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Let me know how it goes.
I had posted before re: scratches on my window tint and I took my TL back to the window tinter who said he'd never seen this before. Like many of you had told me the windows need moleskin to protect from debris getting caught between the felt strip and glass. I received a quote of $216 for the installation of the moleskin on all 4 windows. The materials only cost $60 so I'm paying for the labor. (I paid $215 for the original tint so this is really adding up.)
My question to you all is: Do the doors need to be taken apart for the moleskin to be applied? The tinter said that's what is involved which makes me very hesitant. That sounds like a big ordeal to me...
Any feedback would be great because I am unsure how to proceed.
Thanks for advice! (BTW, does Acura know what a bad design the TL's windows are? My Acura Integra of 13 years with tinted windows never had this problem!)
The dealership did replace the window tint on all 4 windows which since has scratched again. I have an '88 Acura Legend with window tint that has never scratched.
The window wipers must be removed from the door in order to properly clean the window wiper strip to get the adhesive to stick to the rubber and the door panel has be be removed (be careful not to strip the lower bumper mounting screw if you remove the door panels). Eventually the moleskin may peel off and if it does, will stick to the window tint and completly ruin the window tint as well as cause excess strain on the window motor which can cause it to prematurely fail. My Acura dealer as well as several other window tint shops around town have tried moleskin with these results.
Hope my experience helps you decide.
My window tint guy said if I don't get the moleskin installed, the warranty on the tint will be voided. It looks like I don't have a choice but to get the moleskin installed.
Any comments are appreciated. This is so frustrating and such a design defect!
After researching every window tint dealer in the Dallas area, I took my '08 TL to Altamere Window Tint (http://www.altamereplano.com/home/) for them to look at it. They have stores nationwide. The store manager said he was aware of the window tint scratch problem with Honda and Acura and told me to leave the original tint on until it scratched enough it bothered me and to bring it to them and they would remove the old window tint, (the rear window would not have to be retinted) and install new tint and moleskin if needed. He said if they felt they did not need to install the moleskin and the windows scratched, he would replace the window tint at not cost and install the moleskin. He really wanted to install the moleskin as a last resort. He felt like the rubber window wipers would either would smooth out of if there were severe enough rough spots on the wipers then he would install the moleskin.
What I have been doing to minimize the window tint scratching is using a lint free cloth that you would use to clean a pair of eye glasses and running the cloth between the top window wiper and the window tint to remove any dirt build up. Since doing this, I have not noticed the existing scratches getting worse or new scratches appearing.
I probably will eventually have Altamere retint the windows if the scratches get worse and it becomes an eyesore.
Hope this helps.
With that said, I think I'm going to hold off on the moleskin. I'm bummed that I will have to treat the windows with so much extra care- I think that's ridiculous but none of us knew this when forking over the money for a nice car such as the TL.
Living in So. Cal. and having my last Acura tinted, it was a no brainer. Little did I know that I was dealing with a design defect. That is so frustrating. I'm keep this in mind when I buy next car!
I agree about the flat head screws. Many people just do not replace them. I did because they were cheap and easy to pick up at the local Honda garage. After putting on the Brembo rotors, I could not get over how smooth the stopping was. How about you?
I went through a series of incidents with a dead battery on my 2007 TL last year. I'd leave the car for a day or two and the TL would be lifeless. I posted my adventure here and after a battery draw test and leaving the car at the dealership for several days to see if the same thing would happen, the dealership gave me a new battery. This was in October 2007.
It has been mentioned that having nav might draw from the battery, even when the car isn't being used. This is sounds awfully ridiculous that us drivers have to suffer after paying so much money for a nice car like the TL.
Last night, after letting the TL sit for 1 day, the battery was dead again. What is the problem with TLs and their batteries?
What should I do? Should I make an appointment with the dealership again and get the run around?
I am very frustrated and tired of this recurring battery problem.
What do you advise that I do? Thanks for your help!
BTW, I just got off the phone with the dealership and they said they have never heard of such a problem. That sounds fishy to me considering they dealt with me last year. My service advisor said he's never heard of a problem after leaving the TL for such a short period of time. (My Edmunds posts from 2007 document my battery issues.) My main concern here is that I don't want to be stranded somewhere knowing that the battery is so unreliable. New batteries shouldn't be this sketchy and unpredictable.
Grrrr...any advice is appreciated because I'm running out of options.
There are service bulletins that were put out in the past by ACURA on the problem but it looks like they still don't have a handle on it from the posts I've seen. I'd definitely contact ACURA, possibly a different dealers' repair department, and look into the lemon law of your state.
You mean you just park it continuously for several weeks without even turning the engine over to idle once in a while? But it starts right up afterwards? Sometimes I park mine for a week or so, but afterwards when I crank the ignition it may hesitate for a second before firing up.
Any car should be able to be parked for several weeks at a time without starting (such as at an airport when you go on a trip) and it should start right up when you get back. If it doesn't, something is not right.
We are recently back from a 2100 mile vacation in our new 08 and guess what, it got a chip on the windshield and paint off the hood. I hate it but I do not know of anything that can be done. I read somewhere that 3M is developing a film for it but I do not think it is out yet.
thx for the response. when you said you believe all of the windshields are made by the same company, do you mean that all car companies use the same windshield company? the reason i ask is i never had that problem with my camry and it was hit many times with pebbles.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I found out the dealer used a commercial glass place so I dealt with the glass place directly. They explained Accord and TL use the same windshield (so they are always in stock thanks to Accord's popularity) and theirs were from OEM supplier... 2+ years later, have had no problem w/ the replacement.
My current problem began a in the fall, a diesel-like noise when starting on a cold AM, worse w/ defroster on. Seems to go away as car warms. Thought of taking back to Acura but there were no other symptoms. I noticed it increasing recently, occurs with my foot on the accelerator. It got loud enough today (12/24) that I called the Acura dealer around noon, but the shop closed early for Christmas. After work, I noticed it even louder on my way home and the car would not shift into 5th gear on the highway. I put it in manual shift mode (to confirm the gear it was in) and tried manual upshift to 5th at appropriate hwy speed, no dice. Any similar experiences out there? Hope the dealer is open on 12/26.
Thanks for any thoughts... :sick:
By doing it at the dealer you are paying both the Dealer and the Glass Repair Shop.
That's called double dipping in the Hedge Fund world.
I have an '06 TL that has become my "airport rat" - it will occasionally have to sit in an airport parking lot for a long period of time. It replaced an old Miata I had that I could strategically park in a remote part of the lot that was on an incline. It worked quite well and I went for a considerable period of time before replacing the battery (expensive in the Miata).
I was going to go out and test it but if anybody has already done it, it would save the wear and tear and perhaps an unexpected unpleasant surprise.
Thanks...
This is also exactly the same situation I had recently.
I am wondering if I ask you to tell me how you dealed with that problem.
I look forward to your response.
Thanks, Yongseob
Thanks,
Land
I recently purchased a 2008 Acura TL Type S. My first new car in 18 years. Prior to that I drove a 1990 Toyota Tercel that I never bothered washing or cleaning.
Consequently, I have some silly questions about cleaning the interior of my TL.
1) What should I use to clean the seats? Some kind of leather cleaner? The seats are leather, correct?
2) What should I use to clean and care for the dashboard? Is the dahboard vinyl or does it have a leather covering?
I have no experience with anything other than vinyl (seats, dash, etc.).
Thanks for any suggestions and help!
After the micro-scratches appeared on the tint of my windows, I had my windows re-tinted and had felt strips installed. (See my previous posts re: tint problems.) When the re-tint was complete, I took my TL to a different vendor to install the felt strips in the windows since my original tint guy had never done it before.
The felt strip installer discovered that the tinting place forgot to replace 2 of the screws inside my door panels. I am missing a big silver screw (which secures the inner door panel) and a smaller black one (to fasten the door handle). I searched high and low inside my car hoping to find the missing screws but came up empty-handed. I'm ticked off at the tint shop for their poor service and I'm fed up with them.
Where can I buy just 1 silver screw and 1 black screw to replace the ones the tint shop lost? Does Acura Parts just sell screws in small amounts? This window tint situation has driven me batty. :confuse:
Any advice is appreciated.
http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/jsp/catdisplay.jsp?inputstate=1&catcgry1=TL
Hope this helps.