I know this has been discussed before but I thought I'd throw another warning out since I experienced it first hand yesterday. I was washing my car yesterday and decided to remove the front mud guards as they were unbelievably dirty. After removing them and cleaning off all the dirt that accumulated beneath them I noticed the paint was scratched in the shape of the guard. You could easily see it and the lower part of the car (the plastic skirt, stock) was more severly scratched on both sides. I touched up what I could and decided that they had to go back on as the scratch lines on the car di'nt look to good.

My neigbour gave me some very thin rubber that I cut into the shape of the inside of the mudguard, the part that touches the car and I put them back on. The rubber provides a barrier between the guard and paint so hopefully it won't scratch anymore.

It was too cold and late for me to remove the rear guards but I'd imagine they scratched the paint as well. I'm not as worried about the rear ones as they sit on the plastic rear bumper which can't rust. They front gurads scratch a metal area of the car which will definently cause rust down the road.

My advice is to remove the gurads if you have a new car or at least remove them periodically for cleaning and paint touch ups because they're going to scratch your car.

 

This is to be taken seriously people.

(I just don''t want this thread to die so soon)

 

This is a known issue with most Acura/Honda mud guards. A lot of people do similar things to protect the paint. I know of a few that used the 3M Clear Bra type adhesive plastic to protect the paint from the mudguards.

 

I thought about using that 3M tape as well. But if you saw the way those guards ate through the plastic skirt in only 6 months you know they'd make quick work of getting through the 3M tape.
Not only was my fender scratched but the guard rubbed so much that it sort of grovved right into the plastic skirt.

 

Yes yes yes. This is why I took mine off the first week I got the car. They don't do much anyways, and the car looks better without them.

Sorry to hear about your scratches domn.

 

Ouch Domn. That sucks. I did read from Tinky that she experienced the same thing and that her dealer was willing to have the scratches fixed (not sure how they fixed it). You may want to inquire with her about the details. Hope that helps. Luckily for me, I had my mudguards removed a month after I had the car and suffered only minor scratches that I can live with. I can probably even buff those scratches out, so I didn't bother too much with them.

 

I always thought Tinky was male

 

Hehe... my bad... :busted: I meant to say, Pinky, not Tinky. Maybe I should call myself Slinky.

 

I did the 3M thing under the mud guards. Not the ClearBra hood film, but the thicker stuff used for headlights ("stoneguard"?). I think it's about twice as thick as the hood film, maybe more. I got them as a freebie at the shop that did my window tints and the ClearBra on the hood & mirrors. They extend out past the mudguards about 1cm, you can barely see them at all. I figure it can't hurt even if it does wear out eventually.

 

HOW DO YOU GUYS TAKE THEM OFF?
the spacing between the screw and the tires is soooooo small that i can't fit no screw driver in!!!

help!

 

Use a very short screwdriver, or turn the wheel all the way left or right to clear space.

-r

 

I have a small "L" shaped screwdriver that worked perfect. If not do like idx said and turn your wheel.

Do it fast !!!

 

Holy reserection of the mudguard thread batman....

this thread is serious. i took off my mudguards at 250 miles and i could already see the mudguard's trying to dig their way into the paint next to the front-driverside. i'm very glad that vtec.net caught this a long time ago, otheriwse i wouln't have taken them off. Now that the mudguards are actually off, the car looks (if this is even possible) more sexy and clean.

 

I turned the wheels to get the front ones off. For the back ones I used a socket wrench with a screwdriver bit. You have to be careful putting them back on that you get the screws into the metal clips behind the plastic properly.

I agree the car looks better without them, but we get a fair amount sand/gravel on our roads in winter and I want the protection for the body panels.

 

Ya...I was female last I checked.

Anyways...not sure if I should be saying this, but the repair was approved by Honda Cda (after I made a stink about it) Their attitude was, "why did you take the mud guards off?" My response was "you don't have to know why I took de blasted guards off, all you need to know is that they left some nasty ass scratches!!!" (Ok maybe it didn't come out that way, but It's what I was thinking)

The finish on the metal is good as new, they just retouched the plastic part....it's not that noticable I'll add some pics to ImageStation in a bit.

 

Noticed light surface scratch about 3 days after delivery of my TSX I put some 3m clearbra (custom cut) inbetween mudguards and paint. It's pretty strong stuff.

 

There was a post along time ago about this, maybe Brad posted it. I decided to stay away from the splash guards as I think the car looks better without them. If I was gonna put them on I'd do the 3M thing and change it once a year. The alternative is, never take them off and you won't notice it.

 

Until the rust takes over.


-r

 

wow that s good to know.....

how about on honda civic 2002...
have mudguards ,,,,never take them off.....u think there will be a scratches?
i really hate scratches.

 

Don't take them off.

 

Ok, I can't be alone with this thought. The guards came on the car when I bought it, the defect of the product causes this problem. I don't want to have to take these off and fix it myself. Acura should pay for this without a question. Anyone disagree? If I want to force Acura to take care of this, what should I do? I shouldn't have to go through this after paying so much for the cheap molded material.

 

my sentiments exactly! I went to my dealership and their view was they never heard anybody complain about this before because people don't normally take off the guards...well maybe people who want to drive with a bone stock car...by I have plans to put on a body. So They took my request to Honda Canada to see if "there were any other cases" and then later approved the repair.

So it's definitely worth trying, all in all, it took about a 3 weeks from my first complaint to having my baby repaired.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah, I plan to keep my guards on forever, but having it down through the paint isn't good for the car. What did they do to repair it? put the clear stuff on? Is there any documentation you could share with us, esp. from Honda that we might be able to use at the dealer?

 

I'm guessing they sanded the scratched part and repainted it the metal part anyways (I'm not sure of the actual process)...the plastic molding they just sanded and retouched with touch up paint. I didn't receive any documentation from the dealer...no record of correspondence from Honda either.

 

mm, Honda(Acura) will soon stope give free mud guard for TSX!!

 

I was not aware of this one. You can bet I will be taking the guards off this weekend to put something in thee. Got 2000K on the car so I am not looking fwd to seeing the results on the body paint.

Domn, thanks for bringing this one up as I was not aware of this one !

 

:Bump:

I almost put the Mud Guards on my Christmas list.

 

I havent noticed any scratches on mine.

 

Did you take the mudguards off to check the paint underneath?

 

No. My wall in my living room behind my couch looks crappy too....

 

Maybe, but I don't think you have to worry about your wall rusting from scratches on the paint

 

Anybody take pictures of the damage?

 

True, but I have to look out for the monsters behind the couch....

 

 

I haven't checked behind my mud guards (nor my couch) but I covered all the places where the guards would come into contact with paint with a bead of silicone (sealant type). I figured that the silicone would reduce the amount of friction and vibration that causes the damage.

Maybe I'll take a look behind there this weekend . . .

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...guards+scratch

 

Regardless sub-zero blizzard conditions, I'm gettin' down and dirty and takin' those body-killin' mud-guards off!

 

wow, after reading this i am no longer going to purchase the mud gards. I was thinking of getting them beucase of the insane ammount of road kick-up. I get all kinds of junk up on my car from the road, mostly tar. Soon as it rains my car becomes a cloud.... its sorta for the better since not many people will ride anywhere behind me beucase of the cloud of mist i am making.

But for the most part i would like something that would keep the car cleaner... any suggestions? Does any one know why they are gouging into the car? Could it be from the wind pushing upagainst them making them move? i would be curious to see if something could be done to stop that from happeneing.....

hmm its good i read this thread or i was going to post in another or possibly make my own.

 

Im I the only one who likes the way the mudguards look on the car? (the issue of damaging the paint aside...)

 

Get the mud guards and put some 3M film over it. I do it all the time for customers. Let me know if you need some of the film.

Take care, Mark.