tinted windows on a 2006 tsx
 

To anyone who has tinted windows on a 2006 tsx or has attempted to:
I want to get my windows tinted, except the guy who install them was going to charge me $500 which is ridiculous. He had 2 reasons why it was so expensive:
1. Because the inside window "rubber" (you know, the rubber thing, one on the inside another on the outside, at the bottom of the windows) did not have felt, so the tint would get scratched.
2. I didnt exactly understand why, but he basically said that since it has a gps navigation system, the tint might interfere with the signal.

I didnt get a good vibe from the installer. I was very skeptical as he explained why it was so expensive.

ANyways, please respond if you have know anything about this, if youve gotten your windows tinted, etc.
Thanks

What!?!?!, is his tint going to add +30 hp? I have a new 2006 and the three quotes I have received in the KC area are $160.00, $145.00, and $175.00 for whatever percent I want all the way around. I would have just laughed, said thanks, and turned around and walked away. But that's just what I would have done.

O i didnt make clear that I absolutley did not accept this offer.
So this guy was scamming me.

Rod, question, are your tints still in great condition? And did your $150 offers come with lifetime guarentee?

Wow! $500????? Maybe if it's the new ceramic stuff from Huper Optic or Madico. Thats about the going rate for that stuff.

I tint TSX's starting at $220 with $40 for felt. If they want better film then the base stuff it's about $30-40 more. That price doesn't include the windshield strip $30 or moonroof $35.

If TSX's didn't have the felt issue they would be so easy to tint. It takes an extra hour to add the felt/moleskin. And yes you need it!

I have found that most shops that use Formula One Tint seem to do very good work. I have had four vehicles done with Formula One and they have all come out perfect. Formula One makes very high quality film. They also have nation wide dealer support and lifetime warranties. It has cost me $200 for what Formula One calls their Comfort Series, which works well with vehicles with Navi. Let me know if you have any quesitons. :-)

SHEESH!!!! My tints were $145, lifetime warranty.
My neighbor has a TL with navi and when the tint guy came to my house (mobile tint guy) we were talking and the subject of navi interference came up. Mine is non navi. But anywho, he said it doesn't effect navi, unless you get the silver - metal looking tint, then in rare cases it possibly might, but he has never had navi/GPS complaints.
Living in FL, tinting is almost a requirement!

WOW that guy is straight scamming you. I got my tint for $170 @ professional tint shop. Tint, even at low percentage, will not affect the Navi system. It will not even affect a 2 way-pager alarm system. I know this because I had 10% tint on my integra with the 2way alarm and it worked fine. My parents Lexus has also 10% and their Navi is superb.

As far as scratches, it SUCKS because you will see those scratches run down the window and it looks like poop. I know there is a DIY anti-scratch protector thread on here but too lazy to search now. good luck

I have not gotten the tinting done yet, I just bought the car new last month and am waiting for a little warmer weather here in KC. But, yes they supposedly come with lifetime warranties and I will be asking about the moleskin as well.

First of all, there are different types of tint. It ranges from dye, to semi-metallic, to ceramic. Dyes and ceramic definitely do not affect navi at any percentage. Metallic can affect the gps signal. The navi's antenna is in the rear deck. If the tint is metallic, it could reflect the signals from the satellites away so that the GPS can't work well.

2-way pager alarms use FM signals, and the antenna isn't mounted in the rear. My accord has one, and its antenna is mounted right by my VIN number on the dashboard. I don't know about you, but I didn't tint my front windshield all the way to the bottom....

Anyway, for the OP...that price is still pretty high even if you're getting the top-of-the-line ceramic stuff, which is quite a bit more expensive than the other types of tint. You could use dye if you want, although in the past it would eventually turn purple. With the tint of today, dyed tint lasts longer before turning purple. Personally, with the research I've done, I wouldn't mind paying the premium for ceramic tint, which is pretty good at keeping your inside temperature better controlled.

I'm going to have my car tinted in the winter, during the off-season for a better deal, but I want to wait for all these rain forecasts to pass...I'd rather have my tint dry quicker under a hot sun

I'd ask the guy exactly what tint he is talking about. Like others have said there are several types of tint. $500 for a high quality ceramic tint is about the going rate, maybe a few dollars too high but a good starting point. Some say that if you have a metallic tint it will interfere with the Navi reception. I've seen one or two posts of people complaining about their Navi after they got tinted. That may be the exception rather than the rule. In my last car, after I had it tinted with metallic it effected my radio reception. I have the Nav in my TSX too and I also live in southern Texas. Tint is a matter of survival here! So I splurged and got Formula One Pinnacle (the ceramic tint) 35% all around. They did not install mole skin and after 4 months of putting my window up/dn twice a day I have no scratches. The tint is very optically clear and as far as heat rejection it is the best tint I've ever had. I bought it as part of a tint + clear bra package so there was no separate price, but I suspect I paid around $450 for the tint. In my opinion it was worth it, the difference between that amount and a lessor tint is less than 1% of the cost of the car.

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I paid $400 even for 35% all the way and the moleskin (i recently got rid of the car and got a new 06 i am contemplating on what to do) however, the moleskin that he put on lost its "stickyness." The adhesive ended up being left on the windows every time i would put the window down. I could wipe it off, but it didn't come off easy at all. I never had any scratches but the other tint place i asked didn't know anything about the moleskin and quoted me $250 for everything, no moleskin.

CJams - Is it worth me getting it done at the same place and just telling him to do a better job putting the moleskin on??

I got my tint done here in toronto...got the ceramic tint...with lifetime warrenty, as well as the extra felt on the inside of the window rubber so it will not scratch..i paid 250 CAD total..ur gettin ripped off...

what he explains however is ture. If you dont want the tint to interrupt with your navi, you shouldnt use metallic died tint...cause it might screw around with the signal. The best tint right now is ceramic...they dont interfere with the signal like metallic, as well..they tend not to fade from the sun bleaching them. They are the best all around.

i've been quoted 300-450 from various places for huper optiks, which is some of the best material around.

the rubber/lack of moleskin is sometimes an additional charge. but 500 is at the higher end. especially if it's not huper optik or solar gard.

I paid $140 for my tint with a lifetime warranty and the back window done in one piece (thats important to me), but I didnt get the moleskin.

I havent had any problems with scratches on my tint but my tsx is garage kept and doesnt see rain or snow either. :shrug:

It's always good to at least go back and talk to the shop you used before. You may even get a repeat customer discount. especially if you tell him you had to deal with a problem. Get felt installed though. Well worth the wait

And to everyone else on here. There's way too much incorrect info to discuss. It sound like a few of you have been "sold" on some incorrect info.

wow this is ridiculous i paid 220 for all five windows and a drop on the windshield . SEARCH AROUND BEFORE YOU PAY OVER 250


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NO WAY. Go somewhere else. I paid $150 for five windows and a friend of mine got his 06 BMW 330i tinted for $220. Thats because BMW's are supposed to be harder to do, not the TSX.

The TSX has 7 windows plus a windshield and a moonroof. And east coast tint prices are cheaper than West Coast. Not sure why. I think it's because there is a window tint shop on every single corner on the east coast.

And a 330i is easier to tint than a TSX unless you don't add felt. The 330i is just a PIA because it's a felt monster. It has felt around all 4 edges of th windows.

Competition does drive prices. Here in Houston there is only one dealer (who owns two shops) for Formula One and only one or two places for Huper Optik so if you want either of those brands of ceramic tint you are going to pay more than cities with more competition.

Yea, i was thinking he might give me a repeat discount especially since he had to redo one window cause the adhesive started coming off because it was wet (still don't know how it happened....lol)

As for your comment on the east coast being cheaper than the wets coast, i think its the opposite man. I paid $400, the guy that paid more than me was from jersey, and all your west cost guys seem to get it done for like $200-$250 and some are getting it cheaper. Although, its hard to tell where some of these guys are from too and you prob know more of them than i do. Either way, i think the moleskin is worth it from what i experienced i just didn't know if i feel like paying for it again because the only shop in my area that even knew about the moleskin on a TSX was the guy that did mine. The other shops quoted me $250-$300 depending on the brand and type of tint with no moleskin and said they never heard of it.....and they are reputable places in my area too!

EDIT: Also, CJams, is Johnson Window Film a good brand of tint?

I paid $190 for the doors and the rear glass with moleskin installed too at a professional place here that is well known. My only complaint... they didn't put the door panel back on exactly correct.

Johnsons has a ton of different films to offer. I carry 5 or 6 different Johnsons films. Some are very cheap and not that great, and some are pretty nice. Johnsons is mid grade film all in all. Not the best, but not the worste either. It also depends on how it's installed. I worked for a place in seattle that used Johnsons and heard of bubbling and peeling problems from their customers, I haven't had that type of problem so I think it comes from the installation since I kinda bumped heads with them when it came to install techniques.

Plenty of tint shops never use moleskin or felt. The only cars I have ever used it on in my entire life have been TSX's and 4th gen TL's. The first time I ever used it was about a year ago when I started tinting cars for Azine forum memebers. So if a shop doesn't carry felt or doesn't use it, it doesn't mean that they aren't a good tint shop. They just don't deal with very very very picky customers on a regular basis.

The brands of film I can vouge for are:

Madico #1
Llumar
Huper Optic Ceramic
Sun Gard is OK
Some Johnsons films

I've used a few others, but wouldn't recommend them. And if you ever come accross a shop that uses "Gila," just run! You may even be able to get someone deported for working without a visa or a green card from that place! Almost gayraunteeed!

I had my done at the Tint Pros in Huntington Beach, CA. The side windows are at 35% and the rear window is at 20%. They used the Formula One Classis tint and it cost $265 for the tint and $50 for felt on each front door. I decided to skip the felt for the rear windows because those are rarely rolled down. For now, when the weather is warm I will remotely drop the windows about a quarter of the way just to minimize the chance of the rears getting scratched. I will do this for several more months or possibly for the rest of the time I own the car. As for the interference, I heard that the more expensive Formula One tint may interfere with the navigation.

Otherwise, I'm mostly satisfied with the tint. The quality is great and the application was very good, but not quite perfect. There are a couple of small bubbles on the rear window that you can see if you stand right next to the car, but those are hardly visible. The price was about a $100 more than I wanted to pay, but if I never see scratches on the front windows, the amount is worth it. One more note, I'm about 20 miles away from the shop and I could have gone to many other closer shops, but I wish they would have been more accomodating with me by giving me a ride home or back to the shop.

Finally, I've considered that maybe all windows at 20% would have been better, but I'd rather not attract attention from law enforcement because any tint on the front passenger windows is illegal in CA. Anyway, if you've never had your car tinted, aside from replacing your wheels, the tinting changes the look of the car dramatically. Good luck on getting your tint done.

i just got my 2007 tsx and i was wondering if i needed the felt for my car as well? i got a price quota for $125 for all 5 windows tinted and if i need the felt, i was told it would be an additional $40. does this sound fair?

just got my tint like 2 months ago. and i already have scratches.. =( stupid plastic.

you should install the felt/moleskin if you want to lessen the chances of scratching your tints.

This is the answer I received when I emailed http://www.formulaone.com/ and asked about navigation problems.
Since I dont have the TSX yet, where is the antenna located?

"Depends on where the antenna is located as to whether or not you'll be limited to Pinnacle. We do know that if the antenna is located in the trunk directly beneath the back deck, you may experience reception quality issues. This also would depend on the type film used, operational frequency of the gps system, what type metal component and how much metal is deposited.

Bottom line... it's crap shoot.

Best be safe and use a non-conductive ceramic product like Pinnacle or a non-metal, straight-dyed film".

The Civil signal is the same frequency no matter what GPS receiver you have. I have the nav and I got pinnacle just to be safe... oh and it has great heat rejection which helps a lot too here in TX. Also I have no felt and no scratches.. yet anyway.

Please let me know where in KC you got quotes from. I was told that the A & A Royal Trim at 39th and SW Trafficway does great tinting.

i did it all by myself with crayons =] :tomato:

hey rocket_man hows the 35%. from the outside does it look dark at night. i got quoted 400 at formula one. anyway to get a discount?

I had mine done for 150 .black ext , black int.20 percent , love it.:thumbsup:

I guess it depends a lot on where you live. I had tints put on my 2006 TSX in Boston and it cost me around $350. The results were somewhat disappointing as well. It wasn't their fault though, I told them to put the % up to the Massachusetts limit.