[artdude102]

I test drove an Element ( 4WD DX several weeks ago and noticed that there were many scratches on the inside of the tail gate- some deep grooves. Sales person neglected to point these out, but did notice a rip in the front driver's seat. I ddin't notice any scratches on the outside pannels, but I hadn't yet read of the scratch problem. The scratched up tailgat did catch my interest. It looked like they had been hauling aorund something quite heavy then dragged it out the back leaving the gouges.

Anyone else notice the plastic of the inside tailgate as easily scratched?
I'm in the market and seriously considering this Honda, but not sure with al the negative comments about the plastic scratches.

Also, I notice the plastic side pannels outside seemed to be attached to the body / frame with metal screws that were starting to rust over. Anyone tell me a little about how the pannels are attatched to the body? Potential rust problem?
Thanks for any info

Dave

:?

 

[SteveSmith]

I had owned my Element two days when I managed to get some scratches on the inside of the tailgate. I was sitting on the tailgate, trying to assemble a cargo basket that used aluminum tubes as its frame. As I was moving the tubes around into various positions, I didn't realize that the ends were scratching the tailgate. When I finally saw them I was kinda' upset with myself. They're very shallow scratches and wouldn't much bother me if I had had the car a few months (and probably acquired a few more serious dings or scratches here or there). I tried rubbing them with a cloth and some household cleaner just in case they were actually just marks rather than actual scratches, but no luck. They don't come off. One of the problem seems to be that the underlying color of the material is white, which means when you scratch through the overlying gray color, the scratches show up pretty clearly. The Element's interior seems pretty tough, but that stuff on the inside of the tailgate apparently is delicate.

I wonder if I used a gray crayon, could I convincingly cover the scratches I made? Or would I just make a real mess? Is there anything sold for touching up this kind of material?

- Steve

 

[jnes]

I still think that there is some easy way to cosmeticly fix the scratches. They don't bother us at all but if we did resell, I would like to touch it up a bit. The crayon idea is great. :wink:

 

[VAK9girl]

if you are really concerned about the scratches, talk to your dealer's service people - my husband's dash got cut with a razor blade when the idiots were taking off the inspection sticker- long story short, they filled the cuts with something? Then dyed the stuff to match the dash - you couldn't even tell. I am sure this stuff would work for the tailgate too.

 

[jayharley]

The tailgate inner plastic pieces scratch way too easily. You have to be really careful. I simply purchase a gray bathroom floor rug (which is almost a perfect size) and cover the tailgate whenever I am loading or unloading something.

Also Lexol helps remove some of the small surface scratches on all of the plastic and composite componenets.

 

[jcalabrese]

I bought my Element on Monday and I loaded somethiing in the back on Wednesday and also found the tailgate inside scratches easily. It prompted me to come up with a modification I was contemplating anyway. Basically I outfitted the inside tailgate with two cushioned vinyl "seats". I was thinking about this because I go to football games and had gotten the tailgate seatback, but wasn't looking forward to sitting on the plastic tailgate.

I used the bottons of twosmall borken chairs. The cushions are in great shape, but not exactly the right color. I used velcro to secure them in place at the top (when tailgate is upright) so that the rise with the tailgate without falling and magic sliders affixed to the bottom of the cushions as to not scratch any more of the inside tailgate.

Two bonuses. I think it will solve the problem here and it serves as extra cushioning for my dog so he doesn't slam into the back when I accellerate.

I'm not sure how to post pictures, but if someone tells me, I'll show you when I did.