I purchased a new 2005 RL after owning a BMW 5 series for the technology and the quality associated with Japanese autos.

Since then, my RL has had the chrome trim replaced on the nose, needs the chrome trim inserts on the bumpers replaced (both due to peeling), the leather on the console has wrinkled and torn, and now I noticed that the chrome is flaking off of the custom Acura rims that I purchased as an upgrade. I take care of my vehicles and usually friends always marvel at the "like new" appearance of my cars.

Don't get me wrong, I've loved owning and driving this vehicle, but I have never had this many trim items go bad on any vehicle I've owned - regardless of price.

Is this common on all Japanese "luxury" brands?

 

5yrs old. the owner(you) must have driven this car!! you are talking about outside forces that can not be controlled, wear and tear issues . I have a 2005 rl i bought new, it now has 147,000 miles and NEVER had any problems. i bet your BMW can not come close to that! You sound like you regret buying it. most owners on this site LOVE there RL. it also depends how you took care of it. my 2005 looks brand new.

 

just common items that are replaced easily.
replace the trim and move on!

 

Christopher,

My post may have not been clear. I AM the original owner of the car, and have treated it as gently as any I've owned. All of these problems have come up in the last 6 months.

It may be just a fluke, but I've never had this happen. The car runs great, and has 125,000 miles on it . . I just hate to spend a couple of thousand dollars to correct these trim issues.

 

Mine's an 05, and I have none of the issues you are talking about *knock on wood*. Are you constantly parking the car in the sun? Maybe you should put some extra sealant and wax on your car just for the extra UV protection.

 

Sounds like wear and tear to me that would happen on any brand of vehicle based upon the conditions.

 

Unfortunately, my car gets quite a bit of sun down here in south Georgia.

Does anyone know if there is anything other than replacement for wheels on which the chrome is flaking off?

I'm able to head down to the dealer to get a price to correct all of these little "issues".

 

I have the same issue with the center arm rest. But it wasn't just the center arm rest, the one on the driver side door did the same thing. I guess you're not supposed to rest your arms on them. Also the door on the glove compartment has some bubbles of sort, IDK. And the Acura emblem on the steering wheel has also turned kinda yellowish, I guess it peeled or something. And the last thing(s), the lights on the front & rear window defrost buttons are out, the one for the auto and whatever button is under that one are flickering on & off. And the light for the driver side seat heater is also out. My RL is also an 05 model, no problems with the chrome trim in the interior though.

 

any car makes All the different in the world. some people keep the cars in garages some on the street. some wax and condition there leather with the best some use turtle wax, at the dollar store. All owners have different issues with any car. some owners 2010 RL could look 10yrs old in just 1 month. The acura RL is what you make it...! still I lOVE MY 2005 acura RL..

 

Sometimes a few batches are made with defective materials.

 

Just got back from the dealer. It's going to be a little over $1,000 to replace the lids on the center console and the two trim strips on the front bumper.

I forgot, but my headlight lenses got all cloudy about a year ago. I had a car wash refurbish them, but it looks as if there is a wax build up that needs to be peeled off of them. The dealer has a service that they say can restore them for $100.

For the chrome wheels, they recommended another repair specialist that can restore the finish. I haven't called them for a price.

My car has a Kelly Blue Book trade in value of $10,000. If I can knock out all of these little blemishes, I should still achieve driving satisfaction for the next couple of years . . .

 

Heavy_RL did a DIY on the arm rest console. very easy and minimal $.

sand, polish your head lights to get brand new again.
chrome wheels you can take to a repair specialist and get them re-chromed or what ever needs to be done to them.

 

Bad News . . .

The wheel repair specialist that the dealer sent me to said chrome wheels cannot be repaired. They're a franchise of a large wheel repair company, Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists. I assume they know what they're talking about.

 

I have never owned chrome wheels, but I understand that they are very susceptible to winter salt corrosion, which is why I never consider them. I believe, and maybe others can confirm or deny, that chrome, once flaking, must be stripped and replated. I do not believe you can spot repair the finish, like you can with painted wheels.

Hopefully there is someone more knowledgeable that can tell you

 

In the moisture at night and sun during the day? Acids and bacteria eat the plastic.

As for the wheels - they can be sent to a re-chome shop who can do them. I had a 1995 Legend that had Acura chome wheels. When they peeled it turned out that the original Acura dealer who sold the car had them chromed as Acura did not have chrome wheels that year. It was still under pre-cert warranty and Acura replaced them with stock wheels which was fine by me. Chrome rims are not your friends.

As for the wear some reported - we have some 2 and 3 year old BMWs that we see daily that look far worse than my 1995 Legend did when it was totaled. It all depends on how well the owners keep the paint up. If you keep a good wax (non-silicone) on the car it will stay more pliable and last longer.

 

I hate threads like these

people who buy cars that are possibly what? 6 years now because it could have been produced in 2004.

Dont you expect things to wear? buy the car new.

if you buy something used...do you expect it to be new?

 

honestly...if after 120k all your problems are trim related, you should be praising Acura gods.

I take this bad review to be a great Acura review as there are no mechanical complaints at all.

 

This thread isn't intended to bash the RL. Overall, I've gotten more satisfaction and enjoyment out of this vehicle than any I've owned. I bought it for all of the technology that was available at the time, the price / value of the vehicle, and I loved it's appearance.

That being said, I was just venting a little on all of the little items that are popping up now that I hadn't experienced on other vehicles that I've owned.

Once I get these corrected, I'll love my car as much as I did on the day I bought it!

 

Your description is not specific about the cloudiness, but often, it is a characteristic of the polycarbonate material deteriorating from UV. This is actually fixable. You may be able to do it your self. There are a number of kits available that allow you to supply the elbow grease to polish off the yellowed, cloudy layer, and restore the material back to its former glory. If the headlights have moisture in them that is a different issue. See the two sites below for info...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Headlig...i_sku=13023890

http://www.autogeek.net/headlight-le...FaVn5Qod1WlVEA

 

^^
This... I have some of the same trim related issues.

 

I was reading on another post about wide problems with the cover on the power accessory outlet on the top of the console not staying closed. I've got that as well. I believe my dealer quoted me around $360 to fix that . . .

 

You can fix it for under $10.00

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-90/f-018-fixing-power-outlet-door-779571/

 

WAR....... I think it's time to become a do it yourself guy.

Download the service manual. There's a link at the yop threads.

headlights you can do urself for about 20 dollars and 30 minutes of your time.

the armrest can be done for far less (less than 100) at local upholstery shops.

the trims just buy on acuraoemparts dot com and use the service manual to do yourself.

I feel you on the chrome though. Honda/Acura Chroming has been hit or miss for years.

 

aspec rims are not chrome!

 

I'm not sure what aspec wheels are, but I upgraded at the time of purchase to some nice, 5 spoke, chrome wheels which have the Acura emblem in the hub. I believe the upcharge was almost $2,000.

If I get tired of looking at the chrome flaking off, I'll probably just change out to some 18" RonJon Legend wheels as a replacement.

 

Those 18's are indeed the A-Spec wheels which are offered in a chrome finish (which I heard will eventually flake off too) or a gunmetal alloy.

Do the oem chrome 17's flake off eventually like the A-Spec rims or no??

 

On my original stock wheels, the finish is flaking off.

 

Thanks for the OEM PARTS link. I had not been able to find such a comprehensive listing of available parts online!

 

What are the "yop" threads?

Today the plastic piece which holds the drivers side door handle to the frame broke in half. The dealer quoted me $458 to replace this part (after I spent $1,200 last week with them).

I'm going to order the part from the site referenced above and pay a relative to install it.

 

I think you and I have a couple of defective 05 models. The handle on my door become loose, so now when I go to pull it in to close the door, I feel like I have to be gentle with it, as to not pull to hard and have the whole handle tear off. And yes I did take the door panel off to see if perhaps I could tighten it, but no dice. And to add to the list of things that are messing up, my screen has been giving me a "Disc reading error, Consult your dealer" message. The XM, AM/FM, DISC, and power buttons stopped working and the navigation only stays on for about a minute and then the above message pops up again. I'm tired of this pain in the a$$! I'm goin to try to get a different car towards the end of the year.

 

Uh oh . . that's the way mine started off.

How hard was it to take the door panel off?

The dealer quoted me $458, of which 2 hours of labor was allocated . . .

 

They are insane. Door panels are not hard to remove. I've done it on my 4Runner many times and on an Avalon a couple of times as well.
Just take your time and be gentle. Do'nt force anything.

 

I'm sorry. I meant "TOP" threads. At the very top of the list there is a sticky thread that has the service manual download in it.

 

Regarding my recent problem of the plastic part which holds the inside door handle to the frame breaking, the dealer quoted me $258 for parts and $200 installation. Because they are 40 miles away, I sent them a picture which showed exactly which part broke.

Based on a suggestion from a forum member in this thread, I looked up the part that broke on my vehicle on line. It is entirely separate from the leather door handle and costs $19.63.

I feel like the local dealer was really trying to screw me. I don't know how many parts he was going to replace to satisfy his parts quote of $258, but he could have replaced most of them.

Should I feel offended, or is this common practice for Acura dealers? Should I write a letter to Acura corporate?

 

Call em back, give them the part number and see how much labor is. Honestly if their guys are completely imcompotent and it takes 2 hrs to replace it shouldn run even 200 total.

 

$100 an hour?! Not bad. Do it your self... Even if you never did anything like this... Itl take you less than 2hrs i guarantee you.

 

I agree I took care of mine well and it started wearing poorly after only 4years and 50k. Replaced console rest with leather and driver arm rest bubbling too. Lights on ac went out. Engine started burning oil.

 

You agree with them after 2 years?

 

I need some .