They may appear to look misplaced at a very low position but in real life tests, they actually prevent the door dings. They are not just good for the aesthetics - they equally protect your vehicle.
I did a real life test in my own garage before installing the molding. I taped the molding on with masking tape where specified by the templates. Then I parked my LR4 close and tried opening the doors next to the Passport. Total failure as both LR4 doors would make contact with the Passport doors well above the molding. I'm sure if you only park between cars you will be fine with the specified molding placement. But with big SUV's it needs to be affixed higher.
I guess to each his own. This topic is popular with about every Honda model - from the CRV to the Pilot or Passport. When it was installed on mine, it was due to an error on the part of the dealership. I asked them to remove it as I hadn’t requested for it and insisted it was too low anyway to make a difference or serve it’s purpose. They literally ran tests for me to see. It did the job effectively!
I did not pay for the side molding btw-the dealership agreed to take up the cost.
