the degree of "jagged-ness" varies in places, as if the technician started rushing the job towards the end, but he said it's not his problem.

I was enlightened with such quotes as: "There is no such thing as a straight cut," and "All cuts are rough." I'm not so sure about that, but what can you do? I am going to see if maybe some body shop could put a trim around the cut or could smooth it out, because these guys are essentially useless at this point.

It's a bummer, because I wouldn't have gotten the fog lights if I knew the installation would be so sloppy. It looks like a do-it-yourselfer tried their hand at auto body work.

Beware. It won't look like the picture on Honda's web site.

mreis171
,
Hey, I read my own post and kinda think I sounded a little cheeky. Didn't mean to minimize the problem--I wasn't sure from the first post if the problem was noticible unless you actually bent down and looked at the install job. I'll be annoyed too if they mess up mine (I guess I'll caution them ahead of time). I just ordered an E this weekend so I've got 4 to 6 weeks until I'll have it.

I've never felt the need to get the fog lights, but that's just crazy. Doesn't your dealer believe in professionalism and craftmanship in their work? Obviously not. If I were you, I'd write a letter to corporate Honda and cc the dealership regarding their attitude of "if it says we don't HAVE to smooth the edges, then who cares what it looks like, we're not going to do it."

[quote:a9f0b1e671="Staggie"]mreis171
,
Hey, I read my own post and kinda think I sounded a little cheeky. Didn't mean to minimize the problem--I wasn't sure from the first post if the problem was noticible unless you actually bent down and looked at the install job. I'll be annoyed too if they mess up mine (I guess I'll caution them ahead of time). I just ordered an E this weekend so I've got 4 to 6 weeks until I'll have it.[/quote:a9f0b1e671]

Ah, don't worry about it. I understand what you meant. Like I said, it won't affect the performance of the lights, but I wish it looked a little better. If I realized that the only way to get fog lights is to essentially tear away at the plastic, then I would have left it as is, or adhered some kind of reflector into that space. I have to think other dealers could do a better job, though. It would have taken only a few minutes to smooth out the cuts, but that can't be done once the lights are in. There's just no room.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I said to the service manager, "But you haven't even seen the work they did," and he still insisted that there was nothing that could be done. He said that the same thing applies when they do fog lights for the Honda Pilot.

I think I am definitely going to write a letter to Honda, because this is b.s.

Hey mreis171,

I just downloaded the Honda Installation instructions for fog lights from the H&A website. Guess what is on Page 2, step 6:

While being careful not to scratch the bumper, use a hacksaw blade to cut out the marked area from the front bumper along the inside of the scribed line and the groove on the back. Remove all burrs from the edges of the cutout.

How about that!! Print out the PDF and take it back to your service guy!

Hey mreis171,

I just downloaded the Honda Installation instructions for fog lights from the H&A website. Guess what is on Page 2, step 6:

[quote]While being careful not to scratch the bumper, use a hacksaw blade to cut out the marked area from the front bumper along the inside of the scribed line and the groove on the back. Remove all burrs from the edges of the cutout.

How about that!! Print out the PDF and take it back to your service guy![/quote:2804995218]

Oh, man! Thanks a lot. I cannot believe that the guy bs'd me like that. I am definitely going to bring that in to the dealership and raise hell. He specifically said that there was nothing requiring them to smooth out the cuts.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to check this forum last week, or I would have seen your post before I took matters into my own hands. As it turns out, I spent a few hours on Saturday with automotive sandpaper and a needlenose pliers removing the burrs myself. I didn't want to remove the lights themselves (and I don't even know how), so I had to work around them with unbelievable caution. They look a lot better now, although I could think of lots of things I would have rather done on a gorgeous Saturday.

Thanks for looking into it for me, though. Maybe the dealer can give me some credit or something (although I am not counting on it).

And I didn't use a hacksaw at all, but an exacto knife with a new #11 blade and the plastic cut like butter, smooth with NO rough edges!! Got them from HandA for $242.50 and the service was fantastic!

[quote:425b6ba77b="utahrex"]And I didn't use a hacksaw at all, but an exacto knife with a new #11 blade and the plastic cut like butter, smooth with NO rough edges!! Got them from HandA for $242.50 and the service was fantastic![/quote:425b6ba77b]

Yeah, I saw your other post. Sounds like that was the way to go.

The whole thing was just so annoying. I mean, why pay the dealer that kinda money if he's going to just screw it up. One of the things he said was "They all turn out that way." So I guess if you continually do something wrong, then ultimately people have to accept it?!??!?

Ah, well. At least they look nice now. Hopefully using an exacto knife becomes standard procedure and no one has to deal with this stuff in the future.

OK, enough of this negative energy outta me. The Element is still the coolest ride I've ever had...

Use a holesaw on a drill it will give a smoother more perfect circle then a saw blade or knife. If you look you can find the size you need and only have to make two cuts for both lights. I did this on mine when i installed the lights. To give it a finished look i took a piece of vacumn line split it down the side so it would go around the outter edge of the hole.

Hello,I recently purchased a Magnesium 05 dx.I opted for some factory options including side steps,roof rack,luggage carrier,mud flaps,all weather mats,cargo liner,rear spoiler, dash trim,arm rest and the fog lights :x .The dealer told me it was ready,it wasn't.However I drove 2 hours to pick it up and they said the other parts would be in soon and they would come and get it.Well they finally came and got it left a loaner and finished it.my wife was home when they dropped it of and didn't notice how they did the fog lights.Believe it or not they didn't remove front bumper.It looks like sawsalled the hole out and cut out above the lights to be able to have access to bolts.The hole is jagged, far from round and can be seen from 20 feet away.Not to mention the gouges in the bumper from the sawsall rubbing against it.Sorry for the long post but I needed to vent my frustration.

:shock:

Take it back! Fortunately the front end cover is easily replaceable. Insist that the dealer absorb the cost (probably not cheap).

:x Oh Man! No problem venting here - that's what we're here for, right gang?! That sounds awful what they did to your brilliant new E - and it's doubly bad since having something like that happen takes a lot of the "shine" off of having something so nice and new! :-( I'm afraid I don't have any good advice for you, but there are many people on here (from your area even) who will have some for ya so stay tuned. And keep us posted on how this yucky business gets resolved!

Take it back immediately and tell those slackers to do it the right way or not at all. You have every right to vent, that is total BS what they did to the front end.

What's the name of the dealer that butchered your Element? Make sure they know that they are getting all kinds of free publicity on the Internet.

yes, take it back.

take the pdf of the foglight install (avail. from h and a website)

take a few pics of a proper install (look around this website).

demand a new front end, and a proper install, and a loaner while they do it.

if they balk, email the pictures of what it looks like now to honda corporate...

Hello,I recently purchased a Magnesium 05 dx.I opted for some factory options including side steps,roof rack,luggage carrier,mud flaps,all weather mats,cargo liner,rear spoiler, dash trim,arm rest and the fog lights :x .The dealer told me it was ready,it wasn't.However I drove 2 hours to pick it up and they said the other parts would be in soon and they would come and get it.Well they finally came and got it left a loaner and finished it.my wife was home when they dropped it of and didn't notice how they did the fog lights.Believe it or not they didn't remove front bumper.It looks like sawsalled the hole out and cut out above the lights to be able to have access to bolts.The hole is jagged, far from round and can be seen from 20 feet away.Not to mention the gouges in the bumper from the sawsall rubbing against it.Sorry for the long post but I needed to vent my frustration.

Hello elementanytime. Before you complain to the dealer, make sure you know what to complain about. Take a look at this. http://www.handa-accessories.com/element/elementfogs.pdf I put my fog lights in myself and the hole that you see near the top of your fog lights is a required item. The bolts that you are seeing are not the bolts that hold the fog lights to the bumper but those that are for removing the lights and there is an adjuster screw for aiming the fog lights. The direction tell you to cut this, and it actually tells you to use a hacksaw belive it or not. Personally I did not use a hacksaw because I would be afraid of what you just described...scuffing the inside portion of the hole on the bumper so I opted to use a utility knife to cut the hole. The thing I would complain about is the scuff marks on the bumper. I'm sure they took the bumper off because you have to run the wiring harness to each light, there is nothing behind the hole initially so it's not plug and play. So if you go back and complain, make sure it's about the sloppy job they did, not about the hole at the top etc because it does have a purpose... it would suck to have to take the entire bumper off to change the lights :)

Good luck and feel free to vent anytime.

Yea there is no doubt they HAD to take the bumper off to simply screw the foglight bracket in (4 screws) anyways. The previous post is correct in that the upper cut out is needed to be there as well.

But it would have been impossible to screw the bracket in w/o taking the fron end off. Much less hooking up the harness to the light AND running the harness behind the bumper.

It sounds like they did what they were supposed to but were sloppy at doing it. If you can post some pics of the jagged openings just so we can get an idea of how bad they are. If it were me, I'd take the front end off and smooth out the cuts with a nice sharp razor or Dremel disc the edges.

To save a few bucks I ordered the E fog lights from the handa-accessories.com website, then had a local dealer install them since I wasn't about to go hacking into my bumper. The service guys may have used a hacksaw, but I'd never know it...they did a great job installing the lights. If they hadn't, I'd do what PVR and biocube recommend if I were in your shoes. For all the dough cars and accessories cost these days, you and your E don't deserve a bum job.

{whadditellya?! look at all this great advice!} :) :) :) Good luck, and keep us posted on the outcome!

To save a few bucks I ordered the E fog lights from the handa-accessories.com website, then had a local dealer install them since I wasn't about to go hacking into my bumper. The service guys may have used a hacksaw, but I'd never know it...they did a great job installing the lights. If they hadn't, I'd do what PVR and biocube recommend if I were in your shoes. For all the dough cars and accessories cost these days, you and your E don't deserve a bum job.
How much did they charge you to put the fogs in at the dealer???

140 buck-a-roos in Jan '04. No doubt I could've gotten it done cheaper at a local mechanic's, but I'd done business before at the dealer's (not the same one where I'd purchased my E) and had been pleased with their service and turn-around time, so I entrusted them with the fog light installation. I gave 'em the lights & installation directions in the box shipped from handa-accessories.com, and they went right to work.

I had my fog lights installed for, err, nothing. I basically played two Honda dealers against each other when I was shopping for an E, they have a dislike for each other so mentioning the deal one gave me the other made their offer better.
I'm lucky to have a very competent dealer close by. They also offered to paint and install the rear deflector if and when I purchase it from them.

I don't have the fogs yet but do plan on installing them myself. It's always sad thing to have the fun of buying a new car (or other toy) boogered up by people who a) don't care or b) don't know better. I'd say take it back and make them do it right.

Just my 2 cents.

After much deliberations dealer is going to replace front bumper.The only problem now is who is going to do the install? I would just assume do it myself,or let the local 30 miles away verses 200 miles away do it.Either way will work out.M.M.

After much deliberations dealer is going to replace front bumper.The only problem now is who is going to do the install? I would just assume do it myself,or let the local 30 miles away verses 200 miles away do it.Either way will work out.M.M.

Hey Eti,

DIY, then you'll have the satisfaction of knowing it's done well.

Thx, Phil

got any pictures?