My car just got back from the bodyshop for a side-impact collision repair that meant the bumper, right front fender, and door panel had to be either replaced (bumper and fender) or repaired (door).

Before the accident, the hood to bumper gap wasn't quite as big as it is now.

Here is a pic (w/ my daughter as the requisite car model!).


And another:


As you can see, there is a gap of almost 3/4" or maybe a bit more, between the bumper and the hood, to the left (and right) of the grille. If you look at this from above, it gives the impression that the hood should simply be lowered about 1/2" or so, since the front/back alignment seems bang-on.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal, or close to it, on their TSX? I took a peek at an 06 TL in the parking lot at work and the body lines from the bumper to hood are a lot smoother and there is considerably less gap between the hood and bumper. I "assume" this is the case for the TSX as well, but I feel my hood has never had this appearance, even before the accident.

 

There's rubber stoppers that you can adjust to reduce/increase the gap, they are on the corners near the headlights, after you open the hood.

 

Wouldn't that make the sides of the hood dip below the fender line though? I'll look into it tonight though. I'll count the rotations so I can always get it back to what it was before I meddle with it.

 

I don't know how different 04/05 is from 06+, but that gap looks pretty big. My hood sits flush with the side fenders and the bumper. With the way that Acura did the chrome, I'd expect the chrome part on the hood to touch the chrome part on the bumper...

 

I thought you were talking about the hood-to-fender gap on the right side.... I was noting that my hood was a bit lower than the left fender piece where the corner of the hood meets the "point" of the fender. One day while Armor-Alling some of the rubber & plastic under the hood (I know that's anal, but it keeps it looking nice), I found this little adjustable bumper, and fiddled around with it. Hood now meets level with fender. I also found them on the trunk lid and after adjusting those, the trunk lid is better aligned.

 

The hood-to-fender gap is in my main thread, and is more insurance-oriented.

This thread is about the hood-bumper gap and what is normal, and what isn't.

 

OK, I used those rubber stoppers and got it a bit lower and definitely more even. Looks pretty good now.

The only problem I see is that the hood has "an overbite" as my wife kindly put it. The hood seems to stick forward about 1/2" or so, so the bumper line leading between the headlight and grille doesn't flow 100% nicely -- it "jumps up" about 1/2" or more to the hood. Definitely not like the TL I saw today at work.

I'll have the body shop look at it when they hopefully readjust the right front fender to have less gap.