Improper Body Noise Repair Can Be Costly! (A16020B)

WARNING: This page is about the CR-V EX, Eng CD K24V1, which is a different variant/trim than selected.

Publication date: 2016-02-01
Reference number: A16020B

IMPROPER BODY NOISE REPAIR CAN BE COSTLY!

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN

Reference Number(s): A16020B, Date of Issue: February, 2016

HONDA:

All Models

AFFECTED VEHICLES

General Information

INTRODUCTION

Applying random heat or welds to the body structure rarely fixes a body noise problem. In fact, on newer vehicles, which use more and more high-strength steel (HSS) and ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) to meet increasing collision protection and fuel efficiency requirements, doing this can actually cause structural damage that can be very expensive to repair.

UHSS is any steel with a tensile strength of 980 MPa or higher. Our vehicles currently use 980 MPa and 1,500 MPa steel parts. You'll find this steel most often in the front upper and lower pillars, the center pillar (B-pillar), and the side sill area, but you may also find it in other areas on certain models.

Keep in mind that UHSS parts can be tough to nearly impossible to bend, dent, or otherwise adjust, to repair a body noise problem. They can't be heated, cut, and/or MAG welded without a major loss in strength. Doing so could result in an unsafe repair because in a future collision, these parts may not work as designed, thus reducing occupant crash protection. Also, with UHSS parts, there's no way to visually inspect or otherwise determine if they've been damaged/weakened by heat application or welding or the extent of such damage.

Many body shops aren't aware of these structural changes and a large number of them don't have access to body service info and/or aren't used to reading it before starting repairs. The tendency is to just do what what's always been done.

KNOW YOUR RESOURCES

To avoid improper body noise repairs, you must know the body construction and tensile strength of the steel parts in the area of the noise. Two resources are available in SIS as well as in Service Express if you're a subscriber: the body repair manual and the Body Repair News .

Body Repair Manual: This manual is posted for every vehicle model series. The General Information section includes body construction pages showing illustrations of each body structural part and its tensile strength.
Body Repair News: This newsletter is posted for nearly every vehicle using 1,500 MPa steel construction. It summarizes new body and vehicle technology that may affect collision and other body repairs.

To access these resources, just do a search by vehicle and enter keyword BRM. This will bring up both the body repair manual as well as the Body Repair News for that vehicle.

TIPS TO AVOID IMPROPER BODY NOISE REPAIRS

Make good use of the STEELMAN® ChassisEAR™ (T/N JSP-SM06600). This required special tool lets you electronically pinpoint sounds in up to six different locations at a time. It's ideal for finding the source of body creaks, rattles, and squeaks during a test-drive. For more info, check out S/B 00-063, Steelman ChassisEAR™ Diagnostic Tool .
Don't send a vehicle with a body noise problem to a body shop without first contacting Tech Line. We highly recommend that warranty body repairs be done by a ProFirst Certified Collision Repair Facility. These shops have the tools, training, and service info needed to properly repair Honda vehicles.
Print a copy of this ServiceNews article along with the applicable Body Repair News and send them to the body shop along with the vehicle. Never assume the body shop has or will refer to the right service info.
Never apply heat, such as from a torch, to UHSS body parts during body noise repair. Any repair needing heat application or welding must be reviewed and approved by Tech Line to make sure it won't affect the body structure.
If you're considering welding to repair a body noise problem, you must check the applicable body repair manual and Body Repair News to determine if the steel panels in that body area can be MAG (MIG) welded.
The body repair manual covers the welding restrictions for UHSS. These restrictions have nothing to do with technician skill, but rather physics and metallurgy. Because of them, body noise repair on newer vehicles could take a lot of structural disassembly to properly complete. When planning a repair, you should carefully consider the possible amount of body intrusion.
Always keep your DPSM in the loop on a body noise situation to help in his or her decision-making analysis.

WHAT TO DO IF THERE'S BEEN IMPROPER BODY NOISE REPAIR

Any UHSS part that's had MAG welding done to it during noise repair attempts must be replaced at factory seams according to the applicable body repair manual. This can mean some very expensive and intrusive repairs to the vehicle body. Notify your DPSM of the situation.

Keep in mind damage caused by improper body noise repairs isn't covered by warranty. Regardless of whether a dealer or sublet body shop did them, the dealer is responsible for the cost of all corrective repairs.