I'm curious if anyone else has this problem and if so how did you fix it. My car only has 28,000 on it and I've noticed that the rear bumper is not lining up to the quarter panel at the bottom of the tail lights. The quarter panel fits nice and flush against the taillight but the bumper sticks out somewhat. I can push it back in but it won't stay flush, it moves right back out. I'm thinking of taking it in since it's still under warranty but if it's something I can fix myself easily without having to leave it with the dealer for a week I'd rather do it myself. I know the bumper is screwed to the panel at the wheel well but I have tightened that and no improvement,...maybe I could replace the screw with a nut and bolt?

 

Its normal. Quality control issue on Honda's end.

 

yeah its quite common (as reported here , and observed on my 2005)

 

There is a "fix" somewhere on here. It involves removing tail light to expose the week point of the bumper attachment, which is these "detent clip type things". You then drill through a hidden part of the bumper by the tail light and put in a rivet or bolt. That hold in the bumper to the body like the clips are supposed to do.

 

Common issue.

 

You will know it's the "classic" problem if the bumper appears to bulge outwards (sidweways) relative to the metal fender. You can make it go away by gently pressing the bumper forward from the rear (basically, put your hands on the back of the bumper below the tail light and press forward lightly). The problem appears to be that the bumper is sticking out sideways, but you'll see it's more of a fore/aft alignment issue.

BTW, in the pictures above, the bottom one shows what I consider to be the classic mismatch that can be fixed by the forward press I mentioned (and permanently fixed with a rivet/screw holding the position -- which you can do from below without having to pull the lights).

I have not seen the mismatch shown in the top photo, but I will bet that it could be fixed by gently sliding the bumper cover back a bit (you can grab it by the wheel well and pull aft). It looks to be almost the exact opposite of the more common outward bulge.

 

I didnt have this issue until after the body shop repaired the damage that this lady did to me when she backed into my car over a month ago.
Adding that extra support bolt will be something I may do soon when I have some time to kill.

 

I guess I won't take it to the dealer then, they'll probably just put new clips on it. I think I'll just do the rivet job myself.
I have pushed it in to line it up but soon as I drive it again it pops back out. Could be my aggresive driving habits.

 

When i was shopping for my S2, i noticed this too. When i first saw it on one i thought oh damn its been on an accident. After seeing 5+ i noticed this was normal and they all had it too so i didnt see it as a problem after.

 

I noticed it on my '05 and it's on my '06. I don't worry about it too much as it is behind me......I'm too busy looking out for old farts in land yachts blowing through stop signs....