To me there clearly is a colour differance, and the most likely cause would be damage in transit and a dodgey respray on that door.

I would be taking it back and getting it properly resprayed.
Before i even accepted delivery I went over my car, and yes I found the smallest of problems with the OEM kit and it was fixed.

 

you know sometimes i think my APB is like that as well but most of the time its angles and lighting...thats what be chaing it up for me a move my heada nad the difference goes away

 

Hey Fooman,
I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I've got the same situation with that rear passenger door. It happens in certainly lighting conditions (i.e. in the evenings as you had mentioned)
I thought it was only SSM. I glad to hear that I'm not alone.
Your pix do a great job to illustrate the problem.
Do you ever notice that the problem occurs below the cease/fold line. The paint looks fine above the line???

Not sure what to do about it, if anything?
It just drives me crazy knowing that when that silver Hyundai pulls up next me that he has better matched paint than I do!!!
Oh well, my TSX grip list just grew by one along with all the other rattles, squeaks, thunks and buzzes. (~ big sigh...)
I waited a year to get my TSX to avoid these first year issues. I guess I was wrong.

 

There's not much to update. While the dealer did acknowledge the slight color mismatch, they said that it was "normal" of most silver cars, especially with Acuras. They said they mostly see it with the bumpers though. And while I did contact the Acura representative, I never got a response from them.

I would have pursued it some more, but I noticed the same thing on other SSM on their lot, all new models, so I assume it is just a SSM thing. I noticed it in the pic on edmunds.com as well as the acura.com website so it really must be just the way it reflects light.

Interestingly enough, it is ONLY apparent on the passenger side.

To caseytsx: yes, it is only seen below the crease line and not above. Very weird! Does this mean that it's just a weird way that light is reflecting?

Actually, to be honest with you, I can notice it on some CG as well. It's not as apparent due to their darker color, but I can assure you that it's there. I have a sharp eye, which is how I noticed it on my car to begin with. I still enjoy the car despite it's minor flaws.

 

Hey Fooman,

Since your original post, I have been watching my SSM for this effect.
Guess what, over the past two days I saw the same thing but on the driver side passenger door.
(Sorry, I don't have any pix to post. I don't have a digital camera.)
This time it was in the mid-morning light about 10:00 a.m. with the driver's side facing the sun.
(So, the sun was still low in the sky, similar to the evening.)

Have you witnessed this on the driver side?

I'm starting to have doubts that this is a defect. Rather, its the result of a combination of the shape of the door and the intensity and source of the sunlight.

 

Casey,

Come to think of it, I guess there were a few times when I did see some slight differences on the driver's side, but I dismissed it because it had more of a blending affect rather than sharp cut-off points like I see with the passenger side.

Oh yeah, there's this newer Audi 1.8 in silver just around the block and I noticed the same color difference on the passenger side as well. I guess it's an inherent quality of silver cars then, especially if they are metallic like ours -- makes me feel better now. I think the other cars that are silver that don't do this are non-metallic silver (like my girlfriend's civic)

One more thing, there's another SSM here too and I notice the same effect.

So our eyes is not playing tricks on us. It's just a "normal" effect seeing how many SSMs I've seen with the same thing.