2007AcuraRL

Anyone else getting terrible black soot forming around the tailpipes and also on the bumper cover above the pipes? I've been busy for the past few weeks so I havent gotten the opportunity to wash my car as often as I usually do. I saw another RL today that also seemed to have this same soot. Is this an air-fuel mixture problem or is it "normal" since the other car had it too?

NavyDoc333

Mine does on the tail pipes...not the bumper...but then again my bumper is black.

I use 'Stainless Steel Cleaner'... .it comes in pre-fab wipes or a spray can. You can find it anywhere they sell stainless steel BBQ grills....Walmart...etc. Works great... they pipes shine right up.

Rexorg

Yes, unfortunately, this is normal for the RL, and there are several threads about it on this site. The bumper can be cleaned with bug and tar remover and then washed and waxed. Haven't tried cleaning the inside of the exhaust tips.

loulinjai

Those are carbon deposits, deposits formed when burning fuel. nothing you can do much about it, it's normal to have them on every car. they form when the hot gases from exhaust cool enough to to leave it's vapor phase and attach to the exhaust. you can use whatever cleaner you want but make sure it's paint compatible (if you are using it on paint) and compatible with exhaust tips

synth19

Interesting this is happening on an '07.

Chas2

I just use windex or 409 on a paper towel to clean the "chrome" tail pipes of my 06 RL. Works fine. Soot build up happens with a lot of stop and go traffic, and starts and stops. Just travelled 900 miles this weekend, which may be as much as I usually do in a couple of weeks, and no soot. Started up, got on the highway and cruised 60-80 down to NC, attended a rehearsal dinner and wedding, and blasted back. Normally, after 900 miles, even less, I would be cleaning off the soot from the tail pipes. I cannot say about the bumpers, because I have a black car, but I don't seem to have a problem.

There was an Feb 06 Acura Service News Item on this for the 05 RLs and the fix was to use the 06 finisher pipes, so I guess the soot problem must have been much worse with the 05?.

Black Soot on the Rear Bumper

Got a ’05 RL in your shop for black soot on the
rear bumper? You’re looking at a cosmetic
problem caused from water in the exhaust, black
exhaust particles, and just plain aerodynamics at
work. If, however, your service client is really
miffed about driving around with a messy
bumper, mount a set of ‘06 RL finishers to the
exhaust pipes. Not only do they cut down on this
problem but they look cool, too. Order these parts
from Honda parts stock:

• Right Finisher: P/N 18310-SJA-A01
• Left Finisher: P/N 18320-SJA-A01

dwest1023

The soot was not worse on the 05.s It was the design of the finisher that was causing the problem, with the bumper.

Stansel

I purchased a Black 2005 RL in mid-August. The exhaust tips were so black on the tops that I actually thought they were painted black by the first owner.

I tried Windex and alcohol with little effect. Then Softscrub and quite a bit a elbow grease proved to me that they were not painted.

Finally a neighbor came over to check out what I was up to and then brought me a tube of Flitz Paste Metal Polish. It is an amazing product that restored the tips to showroom condition.

Tips have stayed clean now thru 2 tankfuls of Shell Ultimate which the car really seems to like.

No doubt the 2005's were notorious for this problem, but at 38K miles with the Shell fuel, they seem to be staying clean.

Great forum, I have learned quite a bit here about the RL and appreciate the knowledge base and enthusiasm for this very unique and fun to drive luxury car.

wstr75

I regard the carbon on the exhaust tips as "war paint" . . . . a sign of masculine power, distinction.

sadlerau

Deja vu, I was going to look for an old thread on the "sooting up" of the rear bumper bar this morning, and lo, this thread pops up.

I have a white Legend, and if I don't wash it every week, the soot on the rear bumper becomes obvious. I seem to remeber that thare was an extended tip that was used to minimise this problem. I presume that the part #'s in Chas2's post are the items? Are they effective?

Honda Australia does not know anything about this problem [surprise, surprise], but they have offered to cover the cost of extending my tips to the tune of $AUS200. Which seems quite generous. {The fact I also own and service an NSX, buy $000's in genuine spare parts for my race car every year, and am friends with the Service Manager at my dealership probably had something to do with their generosity}. I have also been giving them grief on the fact after 12 months ownership, we here in Australia are STILL waiting for our sat/nav systems to become operative. They claim we will have it by Chistmas 2007, but we will see

Anyway, the question is, does the extension of the tips actually work? Anyone?

gcook

I get it buy I wash my car every week and it seems to come off with soap and sponge. I don't have to scrub it ..

AsianTL

I do not have any black sooting on rear bumper from the exhaust fumes.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4264

sadlerau

Thanks for heads up AsianTL

Shotgun

I complained to my dealer over a year ago about the black soot on the exhaust tips and they replaced them, gratis, with reengineered 07 model tips which foul less easily...Check with your dealer.

db22

So all of you guys that want the diesel are going to to have something to talk about - the soot should reach the A pillar if you don't change your exhaust tips!

catsailr

SOS pads work great on the stainless steel exhaust tips, but I wouldn't recommend using them on the bumper.

neuronbob

Welcome to AZ, Stansel! The Shell ultimate seems nicer to my engine as well. Thanks for the tip about the metal polish, it's time to clean my 5zigen exhaust as regular washing just doesn't bring out that shine, and seems to leave spots on it.

@sadlerau: The exhaust tips are a known issue here in the US and there was an earlier thread in which members had their exhaust tips replaced with a newer model. I didn't have that problem with my stock exhaust, and the 5zigen exhaust extends past the bumper, so I still don't have the issue.

Stansel

Thanks for the welcome.

You can find the Flitz Metal Polish Paste on the web. Just do a search and you can buy direct.

The small tube will likely last a lifetime as you really can use it sparingly. Also it is designed for a variety of surfaces and had no detrimental effect on the bumper etc.

Great forum!

Dave

kirbyflorida

If you are getting soot build up, you are NOT driving fast enough, you need to put your foot to the floor to have higher exhaust pressure so it is pushed out at a faster rate.

Haha

gavine

I thought the opposite was true. Full throttle makes the engine run rich which puts-out a higher concentration of carbon.

Just look at a boy racer mobile and you'll always see black on the bumper, presumable because they are driving hard.

Chas2

Very true. My least amount of soot build up, is when I am on road trips driving several hundred miles per day at 60 +. Greatest soot build up is tooling around town, even with some 60+ sections in the trip, it seems the slow suburban/urban traffic is what makes the soot build up. That and relatively short trips.

Godwhacker

I have an 07 and noted that the tailpipes soot up a bit faster on my RL than in my ol TSX.

I guess its those two extra dirty cylinders!

Ernie Golfs

I have an 05 RL which I purchased new. I had the same problem all 05 owners had with soot on the bumper. Dealer replaced the exhaust finishers with 06 parts. Problem has gone away. Chrome finisher still sots up but the bumper is clean. BTW my RL is white and gets washed about every other week.