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Acura TSX - Body Side Molding

mib1997mib1997 Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Acura
I am seriously looking at buying a TSX, probably a new 2005. I get conflicting info from 2 dealers re. availability of body side molding. One says no, the other, yes. The literature from Acura does not list it as available (while it does for the TL) leading me to think that the "no" is the truthful answer. Anyone have personal experience with this question? To me, it seems like something important to have to protect against dings, etc. in a parking lot.
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Comments

  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Hi. I was searching the web for what I can use to protect my new TSX from door dings. I did a search for "magnetic door trim" and it came back with this PVC product that pretty much magnetically sticks to the door. Its huge and clear so it will kinda look funny sticking it while parked and then removing it when you leave. Ha... ha... I just hope people don't steal it. Anyone seen this or have used it?
  • xplorx4xplorx4 Member Posts: 621
    sounds like a product that will introduce more paint scratches taking it on/off (especially when the car is dirty) than just parking "unprotected".
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    I know... I thought about it too late. Spent $77 for 4. I guess I can always give it as a late xmas gift. Heh.. heh..
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    It's probably a dealer installed accessory. More than likely it's not a Honda product.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Hi. Im in the process of buying a new TSX and just noticed this car doesn't have any body side door trim to protect it from other people opening their car doors. I live in NYC and door dings are very common. How does the body hold up in your experience? Remember that Saturn commercial with the supermarket cart? Thanks.
  • be325be325 Member Posts: 91
    Spoke with Acura dealer in Clearwater (Florida) and was told that "body side molding" is a dealer installed option and is available.
  • baldzorobaldzoro Member Posts: 5
    Spoke with three So Cal Acura dealers today about body side moldings. All claim that they don't exist. One called after market dealer and was told they don't exist. That's crazy. These cars will be dinged within days. Surprised that the European Accord body (TSX in the States) does not come with side moldings. I get crazy over door dings so it's a show-stopper for me. Really stupid of Acura not to offer anything. I was ready to buy TSX today, but not any more. Anybody know if the dealers are wrong and they really are available somewhere?
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    There are no TSX moldings, but the TL molding will fit apparently -- if the colors match. I know the silver color is the same on both cars, what about the other colors?? Worst case, you can have a body shop paint moldings for you, costs about $200 or so.

    I have had three cars without moldings -- 97 Honda Prelude, 03 Subaru WRX, and now the wife's 04 TSX. I can't say these cars were any more prone to damage than others. Heck, my 05 Outback has very wide moldings and I have already picked up 3-4 dings in 8 months of ownership (no dings on the TSX in the same amount of time). The moldings can't provide full protection, so lack of a molding is not a huge deal.

    Craig
  • baldzorobaldzoro Member Posts: 5
    Thanks, Craig. My concern stems from driving a TSX last fall as a loaner while my MDX was in the shop. When I first went to get in the TSX I noticed the car had numerous dings, cuts in the paint and blemishes on both sides. I spoke with the Service rep to make sure he was aware of the damage and to avoid any hassle upon returning it. He was aware of it. I got in the car and noticed that the odometer had only a few hundred miles on it. I remember thinking," what a shame", this new car is virtually brand new and it's already beat up.

    I know dings still occur with side moldings, but without them, I'm afraid the car would be a mess within a few months. It took me over two years before my MDX got its first one, and that was my fault all the way. I'm careful but not a fanatic. It just seems that the TSX's appearance will be prone to rapid, premature deteriation. Besides, everyone sais the TL is the better car.

    baldzoro
  • copseyalcopseyal Member Posts: 36
    I'll have to agree about the scratching problem. I have had my TSX since May 04, and this past weekend I hand washed it for the first time since last summer (or the last time it was warm in MD anyway). Anyway, I could not believe the number of scratches dings and dents in it! And I have to admit, I typically am very careful around this car not to scratch it, cause boy does it scratch easily!

    My TSX is Carbon Grey, and unless you are right on top of the vehicle, they are tough to notice, but I have never had a car accumulate so much scratching over such a short period of time. I still love the TSX, but this is the one complaint I have, but again to the person on the street, probably not even noticeable. Knowing what I know about the scratching, I still would buy this car all over again, it just would be nice to know of a fix.

    I am not familiar with the body side moldings. Are they specifically installed to avoid such effects, or is it more for appearance.
  • tommyijrtommyijr Member Posts: 56
    Being careful what parked situations I put my TSX in has kept it complete ding free for almost two years now. I will say though, everything about this car has met and exceeded all of my expectations with the exception of one thing, the ease in which the paint job will chip. I had an Accord before this and never had the extensive chipping that I do with this car, oh well, nothing is perfect, most of the time I don't even think about, it's lease is almost up anyway........I am just saying, this paint will frustrate most people....
  • johnny420johnny420 Member Posts: 473
    Having frequented many car enthusiast forums, including many here at Edmunds, I have found that, almost across the board, you will find complaints about newer cars experiencing paint chipping.

    You will find explanations like the EPA no longer allows a certain chemical to be used in modern paints, so paints are less resistant to chipping because of it. I don't know one way or another. What I do know is that this problem is hardly limited to Acura.

    Your Accord may not have had the problem, but my 2000 EX-V6 certainly did. When I traded it in on my TSX, the front end looked like it had been sand blasted.

    Johnny
  • ggthomas47ggthomas47 Member Posts: 2
    We just bought a 2005 TSX. The dealer told us we could find side molding on the internet but, like others in this forum we have been unable to find it. One post said that the TL molding would fit. Has anyone tried that? Were you happy with it?
  • tarnowdrivertarnowdriver Member Posts: 2
    I have TL body side molding dealer-installed on my 05 silver TSX at the time of purchase. Looks great and fits perfectly. However, not all TSX ext. color mach TL's color - so you are limited only to those ext. colors that are shared between two models. Don't let dealer charge you $289 as he tried me. I paid like $200 extra for moldings installed. Side moldings will save a few dents especially on the large grocery stores parking lots, like Jewels/Dominicks. Enjoy your TSX!!!
    Because of large increase in traffic in northwest Chicago area and my 50 mile daily commute to work streets/hwy, I wish I had purchased TSX with auto trans. :(
  • chas8167chas8167 Member Posts: 1
    www.sportwing.com
    They have Body Side Moldings and factory style Spoilers. I put their body moldings on my wife's RSX and they look very professional. Highly Recomend.
  • tblazer503tblazer503 Member Posts: 620
    i have one door ding in my TSX in 16 mos ownership(knock on wood) and that one wouldn't have been avoidable anyway because it is on the upper 4" of the door... dang trucks.. =o( ... that being said... IMO, they may help, but I think that subconciously, people are more careful around lux cars than non-lux... it seems that way to me anyways... also, you have to realize that people don't care for loaner cars like their own... they don't care about them...
  • ggthomas47ggthomas47 Member Posts: 2
    Dear chas8167,

    Do you have a link to the place that sells the body side moldings. I couldn't make the link in your last post work. Thanks!

    ggthomas47
  • grendel3grendel3 Member Posts: 3
    www.sportwing.com has exact fit bodyside moulding for the TSX but doesn't list it on their website for some reason. You'll have to call them and order by phone. I got mine that way and it is an exact fit for my '05 TSX in the correct carbon grey pearl. Some people use mouldings intended for the TL. They apparently fit, but the colors don't match.
  • lutwaklutwak Member Posts: 7
    Could you post a picture somewhere? Also, what's the sportwing part number?

    Thanks,
  • grendel3grendel3 Member Posts: 3
    The Sportwing part number is FE-TSX-NH658P. I don't know is any part of that number refers to the paint code. This is something they will ask for. The following link is a picture of my '05 TSX with the mouldings installed. I did the installation myself. Not hard, but it takes a little planning. The moudings cost $139. ">http://img302.imageshack.us/img302/8881/acura21yw.jpg
  • eusnlleusnll Member Posts: 10
    Hi ,

    It looks very nice, are they painted to match the color ( is Red available?) Can you give some more info about installation ?

    Thanks
  • saruhhhsaruhhh Member Posts: 47
    How long did it take? What kind of planning?
  • grendel3grendel3 Member Posts: 3
    Based on my conversation with the order desk, I seems that Sportwing paints the mouldings in house as part of the custom mfg. process so you should be able to get them in any TSX color. They're are painted and made up only after the order is received. As for the installation, it takes a little planning because the flat doors of the TSX have no embossed creases to make it easy to align the mouldings. I tried several trial fittings using black electrical tape to mock-up the look of the installed mouldings. After getting the placement to my satisfaction, applying the mouldings was relatively easy, just peeling off the backing and affixing them. Caution, make sure you have them positioned exactly, because once the adhesive touches the car, that's pretty much it. No repositioning is possible.
  • hawaiitsxhawaiitsx Member Posts: 3
    Aloha,

    I just wanted to thank you for this information...recently bought a 2006 TSX and I'm very concerned about side body dings. Were you provided a template with the moldings?

    Thanks in advance for an early reply and Happy Holidays!

    Don
  • hawaiitsxhawaiitsx Member Posts: 3
    My apologize for the post...just noticed the follow-on posts WRT the same.

    Happy Holidays everyone!
  • waw40waw40 Member Posts: 39
    Has anyone found a good source of color body moldings for TSX, in particular for a Milano Red?
  • waw40waw40 Member Posts: 39
    I got non-magnetic side moldings for my TSX from www.automotiveupgrades.com. They need the car paint color code.
  • drivecrazydrivecrazy Member Posts: 2
    After reading all posts here, I finally decided to order one from sportwing.com and install myself. Since the company is in Cleveland and they have good in stock. I got my molding in second day. The color extactly matches and installation is simple. Highly recommend. :)

    2007 TSX, Carbon Grey Pearl, color code: NH658P-C

    http://www.sportwing.com/catalog/displaycat.pcgi?fm_catid=22&fm_subcatid=103#
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